There's more to prepping for a baby than folding onesies.

My non-traditional take on nesting *as an ambitious mom-to-be*

I’m 35 weeks pregs and officially about to pop. In the last two weeks, I haven’t stopped ordering things for the nursery, washing her clothes, and organizing all of her essentials. So I guess I’ve reached the point that most would consider to be nesting.

Nursery is coming alonggg! Big update in this week's YouTube video!

By definition, nesting is an instinct during pregnancy to prepare a place with optimal conditions for the baby. And I can assure you that by the amount of boxes coming to our house, I am definitely in the trenches of prepping the best home for my sweet girl.

But to me, nesting has always been more than prepping baby items.

I remember shortly after we first announced our pregnancy, we went to a family get-together and the first thing someone asked was, “Have you started registering for stuff and thinking of nursery ideas yet?!”

It kinda caught me off guard, so I’m sure I made a face. I was only like 18 weeks at the time.

I responded, “Girl no, not at all. I haven’t even thought about any of that yet.” Because honestly — I hadn’t. I guess I wasn’t giving the gushing maternal energy she was expecting.

Then she asked, “Are you even… excited?”

And in that moment, I realized that my definition of bringing a baby into optimal conditions is not the same as everyone else’s.

So here are some ways I’ve been non-traditionally nesting:

Preparing my business

I want to be able to spend as much time with my family as possible. So preparing my business was always a top priority. For me, that looks like:

• Creating sustainable systems that can run without me

• Reviewing our financials and deciding what revenue sources make most sense to prioritize

• Delegating energy-sucking tasks that don’t require me to complete

• Planning and recording income-generating content for maternity leave

To me, preparing the business has been the heaviest priority and my most intense form of nesting because this is our livelihood. This side of entrepreneurship is less glamorous, but there is a sense of pressure to have business in a solid state when you have a little one on the way. And I’m not ashamed that this was, and still is, a huge focus for me.

Prioritizing health

Before getting pregnant, I began taking my health more seriously. I knew that soon we’d start trying, and I wanted to give my body the best chance to be strong and healthy for pregnancy and delivery.

I was working out, going to the chiropractor, taking supplements and eating a balanced diet. Now, I ain’t no athlete. So exercise has never come easily to me. But I feel like as soon as I hit my stride — BOOM. Pregnant. Which honestly, was kind of annoying, but we won’t go there lol.

Since becoming pregnant, I definitely haven’t kept a super consistent workout routine. I’ve done lots of walking, and maybeeee (and this is a very aggressive maybe) hit the gym once a week. But it’s still important to me to stay relatively active and maintain a balanced diet without allowing myself to over-indulge, simply because I’m pregnant.

We want her to come into a home where healthy habits are a norm.

Legacy-building discussions with my husband

Cameron and I have a million conversations about our future. We talk about family traditions we’re going to start, our preferred parenting style, investments we plan to begin, growth strategies for our businesses, ways we will utilize our support system, and how we plan to maintain our spark throughout parenthood. Plus, we are getting in all the extra date nights and quality time pre-baby — even if it’s just an evening walk together.

We want her to enter a family where fun, quality time, marriage and smart financial decisions are all highly valued.

Creating space

We wanted more livable space once we found out we were expecting. We always said that we’d be out of our current home by the time we had a baby, butttt that didn’t happen. So we got our basement finished to create an area for us to make memories as a family. It was a huge project to take on while pregnant and working, but we made it happen.

That also meant decluttering lots of stuff that no longer serves this season of our lives. Sold old furniture. Cleaned the garage to create space for our new family truck. Plus, we have too many packages shipping to the house to not get rid of stuff. No one warned me of how much space babies take up!

We want her to feel welcomed into every part of our home, beyond her nursery.

Maintaining a sense of self

This pregnancy has shown me that it’s possible to maintain a sense of self while being with-child. Of course I love my unborn baby so much already. And because of that, I know I need to prioritize my personal needs. Sometimes that means resting, and other times that means pealing myself off the couch to do something that I like.

I still get up, get dressed, try to look cute most days (even though sometimes it’s giving “who cares”), work, go get my hair and nails done, date nights, hanging with friends, etc. These things have been very important for me to sustain during pregnancy. Even if I don’t feel like it sometimes, I’m reassuring myself that I’m still me despite all the changes I’m experiencing. And I believe that will carry over into motherhood.

I want my daughter to see her mommy as someone who cares for herself and prioritizes her own joy.

Simply put, everyone nests differently.

An optimal environment is not the same for everyone. And although nursery decorating, onesie folding, and hospital bag packing are all fun and exciting, they were never the focal point of nesting for me. I knew that whether those things were done or not, she’d be entering the most loving environment with parents who have prepared our hearts, finances, and lifestyle to be able to provide her the most beautiful life that we can.

Would love to hear any advice from moms, since I’m so close to the finish line! (Or should I say, the start line?)

In love & creativity,

Erin

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On YouTube this Week:

In this week’s vlog I share my candid thoughts on maintaining a sense of self while pregnant. We also have a big nursery update! 5 more weeks until baby girl is here!

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This Caught My Eye:

• Jay Shetty Podcast featuring Emma Grede: This conversation reallyyy resonated with me as an ambitious woman looking to build a billion-dollar empire while being a mom. It’s rare to hear women speak about motherhood in this way, but I was really inspired! Take a watch (or you can listen on streaming platforms):