Are you down with IPP? That’s my acronym for Informative Preggo Parties (not to be confused with “baby showers”).
I was the first of our group of friends to get pregnant so I didn’t inherit many hand-me-downs and I didn’t really have someone help guide me into the transition of motherhood. Your whole world really changes when you’re sent home with a newborn baby that comes with no instruction manual. You can read all the prepping books in the world before you realize they all contradict each other and you’re just going to have to wing it (and that’s perfectly alright). With that said, the one thing I really wished I had was a close friend that had recently gone though or was concurrently undergoing this “motherhood transition”; someone to share with, confide in and lean on for support. I decided I wanted to be that person for my lovely preggo friends so I threw them a little preggo party. Here is how it all played out:
Donation Stations – As my kids transitioned into larger sizes and graduated from baby toys, I sanitized and saved all the well preserved products I wanted to pass on to my girlfriends. For the party, I organized them into the following piles:
- newborn comfort clothes (kimono style onesies for the umbilical stump)
- general clothes organized into gender neutral colors/patterns, girly colors/patterns and boyish colors/patterns (for those moms that know or do not want to know the sex of their baby yet).
- baby accessories (hats/headbands/clips)
- baby shoes
- pregnancy clothes
- play toys
- play mats
- bath toys
- bedding
- seats, rockers & bassinets
- baby carriers
- breastfeeding aides (lactation teas, pump accessories, storage solutions, nursing pads, nursing bras/tops etc.)
- teething toys
- feeding tools
Demonstrations: Hands on demos with current popular baby products to help with baby registry selection. Check out some of the products I really like here. I found that I went through a lot of trial and error purchases until I figured out which products worked well with my kids. I wanted to save my friends from going through the same experience so I had them try each of the products to see how they worked while we spoke about the pros and cons of each. At the end, I gave it all away.
- How to swaddle with muslins, Miracle Swaddle, Halo Wrap, Love To Dream & BundleBee
- How to pump with Medela & Spectra
- How to clean & sanitize baby bottles/pacis/etc at home and while traveling
- How to use Doc Brown dishwasher baskets, bottle warmer, bottles
- How to use Wabii sanitizer/dryer and tetris the @#$% out of it
- How to use various baby carriers such as BabyBjorn, Ergobaby, K’tan
Let’s Get Real Chat: Motherhood is one of the most precious gifts we can ever obtain but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. I personally don’t believe postpartum depression is a disorder because I think it’s an inevitable state that all mothers have to overcome. I have yet to meet one mother who has not exhibited any of these so called “symptoms”. If you’re out there, you must be a unicorn. Some of the topics we covered were:
- Normalcy of postpartum depression
- Postpartum relationship challenges and intimacy
- Setting expectations for baby-caring cadence with your partner
We also talked about:
- Cord Blood Registries (blog post coming soon)
- Packing your hospital bag (blog post coming soon)
- What to take home from the hospital (blog post coming soon)
Gift Basket: I gifted each of the girls with different samples of baby care products along with a BundleBee.
I really enjoyed putting this together and was hoping to start a new tradition amongst my friends and blog guests.
Maker Mom 
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