Even before Casey got pregnant I wanted to host a baby shower for her. I wasn’t able to do as much for her wedding as I wanted and really wanted to do more for her during her pregnancy. I was pretty dead set on hosting my own shower but then came to the realization that it’s not supposed to be about me…it’s about CASEY! And the whole me throwing a shower and Courtney throwing a shower thing was causing Casey stress so I just told them I’d be willing to combine my shower with Courtney’s. I was selfishly bummed about it (I totally call dibs on hosting the shower for baby #2! I mean we all know how much I love me a shower!!!) but I do think it helped lighten Casey’s stress and it made her happy and that’s what matters the most to me 🙂
When we originally decided on all the shower stuff my shower for Casey was going to be in the beginning of April and Court’s was at the end of May. When we decided to combine it we just went with the date for Courtney’s original shower. Hindsight being 20/20 we def should have used the April date!!! I was to the point of being pretty uncomfortable and doing all the shower prep wore me OUT at that stage in the game…plus Casey was almost 38 weeks pregnant at that point! Cutting it pretty close to her due date. It’s like me having a shower right now!
I got all my part of the shower stuff done the day before the shower and went to Courtney’s with it all the night prior and set up what we could. The morning of the shower I woke up to a phone call from Mrs. Charlotte letting me know that Casey was in the HOSPITAL! She had woken up in the night not feeling well and didn’t feel Carter move a lot so she went in. Long story short they ended up admitting her about 30 min before the shower was starting! Since we already had all the stuff set up, all the food out and ready, and all the guests were on their way…we went ahead with the shower.
I’ve never attended a shower before where the guest of honor wasn’t present haha. It was pretty insane! We were all just concerned for Casey and really just wanted to wrap it up as quick as we could so we could get to the hospital to be with her! I felt SO BAD that Casey couldn’t be there!!! I know how much it disappointed her! Our game plan was to take a lot of pictures of everything so she could see them all and someone suggested having the guests open their own gifts and take pictures of all of them too. We weren’t sure at that point if she’d be induced and be having the baby that day or if she’d get to go home so we figured that sounded like a good plan so she’d be in the hospital knowing the stuff she had waiting for her and what else she had left to buy etc. As people opened stuff we took some of the more personal gifts (clothes and small items) to the hospital to show her in person. I was SO glad I did a bag of lots of little things! I was able to leave all my stuff wrapped and she got to open it in the hospital room 🙂 We brought the shower to her!
Even though it was all a little crazy I’m so appreciative to ALL the guests who came and had good spirits about it all! They ate, they mingled, and they smiled for plenty of pics 🙂 It was probably the shortest shower in the history of baby showers but it all was still super cute and isn’t that what matters most? 😉 I especially want to thank Aunt Satrina and Morgan! Courtney and I were a hot mess and they stepped in and really took control of getting it all handled for us. It’s hard to stay focused on a party when someone you love so much is in the hospital, ya know? I’m so thankful they were there to help!!!
Here’s all the party details! We went with a rustic, simple theme! Casey had a very rustic themed wedding so we thought she’d like the same kinda vibe for the baby shower 🙂
I LOVE how the banner turned out! And I got the letters FOR FREE from here!
I asked Courtney to get some baby pics of Jordan and Casey and we put them on a little banner as well! Check out these cute kids:
Being that I ADORE Casey (I mean I think that’s pretty obvious huh?!?!) I really wanted to do all my favorite shower things for her. So it was kind of a “best of baby showers” type shower 🙂 I just combined all the things I’ve done before! I loved the wishes book I did for Robyn’s shower and I’m SO thankful we decided to do it for Casey’s! It was the PERFECT thing to take to the hospital! She was able to read all the well wishes and sweet comments from all the guests 🙂
I created the “Wishes for Baby Carter” pages and you can use my document here if you want to copy the idea for your baby shower! I bought an album and some clear page inserts then each guest put the wishes page in the insert in the book once they were done! It turned out cute and doubles as a shower activity as well as a great gift for the mom-to-be!
We planned to have a grand prize winner of all the games and have the tie breaker be to guess the size of Casey’s belly using toilet paper…always a fun shower game!
