My Peter Rabbit baby shower: do's, don'ts, and helpful tips!

This past Saturday I celebrated my Peter Rabbit baby shower! The day was nothing like I expected but was better than I could ever imagine. Spending quality time with loved ones to embrace my baby and my life as a mother was absolutely wonderful, but in saying that, it took a lot of effort to get here and it wasn't always easy. I have put together some do's, some don'ts and some helpful tips for those planning a baby shower and a little extra help for those looking to create a Peter Rabbit baby shower in particular. Enjoy!

Do: 

• Take the time with your partner to create an idea of what you both want for your baby shower. This day is to celebrate you two and your child so it's important for you to take the steps to achieve your dream baby shower.
• Start buying things early. You don't want to get to the week before the baby shower and have nothing prepared! It's not nice on the stress levels or on the wallet.
• Over budget and over buy. Kody and I bought so much food and drink, half of it wasn't even touched, so we now have a stocked pantry and fridge! Plus, we still had some money left over so that's nice too.
• Let others help. If you're a control freak like me, this may be a terrifying concept for you. I honestly wouldn't of coped if it weren't for my family always being there to lend a helping hand and it gave me the opportunity to take multiple well needed breaks.
• Learn to let things go. This one was a toughy for me. A couple people were quite rude to me and some completely regarded my wishes which caused me a lot of trouble, but I had to let it go. Otherwise it would of eaten me up and I would of dwelled on the negatives of the day as appose to the positives. It's so, so important that you try your very best to enjoy your day.
• Know that it isn't your job to make sure that everybody has a good time. It really isn't. It's your job to make sure that you have a good time, that's it.

Don't: 

• Focus on every little detail. I had envisioned the tables set up with my Peter Rabbit plates/ cups/ etc but when it came to the day, it was too windy and everything was flying away. I had to give up that aspect of my dream baby shower and I had to compromised because it really isn't worth letting the small things get to you and dictate your baby shower.
• Take on too many responsibilities. You can't top up the meat platter, talk to your guests, direct someone to the toilet and run a game all at the same time. Ask someone you trust to do the games, someone else to do the food, etc. Most people are willing to help!
• Forget to consider the weather if you're having an outdoors baby shower like I did. It started raining while everyone was seated outdoors and although Kody and I had a backup plan, it could of been much better prepared.
•   Invite people just because you feel like you have to or that it'd be rude not to. If there's tension, you're gonna feel it. Surround yourself with people who make you happy and are there for the right reasons. Trust me on this one.
• Over plan the day. Go with the flow as much as possible and just relax. There's no point sticking to a time frame (unless absolutely necessary) or stressing yourself out because you haven't put the quiche in the oven yet. We did things as we went and enjoyed our day so much that we had people here up to an hour and a half later cause we were all having such a great time and I think over planning would of ruined that.

Helpful tips: 

• Make a baby registry and send it to as many people as possible! Buying things for your baby can be very expensive and most people are willing to get you a baby shower gift so why not make it something you need?
• Look on places like Etsy for some invitation and decoration ideas! Etsy is usually very affordable and you can get some great unique pieces on there!
• Look into finding an individual as appose to a shop to make your cake. Our cake was very unique and was exactly what we wanted and I know we wouldn't of received this attention to detail if we had ordered a cake from the store. 

How we achieved our dream Peter Rabbit baby shower:

• Honestly, this store was a life saver. It had so many cute things for affordable prices and it made our guests really get the idea and theme that we were pitching.
• Last minute we found a rabbit cookie cutter which we used to cut cookies (duh) and fairy bread. The rabbit shaped food in conjunction with the Peter Rabbit cake and cupcakes looked amazing and our guests really enjoyed it!
• Although I didn't do this, I think it's a great idea to use vegetables like carrots and celery as finger food. Pair them up with some dip and you're good to go!

Love, J x

Updates!

My pregnancy is going really, really well! Apart from the terrible migraines, I have little to no complaints at this point. I'm currently 26 weeks pregnant, I'm finally experiencing my first doses of heartburn and I can no longer sleep on my belly or on my sides. Baby has a routine down pat and is usually very active in the mornings and around meal times. He/ she hates when I rest anything on my stomach and will always punch or kick it off. My cat is very aware that I'm growing another life and is always by my side and likes to snuggle up near my belly.

We have almost everything that we will need for when the baby is born. Unfortunately we don't have a nursery set up because we're planning on rooming in for the first 6 months in hopes to help me out with our breast feeding routine. Although a lot of things are sorted, I still feel like things just aren't coming together. I don't feel mentally or physically prepared for the baby's arrival yet. I feel like there's so much that we need that we don't already have, even though when I think about it there's not that much left to get before the baby's arrival. I've been slacking in maintaining a healthy lifestyle lately and I'm hating myself for it. I snack on too much junk and have stopped doing yoga/ morning walks. Blah.

