This post has been sponsored by Pampers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I was pregnant with Eli, I was really against having any kind of shower. He was my third baby, and my third BOY. I didn’t need very many new boy things…I’m swimming in boy things! I also thought I would feel so silly being celebrated for becoming a mom, when I was already a mom. I also hate to admit it, but I was having a bit of a hard time with the fact that I was having another boy, and I was worried that another baby boy shower would just make me sad that I wasn’t having a girl. Luckily, I have amazing friends that pushed for it, and they put together a little “sprinkle” (or a celebration honoring a new baby for a mom that has already had her first baby) in honor of Eli anyway. He ended up being born a few weeks before the celebration, so I brought him along to the dinner. I must say, after being “sprinkled” for the third time around, all of my opinions on having a shower for any child after your first have completely changed. I loved Eli with all my heart and was so proud of him. From that day on I concluded that every baby should be celebrated, no matter how many kids you already have!

Recently, four of my best friends all gave birth to baby boys. Can you even handle these pictures?! First off, aren’t my friends gorgeous? All of their kids are just as beautiful too.

This was each of my friends’ second or third child, and now that my opinion had changed, I wanted to make sure that we still “sprinkled” each one of them (and honestly, how often are four of your friends pregnant at the same time with the same gender?!). When I asked each of these four friends what they could use this time around, they all said, “just get me diapers!” Moms who are having a second or third baby already know the huge number of diapers new babies go through, so a simple celebration where each guest just brings a pack of diapers is my favorite way to go! This way, the mom feels loved celebrating a new baby, and she leaves with an important baby item that she will need and use. Pampers Swaddlers are my favorite diaper to give as a gift because I loved them so much with my newborn babies. They are great for stopping blowouts, extra gentle on new baby’s skin, have a wetness indicator on the front of the diaper that easily shows when your baby might need a diaper change, and the newborn diapers even have a contoured umbilical notch so that it doesn’t rub on your brand new baby’s sensitive belly button.

Here are a few tips on how to throw a successful “sprinkle:”

• Keep the decorations simple: For this sprinkle I threw up some cute bunting, decorated the tables with a few flower arrangements, grabbed cupcakes from a local grocery store (this busy mom of three doesn’t have time for treats from scratch, haha!), and I added a few simple photo opp accessories like little mustaches for a baby boy (or you could do hair bows for a baby girl).
• Skip the games: Too many baby shower games can get a little long and might feel like too much. For a sprinkle, I think it’s okay to forgo the games, or keep them really easy. If you want to do something with the group to spark conversation, have everyone go around the room and give a piece of advice to the mom, or share a funny story of when they had a major “mom fail” or something along those lines. Keep it to easy conversation starters and let the discussion flow naturally. Since the mom has most likely already done more “game” type of activities for her first baby shower, these don’t need to be repeated a second or third time around.
• Give the sprinkled momma what she will really use: We asked the guests at this sprinkle to simply bring a pack of diapers! It was super easy and all of my pregnant friends were appreciative. Veteran moms know how gentle Pampers Swaddlers are for newborn babies, so they loved it.
• Make the sprinkle a brunch or a dinner at a fun restaurant rather than an elaborate event: For my sprinkle with Eli we had dinner in the back room at one of our favorite restaurants. For this sprinkle for my girlfriends, we shared simple treats on my friend’s beautiful back deck. Casual and simple is the key for a sprinkle!

photography by Jordan Zobrist