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Posted on by Debbie

Baby Shower Fun and Games

Gundoo’s Baby Shower

My youngest daughter is now 37 weeks pregnant and due to my recent travels to England to be with my eldest daughter and her premature baby, Dottie, we were unable to organise the Baby Shower any earlier.

Mother and daughter
Mother and youngest daughter

I must tell you that I hadn’t seen my daughter since last June and so this was my first sight of her pregnant tummy in real life – I’d been sent photos to keep me up to date but seeing her and touching her bump was very special. Eliza’s baby bump is called Gundoo, Aboriginal for small child.

The last Baby Shower I went to was for my daughter Sarah, who was having my first grandchild, known as Spud, before she became Emilia.

Eliza asked her sister and I to organise the Baby Shower a few months ago and we picked a date just a few weeks after my arrival home from our trip. What with the stress of bushfires at home and checking on family members, the date came around very quickly.

Daughters and granddaughter
With two of my daughters and one of my granddaughters

What is a Baby Shower?

A baby shower is a party of gift-giving or a ceremony that has different names in different cultures. It celebrates the delivery or expected birth of a child or the transformation of a woman into a mother.

The term shower is often assumed to mean that the expectant mother is “showered” with gifts. The term “baby shower” is relatively new, but the celebrations and rituals associated with pregnancy and childbirth are both ancient and enduring. Source

I found it very interesting looking at the way various cultures celebrate the impending birth of a baby. I don’t remember having anything like that when I was having my children.

Travel

Sarah and I booked our flights from Canberra to Brisbane months ago, chose a few games, bought decorations and organised the food we would need. We flew to Brisbane on the day before the shower with my son-in-law and toddler Emilia.

Can I just say that Brisbane was very hot and humid and very different to the milder weather we had at home, but thankfully it was smoke free – which was a bonus!

My mother drove 2 hours north to be with us and my sister flew from Melbourne for the weekend. I hadn’t seen either of them for a few months, mainly due to my travels, so it was great to spend some time with them both. We also managed to have a family lunch on Sunday with some of my nephews and their families. I had booked a lovely Airbnb for myself, mum and my sister and luckily it had a great deck for us to relax on.

  • Family lunch
    Family lunch
  • A comfy corner of the verandah
    A comfy corner of the verandah

What did we do at the Baby Shower?

The day was warm and humid (surprise, surprise) and I was in full delegation mode – apparently I’m very good at that! We cooked, cleaned and setup for the 20 or so family and friends who were coming.

It was a lovely afternoon with a great selection of home cooked food and everyone had a good time chatting all things baby related. Eliza enjoyed the day which is the main thing, although she was very tired afterwards.

Cupcakes
baby boy cake
Baby shower food
Baby Shower2
Elephant cuddles

Eliza and Shawn had decided to find out what the baby was and there’s a funny story there! At the first scan they were told it was a girl but a later scan revealed it was actually a boy! I’ll be convinced once I see him 🙂 I wrote more about it here – When the granddaughter you were expecting turns into a grandson

We all had the chance to guess the weight, length and due date, with prizes to be awarded to the most correct entry once the baby arrives.  We also had to guess with a length of tape, how round Eliza’s bump is. Well this was quite funny with some over-estimating and others way being way too small.

Guessing the size of the pregnant tummy
Guessing the size of the pregnant tummy – with the winner

Another fun game was Baby Present Bingo, with everyone having a bingo style card and marking things off as the presents were opened. Let me tell you there were some very serious bingo players amongst us! Eliza was gifted some beautiful presents and a theme of elephants came through very strongly – Eliza loves elephants and most people seemed to know that!!

It was lovely to have Eliza’s mother-in-law celebrating the fact that she’ll be a grandmother for the first time, very soon. I even bought her a special sash to wear!

Future Nana
Future Nana

How’s Mum-to be?

Eliza is looking fabulous and so beautiful.  She has finished work and is enjoying that special time before the baby arrives. She is happy to have less than three weeks to go and I’m happy to be able to help out with this exciting next stage of her life.

