10 Signs You're Nesting Before Welcoming Your Baby

Throughout pregnancy, you're sure to experience energy spikes and lulls. But there may very well come a time when you suddenly get bursts of energy and focus that seem almost superhuman—and you're hellbent on organizing and cleaning your home. If that's the case, you're probably nesting. Yep, it's real!

So, when does nesting start? The Mayo Clinic notes that nesting instincts can begin at any time during pregnancy, but for some pregnant people it's a sign that labor is approaching. And it often happens in the few weeks or days before delivery. Here, 10 signs you're nesting before the baby arrives.

1. You must clean everything. We're not talking just routine straightening up, dusting, dishes, etc. This is intense, deep cleaning. Getting all up under the nastiest crevices of your casa and scrubbing surfaces you may have never even spied before.

2. And you. Just. Can't. Stop. This means you're getting down and dirty to make the bathroom spotless at 3 a.m.Because you're up anyway! Might as well, right?

3. You gotta do the laundry. All of the laundry. Another urge that may strike well before dawn and that may include doing loads of clothes, towels, blankets, outdoor pillows, hey, sure, why not?

4. You're hunting for that household item you never realized you needed until now. A salad bowl. Tongs. New silverware. A table runner. Whatever, it doesn't really matter. But you must find it. Your home—and therefore your post-baby life—will not be complete without it.

5. You insist that the nursery needs to be put together ... in one day. Painted! With all of the furniture assembled! And baby-proofed to boot!

6. Speaking of furniture, you keep rearranging all of it, all over the house. Everything in the kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms must be shuffled around. At least 25 times.

7. If you have an older child, you're organizing their clothes obsessively. Neither you or big brother/sister will be prepped for the L.O. unless every little tee, pair of shorts, dress, and even Halloween costume is neatly folded and stored properly.

8. You suddenly need all of the cookbooks. Even if you don't cook anything from them. You've gotta have a go-to collection STAT.

9. You're driven to declutter. Who needs the KonMari Method when you're in your third trimester and razor-focused on ridding your home of unnecessary stuff?

10. On the other hand, you might be buying all of the things. Not just baby items, no. Maybe some new sheets, a nice, new doormat, all of the organic cleaning supplies! Look. Best be prepared! You never know what the baby may need. Not to mention what will save your sanity once he or she is finally in your arms.