Vanessa Minnillo Lachey: Nick Is Nesting More Than I Am

SOURCE

MARY MARGARET


For Vanessa Lachey (formerly Minnillo), the idea of being a mom didn't just conjure up ideas of pastels, diapers, and first words; it also brought a heightened awareness of the world she was welcoming her first child into. 


Celebrity Baby Bumps


"Very rarely do people talk about the emotional and mental changes [during pregnancy], and the worries that all of a sudden come from nowhere. You suddenly think about safeguarding the world for your children," says the Wipeout host, 31.  


Cue the Proctor & Gamble "Take a Load Off" campaign she is helping launch, which promotes energy conservation through the simple change of washing clothes in cold water. "It was something I always did, but didn't understand the good that I was doing by using cold water to do laundry. It saves money and saves energy." 


Post-Baby Slimdowns


Go to Facebook.com/futurefriendly to enter the Take a Load Off sweepstakes for your chance to win a new high-efficiency washer and dryer set and a one-year supply of Tide Coldwater detergent.


Read on for more with Vanessa, who is expecting her first child with husband Nick Lachey later this year. 


On trying to be green.
"Nick and I recycle. I always used cold water but I didn't understand I was saving 80% of my household's energy output by doing that. So I worked on educating myself and want to help educate others on simple household changes that can make a huge difference."


On how they split up household duties. 
"One of the reasons of why I married him, along with all the other amazing qualities he has, is that he's such a great partner. We share a lot of duties. He's a good Cincinnati, mid-western boy. He does the dishes, he does his laundry, and we share all the duties in the house. We realize it's a partnership. It's not 50-50. It's 100% on my end and 100% on his end."


On baby cravings. "I think it's important to let yourself indulge but what I eat, what I put into my body, goes directly to my baby. It makes you think, "Do I really want to get that Snickers bar snack or do I want to get a bowl of fruit?" So then I go for the fruit and the antioxidants. But of course I'm human and after we went out to dinner last night, I had a bowl of ice cream. After the baby is born, I still want to have me. I don't want to start at ground zero to try and get back to that."


On nesting. 
"I have [been nesting] in my mind but I've been a little consumed with work. But the interesting thing I've noticed is my husband is nesting. I always thought it was the woman but he's doing his little nesting part too. He saw this old table we have and he sanded it, then he stained it, put glass on it. He made us a desk! It was pretty incredible. Now I feel guilty so I think because of that I tried to put the stroller together the other day. But we have a good amount of time to prepare."


On taking a break. 
"I have this campaign and I'm shooting Wipeout right now so that's taking a lot of my time. But come this summer, my last three months, I'm just going to be all about baby. Take off work, completely nest, fold all of the clothes and do the laundry. Just get everything ready."


Where she gets her energy. "The thing that really helps is having a partner who is willing to be so supportive. Anything and everything he can do to help, he does. And just reminding myself of why I am doing what I am doing. Realistically, whenever I can get a nap, I do. I get 30 minutes for lunch so I eat for the first 10 and then I sleep the next 20. Every minute you can get!"


On Nick's baby crooning."Some of the books are inconsistent on when the baby can hear me and outside voices. I told him the other day that the baby could hear him now and he corrected me! He was like, 'no, actually according to my book..." When that time does come, I know he's going to sing to the baby every single day. It's sweet to see that smile on his face."


On keeping the romance alive.
"This whole process is going on in our first year of marriage, which everyone says is the hardest. But for us, we dated each other for five years before we got married so we were comfortable with all of the little things that would normally get into people's way. I think the important thing is patience, communication, understanding, and knowing when you are wrong. We all react and say things but it's all about coming back and saying you're sorry. It's about knowing this is the person you will be married to for the rest of your life. There is nothing unforgivable, he is my partner, you know?"