Sarah Van der Kley: It never rains but, oh baby, it showers

Sarah van der Kley

I had a very exciting day on Sunday, attending the first of two baby showers for my son.

I know that sounds very greedy and it is but there's a good reason for having two.

The first was hosted in Christchurch by my sister and mum, and attended mostly by family, the majority of whom live there.

The second is in Hawke's Bay this weekend and will be hosted and attended by friends and my partner's family.

I was a little apprehensive about how the Christchurch shower would go as a high school friend was in charge of the games and last time she threw a shower for another friend, the cake was rather explicit and the straws were something I never want to see my mum or grandmother drinking from!

But they turned out to be very G-rated and were a whole heap of fun.

The cake was incredibly cute and all the decorations and food were amazing. But the most special part of the day was the gifts.

I hadn't really thought too much about what we would receive because that's certainly not what the day is about, but it was lovely to see the thought guests had put into the presents.

One was a framed copy of our 12-week scan, with the guests invited to write around the outside of the picture with a message for the baby.

The best message came from my granny who wrote "We can't wait to meet our first Great Grandson. He looks just like grandad!"

Another amazing gift came from my mum and sister who presented me with a hand-knitted onesie my grandmother had made for me when I was a baby and photos of me wearing it as a bubba.

It's a little tatty and stained 33 years later but so much better than anything I could buy.

My grandmother wasn't able to attend the shower as she has quite advanced Alzheimer's and doesn't even really recognise me any more, so it was incredibly special to have her involved in the day in some way.

Now for the Hawke's Bay shower and the competition is on; my sister, being a typical van der Kley, has instructed us not to show any pictures or give details to our friends hosting the second one so we can judge later which was better.

Of course, we will not be following those instructions; I just feel blessed to have such love surrounding this child and so many people with whom to share a special day - or two!

• Don't miss Adam Green and Sarah van der Kley on The Hits Hawke's Bay from 6am to 9am, Monday to Friday.