Not Just Another Birthday Question...

why not do it the week before the new baby comes? she is 2 she won't know the difference. I would not try to do it the week or even the month after the new baby comes. you will be tired and worn out and still recovering from the birth. Have it ahead.

have it a few weeks before. She wont know and she'll get a simple birthday party with J. her parents and baby and whoever else can come and eat cake on her birthday...thats what Id do

I'd do it before and tell her she's getting it early b/c you'll be having her sibling around her bday. Then, on her actual bday, have your mom, MIL and SIL do something smaller just to make her day special and you can participate as much as you can.

If you do it right after - Problem 1- there will be too many grubby hands reaching for the baby. Problem 2 - it won't be all about her. It will be her sharing her spotlight with new baby. She's got the rest of her life for that. Problem 3 - everyone will be broke from spending on the new baby and those who havent, will feel the need to bring new baby a gift too.

I would do it ahead of time. May 5th is a Saturday. I would do it then. Help babygirl pick a theme. Go to Oriental trading or Party City online now and get the stuff ordered. Assign SIL the cake, MIL the food, Mom, the decorations. You do the invites. Assign dad to be camera man.

Luckily, she's two and has very little sense of time. So the week before your scheduled c-section, you just tell her it's her birthday. You could even lead up to in for a few days (YAY! Saturday is your birthday!!!).

Celebrate it exactly like you would if it WERE her birthday. I guarantee she won't care about the date discrepancy.

Even at age 2 changing the date will not be a big issue, your little princess will not know the difference but changing or not the day, just keep it sweet and simple, with mostly family, the fact that is HER day, with her cake and her gifts, people around celebrating her with a nice special dress will maker her super happy.

Some one suggested pizza, that is always great help, do not cook and do not worry, let your mom, MIL and SIL handle the work.

If you want to be involved, before you deliver make yourself or buy party favors, if there are going to be mostly grown ups with few kids ( I would keep the kids number limited) buy special Themed cookies (being princess cookies, shaped as 2, or birthdaycake shape cookies and put them in a clear bag with a nice ribbon and even a small (home made) tag with your girls name.

If money is not a big issue, order some home delivered balloons and make sure that she goes to the door to receive her special delivery.

Since the little baby must have or will be receiving a lot of new stuff, get your little girl a lot of gifts, they do not have to be expensive, just a lot, and before your baby is here... wrap them all in beautiful paper and do not forget the ribbons.

now the tips of where to get stuff... I love etsy, I bought for my daughter last year hello kitty cookies as party favors for everybody... I also got a paper made cake topper with hello kitty and my girl's name. Y got at Target little toys and put them in clear bags and printed myself some hello kitty personalized tags.

Balloons, balloons always set the party mood and make the kids super happy, you can buy either at target, walmart or party city the package that includes de tank and balloons and they can be inflated at the house or you can order them in advance at party city and have someone pick them up.

For my daughter's 2nd birthday the theme was butterflies, the party favors I made were soap shaped as butterflies and dragonflies, I got the molds and materials at Michael's, they are super easy to do and they looked beautiful (and cheap) again in clear bags and a nice personalized tag. That year I got at Etsy.com some edible butterflies and decorated a simple cake with them. It looked beautiful.

I love birthdays, if you want more ideas and where or how to get some of this stuff just send me a personal message.

Good luck, congratulations!!!

Keep it small to family only. 2 year olds wont' know the difference. Then have something catered or order pizzas etc. Keep it simple since you will have a lot on your plate and yes recovering and needing as much rest as you can get. Congrats!

Well I had our second son via c-section 8 days before our first son turned 2. We had a party at the little Gym when our second son was 3 weeks old.I have a very easy recovery so planning was not a problem(we did have somebody watch the baby at the house though).

I would go ahead and have it a couple weeks after. She will never no at 2. That way you will be able to pertisipate more. I would not do it before the baby because you are probalby going to be busy enough trying to get the baby stuff together.

Is it possible for you to schedule the birth after your daughter's party, and/or is it possible for you to move up your daughter's birthday party a few days?

Explain to her mommy will still be sick from the hospital on her real birthday bc of the baby. So you are having her party before the baby comes. Have the party before baby arrives and give her a cupcake w candle to blow out on her real birthday. Kids this young don't mind if the party isn't exactly on their birthday. They're just excited to have one. And recovery after each c-section takes longer and was more painful for me. Just make sure you include her to help change, bathe, and hold baby. Praise, hug, and love up on her for being such a good big sister and mommy's lil helper. I also brought a lil gift (toy, candy, whatever) for my kids to the hospital and told them baby wanted to give them a present. Good luck mommy!

