Whether you are preparing for your own baby shower or one for a friend, I wanted to give you some fun, life-giving ideas to incorporate into your gathering!
Have guests help make signs for the birth
Hopefully, you have been collecting Scriptures, affirmations, and words from the Lord for your birth. It can be easy to forget some of these during labor, so I recommend making beautiful signs to hang in your home or hospital room with the words He is giving you. This can be a great activity to do at your shower as friends arrive.
At my last baby shower, I had all the words and scriptures I wanted up at the birth written onto index cards. As friends arrived, I asked them each to take a card and to make a sign with it that I could hang at the birth. I had poster board and markers spread on the table for people to use and we all drew and created as we chatted for the first thirty minutes.
I treasured those signs so much during the weeks leading up to my birth and during the labor as well. I hung them throughout my bedroom and bathroom and would think about them as I fell asleep at night and got ready in the morning. And they were such a gift to have up during labor! My husband or midwife would read one of them to me in between contractions and they were so life-giving! Here is one of the signs a friend made reminding me of the theme the Lord gave me for the birth.
Have a prayer time and create space for friends to quietly listen to the Lord for any words He has for the baby
I did this with each of my boys and we then made decorations for the baby room using the words the Lord spoke.
For my firstborn, we wrote all the words God gave us for him on paper stars to hang throughout his room. (Words like warrior, joy-giver, etc.)
For my second born, God gave us the phrase “Bright Shining Light” which is why we named him Luke. For him, we wrote all his words on the rays of a big paper sun that we hung in his room.
For our third born, we got the phrase “Son of Thunder”, so we wrote all his words on paper raindrops that hung from a cloud in his room.
Even at ages 7, 5, and 1, my boys still have their stars, sun, and raindrops hanging in their room and I love the visual reminder daily of all that God sees in them and has spoken over them.
If you plan ahead, you can provide the paper at your shower for friends to help you write words on for the baby. I brought cut out raindrops to my shower and had friends write words on them as the Lord spoke during our prayer time.
Write out your prayer requests for the birth and postpartum time on index cards
Pass out the cards and have each friend take one home. That friend will then commit to covering that area in prayer for you throughout the coming weeks and months!
Send each friend home with a nourishing recipe that you would like to eat during the postpartum time
I highly recommend getting the book “The First Forty Days – The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother.”
It is filled with wonderful meal and snack ideas to nourish you well during the weeks following birth. It can be easy during the postpartum time to resort to chips and cheese when you’re hungry, but your body should be nourished with nutrient-rich, warming, healing foods. Copy the recipes in this book and send one home with each friend, asking if she would be willing to bring that meal to you during the first few weeks.
*This is an Amazon affiliate link to the book.
And finally, here are a few wonderful gift ideas to ask for if you don’t want to be bombarded with clothes and blankets:
- A subscription to Lovevery!
If I were to have another baby, this is what I would ask for at my shower. Each month Lovevery will send you a kit with non-toxic developmentally appropriate toys and activities for your little one. I’m not a fan of all the noisy, bright plastic baby toys out there. They are too much for a baby’s nervous system and are overload for their senses. But the toys from Lovevery are beautiful, healthy, and perfect for baby at each step of their development. I would ditch all other toys and keep a few of these simple and wholesome toys out for baby to experiment within your home. You can create a registry on their site. (I just received the 13-15-month-old play kit for my little guy and I can’t even tell you how much I love all the activities in it for him! I’m definitely going to ask for the next play kit for him as a Christmas present from grandparents!) - If you don’t buy it for yourself, definitely register for the book “The First Forty Days – The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother.” Even though it’s not written from a Christian perspective and I don’t agree with everything in it, it is the best postpartum book I know of that will prepare you well to thrive during the postpartum time! I wish I had read this before all of my births! It would have been a game-changer for the postpartum time in so many ways!
- You can also ask for my Heavenly Birth Kit as a gift!
This is a kit full of Scriptures, encouragement cards, worship songs, and more to help you create a heavenly atmosphere for your birth!
I pray that these ideas add to the joy and blessing of your baby shower, birth, and postpartum time!
With love,
Kierra