Gift Idea for Baby Shower - Tea Party

We ate at Cracker Barrel recently and I found the cutest tea party set made of felt - perfect for toddlers! For baby showers, I often buy tea party sets to give as gifts along with a copy of Ava's Secret Tea Party.

Plan the Perfect Baby Shower

I just found the BEST site with printable games for baby showers. And different ones, too! I'm so happy to pass on this link for you to check out:

http://www.plan-the-perfect-baby-shower.com/

Have fun at your shower!

Ice Cream Onesie - Baby Shower Gift Set

Source: etsy.com via Donna on Pinterest

Yet another cute idea from Pinterest! To make this, you need 2 Onesies, 1 Hat, 2 Washcloths, 1 Spoon, & 1 Ice Cream Bowl. Don't you love this presentation?

To buy pre-made, click HERE.

Baby Shower Centerpiece - Diaper Basket

Source: etsy.com via Donna on Pinterest

This is a centerpiece that any new mom will love to take home! Packed full with useful items! Click here to buy pre-made: http://www.etsy.com/listing/53237695/diaper-basket-baby-shower-centerpiece

Receiving Blanket Milkshake, Onesie Sundae, Washcloth Pea Pod

Source: etsy.com via Donna on Pinterest

I tell you - people are SO creative! I love this latest creation I found on Pinterest. Click the pic to see what's used to make these darling creations. You can purchase the entire thing pre-made by clicking this link:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/89379141/gift-combo-receiving-blanket-milkshake

Fruit Baby in Watermelon Carriage

Source: lookiewhaticando.blogspot.com via Donna on Pinterest

There's another post on this blog about how to carve a watermelon baby carriage for showers, but this takes it one step further and puts the baby in the carriage. How cute! I saw this on the blog "Lookie What I Can Do!" Great job, Jennifer! Here's the link: http://lookiewhaticando.blogspot.com/2010/09/baby-shower-1.html 

I also saw a couple of pictures on the web where a hole had been carved out of the fruit and a pacifier inserted in the baby's mouth. That looks really cute, too!

Baby Shakes

Source: etsy.com via Donna on Pinterest

Another cute idea I first saw on Pinterest from Aley Creations on Etsy. Here's her link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AleyCreations 

Stack 4 Onesies, 4 Diapers, 8 White Wash Cloths, 4 red "cherry" socks in clear cups with dome lids.

Follow me on Pinterest here: http://www.pinterest.com/donnashepherd
 

Baby Onesies Cupcakes

Source: littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

Aren't these the cutest? The secret to making them is on Little Birdie Secrets. Check out the instructions with helpful tutorial here: http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2011/02/baby-onesie-cupcake-tutorial-and-sweet.html

How Big Is Mommy? Game

I've played this at baby showers for many years. Pass around a skein of yard with scissors. Each guest cuts a piece of yarn long enough to go around the mom's tummy. 

After everyone cuts their string, measure the mom's tummy and give a prize to the person whose length of yarn comes closest.

Image: maya picture / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Shop Online for Baby Products from Avon's Tiny Tillia - Donna Shepherd

Looking for cute products for a baby shower or for your own baby? Avon has a new line called "Tiny Tillia." You can order online and get your products any time you wish. You can even create a baby gift registry for yourself or someone you know.

Please be sure to shop with me (Donna Shepherd) as your representative.

Here's a link: Tiny Tillia

Diaper Drawing Game

I thought this idea from a shower I attended a couple weeks ago was great! How much are diapers these days? Pretty expensive, right? And those newborns go through them like tissues.

I received an invitation to a baby shower that said, "If you'd like to be in the drawing for a $25 gift card to Olive Garden, bring diapers!"

A lot of people buy a package of diapers as a part of their gift anyway. It turned out that about 15 people brought diapers and were eligible for the drawing.

So, if I'm figuring this correctly, that was $135 worth of diapers (I checked Target.com and diapers are $8.99/pkg.) for a $25 gift certificate that the grandma bought. Smart idea, huh?

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Dirty Diaper Baby Shower Game

With a marker, number at least six newborn size diapers. Melt separately six different mini candy bars. Scoop one type of melted candy bar into each of the six diapers. Depending on the candy bar, it looks quite believable as a poopy diaper.

Give the guests pieces of paper numbered 1-6. Using their sense of sight and smell, guests guess what kind of candy bar fills each diaper. Give a limited amount of time for game. The guest with the most correct guesses wins.

The fun of the game is taking pictures and laughing as guests stick their noses into what appears to be dirty diapers. At the last shower, someone even caught me taking a bite of the chocolate after the game was over. What a picture!

