Not a Shower, But a Sprinkle

37w, 6d. This past weekend was a wee milestone in this pregnancy: friends threw me a mini baby shower, er, sprinkle. (“Sprinkle” was a new term for me—but maybe I’ve been hiding under a rock, as the New York Times recently detailed the trend.)

A baby shower for a third baby? you might be asking yourselves. This lady’s totally obnoxious. Well, rest assured, I asked the same question myself—and fought off no fewer than three friends who had offered to host one for me (requisite shout-out to the awesome hostessses, Jen, Allison and Lexi!). It’s unnecessary—we have everything we need! It’s tacky! I feel ridiculous! I insisted. Needless to say, when we learned we were having a girl after two boys, the friends had more ammunition and I ultimately relented when they joined forces to co-host a shower (which was awesome because they didn’t really know each other beforehand—yay for more friendships!). 

No, we didn’t need anything for this baby—and they made that clear on the invite (although we still received some gorgeous and thoughtful gifts). (I, um, went a little crazy buying clothes for this baby once we found out she was a girl, and we still have most of the baby gear from our first two kids.) But the one thing I asked for was friends’ favorite advice they had received as a girl or young woman. Despite being a woman and having been raised by a really awesome single mom, I’m feeling a little daunted by the responsibility of raising a girl. It seems so much more complicated in some ways than raising sons (but I dunno, having never done it before--at the moment, my husband is solely worried about how to change a baby girl's diaper).

As part of the sprinkle, one of my friends organized a bead ceremony where everyone was asked to bring a bead that reminded them of me in some way, and they were all strung together into a little bracelet that I can wear during labor or hang nearby to be reminded of their support when my vagina is being ripped to shreds. Ahem. It was crunchy and lovely... and tear-inducing, of course. 

Ultimately, although I initially felt uncomfortable about a shower for a third baby, the gathering was intimate (just seven of us in total) and included some of my most favorite people. It was a lovely chance to catch up, celebrate this baby, and be reminded of the fact that I have some pretty incredible friends. I got plenty weepy listening to them talk about their perceptions of me as a mom—something I don’t really take much time to think about, given how busy I am with actual parenting. And while I’ve been starting to feel a little scared about going through the pain of labor once again, being reminded that these women will be thinking about me and supporting me from afar (and a few of them potentially even there with me at home) was incredibly reassuring.

Did you have a baby shower for Baby #2 or #3? What’s your take on “sprinkles” or showers for subsequent babies? Tacky or tasteful? Please share in the comments below!