What to expect when your friend is expecting
You got the call, saw the post, congratulated and cheered, and encouraged and supported. Now comes the waiting. Your friends are going through anticipation, excitement, and maybe a little blind terror, but they have a little one on the way, and you couldn't be happier for them. There are so many ways we can support our friends throughout our lives and throughout these big moments; this moment is no different. You will have opportunities over the next nine months to show them that you're still going to be that fun person there for them through this new journey, and you're going to recognize that with all the love and softness and newness, there might be a few dirty diapers along the way. But it is going to be SO fun. Honestly, this author has found her girlfriends are so important to her kids in ways she doesn't think they could have imagined. Give them opportunities to show you how much they want and need you in this baby's life too. The first way you will be there for the new baby (apart from sending some saltines over in a care package) is in planning for the baby shower. Even with a registry, it can be hard to give a gift for a new baby because what will the new parents need?
Remember that scene in Charles Shyer's "Father of the Bride" when the storks walk out into the baby shower, and the camera pans to the laughing crowd as that feeling of new baby joy just floods everyone. Ok, so this isn't Hollywood, I'm not Martin Short, and the storks would likely destroy the fruit plate and potentially cause bodily harm to your guests, but that perfect new baby joy feeling we can achieve. Imagine those who love this new little one are crowded around a centerpiece made with love and function in mind, and at that moment, everyone feels this new baby can bring all its challenges and joys in abundance because we'll be in it together.
The thing is, when someone has a baby on the way, they have so many thoughts. Of course, happiness is a given, but so is fear, even feelings of loss, especially knowing that this new relationship developing means the old relationships that mean so much might take a few hits. We here at My Diaper Cake can understand those feelings. Personally, when I think back to those last few months before my first daughter was born and the days around my shower, I remember feeling those very feelings. Was I going to have the village I knew I needed, and would those around me be as much a part of our new life as they were before? And then I saw that sweet diaper cake sitting on the table. My daughter's name is across the second tier, and my sister's crocheted blueberry is on top. Made for me, in support of me, knowing my life was about to be about diapers and more about sponsorship.