For my sister we guessed when babies would arrive (prize sent out after the fact), and did bingo cards of guests names, people checked off squares as she chose gifts to open. It obviously ran concurrently with gift opening so took no time.
@AnnaS930 I like the bingo game! That seems like something fun to go along with the gift opening. Usually that part of the day takes the longest so it's nice to keep the guests entertained at the same time.
@mom2adoodle I just threw my girlfriend a baby shower and would like to think the games weren't lame...
We did what @AnnaS930 mentioned with bingo during the gift opening, except we did it with cards I premade and filling in with items from the registry and other common baby items. I set aside a few prizes for this so we could keep playing for the duration of gifts. It got surprisingly competitive, and made the time fly.
The other game that was a huge hit was 'Guess the Guest'. I collected all of the guests baby pictures and put them on a board with numbers beside them. Then guests had to match the baby pictures to cards I had made listing everyone's names. It was an awesome ice breaker as people went around inspecting each other and cooing over all the pics.
Natural M/C 03.26.2012 at 10w2d Charlotte born at 28w3d due to severe IUGR on 12.24.2012 Merry Christmas! Missed M/C discovered 12.22.2014 at 8w1d measuring 6w3d 2015 was a year to test strength of both body and character, but it led us to this... BFP 01.26.2016 EDD 9.30.2016
Great game ideas! I think I'm the only person who loves all shower games....can't help it!! My girlfriends tease me and did some really fun ones at my bridal shower.
Might be an UO here, but I dislike all shower games. I would much rather sit and chat with people, look at photos, and watch gifts being opened. Am I lazy? Probably.
The only one I like and it isn't really a game is when there are crafts to do - one time we decorated blocks, another time onesies, and another time baby letters. Guests took a lot of time and they were beautiful!
Is anyone else planning on having their baby sleep in their own room from day 1? It makes me a bit nervous, but we have NO space in our room for a crib, and I'm not sure I can get behind spending all that money on a bassinet that is used for such a short time.
ETA: Any BTDT moms do it and have stories or thoughts to share on this plan?
Is anyone else planning on having their baby sleep in their own room from day 1? It makes me a bit nervous, but we have NO space in our room for a crib, and I'm not sure I can get behind spending all that money on a bassinet that is used for such a short time.
ETA: Any BTDT moms do it and have stories or thoughts to share on this plan?
I am going to be careful not to say that I'm planning on it...I'll say that I'm going to try! I really think baby will be fine with this, but I don't know how easily I'll be convinced that baby doesn't need to be checked every 10 minutes to make sure he/she is breathing! Haha
I did a shower "game" for my brother that wasn't very involved or game-y. We had a little family shower on vacation, SIL was pretty pregnant and skipped the trip. I got all the dads in our family (grandparents, brothers, BILs, uncles) to give him a piece of dad advice and he had to guess who said what. It gave a way for folks not there to help out, and I had guests take turns reading quotes. It was cute / fun. I also got pics from all those dads of them with their firstborns and used them for decoration and a little book with the quotes after. Would work great for a mom shower too.
Is anyone else planning on having their baby sleep in their own room from day 1? It makes me a bit nervous, but we have NO space in our room for a crib, and I'm not sure I can get behind spending all that money on a bassinet that is used for such a short time.
ETA: Any BTDT moms do it and have stories or thoughts to share on this plan?
Just my two cents - with the number of times babies wake during the night, it's just so much easier having them right there. And if you're breastfeeding, it's even nicer to just pull baby into bed, feed and then put baby back, instead of having to get out of bed 14 times during the night. While a RNP isn't recommended for sleeping, plenty of people use it (myself included) for room sharing. I believe there are also smaller sized PNPs. Do what feels right to you. Plenty of people put baby in the crib right away.
@PoodleDoodleOoo the baby will be in our room just because we live in a one bedroom apartment and have nowhere else to keep him. I personally would rather the baby be in a different room just because I'm a super light sleeper as is, I can only imagine how much less sleep I will get since now I'll be freaking out about every little noise he makes. We put the crib at the foot of our bed so that at least the sound will be diverted a little. Plus I'll still have husband to get up and bring me the baby!
