Meet the baby party

[darkprincess]

I am doing this a little early, but I am one of those people that needs time to mentally prepare and have a good idea of what I am going to do.

I am due to have my second child and plan to have a meet the baby party. We are already telling people this will be happening, especially so they do not feel the need to throw an unwanted shower.

Some of the relevant details are:
1.)A lot of people will be invited (expect to be invited). There is a large extended family including many children.
2.)We have a big house and a large fenced in yard.
3.)This will happen in the summer.
4.)We prefer not to have pot lucks.
5.)We are open to the idea of an open house over a four hour time frame or a shorter two hour sort of deal.
6.)Food ideas can be anything including but not limited to heavy appetizers, pizza, BBQ, cake (cupcakes) and punch, spaghetti feed, etc but not a formal sit down meal. Nothing that will involve lots of dishes that need to be cleaned. We will happily have paper plates, napkins, plastic silverware and paper cups.
7.)We plan on bringing the baby bassinet downstairs. We will let the baby decide how much attention it wants. If it is asleep people can see her sleeping in the bassinet or in mommy or daddy's arms. We recognize this could get a little difficult. Suggestions
8.) We would like to keep it very informal, possibly not even mailing/handing out invitations. Instead we would do phone calls/invite on facebook/in person "Hey we are having a meet the baby event. Please feel free to come by/drop in. . .

What have other people seen or done with meet the baby parties? Do you do these when the baby is two weeks old, a month. . ? We do not have a set plan and are pretty open minded. Any ideas or feedback no matter how big or small are appreciated

[greencat]

Might I suggest that you spring for the STRONG plastic plates if you're serving anything more than sandwiches?  I always hate eating off crappy paper plates or foam ones - the paper ones will turn into paper tacos if the moisture from the food soaks through, and if the food is particularly heavy/plentiful foam will break...

[QueenofAllThings]

To make it easy for you:

6 foot heros
Enlist a relative to grill - hot dogs, burgers - or have a make-your-own kebab bar
Lots of finger food (keeps the kids happy)
Big salads - pasta, green, bean, etc
Desserts should be finger food - cookies, brownies. Consider s'mores if an adult will be willing to supervise.

Your only role, with a baby that young, is taking care of baby - keeping other small children from poking, etc. No one should expect the baby to be 'on'.

[TheVapors]

I'd probably treat it like a standard summer Cook Out. With the added bonus: Meet the new little one!

Lots of hot dogs/hamburgers. Some giant tubs of salads. Easy to make or buy and easy to clean-up. Makings for sandwiches or subs... this could be many sub rolls and some deli meats and cheeses. It's also easy to set up and allows everyone to fix the sandwich they want without you or the father having to hover and create the item for them. Desert foods could simply be a big sheet cake or a big cookie plate or cupcakes.

A few informal yard games set up for the kids to entertain themselves outdoors.

I might suggest waiting a month for the baby party. Let the kid (and your family) settle in before entertaining big. Two weeks might be too soon if you're getting into the rhythm of things with a new baby, again.

[Loves to polish silver]

I think that the idea overall sounds like a lovely way for friends and family to meet your second child.  I second the strong plastic plates idea, and if it's going to be hot (I live in the Coastal South, so hot and humid are assumed for me) I would have a dessert that won't melt but will be refreshing (I'm thinking watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon) in addition to something like cookies or brownies that won't be terribly messy and that many folks will enjoy rather than cupcakes/cake with frosting that may melt.

As to when, I have a 2 week old, am feeling wonderful and wanting to start getting my weekly schedule down since I'm lucky enough to stay home.  I asked my pediatrician if I could start taking our little one out on some errands to the store and to church since she and I are doing well and when I could do so.  She told me that she doesn't want me doing much of anything with crowds indoors or folks will be close until after she's 6 weeks old and that the pediatrician would prefer 8 weeks because if our little girl gets a fever she may to have major medical intervention that I don't want her to go through.  The pediatrician was OK with outdoor activities where crowds won't be bearing down if the weather is temperate.  So, no medical advice, but I would wait until a minimum of 6 weeks to have this party.  She was fine with me having folks over onsie twosie to visit, but wanted me to stay away from crowds.

Many congratulations on your upcoming delivery.  I hope that everything goes well and that you and your new little one have a speedy recovery and that everyone is healthy. 

[TootsNYC]

1.)A lot of people will be invited (expect to be invited). There is a large extended family including many children.
2.)We have a big house and a large fenced in yard.
3.)This will happen in the summer.

I think that because of these, you may have people who think it's a big family gathering, if that sort of thing has ever happened anywhere in your family before. (and it could be a lot of fun--shooing the kids out back for play for a couple of hours, etc)

If you want to avoid that, I'd suggest inviting people in a less "party invitation" way. E-mail them all directly or call, and say, "Would you like to come meet the baby? We're asking people to drop by for coffe for just a little bit on X date." Then it doesn't feel like a party and more like a short-visit sort of situation.

