Can you have a baby shower for your second child?

Are baby showers exclusively the privilege of first time parents? Or is it just fine to share your joy with your friends and relatives and perhaps get some gifts in the process if you are pregnant with your second child? Apparently, baby showers come with their own etiquette. Baby showers are "acceptable" for second children in some cases, and not in others, according to many. How do these rules work?

Baby showers are, as the name suggests, mainly centered around showering the expectant mother with gifts. Baby items are often expensive and that might well be the reason many people think that parents should not hold a second baby shower. What are the exceptions to this rule? According to my friends, it is fine to have a baby shower for a second child if that child is of a different gender to your first, and you might need different items. A baby of the same gender deserves its own baby shower if it is 10 or so years younger than its sibling, or if the mother got divorced and remarried since being pregnant for the first time (meaning the second baby has a different father).

The conclusion is that you should probably not count on a baby shower being thrown for you if you have recently been pregnant, and you're expecting another child of the same gender. That does not mean you cannot celebrate, though! If you are not in it for the gifts, and simply want to welcome your new baby formally, together with your loved-ones, a "blessingway" would be in order. You might go to lunch or have a small party, without the many gifts that normally come with a baby shower. That sounds good to me! Being able to do most of your baby shopping yourself certainly has its charms, too!