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Last weekend, Major was finally ready to make his big debut. And by “finally ready”, I mean that Kyle and I were finally ready– the embargo was over! This pregnancy, Kyle and I decided that we would implement a two week No Visitors policy when it came to our newborn. We got a little overwhelmed during our postpartum experience last time around, and we wanted to make sure that we had two weeks this time to just bond as a family and make sure that Marlowe was really settling in to her new normal before we invited other people in to our nest. It was the best thing we ever did, and I highly recommend it– IF you can pull it off without your friends and family wanting to kill you. Luckily, ours were understanding and supportive– but I can’t make any promises for yours. Ha! To celebrate the time that our loved ones could finally meet our baby, we decided to have a little “Sip And See” in Major’s honor! If you’re not familiar with a Sip And See, it is basically a genius kind of party that is a tired parent’s best friend. Instead of having a constant wave of visitors coming and going, you just throw one party for a few hours one afternoon, and everybody who wants to meet the baby comes over! Fifty birds with one stone!
For Major’s party, I wanted it to be super family-friendly and fun– with great food and yummy drinks. We had the food catered by an awesome local Mexican restaurant, and for dessert I served two types of cupcakes: Vanilla Coconut and Cookies & Cream! My one party mistake was probably putting the cupcakes on a table that was head level for the kiddos. I saw quite a few sticky little monkey paws sneakily grabbing second and third cupcakes from the corner of my eye– sorry to all the parents who battled disastrous sugar highs that day! Ha! And then for my most important party planning detail– the cocktails! It was officially my first time in almost a year that I could enjoy a drink with my friends! HALLE-FREAKIN-LUJAH!! So in honor of that, I decided to serve MY favorite drink– Rosé! My dear friends started an insanely delicious wine company with a sense of humor (because taking booze too seriously is, in the words of Hilary Duff, “So Yesterday”) and their “White Girl Rosé” is my fave. To make matters even more perfect, they launched a canned sparkling Rosé this summer called “Babe”! It’s beyond yummy. Serving cans of Babe at my own little babe’s Sip And See was a natural no-brainer.
Marlowe helped me set up the party, and even made sure to rearrange the “Major” balloons multiple times in to unidentifiable words and groupings. SO HELPFUL. On the plus side, I probably burned a lot of calories of baby weight walking back and forth to rearrange them before guests arrived. She also made sure to place a stuffed animal on every single chair in the house. You never can have TOO many guests at a party, especially of the stuffed variety.
I thought that having so many people over at once right after having a baby might stress me out a lot, but surprisingly I felt so zen the entire time. Even as about twelve small children took every single toy out of every single cupboard and scattered them all over every square inch that they could find. Maybe it was the Rosé that suppressed my silent screams. If I’m being honest, it was probably the tacos. Whatever it was, I had the greatest time catching up with friends, introducing them to our son, and watching Marlowe run around with so much pride written all over her face. It’s moments like those that I remember what a badge of honor she carries now as the Big Sister in the family. It was also so fun for her to have a bunch of her own friends over! She and her besties (who are both about to become Big Sisters as well!) ran around in a little pack, and finally settled (with cupcakes) under the balloon banner. It was like we had bought a time machine and were watching them at about sixteen years old wrecking havoc together. So cute and so terrifying. Ha! At one point, Major started fussing, and she announced to everybody that he absolutely needed his paci– and went off to look for it. I’ve been so amazed by how sweet, caring, protective, and generous she has been with Major so far. It really has reinforced the thought I was holding on to during the tough times while pregnant, that siblings are gifts for one another to walk through life with and cherish.
We basically needed an industrial strength vacuum cleaner, a case of paper towels, and two bottles of All Purpose spray when everyone had cleared out after Major’s first rager– but our hearts were so full. And our refrigerator was full of Mexican food for about eight days. I think I still smell like tamales. Not complaining. It was such a fun way to kick of Party Season, and I’m so glad we got to show off our sweet boy in style!
Did you have a Sip And See for your little one? Are you as obsessed with them as I am? Let me know about your experience in the comments below!
