The majority of moms will enjoy a baby shower before the arrival of their baby, especially if they are first-time moms.
If you are pregnant and are hoping to have a baby shower you are likely to be wondering when it is the best time to hold your shower.
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The Host
First of all, while it is perfectly fine for the mom to arrange the baby shower herself it is generally left to a close family member or a friend to organize on the mom’s behalf.
This makes it easier for mom to relax and enjoy her pregnancy without the pressure of organizing an event, even if the plan is to keep it small. As a mom, you will know who is closest to you and who knows you best, or perhaps you have someone in your close network that is great at event planning.
Once you have chosen your host you can work together on the details of the baby shower so it meets all of your expectations.
When to have a baby shower
Typically, moms will have a bay shower towards the end of the third trimester. This could be as she leaves work for maternity leave or a little before just in case she is too tired towards the end of her pregnancy.
When moms have family and friends close to where she lives this makes everything easier and there is not usually an issue with getting people to attend the shower.
With more families living further apart and people mobbing across the country, baby showers are not strictly left until the last trimester. Having family living further away from one another means that there is some coordination needed and it may not always be possible for the baby shower to be held in the later stages of pregnancy.
For some people who have long-distance friends and relatives, it is nice to have the baby shower early on in the pregnancy (once the main scans have been conducted and you know that the pregnancy is doing ok) so that they can see their special people then and again once the baby is born.
Try not to Schedule It Too Early or Too Late
Holding a baby shower is a choice for mom and she should be able to host it when she feels best but it is best not to hold it too early or too late.
Having a baby shower too late in the pregnancy may lead to it being canceled if the baby comes early.
You will also run the risk of mom being too tired to enjoy the event as the last few weeks of pregnancy can take their toll in terms of tiredness and fatigue.
As a rough guide, a baby shower is best arranged between the 20 and 38-week mark.
Timing Reasons
There may be several reasons why you plan a baby shower outside of the usual guidelines. These reasons include:
Multiple births—if you are expecting twins or multiple births you may want to hold the shower before the 38 weeks mark as twins often arrive earlier than the expected due date.
The mom may also tire earlier than she would if it were a single pregnancy. By holding the shower earlier she will have more time to prepare for the multiple deliveries and for looking after more than one baby.
Location—as mentioned earlier, when the mom has family dotted around the country it will take some coordination to allow as many people as possible to attend the baby shower. You can also choose to have an online baby shower.
Seasonal reasons—if the third trimester falls during popular holiday seasons you may want o to avoid holding a shower at that particular time so may move the celebrations forward so that there is no clash.
As a mom, you will your baby shower to be focused on you so if you have to complete with Christmas presents it may but a bit of a downer on events
Religious reasons—if you are part of a particular culture or you have religious beliefs you may want to avoid celebrating at a certain time of the year, during Lent, for example.
You may also want to adhere to the old traditions of your religion or culture. Many cultures will have a celebration after the birth of the baby rather than before.
No Right or Wrong
The short answer is that while there are certain times you would not want to hold the celebrations, such as before 20 weeks, there is no right answer as to when is best.
When it comes to being too late to have a baby shower that will depend on the mom ad her health and how quickly the host can organize a late shower. If you did leave it too late to hold a shower or the shower needs to be canceled as it was booked too late, it is not necessarily spoiled.
If mom gives birth early or is not up to enjoying a celebration late on you can always arrange an event for once the baby has arrived. This can be a lovely thing to do as the guests will be able to see the baby too.
Alternatives
As mentioned, there is no right or wrong time to host a baby shower and it is not the end of the world if you feel that you have left it too late to organize a party.
In addition to holding the gathering of family and friends until the baby is born, you can consider the following options:
Holding a virtual baby shower—this will mean that those long-distance friends and relatives don’t have to miss out and you don’t feel guilty leaving someone out up to the point that you never get around to setting a date. You can still play games and have fun and you could even arrange for a food package to be sent to their houses to fit with your theme.
Lunch/dinner dates—if there is no time to host a full baby shower you can enjoy a small gathering of friends for lunch or dinner. It could be one main lunch or several lunches over a few weeks or months with different sets of friends or family members
Spa—a pampering session is very welcome for a lot of moms so you can check for a spa in your area that you can enjoy with a few of your closest friends
Outdoor event—if you have nice weather and want a more casual celebration you can ask all of your friends and close family members to meet at your local park and all bring a blanket and a plate of food. This informal event does not take much organizing and can be a relaxed way to spend time with those closest to you.
What Moms Say
We asked moms when they had their baby shower and what they found best:
“With my daughter, I was around 30 weeks. I still had lots of energy at this time and don’t think I would have enjoyed dit any later as not log after my baby shower I started to take 2 naps a day!” — Hayley
“I had my baby shower at be 33 weeks. It was a time that worked best for my family as had a lot of birthday parties and weddings to attend around the same time. It worked really well for me and it still gave me time to review any gift registry and make sure I had everything ready for when Bubba arrived— Laura
“I’ll be 31 weeks when I have my baby shower. In fact, I am planning on two showers, one a little nearer to the birth with close friends who are not going to make it to my main shower. It was too tricky to get everyone together at the same time.” — Mrs. D
“I was moving house (I know) when I was in my last stages of pregnancy so I planned an early baby shower which happened to match up to the time I had by screening scan. This meant that we could do a gender reveal at the same time. We just tweaked the registry to make all of the items gender-neutral and then uses some vouchers that we received to buy clothes and more feminine items once we revealed we were having a little girl”—Deena
I had my baby shower one week before I gave birth. It wasn’t planned that way but my baby boy decided to make an early appearance. I would recommend having your baby shower earlier than 37 weeks just to make sure it actually goes ahead! “—Sara