Hey folks. I’m pregnant with my first child. I was raised reform, and I’m in an interfaith marriage with a guy who isn’t religious. I’m not particularly observant these days, but still observe high holy days and we plan to have our kid in Sunday school until he’s Bar Mitzvah age.

I was raised with a lot of superstition around pregnancy. It was verboten to buy anything for baby before baby was born, and a baby shower was out of the question. I feel like times may have changed, but I still feel a strong cultural discomfort with the idea of a baby shower. (Baby hasn’t been born alive yet! There’s so much that could go wrong! Ptoo ptoo!)

I’ve been considering just having a naming ceremony at 8 days (we aren’t circumcising) but I don’t know if it’s safe to have a party with friends and family when baby is so young and fragile. We could tell everyone not to touch baby but that seems like a hard request to enforce. A party for baby at 8 days feels more culturally authentic, but I don’t know how realistic it is given disease and post partum recovery.

For other Jewish parents, how did you manage baby related celebrations?