renovating while pregnant?

[cupcake.girl]

I have recently bought a house that needs some renovating. We move in 1 month after we have planned to start ttc. I was hopeing to start painting right away. Now i am a bit worried about if i should or not? What does everyone think? Is it safe to paint with one of those painting masks on if i am lucky enough to fall pregnant on the first or second cycle?

 

[BabyConscious]

I would still paint while pregnant as long as it was not an oil based paint. Get a paint with low VOC level, wear a mask and have as much ventilation as possible, and remember to take regular breaks!

 

[lovetocruise]

I don't know...personally, I wouldn't. It probably wouldn't hurt anything, but its better to be safe than sorry.

 

[ladyluck8181]

I totally agree with what babyconcious has said, we are having a large extension built in November and internal works being done involving walls being bricked up, new walls added and my gosh it is going to need a lot of decorating work so I'm in the same boat. I just plan to use a mask and keep as many windows open as possible.

 

[Button#]

I moved when I was 20 weeks with Ashley and I painted the living room. Like the others have said make sure you have good ventilation and have regular breaks and also try to avoid going up ladders as much as possible. I used a long handled roller as much as possible and just went up the ladder to do cutting in or got my OH to do that bit

 

[cupcake.girl]

Thanks for everyones feedback. I think i might just do the main rooms instead of painting every room and take lots of breaks.

 

[lucy_smith]

You have completely read my mind! I was just wondering this ! As bf and I are going to be building a house and wondered if I could paint whilst pregnant !

 

[Tigerlily01]

As a non-pregnant person who has been doing a lot of painting in enclosed spaces recently, I can say that ventilation (an open door with a fan if there is no window) and a painting face mask with activated charcoal in it has been invaluable! They are a bit hot/uncomfortable, but it definitely beats the fumes! I can't smell anything through it, and they are only about $5.

 

[Emiloo]

Oooh I am finding this thread interesting as we are buying a house mid next year and have been wondering how bad it would be to get pregnant whilst renovating...! Its also the stress side of it that I am worried about!

 

[MissN8]

I would say wait as renovating can be stressful as it is so you may want to get it done first. im doing some at mo and wouldn't like to be pregnant at the same time but each to their own I guess

 

[Amalee]

I have recently bought a house that needs some renovating. We move in 1 month after we have planned to start ttc. I was hopeing to start painting right away. Now i am a bit worried about if i should or not? What does everyone think? Is it safe to paint with one of those painting masks on if i am lucky enough to fall pregnant on the first or second cycle?

My brother manages the paint department of a hardware store, and I happened to ask him about this recently, and he said that nearly all paints sold now are safe for everyone. Crap! I thought I would have a sure fire way to get out of painting if I fall pregnant before or shortly after we buy a house. Now all I'll have is the "Well the paint smell makes me nauseous!"

 

[LouOscar01]

I heard something about renovating older properties while pregnant...the lead based paints that will be awoken during renovating can be harmful for baby. I've just bought a victorian house that hasn't been changed since the 60's so I am going to have to work hard to get it all done before my TTC date.

 

[Tigerlily01]

We're living in a very old house too, and are trying to paint over anything that looks damaged/chipped before ttc. I think any house built before the 1970's can have lead paint though, so it's not just really old houses.

 

[itsnowmyturn]

I wudnt even question it. As long as ur careful with the workload and fumes its the same as any other daily tasks, I think people can be too over cautious during pregnancy, u can't protect against everything. and before anyone says yes I no its better to be safe than sorry but if we knew about aol the other stuff that are potential harms we wud do nothing all day except hide under the duvet incase u inhaled dust or something.

I wud say listen to ur body, if ur feeling tired take a break, if uv had enough and only half a wall left to do who cares leave it, and wear a mask to protect both of u. Don't climb ladders but do what u can from standing height without stretching.

Enjoy renovating ur home, its very rewarding at the end, take before and after pics, we forgot and wish we had just to see the difference again. It def makes it feel like home even more xx