We have so much coming up within the next month and I don't feel like I can keep up. These things include:

• Kody's sister is set to give birth any day now so I need to pack for when we need to make a trip to the hospital that she's giving birth in, which happens to be 3 hours away. 
• My glucose test is in a week and a half.
• I have a pregnancy stretch class directly after my glucose test.
• More pregnancy classes.
• My baby shower.
• More doctors appointments.

MERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. I just want to sleep. I don't feel ready for any of this. But despite all of my worries and fears, I can't wait to meet my baby. Everything that I go through is worth it because of him/ her, I just need to screw my head back on and work towards my goals.

My (hopefully) helpful tips for dealing with the stresses of pregnancy!

I may only be 22 weeks pregnant but I've learnt A LOT about how stressful this journey can be! There are so many "facts" and pieces of "advice" out there that I have found to be absolute bull crap and not helpful at all. So in light of all these unhelpful, outdated opinions, I've put together my own words of advice from my own personal experiences during my pregnancy. Enjoy :)

• Sometimes your partner and/ or those close to you will be complete and utter dicks. Yes, they are also adapting and learning. No, that isn't valid enough reason to be a dick. Your feelings aren't stemming from the fact that you're hormonal (despite what everybody seems to think) they're there because you're hurt and you need support. Don't beat yourself up thinking that it must be you and always speak your mind with those around you, it makes a huge difference.
• Don't overwhelm yourself, get help from others. For the first 15 weeks of my pregnancy I took everything upon myself. I'd stay up all night researching stuff about or for the baby and it was exhausting. Eventually when I'd begin stressing myself out thinking that I didn't know enough about _____, I would ask Kody to research it and get back to me. It's an excellent way to get dad more involved and allows you to find out necessary information without having to go through all of the stress.
• Don't be afraid to tell people butt out. When we told Kody's family that we were having a baby, they instantly started trying to make our decisions for us. They would tell us what we had to look into, what we could and couldn't afford, what we had to do, etc. And when they weren't telling us what to do with our child, they were either being critical, judgemental or rude about their opinions. It got to the point where they were ruining our experience as first time parents and we had to tell them to stay out of it and to let us be the parents. They still seem to struggle with the idea that they don't get to make all of the decisions, but things have improved. 
• Research, research, research. Just because your sister, mum and grandma made a certain decision in regards to their child does not mean it's the right decision for your child. If there's an alternative option for anything regarding your child, research it! Keep your mind open and be willing to compromise.
• Buy a couple pregnancy magazines here and there if you can. They're packed full of helpful information and I find that it's a lot easier to pick up a pregnancy magazine than a 500 word pregnancy book!
• If you're like me and have a low tolerance for pain and often resort to taking pain killers to ease the pain, start limiting yourself. I rarely take panadol anymore and instead opt for a heated rice bag or a warm bath. That way I can learn what works for me in terms of dealing with pain which will be super helpful when it comes to labour.
• Feeling overwhelmed about anything in particular? Preparation is key. Research, ask for other people's opinions, ask your GP, do anything to make you feel more at ease with whatever's bothering you.
• Always know that just because one thing helped for someone else, does not mean that it will for you! Your experience is completely your own so don't live by what anybody else says! Follow your intuition and take everything with a grain of salt.

J, x.

Christmas 2013 in picture form

Mumma.

Dadda.

Fur sister.

 Family.

I can't wait until you're in these photos too, jelly bean.

Love, J x.

Ideas for baby's room

As you can probably see we love white and green. We want to keep things fresh, vibrant and welcoming. I hope that by the time we start piecing things together that it looks as good as it does in my mind.

Purchases that still need to be made.

1. Everything Medela. We need bottles, teats, storage bags, bottle warmers, etc etc etc. Thankfully we ordered the Medela mini electric starter kit today, so that's one thing ticked off our Medela list!

2. Sundvik cot from Ikea. I can't wait to set this baby up.

3. Koppang chest of 3 drawers from Ikea (yes we like Ikea a lot okay.)

4. Steelcraft strider compact stroller. I'm beyond overwhelmed by strollers, I have no idea what to get/ what not to get. This stroller seems adequate though... I think.

5. Steelcraft infant carrier. It matches the stroller so I get this one, right?

Help.

December the 8th, 2013.

I felt you kicking me not long after midnight. I was in bed trying to sleep because I was upset when I first felt it. Kick kick kick. It felt more like a tap, really.

You already know how to cheer me up and I'm so grateful for you.

Love, mum.