Mak and Jack: Shotgun Shower

How long have I had to prepare for Makena's blessed arrival? Too long. And now we could literally be three weeks away from leaving for China and I still don't have a crib or furniture in her bedroom. So right after her referral photos had circulated among my group of friends, they all started asking me the normal questions one would ask a mother-to-be. "Do you have a theme for the baby's room? What color is the crib, the bedding, etc..?" And my answer to all of the above was, "uh, I don't know." In my defense I did have new closet doors and a storage window seat installed in May and the color is "leaf green" (my husband and son weighed in on the color decision because I couldn't.) The walls are white. I also had an old chair that belonged to my grandmother recovered in a fushia fabric and that came back last week. Really practical stuff.

"What does she really need, though? Other than food, dry diapers, clean clothes and a bed to sleep or co-sleep in?" I said. My zen outlook on child rearing got shot out of the sky like a lame duck. "What about the car seat, the stroller, the Baby Bjorn!?" Duh. "I just thought I would get those things myself and then have a "meet the baby" shower after we got back." "You know? No fuss," I said. "You can get a stroller for $18 in China and they work great." "Right. Whatever," they said.

My friends had a panic attack and threw me a shotgun shower in less than ten days and totally pulled it off. I couldn't believe it (not about how quickly they could throw a party together but about how poor their expectations on my preparedness as a mother were.)

(Shower hostesses with the mostesses.)

I scrambled to put a list together thinking everyone was going to be out of town and wouldn't make it to a midweek lunch, but they proved me wrong. A dozen girlfriends showed up and we had a blast. They had flower centerpieces spiked with pictures of Makena, party favors for my guests and a really cute piggy-bank that was hand-decorated by all our kids, as well as the friends who attended. The best part? Other than the great gifts, was being showered with Chardonnay. The perk of not being pregnant is having a nice cold glass of white wine to celebrate! At lunch, no less. I needed it.

Just before the shower I stopped into a local store to buy a dress I thought I would look nice in. The saleslady walked up to me and asked me what the occasion was and I said that it was for my shower. But before I could even explain what kind of shower I was having, she literally bent down and patted my stomach and cooed! COOED. Who's more embarrassed in a situation like that? The person who asked the question or the person who apparently looks pregnant enough to have a shower, but isn't!? Okay, I have a sense of humor. I took a step back, wryly composed myself and told her that she was patting "my femininity" and to kindly remove her hand and give me the dress in a size that would fit me. I actually stayed in the store, bought the dress and promised to come back and show them the baby when we returned from China.

The Chardonnay was just what I needed. The shower was a blast. I ended up with great things I could use, namely: An Ingelsina Trip stroller, a movement sensor monitor (which alerts you if there is not movement in the crib form ore than twenty seconds!) A Britax Decathlon car seat, a baby hip-sling, amazing comfy baby clothes in non-pink colors, an Exersaucer, a high chair, baby-proofing and even kid-size riding stirrups so that I can take her riding with me when she's older (yes, I have a horse.) My girlfriends even thought of my number-one son and gave him travel toys. Jack was psyched.

So, who says I'm not ready? And just for the record, I'm still going to buy the $18 dollar stroller in Chongqing.

Isabelle