Why I’m Having A Sprinkle For My Second Baby

Our sweet little baby girl is set to arrive in June, and I’ve been going back and forth now for months on whether to have a small baby shower, or “sprinkle” for her.

On the one hand, I feel like it’s wrong to ask all my friends and family to give gifts to me again since they all contributed helpful baby items the first time around. There is a lot I don’t need to buy this time. We already have all the furniture and baby gadgets, for example.

But, on the other hand, while our first child was a boy, this second little one is a girl, and people have been encouraging me to have a girly sprinkle party so that I can get some fun pink, ruffled onesies and all the other fun stuff that baby girls use and wear. I know that you know what I’m talking about!

After many late nights of deliberation, I have decided to in fact throw a sprinkle for our second child, but my reasons are more than just to get a few pink clothes.

While I do think it would be fun to have some girly clothes for my precious soon-to-be-here little girl, I want this sprinkle to have a much more meaningful and special purpose, namely the celebration of her life. 

In my back and forth over the past few weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on our first baby shower three years ago. Yes, it was such a blessing to receive so many helpful baby items, but what stood out to me the most was the excitement, the joy and the anticipation of our baby boy’s arrival. 

My husband and I were over the moon to be pregnant. We were thankful that I had been enjoying a healthy pregnancy. We couldn’t wait to meet our little guy, and that eagerness was reflected in the baby shower itself: our family and friends played fun guessing games about what he would look like and what sort of personality he would have; we received wonderful advice on how to raise a boy; and some even prayed for us as parents and for the new season and journey ahead.

Our first baby shower was not about the materialism. It was about the celebration of new life.

And then it hit me: I didn’t want to withhold that same celebration for my second child. Her life, her personhood, her personality (soon to be discovered) should be just as eagerly anticipated and reveled in as the life of my first child, our now toddler son.

It was this realization that made me ultimately decide that a sprinkle is a good thing to do for any subsequent child (yes, even child number five!). It doesn’t have to be about gifts and perhaps it shouldn’t be. I don’t even care if my friends and family bring pink clothes to the sprinkle. What I am excited about, though, is having them over to talk about our baby girl, to pray over her, to give my husband and I advice on raising a girl and for all of us to share in the joy of her arrival together.

There will be good food and drinks mixed with lots of laughter, tears of joy and words of wisdom, and I can’t wait!