My gf is planning on throwing us a virtual baby shower. We are not optimistic about America and think that this social distancing will be going on through June. This is my second child and I told her that I didn't know if it was tacky since it's not my first, but she said no its four years later and the opposite sex. So we will see what happens.
Married: August 2012
TTC #1: July 2015
BFP 1: October 30, 2015; EDD: July 6, 2016- Team Pink
I saw that BBB has a registry referral program. If someone already has a registry and wants to refer me, DM me your link. The website says you will get $25 off a $100 an in-store purchase if you refer someone and they sign up.
Where is everyone registering? Amazon and Target - who doesn’t love Amazon!
What's the number one thing you hope to get off your registry? Travel system !
What's your favorite shower game/activity? Not a big fan of most, but I do like the diaper raffles because it helps the mom with something practical diapers!
I read on here a lot but don’t often post, the shower one is tough for me I was really looking forward to a baby shower as a first time mom. My sisters originally planned for early June, now with things so uncertain they are looking at mid-July: I am going to be SO pregnant at that point if this happens, ugh. No use complaining about it I know, just disappointing.
What are other first time moms doing with their showers? Picking a new date? Cancelling? Virtual?
@babylou813 not a ftm, but if I were I would push the date to try for an in person shower, and just include in the invite that if circumstances don’t allow for everyone to come together in person, it will be virtual. I would assume that no one will be able to travel by plane, so I would at least have a set time for anyone out of state to video call in and give their best wishes. Maybe do that while opening gifts so they can see you open what they sent.
As a STM, I have no idea what we will do. I had wanted a no gifts sprinkle celebration, but that might have to wait until close to my due date or after baby is here. I’ll let my friends figure out what they want to plan or not.
@babylou813 FTM here. We pushed my shower from the end of May to the end of June to give us a little more time. I am in the very hard hit state with the largest outbreak, but I live 400 miles from it and things aren't as bad in my area right now and should stay that way. We are thankfully flattening the curve and seem to be at the apex/plateau, so hopefully we can start to reopen some things in mid-May. Although I'm not ruling out pushing it into July just to be safe. My mom was planning to host it at a restaurant with 45-50 people (mostly family), but we aren't sure now if the social gathering restrictions will still be in place and I don't know if I'll feel okay being around that many people so close to delivering. It might end up being a bit smaller than we planned, and hopefully family are understanding about that.
@roo_baby Same. I think I mentioned this in a different thread, but in Louisiana there's a whole tradition called the "sip and see" where your friends come over around 2 months old or so, with or without small gifts, and you all drink a bit more than you should That's our new plan A for this LO!
@emiliadkay yes! Sip and sees aren’t big here, but I’ve at least heard of them. I might do it in 2-3 smaller groups but I really want to do it this time. Just not sure what will be allowed then, or if we will be on wave 2 of the virus already. I’m leaving my plans very loose for now.
I've been struggling with this so much! Mine was originally going to be end of May, then we moved to mid-June (just a few days after VA's current stay-at-home order is set to end). I'm a FTM and due the first week of August. I'm also SUCH a planner and had really wanted to have it on the earlier side so that I could get organized and have time to get anything I didn't receive and then just try to relax that last month. I'm allowing myself to be a little sad about the chance I may not get to have a pre-baby in-person shower. Since I'm not married I've never had the chance as an adult to have all the people I love gather to help me celebrate a big life change and it was something I was really looking forward to. And as a FTM (who's single) anything people feel comfortable gifting would be really helpful (though I definitely don't expect anything and understand in this current climate people might not be in a place to give).
So here's my current thinking and I'd love people's thoughts on this plan. I'm not that excited about the idea of a virtual shower, so I was thinking of having my mom send an email to my invite list letting them know that I was excited to celebrate the baby with them but I've decided to postpone and have everyone come together after he's here. She'd also include a link to my registry in the email (I can't decide if this is tacky or not!) and let people know that if anyone is comfortable with a socially distant walk then I'd love to see them one-on-one before the baby arrives. I think I'll ask her to plan something small, casual, and outdoors for my immediate local family (we are a pretty small crew) since that's easier to be flexible with since it's small and we are all close, and then I may ask my close friend if she'd be willing to do the same for a small group of friends sometime in late June/early July provided things are at least a little more open.
