Baby shower and Meet the baby party?

zarahelise

Ok ladies i need some advice and some opinions. I am a FTM and am new to anything baby/pregnancy related. There is currently a baby shower being planned for me by my two best friends, they wont let me help plan anything. Which is nice for a change, i just get to show up and enjoy! I am very thankful for them!!!

I am due in november, my baby shower is set for the end of september. My husband leaves for navy bootcamp at the end of august. He should be back for the delivery (i'm stressing out about this) and will have 2 weeks off before he leaves for his schooling/training. We found out his training is in Connecticut. I have lived in Washington state my whole life, all my friends and family are here. I'll be going with him to Connecticut because his training is for a year. We will be leaving shortly after the baby is born. This will also be my parents first grandchild. They are not happy about us moving away within weeks of my baby being born. My mom cried about it the other day. What bothers me about it is that i will only have a short period of time before we move for family and friends to see our first child before we leave.

So advice/opinion time, since  i am already having a baby shower thrown for me, would it be rude or tacky if i have a meet the baby party before we leave to give my friends and family a change to see her before we move? If not is it rude or tacky to throw that type of party for my self? I know that a baby shower is thrown for you, is it the same for a meet the baby party? I dont want people to think i am expecting more gifts, i just want a chance to see everyone before we move and for everyone to see the baby.

 

BeachBabe22

Welcome to the military life  My husband has been in for six years and even though you won't have your family around you will meet friends where he's stationed and it will be ok.  

I think that it's a good idea to have a meet the baby party since you are leaving right after your baby is born.  Some people might think that you are just asking for more presents so I think the best way to go about it is to send out invitations and put on there please no gifts just come and meet our new baby kinda thing.  

cwm11985

You can certainly have a meet the baby party, just make sure its known that its a no-gift event.  Also, this is off topic, but maybe you should send your husband to CT ahead of you (by just a few weeks, not too long) and baby to get the house ready? Might be easier on you once you get there and will give you a little more time to have your parents spend time with the baby.

sesigs

It's only tacky to throw yourself a party where you expect gifts. As long as it is a no-gift event like PP said it is fine to plan it yourself. Since you will be moving so soon after baby's arrival it will definitely be nice for friends and family to meet him!

zarahelise

BeachBabe22:

send out invitations and put on there please no gifts just come and meet our new baby kinda thing.  

That was another question i had, on if i should send out actual invitaions or just tell people about it. I was thinking of calling it a "friends and family BBQ/Potluck baby meet and greet." And not mention anything about gifts or even say no gifts.

 

zarahelise

cwm11985:

You can certainly have a meet the baby party, just make sure its known that its a no-gift event.  Also, this is off topic, but maybe you should send your husband to CT ahead of you (by just a few weeks, not too long) and baby to get the house ready? Might be easier on you once you get there and will give you a little more time to have your parents spend time with the baby.

I think sending him ahead of time would be a great idea, however the military is shipping us and all our stuff so i have to go off thier schedule. We are scrapping together the money needed to buy all the tings our baby will need, so i know i wont be able to pay for a ticket to fly myself out at a later date. Otherwise that would have been an awesome idea.

FemShep

How much time is there between your due date and when you're planning to leave?  You may want to leave your plans open until baby is born, depending on how much time you have; a meet the baby party when a baby is a few days old is probably more stressful than it's worth, and it might be easier to have close friends and family visit individually, depending in how you're feeling.

If you have the time, however, by all means have a meet the baby party!  Don't mention gifts at all-even to say no gifts.  Your family can help spread the word that gifts are not expected, but given the situation, I'm sure your guests understand you'll be moving soon and won't see the party as gift-grabby at all.

 

rhubarb123

You can host your own meet the baby party.  It is not a gift giving event although some people will bring gifts.  Just put them aside and open them later unless the person asks you to open right then.  I go to showers and even if there is not a "party" to meet the baby I always take a gift when I DO visit.  That is just me though.  At my 2nd and 3rd child's meet the baby parties maybe 1/2 or less of the guests brought gifts.  We just did it as BBQ's.

kjskjs

First, Thank you to your husband for his service and thank you for being a military wife.

You can definitely have your own meet the baby party. I would just call it a going a way party in your situation. Everyone will know that you just had the baby so they would know they are getting a chance to meet the LO plus you'll get a chance to say goodbye.

beachhippiemama

If you do have a meet the baby party, make sure to ask all invitees to get the pertussis (Tdap) vaccine. Exposing an infant to that many people at once can be dangerous for a newly developing immune system!