LilSugar

Good Day, Sunshine: Pottery Barn Kids Plans a Sunshine Baby Shower

Rebecca M Gruber — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 07:45:27 PST

Put down the umbrella and celebrate the sun! A celebration for a mama-to-be may call for a shower, but it's usually filled with sunshine and bright smiles. No one knows this better than Kim Stoegbauer, a party-planning guru and the founder of the TomKat Studio. She's teamed up with one of the ultimate baby-gear emporiums - Pottery Barn Kids - to share her baby-shower know-how with other moms-to-be. Her Sunshine Baby Shower is featured in on the company's new "Parties and Celebrations" section of the PBK website, along with party-planning tips, how-to videos, and free downloads so anyone can re-create her sophisticated style.

Keep reading to see the cheery party and be inspired to create your own!

Source: Pottery Barn Kids

The Rise of the Fetus Party: Why Midwives Are Concerned

Natasha Dantzig — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:37:53 PST

What the fetus! For many expectant parents, routine ultrasounds are one of the things looked forward to most throughout the pregnancy process, offering an incredible glimpse at the eagerly anticipated bundle of joy within. The last couple of years have seen an increase in both the use and popularity of 4D ultrasounds, which provide an almost eerily realistic image of the baby-to-be.

Though parents are understandably delighted by these scans - OMG he has your nose! - creating one more photographic keepsake is not their intended use, which is to monitor the baby's development and ensure that everything looks good medically. Yet the use of these scans has taken a quick departure from their medical origins, with "fetus parties" - where parents-to-be invite friends and family to gaze upon the 3D and 4D scans - becoming more and more commonplace.

While everyone can appreciate why expectant parents are so excited to show off and share these lifelike images of their unborn baby with family and friends, not everyone in the medical community thinks it's such a great idea. In a column for the BBC, Professor Cathy Warwick, chief executive at The Royal College of Midwives, discusses her concern about the growing popularity of "fetus parties": "I think the worrying trend towards the commercialization of pregnancy and trend in 'fetus parties' can add to the burden, and can increase the expectation for mothers, which midwives then have to deal with.”

Did you have a fetus party?

She's About to Pop: 15 Adorable Baby Shower Cake Pops

Nicole Abbott — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:04:30 PST

Cake pops reign supreme at parties as decor and party favors - and baby showers are no exception! Delectable cake pops to coordinate with the party theme and decor are a big hit with guests - and sure to impress the mama-to-be you're celebrating. Click through to check out these 15 baby-shower cake pops to drool over.

Ruffle Your Feathers: Little Pink Birdies Baby Shower

Nicole Abbott — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:04:06 PST

Nothing beats a good shower! When planning a shower for a mama-to-be, close friends feel the pressure to make this a party to remember for the guest of honor. To pull off a jaw-dropping event, every little detail counts - just ask party stylist Paula Biggs of Frog Prince Paperie!

Click through to get a look at this Little Pink Birdies-themed baby shower she hosted for an expectant friend - packed with stunning details sure to inspire.

Source: Frog Prince Paperie

Shower Mama-to-Be: 10 Darling Baby Shower Invitations

Nicole Abbott — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:04:31 PST

Getting ready for baby is one of the joys (and pains) of pregnancy. There's so much to get before baby arrives, like a car seat, a crib, and lots of onesies! That's why friends and family gather to shower mamas-to-be with love - and lots of presents! - at a baby shower. Check out these 10 darling baby shower invitations and invite your loved ones to celebrate mama and baby!

Best of 2011: The Year's Best Baby Shower Themes

Nicole Abbott — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:42:10 PST

Get your umbrellas ready! This past year, mamas-to-be around the country were showered with love - and lots of baby gear - at their baby showers. From a Goodnight Moon-inspired celebration and a coed "Milkalicious" baby shower to sprinkle showers for experienced moms, we've featured some amazingly stylish baby showers this year!

Click through to see our picks for the best baby shower themes of the year.

Over the Moon: A Goodnight Moon Baby Shower

Nicole Abbott — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 07:03:58 PST

In the great green room, there was a telephone and a red balloon . . . The Margaret Brown Wise bedtime classic, Goodnight Moon, has been loved for generations and is a popular gift to give to a new baby or expectant mom. It also provides plenty of colorful inspiration for a themed - and adorable! - baby shower.

Source: Hostess with the Mostess

Sip and See: A "Milkaholic" Coed Baby Shower

LilSugar — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 07:16:51 PST

Milk and cookies for all! Lots of expectant couples prefer to celebrate with a coed baby shower to include the soon-to-be-dad and other male friends and family members. Planning a coed shower can be a little tricky - since you still want the party to revolve around baby while managing to please all of your guests. Check out this modern bash with a milk and cookies theme for some refreshing ideas if you're hosting or planning a coed shower of your own. It'll make a "milkaholic" out you!

Source: Carrie Sellman of Half Baked

DIY Baby Shower Gifts For the Not So Naturally Crafty

LilSugar — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:36:24 PDT

Grab the knitting needles and stick of glue: it's time to DIY. You don't have to be Martha Stewart to whip up an extra special handmade gift for an expecting friend. Even those not naturally gifted with a needle and thread can create super cute, memorable (and practical!) items that mama and baby will treasure.

Check out the following designs from creative Etsy artists and prepare to impress the baby shower crowd with your crafty self.

A Diaper Cake For Fashionable Friend

Rebecca M Gruber — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:12:43 PDT

Hey good lookin'! When one of the most fashionable people in the office is due to welcome a baby, it's not easy to come up with a gift that will wow the crowd. I recently found myself in that predicament as our own pregnant FabSugar editor approached her due date. While I would have loved to shower her unborn son with a closet like Skyler Berman's, I decided to keep things a bit lower key for our office party. The LilSugar team has a tradition of creating show-stopping diaper cakes for our colleagues' parties, and I carried it through with a stylish cake topped off with the one thing every Vogue-reading mama loves: shoes! See how I made our party's centerpiece, which took less than an hour!