Yesterday, Ed and I painted the baby’s room. Before I continue with the story, let me give a little background information on me and painting…
I hate to paint. With a passion. However, I’m not going to pay someone else to paint when I can suck it up and do it myself. When we built our house, my dad and brothers came through and sprayed the ceilings and primer, and then I painted every room in the house. To be sure, I had help. Both of our families popped in and out to help me paint, but there were many, many times that I was here after work, on weekends or on school vacation… in a room by myself, painting. I can even remember having a good cry when we were getting close to moving in, since I couldn’t possibly stand painting any more, and it seemed it would never be done! I think this picture may have been taken around that time. Note the crazed “I CANNOT PAINT ANY MORE!” look.
The result was that we moved in before there were two coats on the rooms we weren’t planning to furnish right away, which included the hallway, the mud room, the bonus room over the garage, and the two spare bedrooms. One of those bedrooms is now going to be the baby’s room, so it was time to get the paint out again.
I figured that if we were painting anyway, we may as well change the color from boring Linen White to a pale sage green color which would go nicely with the barnyard theme we’ve chosen for the nursery.
I checked out the prices on paint, and we decided to go with Benjamin Moore’s Natura line, which is free of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). This means that, lucky me, I could help! Because if I hated painting before, I’d certainly enjoy painting at 32 weeks pregnant.
Ed and I decided that I probably shouldn’t climb the ladder, so I said I’d cut in around the baseboard, which meant I would crawl around the floor. I should have realized how hard it would be for me to keep kneeling on the floor, then getting up and down, while holding a paint brush and a cup of paint. Fortunately, it’s a relatively small room (not the whole house) so I could manage. I then decided to roll on the walls, which was much easier, but I still woke up sore this morning.
Although I don’t want to admit it, I can’t do what I used to. That seems to have been the theme for this past week. With our moms helping get ready and clean up after the shower, not going in with the horses, and being so exhausted after painting, I’m starting to realize that life is different. My stubborn side is showing through when I don’t want to accept help from other people. Perhaps this is preparing me for when the baby comes and all my time will be devoted to him. Still, I hate the idea of having to ask for help, unless it involves painting.
The baby’s room came out nice, and I’ll post pictures when the furniture arrives and there’s more to look at than blank walls.
Farmer's Daughter 
Abbie, it is a pregnant woman’s perogative to accept help, and even to ask for it, once in a while! NO ONE else can do the very important job you are doing right now and everyone really wants to help; so please let them!
There will be plenty of time when you can do the mundane stuff, but do you really want to?
Enjoy this time, and even after the baby is born, to let others help you out!
You had the perfect excuse to sit out this stint of painting; we should have insisted that you did!
When we moved into our condo last summer, we had to repaint every room. The ceilings in the main living area were brown! Ick. Felt like a cave. I did most of the painting (after we fired our contractor) and found that audiobooks made the work go much, much faster.
I’m one for cranking up the country songs while I paint!
I am gload to hear that you are using no voc paint- those fumes from regular paint cannot be good for you or your baby- good show!
I was surprised, my doctor told me water-based paint in a well ventilated area would be ok. But I still went VOC free, and even then I thought it smelled the same as regular latex paint, but the smell didn’t linger.
Your mama is right! It’s so hard to accept help, but you have to. I am a firm believer in scrubbing my floors on my hands and knees, even at 32 weeks pregnant. It was a disaster. So was scrubbing them 4 days postpartum. Accept the help that your amazing family so wants to give you.
Ok. Lecture is over. Now… I’m so excited to see baby’s room! Sage green sounds wonderful and I’m anxious to see the furniture you picked out. It’s so fun once everything is in place. I used to just go and sit in Liam’s room while I was waiting for him to come and talk to him. Tell him stories and remind him how anxious I was for his arrival.
Whooo! 2 more months!
Not to worry, you won’t catch me scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees any time soon! My great-grandma did do that into her late 90’s though, you must have that same personality.
Our main rooms are sage green, so I’ll be curious to see if the color in your baby’s room is similar. I’m not a fan of painting either, and we are about ready to do so again. It has been over 7 years and the wear and tear is beginning to show. I have to decide on a color.
I think that the nesting instinct sort of overrides the dislike of certain tasks somehow. You will be so proud of the room when it is all “put together’ I think. I can’t wait to see photos. It’s ok to put your feet up and relax now for a good long while! 🙂
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. pregnant, close to due, painting.
don’t expect more from yourself in advanced pregnancy then you would expect from your mare, doe,sow.
take it easy and reap all you can from those around you. for the joy you will provide with the upcoming grand will far by pass all that they have given.
Here, here!
I think that learning to accept help, and even ask for it, is one of the most important lessons of late pregnancy. Since having my own children I firmly believe that we are not meant to live alone in the way that we do, in houses all by ourselves with newborns. I am not moving in with my extended family anytime soon, but I have learned that when I’m large and pregnant or I have a small baby I need help, and that’s OK. In fact, it’s a sign of strength and good judgment to let others do things for you when you’re not used to it, sometimes.
Thank you, Amber and Laura! Accepting help is not a sign of weakness; it’s accepting love from those who so want to give it!
After Abbie was born, my own mother came to my house everyday for a week and did laundry, cleaned, and made dinner. All I had to do was to enjoy Abbie and figure out how to become a new mother. It was wonderful! I would love to be able to do the same for Abbie, if she wants . . . but it might just be for a few days (my mother didn’t work full-time outside the home!)
learning to accept help from others is going to be even more important after the baby comes – plus the number one rule – sleep when the baby sleeps or you will be exhausted. What an exciting time for you though! Enjoy.
I am a control freak and it was really hard when I had my first to let go some of that. Believe me, now we have 3 I accept any help I can get! 🙂 Post pics when you can, I know it will be adorable!
My son-in-law asked his employer for his vacation days when the baby was born so he could bond with the baby. His employer laughed, but I think he’ll get those days.
They lived with us for a week last month while their whole house was painted by my son-in-law, his dad, and contractors. They live in one of her father-in-law’s rental homes, so HE made paint decisions and no VOC is more expensive.
She just had her shower over the weekend. Crib comes this week. Due date is Feb 4. I’m both excited and terrified.
Can’t wait to see what you’ve done with the room.
Excited and terrified! That would describe how I feel, too.
VOC is about $10 more per gallon, but since we only got 1 gallon, it was worth it to us.
The green looks beautiful and it is going to make an awesome background for the mural. I hope to start it next week and not sure how long it will take but I promise I will have it done before he arrives, unless he pulls any early surprises. And don’t forget Ab and Ed, all you need to do is call and I will be there to help out with whatever you need after you come home, cooking, cleaning, rocking, whatever, you have 2 loving grams and Auntie Kate, Auntie Melissa, all there if you need us. xoxo
I’m just as stubborn…we bought houses with my first 2 kids and I was in moving boxes and painting just like the rest. I can’t just sit and watch people do it without me! And I survived as did the babies…lol
I remember at 8 weeks pregnant with Levi, I painted our living room and dining room (we’d previously painted it but I was nesting I guess, 🙂 ). Anyway, we used low-voc paint too.
You amaze me though. At 32 weeks pregnant, I was falling asleep all the time. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! That is one thing I remember your mom telling me during my pregnancy. Don’t overdo it! Rest up. In a few weeks, your baby is going to be keeping you very busy! 🙂