Baby Showers for gparents

ghostof5letters · January 2014

I'm in the waiting room of my NT scan. And a mom just said to her daughter, "I heard people are now having baby showers for grandparents because of all the things we need"

Daughter (who is sitting on the other side of me) didn't even a knowledge her. Just kept liking at the tv a over her mom's head.

The tension is kind of incredible.

eortman · January 2014

That's a gem! Maybe she taught her daughter that if she couldn't say anything nice, not to say anything at all.

pantherRN · January 2014

I love grandma. She's clearly got some balls.

helloblueeyes · January 2014

You can count this among the many things i just don't understand. I mean if you were relying on your parents to watch the kid everyday i could see needing some extra stuff. But a shower seems AWish and gift grabby.

It could also be because i don't ever intend to leave my kid with my parents or in-laws.

tealowl · January 2014

That is awkward and hilarious. Good luck at your scan today!

ghostof5letters · January 2014

Absolutely nothing! She was completely stoic and wouldn't engage. It was amazing

[Deleted User] · January 2014

My aunt would have loved that when my cousin was pregnant because she's a huge AW. As it was, my cousin's shower mostly consisted of my aunt's friends.

allardr · January 2014

ghostof5letters said:

Absolutely nothing! She was completely stoic and wouldn't engage. It was amazing

Shes' better than I. I would have laughed in her face and said you've had your time.

Really inlaws/my parents each have a pnp & stroller since we fly to see each so not having to bring those is great. But really other than that there isn't anything they need. Let alone warrant a shower!

Ylvelill · January 2014

People are amusing

Good luck with the scan!

ghostof5letters · January 2014

After the baby shower comment, the mom got up and went to get hand sanitizer (didn't say anything), walked up to her daughter and stuck out her hand to share saying she "needed it"

Person #4 in the waiting room gets called back.

Mom then takes person #4's seat and asks/tells daughter to come sit next to her. Daughter still hasn't said anything to her. Daughter then huffs about mom wanting her to move her seat like it was a hassle (it was, there is really nothing more than a 5-10 min wait in this place). Gets up, brings her stuff over, and walks away to the restroom (out the office and down the hall).

Never said a word to her mom. TENSE I tell you. Then I got called back and lost all my spying opportunities.

AutumnBonfire · January 2014

There was an article on Yahoo news the other day about the top pregnancy trends for 2014 and grandparent showers was one of them. The rest of them were equally dumb (like registering for "experiences" like free babysitting, vacations for the parents, etc. rather than things).

I might mention this to my mom just to get a laugh and an eye roll out of her.

Unknown · January 2014

This content has been removed.

purpleXdandelion · January 2014

How old was the daughter?

[Deleted User] · January 2014

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Lola825 · January 2014

I love people watching in the waiting room. This stuff is GREAT entertainment. I get a little sad when I'm in the waiting room alone.

VTKatie · January 2014

People are crazy when it comes to baby showers. There is such a sense of entitlement. My sister messaged me with an invitation she got the other day and at the bottom it said "If you are unable to attend, gifts can be mailed to xyz address". Like, it's fine if you don't make it, but your gift best find its way.

ghostof5letters · January 2014

purpleXdandelion said:

How old was the daughter?

She looked to be in her 30's

cuntasaurusrex · January 2014

That is amazing. Thank you for the play by play. I hope you were able to give the daughter a high five on the way out.

Also, I just googled baby showers for grandparents, and all of the first page responses are on grandparents.com and from Fisher Price. I'm guessing FP cooked this one up.

Myanswer true · January 2014

MIL, my mother, and I are on the hunt for secondhand PNPs, umbrella strollers, and some baby basics (changes of clothes, binkies, bibs, etc.) to keep at each of their houses, since they each live 2 hours away from DH and I. This said, I don't think that warrants a "grandma baby shower". Jeez!