Marlowe’s Outfit: Top by Morley, Pants by Carter’s
Major’s Outfit: Checked Top and Overalls by Babe & Tess
My Outfit: Jumpsuit by CO + CO, Necklace by J.Crew
I lovvve this idea but i think my mother-in-law would ring my neck and my grandma-in-law would play dumb and come over anyways! Hahahaha!
Oy! I know the feeling, but sometimes you gotta put the foot down! Ha!
Babies change so much in the first few weeks- I would hate for someone close to me to miss them at their cutest & newest! Honestly, I loved every visitor for all 4 of my boys. Just call ahead to find out the best time,& expect Mama to be in her Pj’s ?
A two week rule could seriously damage some relationships. And with 24 hours a day to bond and settle in, I didn’t find a quick visit too taxing.
First, let me say, you look absolutely incredible after giving birth so recently! How do you do it?! I’d love to read a post about how you drop the baby weight so fast. I recognize those bottles of hot sauce from Bartaco, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants where I live in Tampa. I’m sure this was a really fun party. Marlowe and Major are precious.
Yep, Bartaco to the rescue!! Love it!
Honestly, so many people have written and emailed me about that exact post idea that I might do one, though it will be more about prenatal health and nutrition than postnatal “quick fixes”. I find that recovering after baby is a lot about what happens BEFORE baby! Stay tuned…
Looks like a great time was had by all! Eva, you never cease to amaze me! As always thought and prayers for many more great times, memories and cocktails ahead! ??? Love to all! Auntie Sue!
Woohoo!!! xoxox
We need the cookie and cream cupcake recipe, please!!
Hi Melissa!
I didn’t make the cupcakes this time, too crazed with the baby to do it. They are from the CakeBox in Westport. They might be able to help you!! (they were DELISH!!!)
I’m sitting here with my 16 day old daughter as I write this, and we also did the “two week, no visitors” rule! Grandma is making her first visit tomorrow. It’s affirming to know other moms out there like you feel the same way – as first time parents we really wanted to enjoy his intimate time and learn how to do things our way. It has been a little tougher on us but now that we are in the clear, I can say it was worth it.
This is a great idea. I wish I thought of that with my kids. It was so stressful having everyone come so at once and I had C sections so I just wanted to rest to, I wish I put my foot down and did this. I also love seeing Lowie as a big sister she is so sweet to her baby brother ! 🙂
Love it!! We did the no visitors thing when we had our son too and it was pure heaven. For sure offended a few family members in the process- but sticking to our guns was the best thing for us for sure!! Especially working out the breastfeeding gig. Love the “sip & see” concept. If we have another one I’ll be adopting this approach entirely! Go mama xx
I am happy that the party went well,what a great ideia,it looks like everyone had fun,especially sweet Marlowe,i love her hair bow and how cute that she loves her little brother so much,love seeing photos of them together!! Major is so big and cute now,it seems like yesterday that i was reading about his birth,love him 🙂 Thank you Eva for sharing this photos with us.
Eva, I just read the People magazine article about the incident with the night nurse and poor Major boy. I was so surprised. I had no clue since I follow you via all social media outlets. I just want to say that I hope that your family and Major are OK. What a horrific thing to have happened.
I look forward to your Snapchats and daily posts. (My Snap is JHILTI) I have two teenagers so I so enjoy watching the little ones grow. I so want to be BFFs. Lol.
So, is your son okay? All I hear about is how his fall has affected YOU.
What a cutie. And you look fantastic for just giving birth. Don’t know if this is appropriate placement but just read of Major’s head injury. So glad his prognosis is terrific. As a 65 year old who has had more than 10 TBI’s (traumatic brain injuries), each injury is a crap shoot. Only one of mine had lasting consequences I couldn’t overcome. I fell on ice under snow, went straight up in the air and came down on the long end of a supermarket cart. It caused problems w/ word retrieval, memory loss, and personality change, and was the only one that required rehabilitation.
Be well, enjoy each other and have a fantastic life together. Bonne chance.