Baby Showers – Poole Party of 5

Warm Welcome

Published on August 10, 2012April 4, 2013 by poolepartyof54 Comments

Welcome, Baby B.

My good friend, M, is approaching the due date of her third daughter. All her ducks are in a row and now she is waiting for baby’s arrival, just a few weeks away. Since she has all the material things she needs, one might think that a shower is superfluous, but I disagree. The birth of any baby changes things forever for a family. They go from a “family-of-four” to a “family-of-five” and things will never, ever be the same. As I mentioned in a previous post (Nervous), this “time in waiting” is unlike any other before or after. A tension exists between the appreciation of what has been and the excitement of what will be. The beauty of the family that is, with that which is unknown.

When approaching the birth of my third baby, all I wanted was time to be with women close to me and a moment to celebrate my baby. Life can be such chaos that I found carving out a space to be present with baby the hardest thing of all. Friends hosted a luncheon for me and it was so lovely. It was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to be able to do the same thing for M. Although she may not need more onesies, she probably does need her friends and family more than ever and a space to enjoy her baby.

We met at The Pink Door and had a fabulous evening. Mother Nature cooperated and delivered a gorgeous sunset. The food was artfully done and delicious to boot. I tried for all things feminine with lots of flowers and included a faux flower for each lady to wear however she chose. Everyone looked festive and feminine. M, you are so special. I hope you know how much you and Baby B are loved!

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Product Testing

Published on June 19, 2012March 12, 2013 by poolepartyof54 Comments

So did I mention that my baby spits up? There are many words for this: burp, spit, spit up, puke… you get the idea. Whichever name you like, it is a total mess. As a mother of three, with two kids who didn’t spit, I didn’t understand this element of parenting. It is part preparedness and part spontaneity at all times. You learn the signs and you learn the best way to hold the baby, as well as where every type of towel resides all over the house.

In addition, you learn the value of a burp cloth. I had been given burp cloths with the other children and found other uses for them… rag for wiping down counter, lovey, face wiper after spaghetti, but never spit up. Now I get it. Now I am a pro. Now I know burp cloths and understand the merits of what makes one good and what makes one great. There are many burp cloths out there. From plain old dish rags to embellished treasures, I believe the magic lies somewhere in between. Having a background in clothing production, I am a self-proclaimed stickler for details. I notice the small things and there is a part of me that is always ready to give my feedback:

Absorbency is paramount: I believe that cloth diapers reign supreme in this category. Most other cloths allow the spit to just slide right off.
Style details: The importance of this has to do with the fact that it will be your primary accessory for quite a long time (the doctor tells me 12 months is totally possible – yikes). This is your chance to add that splash of color that you might not feel bold enough to wear on your own! Go for it.
Attractive from both sides: Sometimes its important to be able to flip the thing over or find another corner. You get my drift. Life moves fast, you’ve gotta be ready for anything.

Through months of daily product testing and market research, I’ve found that there might be some room for improvement in the category of burp cloth. I’ve come up with a solution that incorporates my love of style and cool fabrics with the function of a truly absorbent (read: boring) diaper. I have been having fun experimenting with this and have been so inspired by the incredibly fun fabrics from a local business, Drygoods Design in Ballard, WA. (Check out this site if you have a hankering for some great fabric: http://www.drygoodsdesignonline.com/.) I’ve come up with some winners and we are getting plenty of use out of each and every one I crank out. If you come over for dinner sometime, feel free to hold the baby ~ we’ll arm you appropriately…

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Inspiration

Published on June 3, 2012April 4, 2013 by poolepartyof57 Comments

Inspiration comes in all forms… in this post you will see what actually inspired moving the sewing machine out of its box. Today we celebrated one of my dearest friends and the upcoming arrival of her first baby. K has applauded all of her friends’ babies in the last few years and today we got to return the favor by honoring her. K is a planner and appreciates both parties and details, so it was clear we needed to raise the bar. Teaching myself to sew in a month seemed like a good idea at the time… Debatable, but fun! Keep in mind I am 5 months postpartum and possibly a little cuckoo.

I was in charge of decorations and focused my energy on creating custom onesies and burp cloths for the new babe. We displayed these with hand-decorated clothespins and lots and lots of polka dots… my favorite! As the party neared, I thought about sewing place mats and a runner for the table and quickly became overwhelmed, so came up with a pretty creative solution (if I do say so myself) and used wrapping paper to create our table top decorations. It worked beautifully in a pinch – lots of pop, plus I can use the paper again. It was a lovely day and I believe K felt celebrated and special – total success!

So the moral of the story is that K and baby have been my inspiration (muses?) and I thank them for all the fun that I have been having over the last weeks! And now, anyone for some place mats?