Has anyone else managed a major declutter whilst heavily pregnant?
I'm 31 weeks and am seriously thinking about bringing the start of my maternity leave forward from 37 to maybe 35 weeks, because after a year of all sorts of time- and energy-munching challenges, our home is now in disarray and I need to sort it.
By the time baby arrives, I want to feel less crowded out by stuff, which we're constantly bumping into and tiptoeing around at the moment (things we've been given for baby, stuff that needs to go in the loft, laundry, Christmas stuff, paperwork, etc). I want the space I'm going to be staring at for most of next year to feel relaxing, calm and organised – not as though I've moved in with someone off The Hoarder Nextdoor, with a newborn (OK, it's not quite that bad, but some rooms are getting close). I don't want the state of my home to make it more likely that I'll get PND, which I had a little of with DS, many moons ago.
In the evenings after work, I'm knackered. On the weekends, I catch up on sleep and spend time with my son. DP is working two jobs to help plug the financial gap next year, so he's not around much to help. I'm thinking that if I go off at about 35 weeks, and assuming I stay healthy and the pregnancy goes to term, I'll have a month or so during which I can declutter and clear out in the mornings, say, and rest in the afternoon. Am I being realistic? Has anyone else managed this? And am I nuts to be contemplating this when I have such a crap (statutory minimum) maternity package through work? It'll mean 'paying' for the possibility of some order with a few weeks less with baby before I go back, when he or she is about eight or nine months.
Please come and tell me if I'm nuts and if this is nesting gone mad, or if I'm actually being quite reasonable – in which case, tips aplenty please on how to make the best of the time and achieve the most significant results, with a huge bump!
Thank you!