10 Make the Most of Your Baby Shower (2)

Avoid the unnecessary. This is a great time to talk to other moms and get their advice about what you do and don’t need. For example, the books may tell you to purchase twelve small, kimono-style undershirts for the first month of your baby’s life (a) so that you need to do laundry only once a day, and (b) because a nasty old onesie might rub against your infant’s delicate cord stump and break it off prematurely (and messily). However, the truth is that a loose onesie is perfectly fine, that yucky stuff gets everywhere anyway, and that cord stumps are tougher than you think. But before you make your final decisions, remember to talk to a new mom who’s on your wavelength. Don’t ask your cousin who has elevated neuroticism into an art form unless, of course, you’re even more neurotic. In which case you’ve already purchased, washed, ironed and put away your twelve small, kimono-style undershirts.

Don’t ask for things you can liberate from the hospital yourself. A bulb aspirator (a.k.a. snot snatcher) is a good example. On leaving the hospital a day or two after your baby’s birth, you’ll be able to walk away (albeit uncomfortably) with at least one, as well as a handful of digital thermometers.

Don’t underestimate (or forget) how fast babies grow. Or even how big they can be when they come out. Apparently, the average baby weighs about seven and a half pounds. Which means that in order for some babies to be average, there must be non-average babies on either end of the weight chart -- delicate little slips of things around the five-pound mark, and great, hefty ten-pounders. Both extremes are fine, both can be perfectly healthy and both can completely screw up your well-laid plans. So ask for things in a variety of sizes—bigger rather than smaller—and take into account the time of year when your baby will be born. Nobody wants to wear angora in August.