Baby Shower at 24 weeks

On Sunday 24 February 2013, we had our Baby Shower when I was 24 weeks pregnant (ie 6 months pregnant). Because I was departing Jakarta at 26 weeks, I didn't want to leave the Baby Shower too late because I had a lot of last minute things to do before my departure. Originally, I had planned for Sunday 10 February but that would have been the first day of the Lunar New Year and many of my friends would not have been able to come because they'd have to visit their families, so we moved it one week earlier.

The afternoon Baby Shower was held at 3pm at my MIL's house in Permata Hijau, and it went very well. I think that for many people, it was their first Baby Shower, myself included, so not many people knew what to expect, which is fine because it's a relatively new thing in Indonesia, even among some of my expatriate friends from countries other than the United States. We invited men, women and children although I know traditionally, it's usually reserved for females only.

My parents-in-law helped out immensely. Amongst other things, my FIL prepared home-made roast and corned beef which involves a lot of cooking and re-cooking, especially the corned beef. My MIL organised practically everything else:

• from setting up tables and chairs and re-arranging furniture, 
• preparing the finger foods (which was just delicious, think smoked salmon on toast, greek salad etc), and beverages. 
• she even hired two bartenders to serve drinks, a large A/C for the outdoor area, a tent and arranged a balloon guy to pump floating gas into the balloons (not helium, some other gas). 

What did I do? Well bits and pieces, DH and I prepared the 3 Baby Shower activities:

1. Words of Wisdom: Advice Cards for the Parents-to-be, to be stuck on a board for all to see. We chose three winners: K, Vee and SS and they each won a Nokia 101 phone. 
2. Baby Name Suggestions board. During the Baby Shower, people were invited to write baby name suggestions on a board. Sof suggested Smaug, the dragon from The Hobbits - she even drew a picture of a dragon next to the name. Since then, a few people from my church, have nicknamed the baby 'Smaug'. 
3. Messages for the Baby: Guests were invited to write messages for the baby using T-shirt markers on two cotton onesies. The onesies won't be worn on the baby, it will only be a memorabilia from the Baby Shower. 

I also ordered 120 mug souvenirs for the Baby Shower as well as 5 dozen cupcakes from Chocolate Amore (they stock some cupcakes in Kemchicks @ Pacific Place Mall). The cupcakes were very nice and affordable at Rp 210,000 per dozen. 

I was surprised to find that Debenhams in Senayan City sold many Baby Shower accessories like banners, ballons, party favours and invitation and advice Cards. I do warn you that it's not cheap - we spent almost Rp 1,500,000 on baby shower accessories during the Lunar New Year sales. 

We also set up a Wii for the kids but there weren't many kids who came, though it did get used by Sof, Na and Ji2. 

At around 4pm after many of the guests had arrived, my vicar, Rev. Ian gave the opening speech and prayer which was a real blessing. Three years ago, he also prepped DH and I before our marriage so it was nice to have him at another of our key milestones in life. DH also gave a bilingual speech after Rev Ian. He was somewhat unprepared but he pulled it off nicely, with the help of a few cans of Heineken prior. After that, we started opening the gifts and reviewing the baby shower activities.

It was a nice and happy event, and a lot of my extended relatives and friends from all walks of life were able to mingle and get to know each other. It's hard to bring different groups of people people together but I thought it went very well.

We received many wonderful gifts and all will be used on the baby for sure - surprisingly we didn't receive any diapers! We didn't prepare a Baby Shower wish list so I was very grateful for some of the more practical gifts that we received because I would never have thought to include them (in no particular order):

• Safe n Sound Britax 'Lifestyle' convertible car seat for babies aged from 0-4 years. This was given by K, PS and SS. PS went all the way to Singapore and brought it back for us! This car seat is a compact model, meets Australian Safety Standards and we'll be able to use it for a good while!
• Panasonic 'D-Sterile' dish dryer. This was given by Shan & her husband and is a wonderful gift because not only does it sterilise baby bottles and the like, it's big enough to sterilise plates and various kitchen accessories. I tried to find one in Sydney but I don't think they sell this in Australia. 
• Allerhand Messenger diaper bag. This was given by Sin and is an excellent quality diaper bag that comes with many pockets, components and looks conspicuous enough to pass as a Messenger bag. He also picked out a great colour for DH to wear! Allerhand is a German product and if there's one thing they're known for, it's their quality. 
• Lastly, DH's family and relatives generously donated money to help us out. With this, we'll be able to buy some nursery furniture when we get back in September. 

We are so blessed to have everyone's love and support. I feel assured that Smaug will grow up around many people who love and care for him. But we could not have done any of this without Jesus for it is through his Grace and Love that he has given us Smaug and everything to come. Thanks be to God!