When a baby enters a family, whether it is through birth or through adoption, it is a reason to celebrate. There is no good reason why a couple who is about to adopt a baby or a child should not have a shower in the same way that a couple who is going to have a baby the traditional way should have a shower. Still, throwing a baby shower for an adopting family may, in some ways, be very different from throwing a baby shower for a family who is going to birth a baby.

In terms of the theme for the baby shower, if the adopting family is adopting a baby, the theme will probably be along the same lines as for a regular baby shower. If you’d having a Sesame Street-themed baby shower for a couple having a baby, there’s no reason you couldn’t have a Sesame Street-themed baby shower for an adopting family. In the same way, the gifts for a baby shower for an adopting family, if they are adopting a baby, will be the same as the gifts for a regular baby shower.

Games are an area where things might be different when throwing a shower for an adopting family. For example, many baby shower games focus on the pregnant mom-to-be. Obviously, games that have to do with guessing the size of the mother’s belly, or measuring the mother’s belly wouldn’t be appropriate. However, there are still many games, such as baby item memory, that can be played. You can still also guess the birth day and weight of the baby, if the adopted baby has not yet been born.

Here, however, is where things can be different. If the baby is already born, and especially if the baby isn’t a baby at all but is an older child, you might consider holding off on the shower for the adopting family until after the adopted child arrives. In this respect, you can help the older child to celebrate the adoption with the adopting family, and recognize the excitement and happiness that she is bringing into the world.

With an older child, obviously, gifts, themes, and games will all be different, and should center around the child.

Posted in Adoption

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