@rivercitynik I'm so sorry that this is throwing off the celebration you imagined. As a FTM and planner I totally get it and you are definitely allowed to be sad about this. How would you/your fam feel about sending out the invites as if the shower is happening with a disclosure that this may change depending upon the current climate (or something like that)? This way if everything happens to be all clear, you can still have your shower. If not, then your fam can contact everyone via email or whatever and let them know plan b is happening. This way everyone will also already have your registry information. My SIL is planning to include a disclosure on my shower invites as well. Good luck in whatever you decide.... And I do not think it's tacky at all to include your registry information however you get it out. Personally, if I were a guest and didn't receive the registry, I'd be asking for it because I would want to send a gift before baby arrives, and I'm pretty sure my fam would too. But you know your crew best.
Me: 33 DH: 36 Dating 4/2008 Married 6/2016 TTC #1 9/2019 BFP 12/13/2019! EDD 8/27/2020 Baby Girl
@rivercitynikI agree with @ziggymama06 - maybe having a tentative date with a disclosure would be a good idea. As far as adding the link to your registry, I don't think that it's tacky at all. I think that everyone has an understanding of the impact of the situation, and that those who are able would still love to support you through making a purchase off your registry. I'm in a similar situation -as a FTM, I was really looking forward to the opportunity to celebrate the pregnancy and this baby with my friends and family. I'm not big on the idea of a virtual shower, so I'm not sure if I'd go that direction, but I could see doing a sip 'n see after the baby arrives. I, selfishly, cannot help by getting a little stressed out from a financial standpoint when looking at the items on my registry- but I also know that I could take more of a minimalist approach and piece things together over the first months to a year versus needing everything before the baby is here (although the planner in me loves the idea of feeling a bit more settled with everything...)
@rivercitynik What @ziggymama06@whl1013 said: definitely not tacky; everyone is trying to navigate this new normal as best they can and people seem to be good about giving each other extra grace. Not that you need it for this situation! I've never bought someone a baby gift as a tit-for-tat for the party invite. The gift is given because I love them and want them and their child to enjoy what I've selected! (Honestly, half the time being off the hook for the shower itself might be a relief! ).
Thanks everyone! This helps! @whl1013 one thing I'm going to do as it gets closer is to show my registry to my best friend (who has a 2 yr old and is more minamlist than me) and ask her to help me determine what I need to have before baby arrives, what would be nice to have, and what can wait. I know there are so many lists like this online, but knowing myself and how it's sometimes hard for me to differentiate btw a need a want I think having real life help making that decision will help me feel less financial pressure to order everything left on my list by a certain date. I've also gone through my registry and hidden items I don't need quite as soon and then I can always unhide them as the more timely items are purchased.
I’m planning on having a couple mini-zoom sessions just so we can open gifts in front of the people who sent them. 🤷♀️ Nobody lives within driving distance of us anyway except my mom and her husband. And we feel it’d be too crazy to do one huge “shower” online. Best I could come up with, since nobody is going to fly out and risk bringing us airport germs even if this is semi-over by July.
@rivercitynik I am making a lot of things private, too. I honestly need to log out and look at my registry as not-me, because there is just too much stuff I have on there set to private, I can't even tell what's really there anymore LOL
My MIL told me yesterday about a video she had seen where a drive-by/parade shower was held for an expecting couple. They had a tent set up in the front yard with balloons and some people had decorated their cars. People would stop by and drop off their gifts and maybe snap a pic. I thought this was a cute idea given the current situation, esp for FTMs. If we were to go this route I'd still have a sip n' see party a few months after she arrives (which we would make known), but at least it wouldn't seem like a present grab and I wouldn't be *hoping* people send a present before her arrival. Just thought I'd share
Me: 33 DH: 36 Dating 4/2008 Married 6/2016 TTC #1 9/2019 BFP 12/13/2019! EDD 8/27/2020 Baby Girl
We made a decision on our baby shower - since the whole pandemic situation is still up in the air we will have a virtual baby shower in mid June. Since I have a lot of family and friends in Germany this might be even a better solution, because they can attend their first US baby shower now!
