We've all heard of baby showers. They are such a wonderful American tradition!! Our church makes a point to have a baby shower for each and every baby born.
But you know what else? We also throw maternity showers! Whenever I tell people about that, they wonder what in world I am talking about, or if maybe as a foreigner I just don't know that's it's supposed to be called a baby shower. But there is a difference, you see!
"Mother to Bee" party theme courtesy of Pinterest (yes, again!)
A maternity shower is a time to celebrate the pregnancy, and pamper mom.
As such, the gifts are geared at the expectant mother, such as
maternity clothes, personal care items, and some of my favorites:
full-body pillows and oversized towels. We typically hold these showers
around the 4 to 5 month mark of pregnancy.
When
we were expecting Solomon, we had no extra money for me to go out and
buy a maternity wardrobe. Both my mother-in-law, as well as my
sister-in-law, took me out and bought outfits for me, but that's all I
had. This being our first, and me being very morning-sick, I didn't gain
any weight at first and was able to wear my regular clothes for a long
time. Just as I was about to outgrow them, our church threw a surprise
maternity shower for me, and to this day I remember it as one of the
best parties I have ever had in my honor. It was a blessing to us at the
time, and one we have tried to repay to others.
In
all fairness, while we do baby showers for each baby, we only host
maternity showers for first-time moms to keep these events from becoming
overwhelming as we usually have several pregnant moms at any given
time. Besides, anyone with one or more children no longer has time for
that many parties, anyway. ;)
I think one of my favorite things about these showers is the food...
Sorry, all the pictures are from before the party started - we don't have a staff photographer so it's hard to snap photos once everyone arrives and the fun starts.
That is so wonderful! What a great party theme too!
ReplyDeleteI would like to submit my application for staff photographer. I'm not sure what the requirements are but I think being at every event is something I could force myself to do! ;o)
ReplyDeleteI love this idea. At my last baby shower some of the ladies gave me personal gifts like body lotion and a manicure set which I really appreciated.
What a wonderful idea! The Bee theme is adorable.
ReplyDeleteI think that is a BEAUTIFUL thing to do for an expectant mom!! I think you and your church family are very thoughtful.
ReplyDeleteVery sweet idea to celebrate the new mother, too!
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful you do that for first time moms!
ReplyDeleteIt's truly amazing how you always manage to find the time to prepare such wonderful celebrations.
ReplyDeleteI've got a question, I'm not quite sure where ask, so I just write it in here:
English is not my native language, so reading the King James Bible is sometimes very hard for me. I'm often not sure if I understand the words and the meaning behind them properly.
Do you know if there is a good German translation of the Bible?
Kind regards