For a long time, baby showers and gender reveal parties have been the go-to way to celebrate the arrival of a new baby. Recently, a new trend is taking over. People on social media are sharing posts and videos about nesting parties, an innovative new way for loved ones to gather and help parents-to-be prepare to welcome their newest family members.
What is a nesting party?
You’ve probably heard of the standard nesting phase during pregnancy. It’s when, a few weeks before welcoming your baby, you get fired up to organize, clean, and get your space ready for your little one’s arrival. A nesting party is based on the same idea, except the “party” aspect means friends and family roll up their sleeves as well.
“It’s like a baby shower but everyone gets together to help prep for birth and postpartum,” says Carlie Didericksen, a doula and mom from Utah, who wrote about her own nesting party on her Instagram page, Simply Sacred Births. She also shared a list of items a nesting party might include, like setting up diaper stations, meal prep and cleaning essentials like baby clothes and breast pump parts.
Sounds like a dream come true for overwhelmed parents-to-be, right? That’s why people are jumping on this growing trend. Though nesting parties aren’t yet as popular as baby showers or gender reveal parties, a search on Pinterest already reveals hundreds of links and ideas people have shared about the gatherings.
How do you throw a nesting party?
The best thing about nesting parties is that they come in many forms. Some are surprises planned by siblings or friends of the mom-to-be. Others are organized and planned by the expectant parents themselves. Allegra Gast, the dietitian behind Aloha Nutrition on TikTok, says she planned her own nesting party prior to the birth of her youngest child.
In her post, Gast writes that she “laid out all the tasks with supplies that I wanted to get done,” then she and her loved ones worked together to organize the nursery, meal prep and even make padsicles.
Meanwhile, a TikTok user who goes by the username Jazzy_WaxIt says she planned a surprise nesting party for her sister who “needed help getting the nursery ready.” The party included yummy snacks and lots of fun, just like a traditional shower or gender reveal might. The end result was a stunning, baby-ready room and very grateful parents.
The biggest difference between a nesting party and other types of pregnancy celebrations is the fact that parents are showered with much-needed help and support. Drayana Brinson Doyle, a nutritionist and personal trainer, writes on TikTok that her extended family pitched in to help deep clean and declutter her house as a part of her nesting party.
“When your folks keep asking you to have a baby shower and you don’t want one, plan a nesting party! This saved us,” she adds.
The bottom line: Nesting parties are here to stay
Baby showers and gender reveal parties likely aren’t going anywhere, but it makes sense that more and more new parents would turn to nesting parties.
For years, research has shown that new moms often experience a lack of social support after having a new baby. This is especially true for people who’ve had babies during the pandemic. Postpartum women who gave birth during the earlier stages of the pandemic reported higher rates of anxiety and depression, and many of them did not have access to the support they needed.
Nesting parties are all about creating a supportive environment for new parents, and they seem to symbolize the exact opposite of the loneliness and isolation so many have experienced. Pregnancy and birth are beautiful, but they can also be incredibly challenging. A nesting party is a brilliant way for family and friends to help carry some of the load of new parenthood and let stressed out moms and dads know they aren’t in this alone.
