I have come over all Martha Stewart today, antimicrobial spray in one hand, Vileda cleaning cloth in the other, a cleaning frenzy taking over my usual morning ritual of walks, swims and calling my mum in Sydney. There was no denying the urgency: scrubbed kitchen benches and skirting boards were the order of the day before I would even consider my next move, and this desire was not to be trifled with.
A grave and instant devotion to tackle every cleaning job in our wee apartment took me by surprise and I became fixated on remedying the sink and bathtub rings with liberal applications of Jif Lemon Fragrance.
I wondered, is such a eagerness to maintain a spic-and-span household symptomatic of my stage of pregnancy – 23 weeks?
In my baby reference bible, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, the author writes about the nesting instinct being more than just psychological; that it is actually the product of hormones at work in the pregnant woman’s body.
The hormone prolactin is responsible for a variety of physical and mental changes (yes I am grown the size of a hippopotamus and yes I am markedly loopy these days, bordering on manic). It’s prolactin that also helps expectant mothers develop nurturing instincts along with widening hips and softening joints. This morning’s unforeseen burst of energy is a consequence of this good stuff; the catalyst to a jolly-well fresh smelling home, and my, was I nimble bending and stretching these widened hips to reach kitchen corners with my sanitizing agents.
Result? CLEAN! And with that, I could consider getting out of the house. Time for a reward-to-self: a stay at the Atlantis Hotel, The Palm Dubai. After all, these cleaning agents were getting whiffy and my back was beginning to ache…
Just on 23 weeks pregnant relaxing at The Atlantis Hotel after a marathon cleaning frenzy at home.