Category: Parent Talk
So... Here's the deal... I had a baby show for my son Nathaniel. My adoptive mom- who passed away a few months ago was the one who put it together. As some of you know, I don't have a good relationship with many of the other family members. So, expecting them to host a shower for me is out of the question. I have a few friends who I think would like to get things for the baby, but again, I don't think they would be willing to host a shower either. Can I just set up a registry and tell people it's there and just have them send the gifts to me? Is it wrong to expect people to give you gifts? Should I expect a shower with my second baby, even though this one's a girl and the first one was for my son? Is it wrong if I just host my own shower? Thoughts? Suggestions? Opinions?
To add to my first post, the reason I'm wondering about whether it's wrong to have a shower is because I read somewhere that a lot of people don't think it's fair to ask for a consecutive shower after you've already had one. But the reason I thought of having one is because I have hardly anything of my son's baby stuff and I also have no girs' clothes at all. The blankets that I have look very much like baby boys' blankets, but I don't particularly care about that; I'm pretty resourceful as far as just using boy blankets. Anyway, I need some insight here.
Brandy,
I've heard that it isn't right to have a shower for the second or third or so on children, but we threw one for my sister when she had her second. Come to think about it, I have 13 nieces and nephews and most if not all of them had a baby shower. I would definitely say to go ahead and register. And register for anything and everything you can think of that you need. This will give people more of a selection and for instance when I had my baby shower, a few friends went together to get one of the more expensive things on my registry. If you at least do the registry, if someone asks, you can tell them where you are registered.
As for throwing your own baby shower, I'm not sure on this one. Perhaps you could talk to one of your closest friends about being the host. You could help out with things if it were too much for her to take on. I personally wouldn't have a problem attending a baby shower thrown by the mom to be, but I think it is looked down upon? I really couldn't tell you for sure.
You might consider looking on places like craigslist for baby stuff. I have bought a swing, johnny jumper, and some clothes for my daughter from there. I was able to check out the stuff ahead of time to make sure it was what I wanted and that it was in good condition before I bought it. I saved over 50 dollars alone on her swing. Just a thought for you.
There are places like amazon and ebay also, but I've found better deals on craigslist. You could also check out local thrift shops. They are a great place to pick up super cute clothes for cheaper than walmart or department stores. They also have some baby equiptment and things.
I'll keep thinking to see if I can come up with anything else for you. Sorry I went off your original topic here.
Throwing your own baby shower is just in very bad taste, honestly. And getting stuff for the baby-to-be does not have t be expensive at all. Wal-Mart and Kohl's are two places with inexpensive and darn cute baby clothes, Target slightly more expensive.
Craigslist is also an excellent source of bigger items, basinettes (although Wal-Mart has cute ones for $49), cribs etc.
The other thing with baby showers, clothes wise, is that people generally give you too many clothes in the birth size of the baby, which the baby will grow out of in two months, by which time you need to get new clothes anyway.
I don't think you can force it, people will choose whether or not to give you something, having a registry is fine, but I find, in everyone I've talked to, that throwing your own baby shower is frowned upon.
good luck
I don't think there's anything wrong with having a baby shower for your second child, but throwing it yourself doesn't seem right. Maybe, as someone suggested above, you could talk to a friend, see if someone would host it for you.
There's nothing wrong with setting up a registry, whether there's going to be a shower or not.