Parents to be
Parents to be

The only problem so far is with Gundoo, as he is upside down with his head wedged up under Eliza’s ribs. The next week will decide what the plan is going to be, when Eliza meets with her doctor. There are the usual pre-baby nerves and anxieties that everyone goes through but she’s lucky to have her two big sisters who have been there done that and can offer her helpful advice.

Have you been to many Baby Showers? I didn’t realise until talking to a friend recently, that they’re not all that common outside of Australia and some people don’t like to give presents until the baby is born.

Thanks for joining us for our very special baby shower.

Deb xx

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34 Replies to “Baby Shower Fun and Games”

  1. Hi Deb, An exceptionally beautiful photo of you and your daughter. I may have missed the news of baby arrival? I had the privilege of being at my grandson’s birth last week. As you well know, a miracle and a blessing. A flurry of activity around here and I am catching up on my reading today.

    It is wonderful how children bring everyone together. Like you say, Deb, celebrations and rituals. It does help knowing it is a little boy. The decorations and food look great! My eyes are brimming when I see how thoughtful you were for getting the special sash for the new grandmother.

    We definitely have baby showers here in Canada. Congratulations to everyone. As I keep reading I will find out if the baby has been born. Lol xx 💕

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    1. Oh thanks Erica, for your kind words and sentiments!

      I love how blogging can unite us in these times.

      Massive congratulations to you on the brith of your grandson too, we can keep track of their growth, as our little one was born just last week on Thursday 27/2/2020. I am doing a wrap up post of February tomorrow so am sharing more news there. Lovely to stay in touch with you xx

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  4. We are in the midst of planning a baby shower right now for my oldest son and his pregnant wife! We do much the same as you do although it’s tough to come up with a guest list when everyone lives so far away. We want to include lots of family and friends but know that a good number of invitees will not be able to come, so we have to decide if it looks like a present grab to invite people who are very unlikely to attend … so many difficult questions! Very fun, though, and I’m glad you enjoyed yours!

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  5. Such a happy post, Deb and the Baby Shower looked like a lot of fun. I enjoyed organising Rachel’s and even made the cake! We also had little singlets and bibs hung up on a line and guest were invited to decorate them with fabric paint. There definitely were some creative ones. Wonderful memories for you all and a very exciting time. Eliza looks so well and happy. Thanks for sharing xx

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  7. Never been to a baby shower and like you say they weren’t around when our babies were born. Very popular now though and everyone has them these days, our sons and daughter-in-laws are constantly going to them. Nice to celebrate but we always thought it better to wait until the baby had arrived.

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  8. Great photo of the family on Sunday!
    In 1978 my friends hosted a ‘nappy party’ for me. Not sure if baby showers were a thing then, but I was very appreciative of their generosity.
    It was a fabulous weekend and lovely to catch up with your girls again.

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  11. Some yummy looking food & a great opportunity for a family catch-up. Your daughter looks beaming – although I imagine she’s at that “sick of herself” stage. So exciting!

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  15. Baby showers are quite new here, but catching on fast! It’s so nice to see all the friends and family together before the new arrival.
    When I had my daughter she was breech in the same position and I ended up having a c section but when my daughter was pregnant with baby Max, he was breech and they managed to turn him the right way. Babies will find their own comfortable position! Not long to wait now to meet your newest grand-baby!

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  16. The baby shower is a relatively rare celebration in the UK but what better thing to celebrate than new life. It looks like you had a wonderful day with all the family who live in Australia. A great way to show support for the parents at this exciting time.
    I can remember my mother buying a new Silver Cross pram for my first baby in 1977 (nearly 43 years ago, yikes!). She would not let the shop deliver it until the baby was born. It was meant to be bad luck!
    Not too long to wait now. I’m sure your daughter will be glad when tha baby arrives. It must be very tiring to be pregnant in the heat and humidity

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    1. Hi Catherine, I had heard that was the case in the UK and can understand it in some ways. I will be glad when the baby arrives. She is getting very tired in the heat but is glad not to be going to work everyday! Thanks for your comment and sharing your memories.

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