Another game I’ve always loved it having the guests fill out a sheet guessing which attribute the baby will get from which parent. The twist on the game is that the guests have to match the mommy’s answers! Of course we didn’t actually play the game but I did create a google document to share if anyone wants to use it! You can find it here!
Another shower game I’ve always loved is bottle racing!!! I had to get out all my bottles to get ready for Leo anyway so why not put them to good use? I did make sure to use fast flow nipples as last time we played it at a shower I didn’t know the difference and used slow flow on accident haha!
Baby Shower Bingo is an AWESOME shower game. It’s simple and I literally do it at EVERY shower. The only tricky thing with it is making all the bingo boards! But basically what you do is when people bring their gifts you put a number on the present. Then as the mommy-to-be (or bride to be!) opens the gift you call out the number. It helps keep people paying attention to the gift opening. So often people start talking and don’t really give the gift opener their full attention, ya know? So it keeps the focus where it should be and makes people pay better attention! Whoever gets Bingo first wins a prize! Simple and fun game 🙂
Another favorite shower game (I told y’all we hooked this shower UP with some fun stuff!) is the frozen baby 🙂 I bought these babies awhile back and just keep re-using them so really it’s a free game! You put the babies in ice cube trays and make ice cubes then have the guests each put one ice cube in their cup and whoever’s baby floats to the top first wins a prize for having their “water break” 🙂
We went with simple baby blue hues along with natural tans for the colors!
I have SO many white frames at home so I brought them with me and we incorporated some maternity pics into the decor!
The shower was in the morning so we had some AWESOME breakfast type shower food! I’m so glad all the guests ate and none of the food really got wasted at all! And we were able to take Casey and Jordan some much appreciated treats to the hospital 🙂
My go-to shower/party food. Pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate with sprinkles to match the event theme…and the same concept but with oreos. The kids helped me make them all! SUPER easy, always adorable, and usually the food people seem to enjoy eating the most!
For a little party favor for all the guests I found BACON SUCKERS! I mean how cool is that?!? I didn’t actually try one but I was told they did NOT taste like bacon 😉
Back when I originally planned to do a shower solo I had an awesome idea for a diaper cake. I didn’t want to have a full out bacon themed shower…but I felt like bacon HAD to be incorporated somehow. I mean the last name Bacon?!?! How can you NOT use that?!?! I had decided to do a super tacky bacon themed diaper cake! I slowly was on a hunt for all things bacon and I think it turned out really, really cute 🙂 I hate Casey didn’t get to see it in person as I would have loved to see her reaction to it. I think she would have really liked it! But I did text her a picture while at the shower for her to see 🙂
I found a piggy bank at Target, I love bacon ribbon, several funny Bacon saying pins, a onesie that says “this guy loves the bacon”, a hat with a slice of bacon on it, a bib that says “The Baconater” on it, and even a bacon toy!!!
the hat!
the bacon toy 😉
As guests filed in we made sure to get a picture of everyone with their presents and Morgan was a huge help in writing a list for Casey! Not that anyone expected a thank you card from a shower she didn’t attend but just in case 😉
Some of Casey’s sweet work friends!
Ashley came with baby Kate!
Julie and EllaKate came too!
Keeli made an ADORABLE box for Carter with all kinds of “mommy must haves”
Mema and Jolee
Cheryl
Payton did a lot of gift modeling for us 🙂
Robyn!
Even though I didn’t open my gift there, I still wanted to show everyone my favorite item I got for Casey 🙂 I was super pumped about it! I had a necklace made with Carter’s name on it. It’s very simple and looks just like something Casey would wear. I hope she liked it! It was also a very reasonable price! I highly recommend Harper Lee Jewelry on Etsy!
I took a picture of all the goodies I included in her gift bag so I could show you guys! I know people often ask me for ideas for shower presents! I like to try to get things I know the parents will need but may not have thought to put on their registries! Here’s what all was in Casey’s bag (and yes, I went a tad overboard…what can I say?!?! I have been SO PUMPED about this baby!):
1 year subscription to Parents magazine. It can lean a tad on the liberal side for me but as a first time mom I really loved reading it (now? I have like two years worth of magazines in my bathroom that I still have yet to touch!).