Once our little girl is here and the Corona virus is hopefully in the past, we'll have a little "sip & see" at our house towards the end of the summer/early fall.
@strawberryfields82 did it feel good to make a decision? I actually decided over the weekend to do a sip & see too and immediately felt better not stressing about whether it would happen or not.
@ziggymama06 LOVE that idea... will you do that? I've seen birthday parades but not showers but I think this is a really cute idea
@rivercitynik Yessss so good! And after that decision was made my best friend took over and I don't have to worry over it anymore at all. Best case scenario!
Hello, ladies. I'm from the Feb 2020 BMB, but my older sister is expecting her first in Aug 2020. I hope I'm not intruding in any way, but I wanted to see what your shower plans are, given the ongoing COVID situation.
In my sister's case, she lives in CA but is from MN. She will not be traveling home for a baby shower due to COVID, so I'm trying to figure out a way to do something for her. Are any of you dealing with the same thing? Would it be tacky to shoot out an eCard with her registry info so friends and family can at least send gifts, if they wish? I just feel so bad she is being robbed of a shower, and want to coordinate something for her.
My boss just sent out a calendar hold to the office for my virtual baby shower. Apparently my Director is very excited about the idea of a virtual baby shower. So I'm very curious how this will play out. It's also happening on my 30th birthday which is fun. My boss doesn't plan on me coming back in the office before my due date, so I think her plan was to always have a virtual party of some sort.
Married: August 2012
TTC #1: July 2015
BFP 1: October 30, 2015; EDD: July 6, 2016- Team Pink
@rivercitynik As of now, I think my fam is planning the shower to be in person. We've pushed the date back to mid-July, 5.5 weeks before my due date at the end of August. I think the plan is to add a disclaimer to the invitations that the in-person shower will be dependent upon the state of covid. Plan B would be the shower parade. There are 60 guests invited so I think it would be near impossible to do a virtual shower. I'd video call people as I opened their present and just chat with each person individually. I'm really hoping that this clears up so we can have the shower I've always imagined. With covid throwing off so many other things that I always thought would be during pregnancy (massages, dinner/lunch dates, babymoon, etc.), I'd really love a way to celebrate this baby in person with my loved ones.
@blackgirlmagic That is so cute that your boss is so excited to celebrate your baby! I absolutely love it! That's great you'll be out until after mat leave! I'm thinking I'll be in the same situation as my boss already mentioned that the office may still WFH most of the summer and I can stay home whenever they do re-open. I definitely feel lucky and grateful to have such an understanding boss.
Me: 33 DH: 36 Dating 4/2008 Married 6/2016 TTC #1 9/2019 BFP 12/13/2019! EDD 8/27/2020 Baby Girl
@ziggymama06 I'm glad that you still have plans to have a shower 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼 it all works out. And I totally hear you on wanting at least one thing to happen as it would if things were "normal". I've definitely spent some time feeling sad about not having some of those experiences.
Just a heads up I finally requested my Amazon welcome box and it's not coming until late May/early June. If you were planning to get one it might be a good idea to request sooner than later.
So the bookshelf for the nursery is arriving this weekend and I realized since I won't have a shower I probably won't get many books, which I know are often a common gift. (On the bright side, I know often at showers people like to give lots of "cute" things vs registry items, so for those of us not having showers we might get more off our registry than we otherwise would have). Any STM+ (or people who've spent a lot of time around kids) have book recommendations? Should I just focus on board books for now?
@rivercitynik I work with babies and toddlers and I usually recommend anything that comes as a board book at first because they will inevitably put it in their mouth, and its harder for them to rip/damage, although they still can. Lift the flap books are fun. I've seen some where the flap is actually felt, I'm guessing so it lasts longer but I haven't purchased any to find out. For older babies, the texture books are fun, where the animals are fluffy or sticky, etc.. Some titles of books I love include: the pout pout fish, the little blue truck, good night good night construction site, and the Usborne Thats not my... books.
