25 Dec
25Dec
Pros of Having a Baby Shower
Cons of Having a Baby Shower
You get to have an excuse to party!
People sometimes feel pressure to get you a gift.
You get items you need. It can be hard to store gifts.
Baby Showers bring people together. A baby shower can be hard on an expecting mother. 
They are fun!It can be a lot of work.
You get the spotlight. You may get gifted many things you will never use. 

I didn't want a baby shower, but my mom insisted that I have one. I had the party about two months before my little girl was born. Since then, my perspective has changed a little on baby showers.

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Pros of Having a Baby Shower

  1. It is a fun excuse for a party! We all need parties in our lives. Baby showers are a fun excuse for a bunch of women to get together and make bubble gum babies!
  2. Baby showers help you get what you need. Babies are expensive! Hospital bills are through the roof! Then there are diapers, wipes, clothes, a crib, sheets, a car seat, blankets, burp rags, bottles, a baby wrap, breast pumps/ formula, etc. My baby shower helped me get what I needed! We received over four months' worth of diapers. I am so grateful for all these gifts. 
  3. Baby showers bring people together. My baby shower allowed me to see people I hadn't seen in a long time.
  4. Baby showers are fun for many women . Do you love doing crafts, decorating, or sharing cute photos on social media? Baby showers can provide you with those opportunities. 
  5. It puts the spotlight on the expecting mother. If you like to be in the spotlight as a pregnant women, a baby shower is defiantly for you. 


Cons of Having a Baby Shower

  1. They make people feel pressure to give gifts. I remember feeling overwhelmed buying gifts as a college student or when my husband was jobless. Baby showers were just one more thing. Yes, you shouldn't feel like you need to bring a gift, but I always did. For someone on a tight budget, buying gifts is stressful. I didn't want to put this pressure on others.
  2. Baby shower during pregnancy is rough for some expecting mothers. This statement is laughable but too true. Throughout pregnancy: I felt uncomfortable, exhausted, my internal temperature was roasting me, and my anxiety peaked. During my baby shower, all of this worsened. I felt more uncomfortable with all the attention on me. I felt exhausted from being on my swollen, aching feet as I talked to people. I felt sweat soak me as I walked around under the pavilion. I was so anxious it took my body hours to calm down after the shower. 
  3. I had to find more storage space. As I mentioned before, I had over four months of diapers. It was hard to find a place to store these boxes in my tiny apartment. 
  4. It can be a lot of work. From invites, to decorations, to treats, to games, baby showers take work. 
  5. You can get gifted things you may never use. You are likely to get duplicates or stuff you didn't want in the first place. Also, as an expecting mom you can fall into the trap of putting  many useless things on your registry. Note: I have see too many baby registry's that list things that will never get used/aren't essential. If you decide to have a baby shower I have compiled a list for a minimalist baby registry. 

Items you should include on your Baby Registry


Baby Registry Item
Price
How essential?Notes
Baby Thermometer
$17.5210/10You can do several different thermometers, but this is the one we like best, because it gives results fairly quickly. Note: We got a touchless thermometer at first, but the hospital told us those aren't as accurate.
Baby Tylenol 
$8.7210/10This is so nice to have on hand after immunizations, teething, and fevers. 
NoseFrida$18.6710/10Gross, YES!!! But is actually works!
 Nose Frida Filters$3.96/2010/10You will go through so many filters when they have colds! I would put 5 packs of these on my registry. 
DiapersNA10/10You can never have too many diapers. 
WipesNA10/10Wipes are great for everything. 
Car Seat
(Chicco is what we got and we love it!)
$164.9910/10Try to get your car seat new, or  a car seat in which you know the history. Note: Car seats have expiration dates. 
Infant gas relief$11.9810/10This is something that is really nice to have on hand. 
Destin$6.9510/10I have tried several different diaper creams, and hands down Destin is my favorite. 
Vitamin D Drops
Enfamil
$8.6310/10I have never tried the other brands. I didn't know that this was something that is recommended for infants until having a baby. 
Baby Sunscreen
Coppertone
$14.6510/10This is a definite must have!
Crib sheets$15.99/2 sheets10/10I have just used two, but sometimes think it would be nice to have 3 or 4.
Pacifier$4.49/2 pacifiers7/10Your baby may not like them, but if they do you will want them.
Also I like these ones because it is safer. (Some other pacifiers can fall apart and become a chokings hazard.)
Baby Nail Clippers 
$3.99/ two nail clippers10/10These have worked well!
Burp RagsNA10/10You will use so many of these! I would suggest at least 10. 
BooksNA8/10Books to me are essential:)
ClothingNA10/10Second hand clothing is the way to go. 
CribNA10/10You can get a crib on Facebook Marketplace for a great price. 
Crib MattressNA10/10You can often get this second hand from people you know. 
BottlesNANABottles are great if you bump or use formula. 
FormulaNANAIf you can't or choose not to breastfeed. 
Breast PumpNANACheck with your insurance.  Many insurance help pay for one. 

Check out our store: https://www.bonfire.com/oversized-load/

"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey." - Pros and Cons Team

Written by: Kristen 

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