ETA: words are hard.

dobbyisfree · January 2014

Im registering for/buying extra things (ie car seat base) for my inlaws because theyre watching the baby 2-3 days per week and I dont think its fair they should have to buy everything.... but if she wanted her own shower id think she was crazy. (Funny story though - we live 2.5 hrs away from my family, and they had two bridal showers because of that. She suggested this time we do it halfway between (1hr 20 min drive for everyone) this time so they only have to do one. My dad said great! Inconvienient for everyone! Hahahaha

ghostof5letters · January 2014

amlonica said:

Im registering for/buying extra things (ie car seat base) for my inlaws because theyre watching the baby 2-3 days per week and I dont think its fair they should have to buy everything.... but if she wanted her own shower id think she was crazy. (Funny story though - we live 2.5 hrs away from my family, and they had two bridal showers because of that. She suggested this time we do it halfway between (1hr 20 min drive for everyone) this time so they only have to do one. My dad said great! Inconvienient for everyone! Hahahaha

Dads are the best! They see the absurdity in everything.

bgoodbpar · January 2014

Her ignoring it is hilarious. That's how you gotta deal with parents sometimes with this baby stuff. I had many lessons in patience with my own mother. This time around she is definitely more helpful than annoying. And no grandparent showers!

With DS my MILs job threw her a shower without our knowledge nor do me and DH know anyone from her job let alone them knowing us and what we may have needed. To top it off even though we took none of the stuff she received, and again didn't know anyone nor them us, she badgered DH for MONTHS to write thank you cards to all of them. Ummm... ok my mother taught me that it is proper to send thank yous and I do them willingly to express my gratitude but wasn't this a "Grandparent Shower" with stuff for "Grandparents"? Maybe I was wring but after the way she went about telling my hubs to write them I told him he is fine not to. They never got written long story short. I

feel rude now but whatev.

ETA: My mom was super resourceful in getting the "extra" things she felt she needed for DS (She insisted of having a carseat for her car but she found one herself so I commend her.) Def doesn't warrant a shower

allardr · January 2014

milestrellas said:

My mom excitedly told me about a different kind of baby shower. Not quite as bad as a baby shower for the grandparents, but still pretty bad IMO.

Since I don't live in the same country as my mom, one of her friends told had a solution for her. She hosts a baby shower for me, but I only get to experience it through Skype. My mom gets to open all of the presents that are meant for my baby and me and then, at some point in the future, bring them to me. I can't imagine a more awkward baby shower.

OMG my mom told me about a similar thing with DD. All family and friends are halfway across the country. She's like you can video/skype of some sort opening the presents and such. Needless to say I vetoed that. Awkward. People were super generous and just mailed me gifts to help and we did not have a real "shower".

SuperTinkerham · January 2014

I think my MIL would totally be down for a grandparents shower. Then I'd get all snarky... ugh.

TurtleMonsters · January 2014

How did you contain yourself, I would have LOL'd. Thanks for the laugh!

eortman · January 2014

milestrellas said:

My mom excitedly told me about a different kind of baby shower. Not quite as bad as a baby shower for the grandparents, but still pretty bad IMO.

Since I don't live in the same country as my mom, one of her friends told had a solution for her. She hosts a baby shower for me, but I only get to experience it through Skype. My mom gets to open all of the presents that are meant for my baby and me and then, at some point in the future, bring them to me. I can't imagine a more awkward baby shower.

My MIL in law tried to pull one of these on me with my DS. I put my foot down. There was no way I was going to Skype attend my baby shower. It just seemed incredibly gift grabby. If someone is on bedrest, I guess I could see it, but otherwise, no.

earichar23 · January 2014

I actually had a Skype bridal shower with my family who all live in Maine (I'm in AL). I invited my MIL to be there with me so I wasn't alone. And my mom sent a huge box with everyone's gifts wrapped in it and a tiara and sash for me to wear and some copies of the games they were going to play. It was odd but it was nice to be able to celebrate with my family from a distance.

rach1285 · January 2014

The best shower I ever went to was one where the mom was on FaceTime! She went very early (the day before her shower) so it was by default. The dad subbed in and opened all the gifts, and it was hysterical!!! He didn't know what anything was. He would hold up a gift and read the brand name, "It's Gerber!" Someone in the crowd would then shout out whatever the item was! That being said, it was a huge exception for "virtual showers".

BaTs89 · January 2014

Well, since the trend is only for first grandparents, I'm lucky. My MIL is the kind of person to want one, but she already has 2 grandkids, and my mother isn't this kind of person.

Want a personalized experience?

Baby Showers for gparents

Re: Baby Showers for gparents

Choose Another Board

Search Boards