@rivercitynik we had to stash all her paper page books for now, to keep her room as close to 100% child friendly as possible. So as much as there are some great paper page books that are wonderful keepsakes, the board books are more practical in the beginning.
@rivercitynik You may still want to hold off on buying too many books as people may still give you them, even if you don't have a formal shower. One of my cousins just dropped off two boxes of books the other day as his girls are too old for baby/toddler books. I won't need to buy any.
Me: 33 DH: 36 Dating 4/2008 Married 6/2016 TTC #1 9/2019 BFP 12/13/2019! EDD 8/27/2020 Baby Girl
@rivercitynik I wouldn’t get too many books, but we really liked board books with flaps and also anything “sensory” like - furry, fuzzy, mirrors, etc. Also check out the indestructible books - they are lightweight like paper but can tolerate any amount of abuse from babies/toddlers
@rivercitynik Books are my jam! You already got some good advice, so I'll second the recommendations for board books, the indestructible books are neat and compact, textures are wonderful once they can start playing on their own and controlling their movements, fun rhymes and sing songy words are good for little ones- like chicka chicka boom boom.
You might still get a lot! They aren't essentials right away, so you could always and wait and stock up on them after baby is here.
@rivercitynik Another thing to keep in mind is future birthdays, holidays, random gifts, etc. Books are ALWAYS a good thing to ask for when people are like, "Hey, what does your kid need?" I always wanted our house to look like adults still lived here, but despite our requests otherwise, we are overrun with plastic, noisy toys, many with a billion pieces that we've been gifted. While I appreciate the thought and am certainly not trying to scoff at the generosity of others, I would much rather books and things that aren't totally obnoxious. We've bulked up our little library quite a bit, because when people ask what gifts they should buy the kids, "I'm usually like, 'Well, they don't need anything, but books are always great to receive!'" So, there's still time to fill those shelves! It doesn't all need to be done before baby arrives.
We have a grand total of one battery-operated toy! By design! And it's one that is minimally annoying (it plays one song and does not restart the song if the button is pushed again until the song has completed).
Yes, board books. We put all the paper ones up until my daughter was at least 1.5. Now they're up again because D2 rips them. Even board books aren't immune. I buy mostly second-hand for a reason! They will chew on them, they will bend them backwards, they will break the spine.
I will say I am anti-flap. We have one book with flaps and most of them have been ripped off.
@BusinessWife Lol. I support this choice! Our house is out of control. Before Christmas, I went through and picked a bunch of stuff to donate, but we could definitely go through and do it again. Why is it when you tell people there's no need to buy your kids literally anything, they respond with the most outrageous toy purchases money can buy? 😂
I have no idea @lachnessmomster and I feel kind of bad, but not bad enough to unpack them. I will rotate our toys pretty regularly anyway, so it makes it easier to pull something if it becomes at all obnoxious. One big one I never opened is a walker that talks and lights up and all that, I will most likely donate (we have a wooden one that clicks when she pushes it, so that's plenty loud lol) one is some kind of picnic basket shape sorter thing that actually looks cute. When in doubt, I may try a thing without the batteries first and see if it is still effective, or leave it shut off most of the time, and only turn it on for a certain period of time while we are playing with it together. If it's really a lot, you could always edit like 50% out of the mix? (and see how long it takes them to notice... 🤔 Lol)
Hello! FTM here! I came over here to see what everyone else is planning for their baby shower. Today my mom, best friend and I made the difficult decision to make my shower a virtual one in June and note that we hope to have a sip and see in the fall if things get better. The state I live in is one of the worst hit by COVID and they just extended our stay at home order until May 18th. They noted that if it improves by then it will be a slow ramp up after that. I don't see large gatherings happening anytime soon. Also, I work in supply chain and realized that some items may take a while to come in due to part and labor shortages around the world and logistic issues (many ports have reduced operations and with a majority of passenger flights grounded there's less cargo space for consumer goods). I would recommend others on this board get necessities sooner rather than later just in case it takes a while for something to come in. (The crib I ordered is going to take a month, so I'm glad we ordered it now.) We're looking at June 7th or 14th to have my shower so I'll have almost 2 months to get items I'll still need after the shower (I'm due towards the beginning of August). What's everyone else's plan?
