Saturday

The past two Saturdays I have attended an event with women from my small group.  Last Saturday was a potluck lunch and today was a baby shower (see yesterday's post).  Both were fun, but both also required me to be way more social than usual.

At the shower, the fun activity (the hostesses avoided using the word "game") involved advising the mom-to-be on important decisions.  The questions we answered, along with my answers, are as follows:

1. What should E name the baby if it's a girl?  Therese, nickname Tessa
2. What should E name the baby if it's a boy?  Elijah (I had no idea that her father's name is Elisha!)
3. What should E do during labor to relax?  Listen to music she likes.
4. What should the baby be for it's first Halloween?  Jelly Belly jelly bean
5. What activity should E do to lose her baby weight?  Swim and walk
6. What activity should E and her husband encourage the baby to do as it grows older?  Play a musical instrument.

This was actually a fun game and it was interesting to hear other guests' responses, especially the names they chose.  I'm pretty sure that E and her husband have already selected a girl and boy name, but they aren't sharing their choices with family and friends.  They also have decided to wait until the baby is born to find out if they are welcoming a daughter or a son.

E's older sister is in our small group, so I know her, but it was nice to meet her younger sister and also her mother.  I was able to chat with E's mom and she was delightful!  She shared with everyone that when she had her first daughter (almost 30 years ago in a former communist country), the women in her family and her church advised her to take her time recuperating after the birth.  Mrs. R is an avid cross-stitcher and one woman even told her that cross-stitching would be too strenuous after labor and delivery.  This woman actually said that if she continued to cross-stitch, there was a possibility that her breast milk could dry up!  I guess washing diapers and all the other baby care and household chores that need to be done, and won't get done if you don't do them (barring the presence of a mother/mother-in-law/fairy godmother), don't have an impact on milk production.

In addition to the game, we also enjoyed appetizers and desserts -- yummy chocolate-covered strawberries -- as we watched E open up lots of beautiful and thoughtful gifts.  It was nice to be part of Baby H's pre-birth festivities.  If all goes as planned, he/she will make his/her debut in exactly one month!