Viral Post Highlights Why a Nesting Party Is the Celebration Parents Need

You’ve heard of sex reveals, baby showers and even push parties, but the latest craze sweeping the world of prenatal celebrations—Nesting parties. Nesting, usually refers to the period when the parents-to-be ready their home for their postpartum life and the arrival of baby. Nesting parties—the new trend—takes this concept and spreads around mom and dad’s pre-baby duties to friends and family.

In a now-viral Facebook post, Tanya Ebony, a proud grandmother-to-be, shared more about the nesting celebration she threw for her daughter. “Can we normalize having a nesting party like they do gender reveals and baby showers? Today we had a nesting party for my daughter. The Village came together and washed and folded baby clothes and completed the nursery. Sterilized bottles, breast pump, pacifiers, etc. Meal prep some freezer meals. Household inventory. Made padsicles for postpartum care. Put together the postpartum/baby cart,” Ebony shared in the caption.

In the photos accompanying the post, you can see friends and family, old and young helping prepare the house and mom for baby’s arrival. The idea of divvying up those last stressful pre-baby tasks like painting the nursery and prepping meals while you are 32 weeks pregnant—sounds like a home run for most parents!

Across the board, people praised the idea of a nesting party. “OMG! I love this idea! Way better than a stressful gender reveal or baby shower…Which leaves the mom to deal with all those new gifts,” one commentator wrote.

Another added, “YES! This is support and love from a village! Every expectant mom needs this kind of care. We have gotten so antisocial through the generations that the thought of others doing this for us feels uncomfortable and invasive. We need to break the cycle of distance and allow others who love us to lend a hand. Literally. Let’s move away from being afraid to ask for help and bring back the village!”

Ebony, a birth worker herself, also added that before all the party guests arrived, she spent some important solo time with her daughter. “We discussed the birth plan, knowing your rights in hospital spaces and practiced some early labor movement. Next week, active labor movement and teaching dad how to best support during labor.”

If you are preparing for your little one’s arrival, consider suggesting a nesting party in place of or in addition to the other festivities. Check out Everything You Need to Know About Nesting and these 10 Nesting To-Do’s for Soon-to-Be Moms for ideas on how friends and family can help.