8 weeks and hating my new home!

[Rai5a]

Hi everyone, I am 8 weeks pregnant and we moved into our new flat at 5 weeks which I loved before but now I can't bear to be there. There is a smell in the kitchen that I can't stand and it's very dark and I can't bring myself to unpack. I've come to my mum's because it gives me a lot of anxiety to be there. Is this just a pregnancy thing and will it pass? I'm so terrified of spending mat leave in the flat and want to move already which isn't a feasible option!

[MissSaoPaulo]

I noticed you mentioned a smell - aversions to smells that previously never bothered you before is definitely a pregnancy thing. Also, you're extremely hormonal right now so maybe things seem worse than they are.

I've just moved house myself, and I know it's so unsettling not having everything in its place so maybe if you do make an effort to unpack you'll start to feel more at home there and feel better - of course it's making you feel anxious having everything still in boxes and it doesn't feel like home. Maybe you could start planning out the space for your baby and looking at decoration and things to get you excited about living there again. You did say initially you loved it, so there must be some positives.

Hope you're feeling better about it soon and you have a happy healthy pregnancy xxx

[AJBee]

Sorry to hear that ☹️ I can only liken it to a phase I went through in the first trimester when EVERYTHING my other half did made me furious or repulsed. I remember him eating a piece of popcorn once and I would have cheerfully battered him with the TV remote! I couldn't stand his smell or if he even touched me. Poor guy! It was only a phase though and passed after a few weeks, so I REALLY hope that's the case for you 🤞Good luck with your pregnancy xx

[Prosopon]

Hi, a few years ago when I first moved into my own place I quickly became aware of a horrible smell but couldn't work out where it was coming from. I wasn't pregnant at the time but am naturally very sensitive to smells and I found it really distressing. I was renting and kept badgering the agency about it but they were slow to do anything. I was a complete mess emotionally as I couldn't enjoy or relax in my home. Eventually I came to realise the smell was coming from behind the kitchen units and after 3 months I moved out because I couldn't stand it anymore and the landlord wouldn't do anything.

If you are renting, try to get the landlord to investigate where the smell is coming from as it might be mould/damp and they will need to address that. Also, as someone else said, try to unpack and make it more homely. It might take a while for smells from the previous occupants to fade and for your own to take over. You said it's dark, so could you get some lamps and/or fairy lights to brighten the place up a bit?

I really hope this gets resolved for you as I know how stressful it is.

[Rai5a in reply to Prosopon]

Thanks so much. We own it and I think it's the grease from previous owner in the kitchen. We just bleached the whole kitchen so I'm hoping it is now gone for good! X

[Prosopon in reply to Rai5a]

So much easier when you own! When we bought our house we replaced the manky kitchen ASAP!

[doris92]

I moved into my house just before finding out I was pregnant it was weird as soon as I knew I was pregnant the nausea started! I found my kitchen made me feel sick even my tin cupboard made me throw up. I really struggled to cook in there I tried to hold my breath when just going on to grab something. It's a new build house so no idea what the smell was no one else could smell anything! It passed after about 14 weeks x