On Sunday my Portland girlfriends gathered for my baby shower. My somehow-do-it-all friend Erin, who had a beautiful baby girl only five months ago, planned and threw it for me—and I’m still in awe of what an amazing job she did. The whole party was worthy of a million Pinterest pins.
Plus, Erin somehow read my mind and served my favorite pregnancy food, tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, and lemonade, something I’d been craving since going to the Saturday Market the day before.
I had a wonderful time catching up with friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in months.
As I sat surrounded by these incredible women, I was struck by how fortunate Peeper and I are to have a community of such strong, compassionate, loving women. I feel so lucky to bring a child into the world knowing he or she will have these women to look up to. They will show Peeper what it means to be a woman. I couldn’t think of better examples. I thought the same thing at my previous shower in Eugene. How lucky am I?
Baby showers are so often a punch line. They’re what women supposedly drag themselves to in order to ooh and ahh over diaper pyramids. They’re meant to be venues for ridiculous games (like figuring out what kind of candy is melted in a diaper—yuck) and froo froo baby outfits. But from the showers I’ve been to, and the two that were thrown from me, this isn’t what showers are about.
To me, a baby shower is a chance to soak up wisdom from your women friends. From conversations at showers, I’ve learned about the best (and cheap) nursing tank tops from Target and how to soothe babies with the 5 s’s.
Perhaps more important that practical knowledge, I’ve gained a sense of complete support. I can call new mom friends for camaraderie and the assurance that whatever I’m feeling is completely normal. I can ask women of my mom’s generation for the knowledge that my child will grow out of the phase making me want to cry, scream or collapse at a given moment. And I can rely on my non-mom friends to remind me that there is a world beyond diapers, pacifiers and sleep schedules.
So thank you to all of you ladies who came to my showers. Thank you for so much more than the adorable onesies and receiving blankets you gave us. Thank you for being there for me, for celebrating with me, for making me feel like I have the support to withstand anything.
