Something that may affect your decision.

Find out what your contractors and sub contractors booking time is (and all of them). I know where i work we are currently booking 3-4 months out so for a large reno like this that you want done in 9 month or less that could be a huge factor.

If you know you can be finished on time do it now. If not wait until things settle.

Newborns don't get into mischief. Biggest problem with that stage is you will be exhausted. No way would I consider doing a rehab with a toddler or preschooler.

My parents did a major remodel when I was a baby. There is a classic family story about my 3 year old brother taking me over to the hole in the floor where the chimney was being removed. "Mom, she wants to see too"

until you check with a contractor you won't know. not everyone is booked up.

you can always do one of the things on your list. Obviously doing all of them in a 9month period would be too much.

Can you do a kitchen remodel in the next 6 months? absolutely.

building on a porch could be done at any time, since the majority of the work will be outside.

Upstairs bedroom, that's going to be intrusive. Unless you can sleep downstairs in the basement, or move out of the house, it's going to be tough w/a young child.

Find out what's available to get done now. I've had no problems getting materials. Everything is open and everyone is working. if you need appliances, delivery is slow. So that's prob the one thing you should order up front.

Congrats on your pregnancy. Do the project ASAP. Being mid-remodel with a newborn isn’t ideal, but it beats doing it with a mobile infant or toddler, and then before you know it there may be two, and godforbid you try to do anything with two little people under foot. The time is now.

Do it ASAP. I used to renovate a lot, or at least manage my projects when I had to hire skilled labor. Now, with 2.5 and 4.5 year olds, I can barely bring myself to paint a room!

I agree, get on it right now...or wait for 5 years. Focus on getting the inside stuff done now, and extra bedroom and porch after it.

Congrats! In my first house, we did a 2-day reface of the cabinets and new granite tops in order to sell my house, when my kids were 2 y/o and 10 months. It was AWFUL. I did a full home renovation in my current house when the kids were 15 and 17, guess what, still awful! You are way better off starting now and hopefully being done by June, I think it’s definitely possible.

Do you already have a contract for starting in summer 2021? No one can decide for you and your family, all they can do is voice their opinion. Do you work? From home? Will you be returning to work? All these need to be considered. Can you move out during construction?

another vote for now.
also, think about making a ton of freezer cockpot meals. we did this before we had baby, and it was so great to have those ready to go. it would be even better to have if your remodel goes long and you don't have a kitchen right away. good news is those early days don't usually involve a lot of cooking. and babies don't need anything from the kitchen and they aren't mobile! definitely not something I would even consider with a toddler.

Thank you SO much for your thoughts, everyone! A bit more information: we currently have plans in place, some appliances on order, and are waiting for 2 more quotes to come in to select a contractor. Our contractors are not available immediately, but within the next month or two. Cabinets seem to be a shorter timeframe, although appliances may be an issue.

We are also both currently working from home and have no idea when we will be back in offices. We may be able to rent office space during construction if needed, although we also have basement office space which will hopefully not be too loud.

Right now, I'm gathering information and also be honest with myself about what I can handle and when. That being said, I definitely hear the point about renos being much harder with a toddler!!

It would be best to remove your baby and yourself completely from the reno. Maybe a few well spaced after workday visits.. You can pick out finishes starting now. Your husband or mom or brother can supervise and use their phone to keep you updated as work progresses. Set everything up to preserve your balance and stability to be able to be your child's mother. That's primary.

Will some parts of the home be untouched? Nursery? Your room? Hopefully at least one bathroom? Laundry room? Or, try to complete those essential areas first so you can get ready for baby and hang out with baby in a dust-free zone.

We give out advice here free in advance, but we wanna see the baby pictures as our fee.

Beth is correct. Do it NOW! You’ll thank yourself.

(Note that I most definitely don't want to bring a newborn home to a huge mess!).

As a mom of 5 I can assure you the baby won't care about a mess. All they need is food, love, and a warm place to be! If you can provide that you're good. I say do it ASAP......I agree with emilyam819. As long as you have some finished rooms to hang out in you should be fine.

Congrats on your little one!

