Baby Showers
Although baby showers are not something that are done in the UK, they seem to be expected here. It involves setting up a baby gift registry, very much like a wedding registry, which I suppose makes sense as that way people will know what you want and need, rather than just guessing and buying something that you may then have to return. It was harder to do the baby registry than the wedding one though, since there is basically so much crap out there, targetted to first-time parents who don't have a clue what is really needed, and you have to filter through it all to find the stuff that is really necessary. We finally managed it, after several hours of wandering around Babues R Us in a daze! Then a friend or relative throws the shower for you, as it is not the done thing to throw your own shower.A traditional baby shower means just the female friends of the mother-to-be getting together for a little party one afternoon, usually with some games, such as guessing the jarred baby foods by doing a blind taste test, and opening the mountain of presents while everyone looks on. I have been to a few now as a guest, and have to say that they are not always the most fun, depending on how it is done. So I wanted to have something a bit different, involving Gordon and male friends as well, making it a bar-be-que and just a typical get-together. Also, if it was just girls, there wouldn't have been many people at all, as I really don't know all that many girls here yet. I also definitely wanted alcohol to be served, as that has not always been the case with others I have been to, even though I could not drink it myself, I felt it is not a proper party without alcohol!
Hazel offered to host, so we had a lovely afternoon at her place with a b-b-q and played bean-bag toss game, or whatever it is called. There is basically a board with a hole in, and you play in two teams, throwing small bean-bags to try to get them into the hole. We also played guess the sex of the baby, since we honestly do not know it, although some people seem to think we do, but are just not telling! Hazel downloaded some old-wives tale ways of predicting the sex, such as by the way I am carrying, what foods I am craving, etc. It was fairly even, but finally came out with slightly more girl indicators than boy. Only time will tell.
We then had a second baby shower, which was held in Gordon's office. They did an amazing job of decorating the conference room and ordered a lovely cake. There is a guy working there who does a sideline business of videoing weddings, etc, and over the previous weeks he had video'd messages from various colleagues of Gordon's. There were some very funny moments, and he did a great job of presenting it. We have a copy, which I am sure we will watch often over the coming years, as there was a message for the baby as well. I expect Gordon will put it on his blog, so you can see it there, since I have no idea how to do that!
For anyone who wants to, the registries can be found at www.babiesrus.com and http://galttoysgaltbaby.com/constructor/cart/registry.jsp but please do not feel obliged to.
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