Both my work and close girlfriend are throwing me a virtual baby shower. People on both sides seem to be really excited for it. I don't know if it because we get to celebrate something during all of this or what. I'm just grateful that they want to do something with this being second, even though there is some time in between the two and a different sex. @rivercitynik I agree that for holidays and birthdays we always ask for books and people have no problem giving books. I would not spend too much on books in the beginning. It's a great bonding time and helpful for setting up a night time routine with your lo, but I'm sure you will get plenty of books, especially if you mention it.
Married: August 2012
TTC #1: July 2015
BFP 1: October 30, 2015; EDD: July 6, 2016- Team Pink
Re: The Great Registry and Baby Shower Thread
Craft Blog
As a STM, I have no idea what we will do. I had wanted a no gifts sprinkle celebration, but that might have to wait until close to my due date or after baby is here. I’ll let my friends figure out what they want to plan or not.
So here's my current thinking and I'd love people's thoughts on this plan. I'm not that excited about the idea of a virtual shower, so I was thinking of having my mom send an email to my invite list letting them know that I was excited to celebrate the baby with them but I've decided to postpone and have everyone come together after he's here. She'd also include a link to my registry in the email (I can't decide if this is tacky or not!) and let people know that if anyone is comfortable with a socially distant walk then I'd love to see them one-on-one before the baby arrives. I think I'll ask her to plan something small, casual, and outdoors for my immediate local family (we are a pretty small crew) since that's easier to be flexible with since it's small and we are all close, and then I may ask my close friend if she'd be willing to do the same for a small group of friends sometime in late June/early July provided things are at least a little more open.
Dating 4/2008
Married 6/2016
TTC #1 9/2019
BFP 12/13/2019!
EDD 8/27/2020 Baby Girl
Dating 4/2008
Married 6/2016
TTC #1 9/2019
BFP 12/13/2019!
EDD 8/27/2020 Baby Girl
Once our little girl is here and the Corona virus is hopefully in the past, we'll have a little "sip & see" at our house towards the end of the summer/early fall.
@ziggymama06 LOVE that idea... will you do that? I've seen birthday parades but not showers but I think this is a really cute idea
In my sister's case, she lives in CA but is from MN. She will not be traveling home for a baby shower due to COVID, so I'm trying to figure out a way to do something for her. Are any of you dealing with the same thing? Would it be tacky to shoot out an eCard with her registry info so friends and family can at least send gifts, if they wish? I just feel so bad she is being robbed of a shower, and want to coordinate something for her.
I would love your input! Thanks so much!
@blackgirlmagic That is so cute that your boss is so excited to celebrate your baby! I absolutely love it! That's great you'll be out until after mat leave! I'm thinking I'll be in the same situation as my boss already mentioned that the office may still WFH most of the summer and I can stay home whenever they do re-open. I definitely feel lucky and grateful to have such an understanding boss.
Dating 4/2008
Married 6/2016
TTC #1 9/2019
BFP 12/13/2019!
EDD 8/27/2020 Baby Girl
Dating 4/2008
Married 6/2016
TTC #1 9/2019
BFP 12/13/2019!
EDD 8/27/2020 Baby Girl
Dating 4/2008
Married 6/2016
TTC #1 9/2019
BFP 12/13/2019!
EDD 8/27/2020 Baby Girl
You might still get a lot! They aren't essentials right away, so you could always and wait and stock up on them after baby is here.
Yes, board books. We put all the paper ones up until my daughter was at least 1.5. Now they're up again because D2 rips them. Even board books aren't immune. I buy mostly second-hand for a reason! They will chew on them, they will bend them backwards, they will break the spine.
I will say I am anti-flap. We have one book with flaps and most of them have been ripped off.
@rivercitynik I agree that for holidays and birthdays we always ask for books and people have no problem giving books. I would not spend too much on books in the beginning. It's a great bonding time and helpful for setting up a night time routine with your lo, but I'm sure you will get plenty of books, especially if you mention it.