Tany Ebony took to Facebook recently to share just such a party she threw for her pregnant 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,” she wrote on Facebook.
“The Village came together and washed & folded baby clothes and completed the nursery,” she added. “Sterilized bottles, breast pump, pacifiers, etc. Meal prep some freezer meals. Household inventory. Made padsicles for postpartum care. Put together the postpartum/baby cart. Before everyone arrived, 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.”
The photos of the party showed a community coming together to deeply, truly help prepare for a new life in every way possible. And to make it easier for Ebony’s daughter and her husband to transition to their roles as parents.
The nesting party was a decision that was made early on in her pregnancy journey — as we know it takes a village to nurture families and to raise a child,” Ebony tells Romper.
“We choose to do a nesting party opposed to a gender reveal because to us, it is more beneficial and special to the family. The nesting party allowed us to center the birthing family and their needs leading up to the birth.”
A nesting party seems to be about more than preparedness, more than helping expectant parents stock up on everything they need. It’s a model for how a village can raise a child.
It is a reminder to those parents that other people are invested in this little person they are going to welcome. And that they can ask for help if they need it. Because that help is already right there in their living room, making sure everything gets done.