@PoodleDoodleOoo if you're looking to have baby in your room and just don't have the space, I definitely agree with @PSUBecky23 in that there are other options. We're getting a smaller PnP for our bedroom to have baby in there for the first few months. In our case, baby's room is clear across the house from ours and, although it's not a huge house, I'm way too needy to feel ok with her so far, not to mention the getting up 10 times and walking across the house. We are considering the Nimble Nook and saw it on sale recently for $79 at Target (retails at $99).
@PoodleDoodleOoo I thought this would be fine with my son, and then the first night home I was moving our bed in the middle of the night because I couldn't see him well enough, and he was like 3 feet away.
We also used a rock n play, and will use those again or keep both twins in one pack n play, depending what they prefer.
Thanks for the suggestions/thoughts! Unfortunately, not even one of those Finish baby boxes would fit in our bedroom ... it really is THAT small. We literally have 1 foot of space around our queen sized bed, if that gives you an idea of how tiny it is.... I'm not sure I could even find a bassinet that is small enough to fit inside our room.
@Lovelylaruen86 - i hadn't actually thought about a co-sleeper. Co-sleeping scares me, but I know that some co-sleepers are like a separate, but connected to the bed kind of thing, and I might be okay with that. I'm not okay with a baby just sleeping right in our bed on our mattress. Do you have any you cosleepers you recommend?
@Lovelylaruen86 - i hadn't actually thought about a co-sleeper. Co-sleeping scares me, but I know that some co-sleepers are like a separate, but connected to the bed kind of thing, and I might be okay with that. I'm not okay with a baby just sleeping right in our bed on our mattress. Do you have any you cosleepers you recommend?
@Lovelylaruen86 - i hadn't actually thought about a co-sleeper. Co-sleeping scares me, but I know that some co-sleepers are like a separate, but connected to the bed kind of thing, and I might be okay with that. I'm not okay with a baby just sleeping right in our bed on our mattress. Do you have any you cosleepers you recommend?
An employee helping with my registry was really pushing this product for me. She said that she has heard a ton of positive feedback on it. I didn't get it because I don't want to co-sleep, but she was a really big fan.
@Lovelylaruen86 - i hadn't actually thought about a co-sleeper. Co-sleeping scares me, but I know that some co-sleepers are like a separate, but connected to the bed kind of thing, and I might be okay with that. I'm not okay with a baby just sleeping right in our bed on our mattress. Do you have any you cosleepers you recommend?
An employee helping with my registry was really pushing this product for me. She said that she has heard a ton of positive feedback on it. I didn't get it because I don't want to co-sleep, but she was a really big fan.
We used this for DD when sleeping away from home and loved it.
Natural M/C 03.26.2012 at 10w2d Charlotte born at 28w3d due to severe IUGR on 12.24.2012 Merry Christmas! Missed M/C discovered 12.22.2014 at 8w1d measuring 6w3d 2015 was a year to test strength of both body and character, but it led us to this... BFP 01.26.2016 EDD 9.30.2016
@PoodleDoodleOoo- I think I'm the first BTDT mom to chime in and say YES! Baby #2 will be sleeping in his nursery from night #1. My son has slept in his nursery since the first night and we never considered doing anything differently. He makes so many noises throughout the night that do not require anything from us, it would keep the whole family awake unnecessarily. He was very easy from the start and would wake every 3 hours to be fed and go back down.. so walking down the hall 2 or 3 times per night was really no issue and it allowed my husband (and dog, lol) to sleep (he only had 1 week off for leave).
Granted, anything can happen so I won't say never.. but odds are that I would actually sleep in the nursery if this one is a poor sleeper and/or needs more frequent feedings. We have a futon we are keeping in the nursery that I could use. I really really am not a fan of keeping baby in our room and hoping things go just as smoothly this time.
Is anyone else planning on having their baby sleep in their own room from day 1? It makes me a bit nervous, but we have NO space in our room for a crib, and I'm not sure I can get behind spending all that money on a bassinet that is used for such a short time.
ETA: Any BTDT moms do it and have stories or thoughts to share on this plan?
We are! With DS this was the plan but it never happened. To this day, we have a toddler sleeping in our bed, I know sleeping in our room vs sleeping in our bed is different but this time around, baby is going in the crib day 1! Baby's room is right across the hall from us, so we wouldn't even need a monitor to hear him/her so I feel comfortable with this plan of having LO sleep in their room from day 1. In our old house, rooms were a little further apart so I was more reluctant
Anyone drink aloe vera juice? I've been having insane heartburn and was thinking of giving this a try, thoughts, does it taste awful? I just keep thinking of the smell from the aloe plant
@AMT1107 I love aloe Vera juice, but remember hearing that it's a no no during pregnancy. Something sbout possibly causing contractions.
