My Sister (MOH) Just Announced She's Prego and Due SIX DAYS Before the Wedding!

jules0505

Yes, just six days! We are all VERY excited and I am considering this the BEST wedding gift anyone could give! I'm just wondering if anyone else has been through a similar experience. How did you handled the preparations? And, what was the outcome?

First in question is whether or not she'll be able to come to the wedding at all - having a healthy baby is most important. Next, and only time will tell, is if she will still be prego. Do we buy two different size dresses? If she gives birth just days before the wedding, will she still need a maternity dress?

She's a very petite person to begin with, so I'm sure she'll bounce right back into her pre-pregnancy clothes! I'm prepared to have her wear a different dress than all the other girls.

I'm just curious to hear if anyone else has had a similar situation.

Thanks!

bablingbrooke

I would be really flexible about the dress to the point that she should be able to just buy a dress in the right color the week of the wedding.  Since she's MOH the dress can be different and no one will think twice about it.

The more flexible you are, the better this will turn out.  Be prepared for her to not be able to come at all, make sure a chair's available for her to sit through the ceremony, and just go with the flow as best you can.

aerinpegadrak

I'd let her wait until right before the wedding, then try to find a coordinating dress off-the-rack.  It doesn't even really have to match; the MOH is often in a different dress these days, and if she's still pregnant (babies are notoriously on their own schedule, especially first-borns), no one will expect her to be in the same dress anyway.

Good for you for taking it in stride, some brides really freak over it.

MyNameIsNot

Congratulations!

Is she local to you or will she have to travel?  That's probably going to be the biggest factor in whether or not she can make it.  

As far as a dress, I would suggest giving her a color and asking her to pick something.  If she goes with something empire waisted with a flowy skirt, she'll probably be able to wear it before or after the baby comes.  I've never had a baby, but a few of my friends have recently.  Even those that dropped the baby weight quickly were still carrying most of it the first week or two.  

mbcdefg

Yay! A new niece/nephew!

I agree, just buy something off the rack a week or two before the wedding ... either in a wedding color or in black/another neutral color. And play it by ear, since she might not be able to attend.

jules0505

Thanks girls! The dress we picked out is already empire wasted and fits all shapes. I think she'll be fine, but just want to be prepared and make sure that I am thinking of everything. Also, I would hate for her to have to go shopping for a dress just days after giving birth. I can see that being an uncomfortable and stressful experience. I'm thinking of buying a few dresses in different sizes and styles, so that she can pick without having to go shopping herself.

I think it is a great idea to have a chair available for her sit during the ceremony! Her MIL is attending the wedding to help care for the baby and there will be plenty of family there to spoil him/her - including myself!!

Traveling won't be too much of a problem unless she hasn't had the baby. Her doctor is two hours away from the wedding site. I imagine that her doctor may not let her travel.

bablingbrooke

She's very lucky to have a sister like you  Congrats and good luck!

ButtonsPepper

I had a similar situation, my sister was due just a few weeks after my wedding. I made it very clear to the photographer and the pastor my sister was to sit down for most things. They made it so for the ceremony everyone sat so she wasn't singled out. We got her a dress she picked out, and a week before the wedding she had it altered. Honestly, I'd just say please where color x y or z... and be done with it from there.

Let your photographer know that things will kind of have to go around her (picture wise) with your bridal party due to nursing/feeding whatever. everyone will pretty much work with what they have.

If your sister can't make it to the ceremony/reception, keep her in the program and just leave it at that. People will understand.

Congratulations it will be so exciting. What a fantastic exciting time for both of you!!!

tidetravel

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_sister-moh-just-announced-shes-prego-due-six-days-before-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:37Discussion:61d044c0-c821-4729-bdb4-1bf13e4cb9f2Post:55227ab0-7166-4ac4-9741-6184972b6c3c">Re: My Sister (MOH) Just Announced She's Prego and Due SIX DAYS Before the Wedding!</a>:
[QUOTE]Congratulations!! Be prepared for if she has or has not had the baby yet. A chair would be nice.<strong> Also, be understanding if she has had the baby but doesn't yet want to bring the little one into a crowd situation. 6 days old or less is not a time you want to be exposed to too many people and their own personal germs</strong>. I hope she can make it though. Kudos to you for being so flexible!
Posted by SarahPLiz[/QUOTE]

THIS!  6 days after I gave birth I was in no shape to muster the energy to shower, much less get dressed up and attend a wedding, baby in tow.  Even if I could, I wouldn't bring a less than 1 week old infant to a large gathering of people, and I would be even less inclined for everyone to ooh and ahh over him - at that age, their immune systems are just getting started, and they haven't started their vaccination schedule yet. 

If she can't make it, perhaps you guys can make arrangements for a select few family members to go over and visit the day before or after the wedding, since family will be in town.  It will probably be a much better experience for everyone involved.  A REALLY nice gesture would be to come bearing food (meals that they could freeze and defrost easily, because cooking and eating are difficult to fit into the schedule during the first several weeks)

Of course, she could give birth earlier or later, so it will all have to be played by ear.  Flexibility is the key.  Congrats, auntie!

noodle_oo

Agree with Tidetravel.  I'm thinking there is little chance she'll be at the wedding.  My sister was told she coudln't travel the last month of her pregnancy (issues with being in a car for that long and being so far from her doctor, which you said is 2 hrs away).  That last month is really uncomfortable too.

If she has the baby close to the wedding, I doubt she'll go.  It is very traumatic on your body, sometimes you're still bleeding.  My sister didn't go home for like 3days, let alone be ready to go to a wedding 6 days later!!  They also recommend you don't take a newborn out in public for a while due to infection risk.  My friends baby was just in the hospital for 2 weeks due to an infection she caught while she was less than a month old (very scary).

Anyway, you sound super excited which is graet, but some of the things you said make me think you are pretty sure she'll "bouce right back" and be ready for your wedding.  Just be prepared that might not be the case and don't make her feel bad if she's not up for it.  That's the last thing a new mother needs.  Not to mention the emotional wreck you are due to crazy horomones, or trying to figure out breast feeding (if she does that).  Seriously, this is major life change happening.  Is it her first child?

Oh, and my sister was definitely still in maternity clothes after the wedding (and she's like a size 0). I think they told her bring stuff she wore during the second trimester for the trip home from the hospital.

Congrats on being an aunt!!!

hope1009

I am agreeing with the above two posts. Sitting down after having a baby, let alone walking down the aisle can't even be described after giving birth to somoeone whose head is the size of a cantalope. Even if she gives birth on her due date, which she may not, one week post-partum she will not shrink down to her "tiny size." sometimes it takes a good 2 month for stomach muscles to start to engage again. I think it's best to put your sister first here, and you wedding second. Her baby is more important and traveling in car 9  months pregnant equals uncomfortable and increases ankle swelling and the risk for DVT's. I work in a NICU and L + D. After delivery we recommend not exposing the baby to large groups of people until at least 2 months of age or more depending on the age they are born at. You wouldn't want to take oyur baby into a crowd of stranger oggling and touching your baby after sweating on the dance floor all night and exposing her ears to loud music. I think it's best to accept the fact that she may be exhausted from late night feedings, delivering (which is a wonder and marathong in and of itself) and then recovering from the whole process while transitioning into mommy hood. An option is webcasting, having someone live stream your wedding so she feels like she is right there, she is your sister to the heart and she will be with you in spirit.  I just feel for the safety of her and the baby, that might be a tall order even if you are providing all the nessecities (chairs and sitters) and also considering her doctor is 2 hours away from the wedding site if she does go into labor. KEep her as invovled as she feels up to and enjoy helping her prepare for this major step in her life!