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"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
Ps 139:14

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Painting Whilst Pregnant

Whilst I am really enjoying being pregnant, there's one aspect that's driving me mad. You seem to become public property. Everyone seems to tell you what you can and can't do. All of a sudden it's, "Oh..you shouldn't do that while you're pregnant", or, "you can't do that, you're pregnant."
We've recently started painting our house (photos will be coming soon) and I was telling some male work friends about it. Once I'd told them I was painting, they started to tell me that I shouldn't be painting at all. This came as quite a surprise. I asked them why I shouldn't paint and what affect it would have, but they couldn't give me a conclusive answer, only that I shouldn't do it.
I have done a lot of reading about things to avoid whilst you're pregnant and this hadn't come up. I was a little bit anxious by it. On the one hand, I really want to get the painting done. The house will look so much better when it's painted and since Dave has started his course, he doesn't have much time to do a lot of it. I really want to paint the house. But, on the other hand, I don't want to harm the baby. Then I started to worry (yet again), have I damaged our baby?
I set to work doing a bit of research on the internet. I found that painting whilst pregnant can be a risk, it's a low risk. When painting, use water-based paint, have lots of ventilation and do it in small bits. There's no conclusive evidence as to the affect on the baby, but people recommend avoiding it if possible.
I've decided to continue painting, but to be very careful. I'll wear a mask, make sure windows and doors are open, and take lots of breaks.
What do you think?

2 comments:

Mike said...

it'll be fine.

wait til they start touching your belly....

nice work putting some more stuff on here - by the way. looking forward to seeing the new place.

and I hope that you didn't name that sheep.

Rachael said...

That sounds like a sensible approach, unless you can live in a bubble.

ditto re Mike's comment on seeing your blog active again.

any pics of your birthdya?