I read the same thing about the papaya enzymes. I'll have to give my OB/GYN a call today to see what she says or if she has a recommendation as to what to do
@AMT1107 aloe juice is a no-go in pregnancy it can indeed cause uterine contractions. I think you would have to consume quite a bit, but still not worth the risk. Some people like apple cider vinegar or digestive enzymes. I'm a herbalist (under my acupuncture license) and I've never heard anything to the contrary about papaya enzymes, only that unripe papaya can be the problem. My acupuncturist says to try a pat of really good quality butter, I've never tried it so I can't speak from experience on that one.
Choice Life Papaya tablets ordered on Amazon have been a lifesaver for me as far as heartburn goes. Unlike Tums, you can take as many as you want. I have only taken one Tums this pregnancy. The papaya tablets have been awesome and I only take 1 or 2 at a time and I'm good to go. Fiance even tried a couple and they worked for his heartburn.
Coconut water has been a craving of mine. I LOVE it. That may help heartburn as well instead of aloe vera juice? I dk.
@PoodleDoodleOoo We had a pack n play all set up in our room and the baby slept in it for all of MAYBE two weeks before we put her in her own room. "Oh, does she sleep better when she's in her crib?" people would say. To which I would answer "I don't know, but I do." She was a loud sleeper and I woke at pretty much every sound she made. She was a terrible sleeper regardless of location and our rooms are close enough together that it wasn't a hike to get to her, so we figured we may as well just go ahead and put her in the crib.
If you're hesitant about buying something today, you can wait and see and then order a pack n play or bassinet on amazon with 2 day shipping.
Just today one of my friends posted her crib for sale. Kid never slept in it once. They ended up cosleeping until the child was ready for a bed. The best laid plans, you know?
We aren't even going to attempt a crib this time around. Co-sleeping was what worked the best for us I don't want to stress those first weeks about getting the kid to sleep in a crib - last time around it caused me too much anxiety.
@AMT1107 I've dealt with horrible heartburn for years. I've tried everything, including prescriptions. Get this, the thing that actually works is apples.
It is SO bizarre, and I doubt it works for everyone, but it fixes whatever causes my heartburn. My dentist was the person who recommended I try them.
I I eat an apple when I can, but also have applesauce on hand for middle-of-the-night heartburn attacks.
I figure its it's worth a shot! I did papaya enzymes, aloe juice, Gaviscon, Tums, seriously, everything...
@createillumination and @Sbrown721 - thank you, I did order the papaya enzymes, my Dr said it would be okay to give it a shot.
@pilotswifey so funny you should say that about the apples, I had an apple for lunch yesterday and the heartburn seemed to have gone away for a little while. I never had heartburn with my son, I guess that was because I craved everything apple I'm going to start keeping apples and applesauce on hand
Any tried and true tips for getting old stains out of baby clothes? I was given a box of hand me downs and a lot of them are in great shape except for spit up stains. Google says oxiclean works, but I also read something that suggests soaking in dishwasher detergent (no instructions on how much). I've never used oxiclean, but will go by some if that's best.
Any tried and true tips for getting old stains out of baby clothes? I was given a box of hand me downs and a lot of them are in great shape except for spit up stains. Google says oxiclean works, but I also read something that suggests soaking in dishwasher detergent (no instructions on how much). I've never used oxiclean, but will go by some if that's best.
I'm wondering about this too, I was gojng through DD old clothes for this baby and they all have spit up stains around the neck. I swear the stains weren't there when I put them away.
@BernieRae- not familiar with old stains, but new/only washed once or twice stains I've had good luck with the oxiclean spray.. I'd think that the powder would do an even better job. Others would probably encourage setting them out in the sun and letting that bleach the stains out a bit?
Any tried and true tips for getting old stains out of baby clothes? I was given a box of hand me downs and a lot of them are in great shape except for spit up stains. Google says oxiclean works, but I also read something that suggests soaking in dishwasher detergent (no instructions on how much). I've never used oxiclean, but will go by some if that's best.
I'm wondering about this too, I was gojng through DD old clothes for this baby and they all have spit up stains around the neck. I swear the stains weren't there when I put them away.
