Nesting Plus

The pursuit of a good night’s sleep when you’re living in chaos

There’s nesting and then there’s whatever we’re doing.

Living in a construction zone for three months, grieving, and being very pregnant means that I’ve been fairly desperate for a restful night of sleep. I’ve had mild insomnia for the last decade that ebbed and flowed, but this spring really put deprivation to a whole new level. Since we’re making upgrades to our living space, it felt like the perfect moment to upgrade our bedroom too and find the best mattress available. Lucky for me, Helix Sleep came in to save the day. We’re firm mattress fans, but took the Helix mattress quiz just to make sure we were choosing the right mattress for us (we landed on the Helix Twilight Luxe). I’ve never had a premium mattress before and in the few weeks we’ve had it, it’s been amazing to feel the difference. I also have to add that it shipped directly to our door and took about 5 minutes to set up. If that’s not convenient, I don’t know what is. I’ll take every extra minute of sleep I can before this baby arrives. Thank you to Helix Sleep for partnering on this piece! If you too want (need?) the best sleep on the best mattress, check out Helix Sleep. Visit helixsleep.com/sidedish for a special 20% discount. Here’s what we’ve had on our plate the last three months.

In the House

While I’ve spent a shocking amount of time on Pinterest and ordered more than one unnecessary (but darling) objects for the baby room (like this pillow, this hook shaped like a strawberry, and this embroidered pleated lampshade), we’ve also been dealing with some very real chaos.

In February and March we repainted the downstairs bathroom, mudroom, and our bathroom floor, which felt like child’s play compared to what was coming for us in April.

Long story short, we discovered mold on the ceiling of the future baby room, which led to a discovery that the entire attic was covered with mold. We went through one contractor, then a remediation company, and felt like we got scammed the entire way. The crew who was going to do the construction to put the insulation back and repair the ceiling backed out days before they were due to start. Hiring a contractor on such late notice was of course impossible and since we couldn’t live without a ceiling, Ryan did the dry wall and insulation work himself.

Once the room was put back together, Ryan and I got to painting the baby room. The walls are a butter yellow with white floors. Oh, but that’s not all! We also decided to re-sand the floors for the first time since the house was renovated in 2000. That involved moving all our furniture on the ground floor onto the deck and covering it with a tarp for three weeks. While we could use the kitchen, it’s less exciting to cook when you have nowhere to sit. Since the living room was empty, we figured why not throw a coat of paint on it?

Along the way, we also decided to transform my mom’s former office into a future den and playroom. It’s painted a dark, inky blue, but is currently sitting empty while we wait on furniture. Our stair railing has been precarious since my parents renovated the house in 2000, so that’s been ripped out and is waiting to be replaced too. With the railing removed, we thought why not wallpaper the hallway? Once you start pulling the thread on home projects things can get out of hand quickly…

On the Farm

Our first batch of 350 chicks arrived on March 30th to kick off chicken season at Uplands. While the first few weeks don’t involve too much hands-on work, it’s still daunting to be responsible for so many living creatures. Once the chicks have feathered out, they move onto pasture—which is what sets our chicken apart. There they get moved at least once a day (sometimes twice!) and they eat bugs, worms, and grass. Managing chicks in the brooder and on pasture becomes a full-time job overnight. We’re currently on our third batch, which will put us at over 1,000 chickens for the season.

In the Garden

Garden season kicking off while I was six months pregnant coupled with “severe anemia” (as my midwife put it) has meant that my gardening capacity has been limited this season. It gives me so much joy to be outside, working with my hands, but after 35 minutes I’d feel my back start to buckle with the weight. Bending up and down has become increasingly difficult (fairly essential for gardening), and lugging baskets of weeds and debris felt like running my own personal marathon. I’m impressed with how much I accomplished on my own, but it was apparent quickly that I needed more help. I’ve been so lucky to have a gaggle of friends step in to help plant, weed, and water the garden when I just couldn’t do it. Now at 34 weeks, I mostly just waddle around it and admire the resilience of plants.