If you've already started on the project, and it seems like you have, I would go all in as long as you can really ensure that you won't have extensive delays due to COVID and such. Right now, depending on where you are, you may find delays from materials to delivery, to contractor delays. I started my kitchen reno just before the pandemic hit, and when we went on lockdown, I was delayed months (not to say it's going to happen again, but you should be honest and ready for the possibility) and we ended up finishing the kitchen ourselves because our contractor wouldn't come back out and no one else was picking up jobs. My toddler was 3, and it was super stressful on me and hubby especially with a non functional kitchen. I would hate for something to happen and have you very stressed out which wouldn't be good for you or baby.

So, I would say seriously get your ducks in a row, make a SOLID plan and have it written out with the contractors in case COVID throws a wrench in your plan, and PROCEED WITH CAUTION. Make sure you're on the same page regarding materiel and appliance delays and how that will hold everything else up, and what will happen IF a lockdown scenario happens, etc. Like another said, there won't ever be a good time when your pregnant, with a newborn, or toddler, but lots of careful planning will get you far.

My sister did her kitchen reno while pregnant, and she said that visual helped keep all the contractors on task, because they could see by the size of her belly that their deadline was fast approaching!

The month I started renovating the kitchen and bath, replacing all the plumbing, and redoing a portion of electric, I found out I was pregnant. Since I was doing a lot of the work myself, everything stopped. Baby was born in June and I'm just now finalizing the reno. My baby is easier out than in. :D

I would consider the impact of dust, lead paint, chemicals, etc., particularly during the first trimester (you're timeline is Jan/Feb?).

Do it now. I did a full kitchen renovation right after my son was born. I had to go elsewhere for naps, and I was exhausted too much of the time, but it worked out, and the crew worked hard to be thoughtful and make it manageable for me. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if he were mobile!

If you will be living in the house during the reno, with COVID cases ramping up, what is your plan to ensure that all the construction crew are COVID-free? Will the construction areas be sealed? Will you require everybody to wear masks the whole time? Maybe I'm paranoid but if I were pregnant at the height of COVID, I wouldn't want to be in a house with different people coming in and out.

I was wrong and RTHawk is right. Just this morning a new study is being reported about COVID’s impact on pregnant women. Stay healthy, enjoy your pregnancy and baby, and renovate your kitchen when it’s safe to do so.

A baby only takes 9 months. Planning and remodeling a kitchen takes longer. You will not be done before baby arrives. Either do it anyway, or keep planning for another 5 years.

These are all great points, everyone. I'm definitely quite concerned about Covid. We would be sealing off the impacted areas and requiring everyone to wear masks, but it's still scary.

There are increasing studies on COVID's ability to persist in ventilation systems and in indoor air in general. I'm not sure I would trust that "sealed off" would be good enough, or enough to warrant risking your and your baby's health over a kitchen. This virus doesn't mess around.

We did a pretty extensive renovation when I had a 2 year old and I was pregnant with my second. Managing this with a toddler was tough - nap schedules were disrupted with noise, eating habits were disrupted with the lack of a proper kitchen. I think it would be far easier to manage this process by being pregnant or even with a newborn who isn't mobile and wants to get into everything. If it is possible, can you move out during the renovation?

We're exploring the possibility of moving out, but we have other children as well so it's a lot to move and adjust. Great food for thought here!

There's no time better than the present.

I agree with those that said, with covid increasing, it is best not to have all these people in and out of your house. You need to stay safe. Someone above mentioned lead and asbestos, that is not good if you are pregnant too, and depending upon the age of your house, that could well be the case. Delivering a healthy baby is your main priority right now.

You absolutely can not predict the next 6 months with this virus. It has already thrown the construction industry into a tizzy and lead times are double and triple what they once were. Prices are astronomical now as well. If you don’t have a contingency plan as to where you will stay when inevitable delays happen you will be creating undue stress. Others say seize the day and don’t wait - I say be safe and smart and know that your families mental and physical health is on the line with this call.

We redid our kitchen (replaced cabinetry/counters only) when I was about 4 months pregnant. It was DIY. I was really happy that it was done before the baby came.

I don't know that I would want to deal with a project of the magnitude of yours, though. On top of the COVID concerns, you are going to be looking at drywall dust in the air and vents for a long time even if you tape things off. Tiny airways are easily affected. I suppose if you can get a few really good freestanding air filters, I would get started ASAP.

I ‘ve been waiting for a set of retooled factory, new model, refrigerators for longer than it will take you as a human manufacturer, to make a baby. Thats a little depressing.