Week 27: Planning a shower for baby No. 2

So, it’s officially the last week of the second trimester. If my experience this time goes anything like before, these next 12 weeks will somehow fly by. That is, of course, with the exception of the last week or so where I am wondering every time I feel something iffy in the general baby area if it’s go time. That tends to make time drag on a bit. Yet, I digress because I still have some time left and there is still a lot of big, important things that need to take place. The big one hanging in the balance at the moment is a baby shower.

Now, there’s a lot of conflicting etiquette about holding a shower for a second baby. Personally, I’ve seen my friends and family do all sorts of different things to celebrate another kiddo, some better than others. I think the worst was the one where they registered for another $800 stroller and random items that were clearly for their toddler. Awkward. Then I’ve had other friends who have had the sweetest baby “sprinkles.” You know, since they don’t need to be showered with gifts the second time around. The only difference is most of those friends are having showers for a second baby the same gender as their first or for a third or fourth baby.

My dilemma was figuring out how to land somewhere in between the friend who poorly over-registered and the one who barely registered at all. I knew a sprinkle was out of the question because this time we are having a little boy which means that we aren’t getting to use as many hand-me-downs as we had hoped when we first saw those two pink lines. Luckily, the things we are passing down to our little man are the expensive baby gear items. This leaves us with only needing a few random items and clothes.

So I decided that an actual shower was totally appropriate. Plus, when I was trying to create an intimate invite list I still came out with 40 names. Yikes! I guess that’s what happens when your family alone takes up 20 names on the list. The day itself will be a bit more low key than the first shower was. Instead of an insane spread of homemade quiches, brunch food, and more baked goods than you can fathom, we are opting for a build your own sandwich station, fruit and some fancy bagged salad. The desserts may still be a little crazy because I kind of have a major sweet tooth with the pregnancy. We won’t have elaborate decor that fills every room of the house, with coordinating plates and napkins, or party favors. This time we will have simple flowers and it will be a backyard shindig.

I’m really looking forward to my second shower. My first was one of my favorite days ever. Who knew that opening presents that weren’t technically for me would be better than any birthday or Christmas gift!?