The Baby Sprinkle of My Dreams
My first pregnancy, we went all out - had two separate baby showers to celebrate because we have that big of a family we needed to split it up! My son was born during COVID so my sprinkle then was virtual - still special but not the same.
I had no plans to celebrate this third pregnancy...something about having already done two celebrations for my other kids made me feel like it was too much. My best friend encouraged me to do something. She really wanted to celebrate with me and for me to take a moment and reflect on how my life is about to shift so significantly after this baby arrives.
I decided to host a ladies brunch at the Jersey Shore, truly my happy place where our family has been lucky to celebrate so many occasions. I didn't want a traditional event centered around only me. I wanted the day to feel like a respite from normal life for the special ladies in my life and for it to feel like more of a casual hang out session than a formal party. We had the absolute best time 💕
Really quick, a moment for my outfit...
I've been on a Nuuly kick for almost a year now. Being able to rent maternity outfits severely reduced my mom guilt of spending on clothes that I probably won't wear again since this is my last pregnancy. This jumpsuit by Hutch fit beautifully and was perfect for the day!
If you want to try out Nuuly, use my referral link and get $30 off your first month of rentals.
We started out with some snacks and bellinis, followed by a beautiful lunch on the deck - courtesy of Chef Matt's Culinary Creations. The gorgeous tablescape was put together by Jersey Shore Picnic Co, and it was everything I imagined.
I used the CVS photo app to make photo collages for each person coming of our moments together over the years. We set up a scrapbooking station where each person could make a page for the baby that describes who they are and their relationship to our family.
This was truly a labor of love, and I'm so thankful for the facial recognition technology that allowed me to easily pull up pictures of everyone from years ago!
Lunch was filled with heartwarming moments. Everyone went around the table and introduced themselves, sharing a bit about how we know each other and memories we've shared. Everyone had such wonderful things to say and I was also grateful for the opportunity to let each person know how important they are to me.
After lunch, we headed out to the beach, coffees in hand (of course), for a beachfront dessert picnic. With some dessert "charcuterie" boxes from Jersey Shore Picnic Co. as well as cupcakes from Kara's Kakes we had a lot of yummy stuff to choose from.
We played a really fun game called, Favorite Things. Everyone had to bring a product (around $20 value) that is something they really love and could share with the group. Then we put all the gifts in the middle and did a randomizer - whoever's name got called could pick any gift from the center to take home and try out.
It was so fun to learn a little more about everyone and I loved that everyone got to walk away with something new!
As another thank you gift for everyone attending, I got each person a personalized beach towel. It was another small way for me to honor them and give them something to say thank you for coming out to spend the day with me.
It was truly the baby sprinkle of my dreams. I'm so, so grateful to be surrounded by all this love going into my next life chapter and I will never forget this amazing day.
This whole experience reminded me that as much as it takes a village to raise kids, it takes a village of moms to raise us as mothers too. It's my first time going through this life as a mom too. Motherhood would be so much harder without these women in my life who keep me grounded, informed, supported and loved every day. I never take them for granted and I hope that they felt as special attending this event as I did hosting it for them.
Now we wait for this little princess to arrive!