"welcome baby" party?

[MamaToBe84]

Okay, so i posted in parenting about how i want to get out of easter this year since baby is due march 18th, and easter is march 23rd.. well, i found out tonight, that dh is fully on board, he said the first two weeks after hes born, he wants to hole up in the house and tell everyone to leave us alone (he just told me hes taking 10 days off after the birth so we can bond as a family)...

so anyways, we're thinking of having a "welcome baby" family party when hes like a month-ish old. We plan to put on the invitations "no gifts necessary, just come meet the new member of the family"... is this dumb? Are these parties usually thrown by other members of the family?

We're hvaing 2 baby showers, one later today and one in 2 weeks, so we're not fishing for more gifts, we just want everyone to get the chance to see the baby on our terms... is it tacky?

[momma6_2angels]

I myself wouldn't do it. Think about it as everyone is anticipating this baby, not just you, dh, and your kids. I don't think it would be very kind to make everybody stay away until you can have a party where there will be who knows how many people wanting to see baby and nobody will hardly get a chance to actually spend time with baby. If I had this baby and told everyone to stay away until the party a month later, they would all be very hurt. I know I would be too!

Maybe it's just me though. I don't understand the whole not having anyone around for such an amount of time, I always have people around shortly after each of my births.

[ladyvno]

People will probably still bring gifts to your welcome baby party. We had one of those when DD was 2 months old. We got a whole bunch of clothes for when she was older, that was nice.

[ShayneLeMaster]

I don't think its tacky, we had one for ds when he was about 3 weeks old ( first week was in NICU) we had it for family and freinds. Everyone knew we were doing it but family and a couple real close freinds still came by to visit and that was fine.

We did it for the same reasons though we had got the keys to our new house on june9th and I had my planned c section on the 14th and I knew I wouldn't feel like company right away to see our new house and baby. It worked out great we said in our invitations as well no gifts nesescary but of course people still brought small things. It was nice of them we did not have a baby shower though so some family felt " obligated" to buy something I think...



For this baby, #3 we are doing the same thing opposed to a baby shower I personally don't care for the center of attention limelight the momma gets in a baby shower its not for me lol...so after the baby is born they can take the attention lol and also my little sister is preg with her first and I'm throwing her a shower we are due a week apart

[jenjones1279]

I think it's a great idea! And I think you should have it whenever you want to. This is your baby and your new family you are not trying to intentionally hurt anyones feelings and no one should take it that way. Grandparents, friends etc. being able to meet baby is important, but I think family bonding (the 3 of you) is much much more important! Besides after giving birth your going to want some recovery time!

[FinnegansMom]

I think having an "open house" type get together is great. I don't know how many people you are thinking of inviting, but a party would tend to have everyone there at the same time. a "drop in" or open house could have them spread out let's say between 11am-2pm or something. Have a brunch and meet the baby type of deal.

I'm not having a shower and we live 4 hours from family so we will probably do this at my MIL's house since no one will drive up to maine to see us...

Also, I'm sure some people are going to want to drop in before hand.. you know? Especially if you live close by. Quite frankly, this being your first you'll probably want to show him off...

[Irishmommy]

I feel the same way about people visiting in the hospital. I never understood/stand why people want to visit the baby at the hospital. So, I think it is fine for you to want to bond as a family for a little while. Not sure if you have other kids or not, but if this is your first time, you might welcome some help around the house right after the baby is born. You might ask just close family to come to meet the baby (and bring food or clean the toilets ) at certain times. That way, grandparents can have a chance to see baby before the "general public" at the party. I know my family would be REALLY hurt if they didn't get to see the baby right away. Since my dad never got to go into the delivery room with us, he and my mom too, think it is VERY cool to get to see the baby right after birth. They get to be some of the first to hold their new grandchild. I like sharing that moment with them, since I only have dh in the delivery room. (Oh, and older siblings always get the chance to meet/hold the baby first).

[rawheid]

I think it's a great idea too. I mean you're the one who wants to show off your baby. You get to relax in your own home and share the excitement of your new arrival.

I threw a welcome baby get together for a friend (2nd baby) and it was nice. She was so worried about what people would think. You know the whole debate about whether you have a gift shower for baby #2. ANyway, we just announced it in church saying that your presence was gift enough. I think that it takes the pressure off of people. People will bring gifts if they want to or not.

[MamaToBe84]

well we've already had a baby shower today, and we are having another in 2 weeks... its not so much we want people to "stay away" until a month, its more because easter is literally 5 days after baby is due, and we dont want to engage in the Easter festivities, but we still want everyone to get the chance to meet him, ya know?

Thanks for all the replies

[MollyJones]

I think it's a fine idea. With my son, we had a lot of visitors the first couple weeks and I didn't like it. I preferred hospital visitors because I didn't have to worry about anything (like the house, etc).

With this baby, we are telling close friends and family to visit at the hospital. My DH also takes 2 weeks off after the baby is born (our Babymoon ) and I am asking anyone that isn't family to stay away at the time. My family is more like friends to me than family... but if they weren't, I may even ask for some private time from them, too. I don't think it's rude at all. It's your family and having a baby is a huge thing and a huge adjustment... you need to do what is right for you and not for everyone else that is excited. It's not about them.

Good luck! You're so close to meeting your little guy! Congrats!