THERE’s no doubt the signs are all there. I’m 33 weeks into my second pregnancy and I’m nesting.

To the uninitiated, ‘nesting ‘, in the context of the pregnant human female, is the term used to refer to an expectant mother’s instinct which gives her a surge of energy which prompts her to clean and do various chores around her home. Nesting (according to www.mamashealth.com/pregnancy/nesting.asp) usually arises as the mother nears her due date. Apparently, not all women will nest, and this process has no relation to how good a mother the woman Some women are nesting and are unaware of it… When nesting is subtle, it is thought to be because the woman may be energetic or active naturally, regardless of her pregnancy. Other women report a surge of energy that is impossible to still… they are unable to quell the surge of energy. The site goes on to explain that each woman will nest in her own unique way. Generally, they clean out cabinets, prepare the baby’s room area, mop the floor, move furniture around, steam-clean carpets and upholstery. But being the self-proclaimed Brave New Woman (BNW), my so-called ‘nesting instincts’ take on a new twist. Yes, I do have this irrepressible urge, this wonderful wave of energy so lacking in the first six to seven months of my pregnancy to move furniture around. However, all I seem to want to do is not so much prepare the baby’s nursery, or mop floors, steamclean carpets or stock up on food (I pay someone to over the past two weeks, I’ve been obsessed with setting up my home office, or SOHO (Small Office, Home Office). Since we moved into our new home two years ago, the little annex to our main master bedroom has remained empty for want of any interior decorating inspiration on my part. It’s a bright little room with lots of windows but has remained empty save for a cheap rug, my yoga mat and weight-training paraphernalia. Now, in anticipation of the fact that I will be more home-bound (if the experience I had with my first child is anything to go by) for at least the next year or so, I seem to be determined not to miss a beat by making sure I am fully wired and wified . the manor to which I was born where we had a lot less space, my SOHO consisted of a six by threefoot desk that was shared between my desktop computer, baby. I’d place him in his little basket on the desk while I dealt with my writing assignments and email. Gradually, after I found a reliable kindergartencum- nursery for him, I was able to return to work, albeit with flexi-hour arrangements. After my plans (and pleas) to buy new furniture for my SOHO space fell on my husband’s seemingly deaf ears, I became really creative. I moved the sofa that my husband deplores from his study up The Angel’s Roost , commandeered carpet from my son’s room (much to the tyke’s consternation), exchanged desks with my mother and carried two wooden chairs from other rooms to furnish I had my computer guy strengthen the Wifireception, sent my fax machine for service, bought a cooling fan pad for my notebook computer and a new desk lamp, and reassigned shelves and drawer units from other parts of the Now all that’s left to do is to buy a nice 21-inch television set and DVD player with which I can catch up on all the past episodes of Desperate Housewives, on Break that I’ve missed… while breastfeeding, in between assignments. - Woo Lynn (woolynn-chai@gmail.com), who has a Masters in English Literature from Canada, is looking forward to fur ther feathering her SOHO nest. Any ideas?

Source: Malay Mail – July 3, 2008