When I was pregnant for my second who was due Sept 4 and my oldest birthday was Sept 11th. I planned the party in August. Everyone understood why the party was so early. I think I had it around the 24th and some even chastised me for having it that close...but my first was late and I had a feeling my second would be too. My oldest daughter also was turning 2 so it wasn't a huge deal to move her birthday as she never knew the difference. And then on her actual birthday we still celebrated within our own little family with cake & ice cream.

Your doctor will insist you be up and walking around the day after your surgery, or even possibly the day of. You will be mobile. Getting up from a sitting position will be difficult, and bending to pick up something will be uncomfortable at best, and you won't be able to lift anything over 25 lbs, but you will NOT be just having to sit around and watch, either. You will certainly be able to participate. If it were me, I would station myself on the floor to help her unwrap presents, and have someone else bring them to the two of you, and then have someone standing by to help you up when she's done; since you will probably be sitting for a while this should be okay. (Sitting on the floor = no bending down to see the "treasure" your daughter wants to show you! No bending to pick up gifts and carry them to her!)

C-sections have come a long way since our mothers had them. My mom's and MIL's were both vertical cuts, but they mostly do horizontal cuts now, which are kinder on the muscles and heal faster, with less pain and more mobility during the healing process. Also, see if you can request stitches instead of staples. They pull less when you are moving around, and leave a prettier scar.

Congratulaions on your baby, and Happy Birthday to your daughter!

My son was born 10 days before his sister's 2nd birthday, but was due 2 days before it. We went shopping for party supplies, sent out invites and ordered her cake about a month before her birthday and planned a small, family only party at home for the weekend after my due date. My mom and MIL were going to take care of food, hubby was in charge of drinks, cleaning and decorating. We then planned a big party with family and friends for 6 weeks after my due date. That way we celebrated her actual day with little fuss, but she still got a party, AND she didn't get cheated out of a big bash at a fun place just because her brother was born. It worked out really well, gave me time to recover and was rather stressless. Good luck with the end of your pregnancy and congrats on number 2!

I like the idea of having it after the c-section, near or on her birthday. She'll be needing the extra attention.

And my recovery from c-section was pretty easy. After a week, you should be pretty okay and definitely able to celebrate your 2 yo.

Congrat on your daughter's second b.d. and on your soon to be new addition. at 2 years old, there's nothing to stop you from rescheduling her party to suit your needs. Have it a month or even a month and a half early. you can participate, and she'll be none the wiser.

We had our DS's first b-day party 2 weeks early. Then again, I come from a family which routinely reschedules celebrations to meet our needs including big ones like x-mas, new year, thanksgiving, etc.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

You need to have it afterwards. There is NO book of rules that say it can't be a week or two later either.

My friend has a son with a December 16th birthday. It is a day or so before Christmas Break and then of course everyone is spending time and money on Christmas so they hardly ever accept an invitation at that time.

So she waits until school is back in and sends out the invitations the first week of January. They usually have it the next weekend after. Her daughter's birthday is the near end of June so they try to have one for her the last week of school in May. It doesn't matter to the kiddo's.

I say have the party sometime in the week of the 9th through the weekend of the 17th. That way the baby will be older and when everyone at the party is handing him/her around the baby will be able to endure it a little better.

Plus, I would keep it simple, cake and ice cream, home kind of party.

You'll want to do it after. She'll need the attention after all you and the baby get after you get home. It'll be perfect timing for her to be special!!! Make sure the baby gets her a birthday gift too!!!

Send out the invites before you go or at least have them filled out (since I don't know the exact timing of everything). Plan the party with your in-laws and let them handle the details - sounds like they'll be wonderful.

Don't open ANY gifts for the baby at the party (if you HAVE to, do away from DD's vision). It's HER party!!! Would even be better if baby was asleep most of the time!!!!! She'll need a special day after having an interloper enter the scene and grab all the attention - even from YOU!!!

Personally, I like the idea of doing it before the baby arrives. That way she won't be having the baby "steal her thunder"! LOL

That's what I'd do--then on her actual birthday, do a small quiet family dinner & cake while you're recuperating.

A few weeks before or after will not matter.

Heck my son turn 6 in December and we are FINALLY now just having his bday party. Thankfully he realizes that it is ok to celebrate on another day besides his actual bday.

Congrats on baby