Found the same with several of my daughter's clothes. Some I don't care about, others I loved. I ran them in the wash with the powdered oxyclean, and salvaged a few. Now wondering if I should try soaking them in the oxyclean before totally giving up on them. Or setting them out in the sun as Anna mentioned.
@MrsVoorhees apparently the stains become visible after storing. I couldn't understand why all these cloths were kept if they were stained, but now understand that they didn't look like that when packed away.
Re: Quick Questions (June)
We did what @AnnaS930 mentioned with bingo during the gift opening, except we did it with cards I premade and filling in with items from the registry and other common baby items. I set aside a few prizes for this so we could keep playing for the duration of gifts. It got surprisingly competitive, and made the time fly.
The other game that was a huge hit was 'Guess the Guest'. I collected all of the guests baby pictures and put them on a board with numbers beside them. Then guests had to match the baby pictures to cards I had made listing everyone's names. It was an awesome ice breaker as people went around inspecting each other and cooing over all the pics.
Charlotte born at 28w3d due to severe IUGR on 12.24.2012 Merry Christmas!
Missed M/C discovered 12.22.2014 at 8w1d measuring 6w3d
2015 was a year to test strength of both body and character, but it led us to this... BFP 01.26.2016 EDD 9.30.2016
Might be an UO here, but I dislike all shower games.
I would much rather sit and chat with people, look at photos, and watch gifts being opened. Am I lazy? Probably.
The only one I like and it isn't really a game is when there are crafts to do - one time we decorated blocks, another time onesies, and another time baby letters. Guests took a lot of time and they were beautiful!
ETA: Any BTDT moms do it and have stories or thoughts to share on this plan?
We have a big bedroom but lots of large furniture, so there's not enough room for beds for the babies, too. Plus, they'll be close by either way.
● IUI #2: BFP - early M/C
● IUI #3: BFN
● IUI #4: BFN
● IVF/FET #1 (2 transferred): BFP! TWINS!
● FET #2 (1 transferred): BFP! BOY #3!
● Natural #1: BFP - M/C @ 8 weeks
● Natural #2: BFP - M/C @ 5w5d
Just my two cents - with the number of times babies wake during the night, it's just so much easier having them right there. And if you're breastfeeding, it's even nicer to just pull baby into bed, feed and then put baby back, instead of having to get out of bed 14 times during the night. While a RNP isn't recommended for sleeping, plenty of people use it (myself included) for room sharing. I believe there are also smaller sized PNPs. Do what feels right to you. Plenty of people put baby in the crib right away.
We also used a rock n play, and will use those again or keep both twins in one pack n play, depending what they prefer.
@poodledoodleooo
Charlotte born at 28w3d due to severe IUGR on 12.24.2012 Merry Christmas!
Missed M/C discovered 12.22.2014 at 8w1d measuring 6w3d
2015 was a year to test strength of both body and character, but it led us to this... BFP 01.26.2016 EDD 9.30.2016
Granted, anything can happen so I won't say never.. but odds are that I would actually sleep in the nursery if this one is a poor sleeper and/or needs more frequent feedings. We have a futon we are keeping in the nursery that I could use. I really really am not a fan of keeping baby in our room and hoping things go just as smoothly this time.
Coconut water has been a craving of mine. I LOVE it. That may help heartburn as well instead of aloe vera juice? I dk.
If you're hesitant about buying something today, you can wait and see and then order a pack n play or bassinet on amazon with 2 day shipping.
Just today one of my friends posted her crib for sale. Kid never slept in it once. They ended up cosleeping until the child was ready for a bed. The best laid plans, you know?
It is SO bizarre, and I doubt it works for everyone, but it fixes whatever causes my heartburn. My dentist was the person who recommended I try them.
I I eat an apple when I can, but also have applesauce on hand for middle-of-the-night heartburn attacks.
I figure its it's worth a shot! I did papaya enzymes, aloe juice, Gaviscon, Tums, seriously, everything...
Good luck!
@createillumination and @Sbrown721 - thank you, I did order the papaya enzymes, my Dr said it would be okay to give it a shot.
@pilotswifey so funny you should say that about the apples, I had an apple for lunch yesterday and the heartburn seemed to have gone away for a little while. I never had heartburn with my son, I guess that was because I craved everything apple