Baby Showers

Today I am going to a baby shower. I am now at the stage where I am attended showers for babies produced by friends' children! (Did you follow that?) I knew the father of this baby when he was just a toddler running around and being put to bed early.

I have a couple of standard items that I almost always include with a baby shower gift. They are items which were 'life savers' for me when I was a new mom who didn't know anything and was just trying to get through each day.

The first is penaten cream. My own mother used this and the tradition was passed on. It works so well for those raw, nasty diaper rashes that occur at teething time. The staying power is tremendous and heaven help you if you got some on your own clothes before heading out to work and dropping baby off at the daycare! I tried other diaper creams, but this was hands down the best.

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I also like to provide a tube of Lansinoh cream, if I know that the mom is breastfeeding. I know breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, but it didn't come easy for me as a first time mom. One thing they don't tell you is that breast feeding can hurt! (Yes, if done properly, it shouldn't hurt... but ask around, it is a learning curve for many women). This stuff was wonderful and really the only thing that provided relief.

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A third item that came in handy was Gripe Water. At one point we dosed our baby daughter up so much with this stuff, she smelled like a dill pickle! Gripe Water is handy for those babies who are going through a rather fussy, possibly gassy stage.

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Back in the day, baby showers, as well as bridal showers, had a predictability about them. A group of women and their daughters would gather in a circular fashion in someone's livingroom, or perhaps at a community centre. There would be a couple of silly games to play, then the mother (or mother-to-be) or bride would commence opening the gifts, one by one. Usually there was a girl, or a best friend sitting beside the celebrated woman, pen in hand, writing down the type of gift received on the back of the attached card so the bride could keep track and send out thank you cards later. All the other attending women would oooh and ahhh appropriately as the gifts were opened. A light lunch would follow, goodbyes and best wishes would be said, and the whole thing would be wrapped up in about two hours.

Now there is so much more to a shower. I attended a bridal shower where there was a digital slide show complete with sound track of the bride from infancy onward. I see ideas for baby shower games on Pinterest that are nothing like the old fashioned ones we played. A bride was usually covered in her own bows by the end of gift opening time, or a tray of assorted items would be passed around for all the ladies to memorize and then covered with a scarf after which all in attendance were made to write down as many items as they could remember. Sometimes a small sticker was attached to the bottom of a teacup and the bearer of that cup would go home with a special gift. New games involve drinking out of baby bottles, waiting for your tiny plastic baby to be released from its ice cube in your drink, writing funny messages on diapers, placing a paper plate on your head and drawing a picture, and the ever popular guessing what kind of chocolate bar has been melted in a diaper to look like baby poop. Each to their own, I guess.

Have you been to a baby shower lately? Do you have favourite gifts that you like to give?