Because parties, by their very nature offer the guests an opportunity to socialize with the OTHER guests.

And go by the doctor's suggestion for the timing.

[darkprincess]

We will go by any doctor suggestions, but currently doctor says that as long as there are no complications and we would be seeing each of these people anyway (be exposed to there germs) that she sees no reason to wait other than to make sure I feel up to it (minimum 2 weeks possibly more).

Thank everyone for reminding me about the strong plates and silverware. I have made that mistake before 

I acutally like the idea of the "big family gathering," and those usually do mean that the cousin's get to play outside and socialize. I think this is better than when they come seperately and the kids get bored very quickly and have no one to play with. 

The more I think BBQ I think about the work of someone having to cook. If I can invite people in a please drop by between xtime and xtime (1p-4pm) I could have lots of appetizers including fruit and cupcakes laid out. Most of my family and friends will eat these without plates or silverware, although I will have them out.

Thank you for all ideas and suggestions. Feel free to keep them coming especially any examples of "meet the baby" parties that you have gone to.

[jpcher]

We will go by any doctor suggestions, but currently doctor says that as long as there are no complications and we would be seeing each of these people anyway (be exposed to there germs) that she sees no reason to wait other than to make sure I feel up to it (minimum 2 weeks possibly more).

The thing about planning the party for 2 weeks old is what if baby is overdue? I don't think you should send out invites until after the baby is born and 2 weeks isn't a lot of notice, especially in the summer when people have weekend activities planned.

I agree that maybe a BBQ would be too much, especially if the party is only 2-4 hours long during a time which is after lunch and before dinner.

I do like QueenofAllThings' idea of 6 foot sub sandwich -- easy on you and a substantial enough "main" dish for in-between meal snackers.

Along with a bunch of easy, standard appetizer trays:

*Cheese/sausage/cracker trays
*Veggie trays & dips (I don't think that I would do salads)
*Fruit trays (even a bowl of whole fruit apples/bananas/oranges, etc.)
*Crock-pot meatballs or pigs in a blanket
*Dips & Chips
*Cakes and other sweets

Or any other specialty apps that will be no-muss-no-fuss.

How many people are you planning on inviting?



You never know if baby will be a keep-you-up-cranky-at-all-hours kid (hopefully not!) So, in my opinion, keeping things simple would be the way to go.



Congrats on the new baby!

[kareng57]

I agree with jpcher - certainly you can have preliminary-plans for a meet-the-baby party before you've actually had the baby, but it seems kind of odd to already have a date set.  Anything is possible - the baby could be early or late, or there might be medical issues that could keep you or the baby in hospital a bit longer than expected.

In any event, the more casual, the better.  I'd be in favour of a four-hour time slot.  If it's something like 2 - 6 pm, appetizers are fine (you have had great suggestions).  I'd say, wait until the baby is born and have the party when he/she is about 3 or 4 weeks old.  Most people aren't going to get all that upset about "short notice" for a meet-the-baby party, assuming that you send the invitations about 1 or 2 weeks prior.  If they can't attend, well, they just can't.

[Sophia]

My parents had a Meet The Baby party for my baby.  It was wonderful.  She was young enough that she was passed around to everyone.  I don't think I held her the entire party except to breastfeed (in another room)  She gave people something to talk about. We did what we normally do which is load a table with food and let people help themselves.  They could make a full meal, or snack on the chips/dip and/or sheet cake. 

[Marbles]

We did a Meet the Baby for our second child. I planned it for three weeks after my due date, because he *was* going to be out by then no matter what! We mailed invitations, but there's no reason not to send an email or call folks. We made it an open house, and set an end time just to be sure we got some rest afterwards.

We did a midafternoon snack buffet: chips, fruit, veggies, dip, cookies, Costco mini quiches, etc. My BFF did most of the food prep, plating, etc. It was really nice to have her take care of that aspect of hosting for me. We're both comfortable in each other's kitchens, so that worked out well. BFF is also my son's godmother so that let us limit contributions to just her without "spurning" our other friends.  If you have someone in your life who can take on that hosting role, I'd recommend it. Remember, you and your DH will be spending time supervising your older child, too.

BFF also make us a gift of house cleaning right before the party. That was awesome! If you can swing it, having a cleaning service in makes preparation much easier. 

Some folks will bring gifts. I set ours on a table outside the main party area to be opened later. You may want to think about how you want to handle that.

You may well be able to pass around a sleeping baby. Considering how much new babies sleep, most folks won't get a cuddle in if you limit it to awake times only. Related to that, have several bottles of hand sanitizer in strategic places. Enthusiastic baby holders are less pouty when they don't have to detour too far to clean up.

[Isometric]

That sounds like a great idea. I love that you're keeping it casual.

Mini pizzas are easy to make and cost very little. If you use puff pastry as the base, you can use an egg ring or glass to make the rounds en masse, then keep it simple with the toppings, Hawaiian, margarita etc