Baby showers have gained considerable popularity in the past decade. This may be attributed to families becoming smaller; therefore each child gets more individual attention.
What is a baby shower?
A party thrown in honor of a couple who is expecting their firstborn. They are held with the purpose of bestowing gifts upon the first-time mother so she will have the items needed by the baby on its arrival day.
They also serve as a welcoming event for a new member to the family.
Who can have a baby shower?
By tradition, a baby shower is held only for the first baby. Today, a shower is held for every baby. After all, each and every baby is special!
Who hosts the baby shower?
Traditionally, a close friend or a family member from either side organizes the event. But, you can have anyone throw one for you. Be it family, friends, or coworkers.
When is the best time to have the baby shower?
Usually, the baby shower is held in the later stages of the pregnancy, around four to six weeks prior to the due date.
Sometimes, people purposefully wait for the baby to arrive for some reason.
Who is generally invited to the baby shower?
It depends. If it is a work place shower, naturally you might only invite coworkers of the mommy to be. Or if it is a family shower, invite family members. But you may also opt to just hold one big shower where everyone is invited.
These days, couples showers are also becoming popular. During a couples shower, both men and women are invited. And surprisingly, guys enjoy baby showers as much as women do.
Be also mindful when inviting friends who have recently experienced losses or are having problems having a child. Most may feel left out if uninvited. What you can do is to ask them personally if they would be able to come in respect to their current situation.
And to avoid leaving out someone uninvited unintentionally, write a guest list beforehand.
What themes are appropriate for a baby shower?
Themed baby showers are of course a bit more difficult to organized. The more famous themes include,
1. Mother Shower. Shower the mommy with gifts to pamper her. This is a nice twist over the usual gifts of baby items.
2. Father Shower. Gifts for dad like coffee, Tylenol, etc. will be appropriate.
3. Baby Safety Shower. All presents must be of a safety nature.
4. Nursery Theme Showers. Concept of the baby shower is based on the nursery theme.
What to serve the guests on the baby shower?
If you are adopting a theme, try to match the food you will serve with your particular theme.
The time of day when the baby shower is to be held also plays an important factor. If you are having the shower at about noon or at dinnertime, serve a full meal as this will be what your guests expect to be served. For early afternoon or early evening baby showers, finger foods, cake, and a light punch will do.
As with the choice of food, as much as possible serve those that may also be ingested by the mother to be. Which most likely does not include alcohol. As a substitute, serve sparkling cider instead.
There are a lot of things to consider during a baby shower. But of course, nothing beats proper planning and early preparation.
Of course, you and I know these things, but it may come as a surprise to know that many of the products you see advertised for baby skin are not mild, but often have ingredients in them that are really too harsh for an infants skin.
Before you buy, you should know what to look for and what to avoid. You will have to look past the cuddly packaging and see the product for its true self in order to decide whether it should be used on your babys skin.
When you think of things that most commonly cause allergic reactions on your skin, you will realize that artificial fragrance and dyes are two of the top ingredients to blame. What are the first two things you notice about most baby care products? For me, I notice that fresh baby scent.
But, of course, this scent has to come from somewhere: artificial fragrance. How many people do you know that cannot be around perfume? Maybe they cannot even walk through the cosmetics area of department stores because they are so highly allergic to it.
If you talk to these people, you often find that they were not always allergic to this kind of fragrance; they developed it over the years. What are we doing when we start our children out in life, exposing them to high levels of man made fragrances day after day? Will they eventually become as allergic to fragrance as some people are?
Dyes are the second thing mentioned above. Artificial dyes are in so many things that we eat, drink, etc. By exposing our babies to them from a very young age, we are only adding to the chances of them developing a reaction to them.
It has been proven that chemicals can be absorbed through the skin and it has been proven that artificial dyes often cause behavioral problems in young children. Are we accelerating this process with the constant exposure to dyes through baby skin care products?
When I think about the things that I have used on my children, just because I loved that baby smell, I feel guilty.
I think of various rashes that occurred during my childrens infant stages and wonder if it was due to the baby products that I used on them.
Other ingredients that we should be aware of in regards to our infants skin include: citrus juices (often, in organic products, you will find essential oils from citrus fruits), menthol, and peppermint.
It is wise to look into essential oils and which ones are safe for babies (and pregnant mothers); not all of them are good to use on such tender skin. Keep in mind that your baby will be happier if their skin is not irritated in any way. Of course, happier babies generally help parents be more at peace, so helping your baby in this way helps you as well.
Another product that affects your baby that should be considered is laundry detergent. Most of the detergents created and marketed for cleansing clothes are created to give your clothes a fresh, clean, scent. What does this mean? Obviously it means that there is a heavy concentration of fragrance in the product.
This fragrance is transferred to the clothes during the wash and remains in them. By using these products, you are still putting man made fragrance on your babys skin. Be picky, look for products that do not contain artificial dyes or fragrances to protect your baby from further irritation.
Remember, your babys skin was protected from all of these good smelling, pretty, man made chemicals for the entire time he was in your womb. His skin has no idea how to react to the various environmental factors that it will encounter as a natural part of life as we know it today. You can help his skin adjust to the world around him by using as many non irritating ingredients as possible.
Both Charles Cox & Louise Forrest are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Charles Cox has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Accessories, Crafts and Baby Shower. C.S.Cox has published many ebooks including the new "Baby Shower Guide" designed for those desiring to plan the perfect baby shower at a fraction of the cost. Find out more about the. Charles Cox's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.
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