Hi, just a question of opinion and etiquette. I have seen many conflicting views on this--both on the board and in the real world. Are sprinkles for subsequent babies ok?
Sprinkles? 111 votes
No. Never. Showers are for first time moms. Period. End of story.
37%42 votes
Sometimes. It depends entirely on the circumstances.
I'm with @KateLouise. If lunch with 3 close friends In honor of one of their pregnancies can be called a "sprinkle," then I'm down with it. When my best friend got pregnant with her second, I invited her 3 closest friends to the pool where I rented a cabana, and we brought magazines and Doritos and talked about how cute she looked in her maternity bathing suit. I don't think anybody brought a gift. The problem with "sprinkles" is when people start sending out invites, expanding the guest list, and making it into a big gift-giving occasion.
I don't see anything wrong with friends and family being excited about a subsequent pregnancy, or wanting to get together to celebrate it, or wanting to buy gifts for mom and/or baby. I think where a lot of folks have the feather's ruffled is when its organized into an "event" with invitees and implicit obligations to buy gifts. Get together with those that love you and celebrate/give gifts/eat, whatever...just don't send me an "invitation" to the "event".
In our circle, with subsequent babies, the big deal is mom getting a chance to get out for a night without the older children present. So for us, its not a sprinkle exactly, but a girls' night out, with the understanding that there will probably not be a lot of girls' nights out once this new baby shows up. Gifts are not expected, but we all like buying stuff for babies, so we often will bring something small, whether it's just a pack of diapers or a new outfit or toy. Generally, I am NOT in favor of a full-on showers for subsequent kids, but I have gone to a few, especially if it is the first of the opposite gender.
Re: Sprinkles?
DS - 02/21/2016
Elizabeth 5yrs old Jane 3yrs old