On The Night You Were Born board book! I saw this idea on Pinterest and knew it’d be perfect for Carter! You buy the board book version of this book and take it to the hospital with a sharpie and have all the people who come visit you sign it (yes, we did it when he was born…pics to come!).
I have used both a swaddle me and the miracle blanket and prefer the miracle blanket for sure! I know many people have recommended the woombie but the miracle blanket worked so well for us…why switch it up? Casey and I both did our research and both decided to use miracle blankets for this baby! They ain’t cheap and I knew she’d need more than one!
I love the closet dividers I have for my nursery and it’s one of those mega useful, cute things, that you don’t think about registering for! I’m glad Casey hadn’t bought any for herself prior to the shower 🙂
I was SO thankful to Danielle for the hospital gown she had made for me that I wanted to do the same thing for Casey. I got with Francie Beth Boutique. I shopped around a good bit on etsy looking for one but NONE of them compared to how cute mine is and her prices are lower AND she does custom work!!! Seriously, this is THE best gift for a first time mom!!! Having a cute hospital gown makes you feel so much better!!! She worked with me about fabric options and I chose this one as I thought it was an eclectic vibe like Casey likes 😉 More pics to come of the actual gown when Casey wore it 🙂
Another of my favorite baby items is the Tiny Diner. ANYTIME we eat out we get asked about this place mat! It is super easy to wash and works great for eating out. I love the little catch all that hangs down to catch things the baby drops! It’s a serious “must have” item in my book! I know she can’t use it for a good long time…but when she does she’ll be so in love with it!
My favorite bibs, by far, are the Bumkins bibs. They are amazing! Another baby item Casey won’t be using for quite some time…but another thing I also think she’ll adore. They are SO easy to clean. You can just rinse them in the sink and hang to dry in-between meals and then they are also machine washable so I wash them once a week when I do laundry. They hold up SO well, are easy to take on and off, but also stay well on the child, and they have the awesome pocket. Britt STILL wears these bibs for most meals (she’s my messy eater). And I’m also pumped to buy the new Disney themed ones for Leo too 😉
I used to have a go-to wipes dispenser I’d always give at showers and also used myself but recently I saw this new one by Oco Tot and decided to try it out for my baby as well as give it as a gift to Casey. I haven’t personally used it yet but she is loving it!
Another item that won’t get used for awhile…but one that I adore! Teething babies are SO hard to deal with! Both of my kids have LOVED their Raz-Berry Teethers. It feels so good on their gums and I love that it’s not a suckable paci so it doesn’t create that paci habit 🙂
And finally…no baby bath time is complete without the munchkin safety bath ducky! What new mom doesn’t worry about the water being too warm?!?! I used it for both of mine and totally will be using it for Leo as well!
As the guests opened their gifts we told them to grub out on food and fill out the well wishes pages for Carter. We didn’t do any of the other games but did want to make sure Casey would have those sweet words to read while in the hospital! I took as many pics as I could to show Casey what a good time everyone was having and to try to make her feel like she was there with us 🙂
Aunt Satrina and sweet EllaKate
Keeli and Noah Eli (haha Keeli!)
Ashley and Kate!
Ready to grub out on the bacon suckers 🙂
Work it Jolee!
Hostesses! We pulled it off 🙂
We decided to get some pics with Casey and Jordan too haha
It turned out to be quite the eventful morning! Even though it was all a bit crazy it also brought some great people together for the first time! Keeli found an awesome babysitter for Eli with Jolee and Keeli and Ashley met and became friends too! Everyone enjoyed the food and visiting together and Casey appreciated all the love, support, and wonderful presents as well (many gifts I didn’t feature in this post!). We hated she couldn’t be there with us but we wrapped the whole shower up in under an hour and were there by her side for the remainder of her hospital stay 🙂
Thankfully Casey WAS able to go home and was NOT induced during that stay (I am SO PROUD of her and Jordan for standing their ground and resisting the induction!!! Like you have no clue how mega super seriously impressed I am about it!). Thank you to EVERYONE who came that morning and was so understanding of the circumstances and made the best of it with us! I think the shower was still very much a success and will def be one no one ever forgets!!!