Baby Shower Disasters
I’ve decided that I am not a good mix when it comes to baby showers. I’ve had several memorable experiences with baby showers, the most recent being last night. I thought I’d share my experiences in countdown format:
#4 most memorable shower) My friend Sarah’s baby shower: This one was pretty recent and the experience had nothing to do my involvement. We were playing a “win, lose or draw” type game and one of the girls was getting ready to draw her picture. She looked at the card with the clue, threw the card on the coffee table and began to draw. Did I mention there was a lit candle on the coffee table? The card caught on fire and we were all too focused on the drawing pad to notice until somebody in the back of the room calmly pointed it out. It was actually quite comical to see the reactions of the women around me. Some panicked. Some thought they would try to blow it out…which only made the flame bigger. A retired fire-fighter’s wife knew what to do and they got the fire out before it did any real damage. I won’t forget that baby shower.
#3 most memorable shower) My baby shower: I had toxemia during the last month of my pregnancy and was on bed rest. I was gigantic. My ankles were the size of my calves. My baby shower had already been planned so my mom and grandma got me out of bed and into the car, drove me to the shower and then propped me up on an easy chair where I sat all night. I felt like a fixture in the room. There were over 70 women there. It was crazy! It was also very fun and very memorable…even though I couldn’t move. There were too many presents to open that night and we ended up taking 1/2 of them home with me to open the next day. Even though I was extremely uncomfortable and I looked like a whale and was the center of attention in a large crowd, I felt very loved.
#2 most memorable shower) My friend Nicole’s shower. This shower was last night. The hostess recently moved into a beautiful new house, but she was one of the first to move in on this particular street. Most of the other houses are not completed, yet. It was dark and freezing cold when I arrived and there were other cars coming down the street so I decided to walk on the sidewalk instead of the street. The sidewalks weren’t shoveled and so I started to walk through about 2 inches of slush. My shoes were pretty thick so I didn’t think it was a big deal…that was until the sidewalk ended. Apparently the sidewalk hadn’t been completed because I stepped into a hole full of ice, water and mud. It came almost up to my knees. Looking in front of me I thought there was a sidewalk so I took another step into a deeper hole. I tried to jump out of this hole and onto the street, but wasn’t very graceful about it. I walked up to the house (completely embarrassed about my appearance) and knocked on the door. A friend of mine answered it and said, “Come in!” I said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea…I need some help.” I couldn’t walk inside this beautiful new house after stepping in a huge mud/ice/water hole. So, I stayed outside while the hostess grabbed a towel. I have complained about being cold before, but I have never been this cold in my entire life. My feet were burning with the cold…if that makes any sense. I took my shoes and socks off and followed her through the room full of women looking gorgeous to her bedroom where she gave me a pair of pants to borrow. I drank 2 cups of coffee to warm up and when I got home I soaked my feet in a hot bath. My feet still hurt this morning from being frozen.
#1 most memorable shower) My friend Carrie’s shower. (Yes, Carrie, you’re still #1…I will never, ever, ever forget your shower!) This shower was almost 6 years ago. I was pregnant with my daughter and during both of my pregnancies I had extreme morning sickness the entire 9 months. The nausea would come on quickly and I couldn’t control it very easily. My co-workers would see me suddenly jump up from my desk and run to the bathroom and would all look at me with sympathetic looks when I came out of the bathroom saying things like, “Are you OK?” and “I’m so sorry you’re feeling this way.” It was humiliating. Well, I was headed to Carrie’s shower and I was at a stop light with cars on both sides of me, behind me and in front of me when…you guessed it…a wave of nausea hit like nothing else. I panicked. I couldn’t move my car anywhere and the thought of jumping out of the car and vomiting in front of all these people made me even more nauseous. I thought I could try to keep it inside…and I just couldn’t. I threw up and threw up and threw up all over the car. I think the stress of the situation made the nausea worse. I was hysterical. I was so upset. I was crying so hard I couldn’t see where I was driving. I managed to turn the car around and drive safely home. I pulled into the garage because I didn’t want any of my neighbors to see me getting out of the car covered in vomit. I’m getting teary eyed just remembering the horror of this! I run into the house and I can’t control my crying enough to tell my husband what happened. He thought something horrible happened like I lost the baby or smashed the car. He helped me get into the shower, told me to get showered and dressed and go back to the shower to relax and enjoy time with my girlfriends and he would take care of the car. I did just that and he took the car down to the car wash and cleaned the entire thing…inside and out. I don’t know how he did it and I honestly don’t know if I could do the same. I got to the baby shower and was still pretty emotional, but still had a good time. 
Anyways, that’s it! I don’t think I’ll be going to any baby showers soon. I may have to avoid them all together.