Suggested candy bars include:

Milky Way
Snickers Bar 
3 Musketeers Bar
Nestle's Crunch Bar
Hershey's Chocolate Bar
Reece's Peanut Butter Cup

See why I was eating the props? Have fun!

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How To Carve A Watermelon Baby Carriage

This is just the sweetest little way to decorate the table - and it's edible, too!

Baby Shower Favors and Ideas - Baby Bottle

Baby bottle favors are wonderfully easy to create and look really cute to boot. These can be filled with anything. Use your imagination. I've used M&Ms and jelly beans because they are so colorful. For a fun game, you can have everyone pass the bottle around and guess how many pieces of candy are in the bottle. Whoever guesses the closest without going over wins. Click the link for more fun ideas for your next shower: Baby Shower Bottle Favors and Ideas

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Advice for New Moms

At a baby shower recently, I bought a journal and everyone who came wrote a piece of advice for the new mom. We had some serious and some funny advice written in the book. Fun!

I also asked my Facebook friends for some advice. Debra said:

Talk to your baby like an adult. Talking to your child in this manner makes them smarter.

Teri opined: 

Babies are not born to be infants forever. Children have eternal spirits that need nurturing. Mothers plant seeds that can grow love and accomplishment or rebellion and pain. Yes, children make their own ultimate choices, but mothers have enormous power.

Jewel advised:

A parents' biggest responsiblity is to prepare their child to live without them someday.

Judy said:

 Don't rush anxious for the next. Enjoy what they do today as your God given treasure. You'll blink and they are off to college.

Victoria started early:  

Read to your baby from the womb on. I was in college while pregnant both times and I read my textbooks aloud. Both kids were speaking in full sentences by the time they were one!

If you could offer just one suggestion, what would it be? Please leave your advice AND your website or blog URL.

New Mother Syndrome - Baby Shower Devotion

I received an e-mail from a friend, its content riddled with errors. These weren’t small mistakes, but glaring oversights. A few moments later, I received a second message apologizing for the first e-mail. “Please forgive me. I must be suffering from New Mother Syndrome. All I can think of is the baby.”

What mother hasn’t felt that way when she brings home a newborn? What is this syndrome, and how does it affect us?

The New Mother Syndrome affects our thoughts. When I had my daughter, I obsessed over her. I could think of nothing else. Was she too hot or too cold? Was she hungry? Did she need a diaper change?

The Syndrome affects our sight. We develop tunnel vision. In a room full of people, we see only our precious tiny baby.

And it affects our heart. At times, I felt my heart would burst, as it seemed to expand with the love I held within for my firstborn. I couldn’t imagine my heart having the capacity to love another child as much. That is, until I had another. My heart grew – again.

Every new mother discovers the capacity for a new kind of love similar to God's agape love. Agape love is unlimited, as is a mother's love, regardless of the number of children she bears.

In Psalm 139, we read that God knew each of us before we were born, and he thinks of us. “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.”

My son used to play soccer. When he put on his uniform and ran out onto the field, it became difficult to distinguish him from his teammates. But it only took a moment for this mom’s eyes to discern which child belonged to me. My ears became tuned like antennae to his voice. If he cried out in distress, I’d run right to him, much to the dismay of the coach.

Just as our eyes and hearts focus on our children, God’s eyes and His heart focuses on His children. Psalm 34:15 says, “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”

Isn’t it reassuring to know the Lord’s eyes are upon us, and His ears are open to our cries? I imagine that the heart of God swells with each person who accepts Jesus as Lord.

So if you’ve been hit with the New Mother Syndrome, can you expect to recover? Never! It’s a chronic condition, lasting a lifetime.

If you can’t think straight in the newborn stage, wait until the toddler years! Then from about the age of five to twelve, the racket in the house is deafening and not conducive to rational thought. And the teen years? With many parents, it's back to obsession and worry.

Our vision remains fixed. From ball games and recitals, to graduation and marriage ceremonies, our eyes stay focused on our children.

Does the heart recover? Not really. It flutters with every child’s cry, breaks with every fallen tear, and periodically swells with pride.

Motherhood is a privilege and a gift from God. Immeasurable joy fills my days as I do my best to be an example of godly love.

Yes, New Mother Syndrome may be acute and chronic, but I thank God every day for the blessings associated with this affliction!

(If you'd like to use this column in your newspaper, blog, magazine, or any other format, please email me. I get a lot of requests for use at baby showers. I'm happy to email a .pdf. Thanks! - D.)


*Websites where you can find New Mother Syndrome include:

Christian Work at Home Moms
Christian Mommies
Crossmap.com
WorthFinding