Baby Shower Question Game: Guess the Parents, Know the Baby Facts: how it works
A baby shower question game runs on three kinds of card, and this deck of 170 holds all three. On 83, guests guess something about the parents-to-be. Another 61 are baby facts with a true answer, each checked against a CDC or American Academy of Pediatrics page. The last 26 collect advice and wishes.
How to run the game at a shower
Give every guest pen and paper, press Next question and read the card aloud. Guests write a guess, then you open Show answer. A fact card gives the true answer and names its source. A guess card says who holds the answer, Mom, Dad or both, and how the point is scored. Playing by table? Add a team takes up to four, and +1 keeps score.
What the 10 groups hold
Pick one pill or leave it on All. Mom or Dad? plays as a baby shower question game for mom and dad: both sit up front, the host reads "Who will change more diapers?" and they point on three. Guess the baby collects predictions nobody can check yet: "What will the baby's first word be?" Baby's first year follows the CDC milestone checklists, so "By what age do most babies laugh?" reveals By 6 months. Newborn facts come from the AAP, and the numbers set from the CDC's final 2024 birth data.
Tips
Check Mom's and Dad's baby answers with a grandparent first. First words and birth weights are what people get wrong about themselves.
Deal one fact card after every three guess cards, so newer friends of the couple can still score.
Close with Wishes for the baby: deal "I hope you laugh at ___." and send the cards home with the parents.
Questions and answers
Where do the baby facts come from?
All 61 were checked against CDC pages and the American Academy of Pediatrics site HealthyChildren.org, and the list under the tool names the source beside each answer. On the CDC checklists, most babies means 75% or more, so up to a quarter get there later. The cards state facts; none is advice.
How do we play if only the mom-to-be is at the shower?
Send him the Dad cards a few days ahead, note his answers, and let Mom guess with the guests. For two moms, two dads or one parent, leave those pills off: Guess the baby, the three fact groups and Advice from the guests name nobody.
How many questions does a baby shower need?
Fifteen to twenty fills one sitting; stop while guests still want more. A good mix is ten guess cards, five facts and one wish to close. No repeats tonight is ticked from the start, so no card comes round twice.
At what time of day was Mom born?Answer: Ask Mom. The closest guess takes the point.
How much did Mom weigh when she was born?Answer: Ask Mom. The closest guess takes the point.
How old was Mom when she took her first steps?Answer: Ask Mom. The closest guess takes the point.
Was Mom born early, late or right on her due date?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What did Mom want to be when she grew up?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What did Mom's own mother crave while she was expecting her?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What food did Mom refuse to eat as a child?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What is the first place Mom wants to take the baby?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What is the first thing Mom wants to teach the baby?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What picture book did Mom ask for again and again?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What song was sung to Mom at bedtime when she was small?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What was Mom's childhood nickname?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What was Mom's favorite subject at school?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What was Mom's favorite toy as a child?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What was Mom's first word as a baby?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
What was the name of Mom's first pet?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
Which relative does Mom think the baby will look like?Answer: Ask Mom. One point for each guest who matches her answer.
All about the dad-to-be 14
How many diapers has Dad changed in his life so far?Answer: Ask Dad. The closest guess takes the point.
How much did Dad weigh when he was born?Answer: Ask Dad. The closest guess takes the point.
What bedtime story will Dad read first?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
What did Dad get into trouble for most as a child?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
What did Dad want to be when he grew up?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
What is the first song Dad will sing to the baby?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
What sport or hobby does Dad hope the baby will love?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
What was Dad's childhood nickname?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
What was Dad's favorite cartoon as a child?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
What was Dad's favorite toy as a child?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
What was Dad's first word as a baby?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
What were Dad's first words when he heard the news?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
What will Dad cook on the first night home?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
Which baby job is Dad most nervous about?Answer: Ask Dad. One point for each guest who matches his answer.
Waiting for baby 16
How did Mom tell Dad the news?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
How many names are on the shortlist right now?Answer: Ask the parents. The closest guess takes the point.
What color is the nursery?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
What do the parents call the bump?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
What does each grandparent want to be called?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
What food can Mom not stand right now?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
What food has Mom craved most?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
What is the baby's due date?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
What music makes the baby kick the most?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
What was the first thing packed in the hospital bag?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
What was the first thing the parents bought for the baby?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
Where were the parents when they found out?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
Which baby item did the parents argue about longest in the store?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
Which name was the first to be ruled out?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
Who put the crib together, and how long did it take?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
Who was the first person the parents told?Answer: Ask the parents. One point for each guest who matches their answer.
Mom or Dad? 22
Which will the baby say first: Mama or Dada?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who walked first as a baby?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who was the bigger baby at birth?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who was the fussier baby, according to the grandparents?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will be first to say: go and ask your other parent?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will be more nervous on the first drive home?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will be the first to spoil the baby?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will be the pushover at the toy store?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will be the stricter parent?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will change more diapers?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will cry first on the first day of school?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will do the voices when reading aloud?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will dress the baby in the funnier outfits?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will fall asleep first during story time?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will get up first when the baby cries at 3 a.m.?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will give in to one more story?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will help with the math homework?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will pack the better diaper bag?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will pull a face first at a messy diaper?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will sing the lullabies?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will take more photos of the baby?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Who will teach the baby to ride a bike?Answer: Mom and Dad point on the count of three. One point if you matched. If they disagree, every guest scores.
Guess the baby 14
At how many months will the baby take a first step?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Seal the guesses in an envelope for the parents to open when the day comes.
At what time of day will the baby be born?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Write every guess down and check them after the birth.
How long will the baby be at birth?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Write every guess down and check them after the birth.
How much will the baby weigh at birth?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Write every guess down and check them after the birth.
On what date will the baby arrive?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Write every guess down and check them after the birth.
What color hair will the baby have, if any?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Write every guess down and check them after the birth.
What color will the baby's eyes be on the first birthday?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Seal the guesses in an envelope for the parents to open when the day comes.
What job will the baby have at thirty?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Seal the guesses in an envelope for the parents to open when the day comes.
What letter will the baby's first name start with?Answer: The parents may already know. If the name is a secret, keep the guesses until it is announced.
What will the baby's favorite food be at age two?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Seal the guesses in an envelope for the parents to open when the day comes.
What will the baby's first word be?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Seal the guesses in an envelope for the parents to open when the day comes.
Whose nose will the baby have?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Write every guess down and check them after the birth.
Whose temper will the baby have?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Seal the guesses in an envelope for the parents to open when the day comes.
Will the baby be a night owl or an early bird?Answer: Nobody knows yet. Seal the guesses in an envelope for the parents to open when the day comes.
Baby's first year: CDC milestones 25
By what age do most babies bang two things together?Answer: By 9 months. CDC milestone checklist for 9 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies blow raspberries?Answer: By 6 months. CDC milestone checklist for 6 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies bring their hands to their mouth?Answer: By 4 months. CDC milestone checklist for 4 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies call a parent mama, dada or another special name?Answer: By 1 year. CDC milestone checklist for 1 year: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies chuckle, though not yet with a full laugh?Answer: By 4 months. CDC milestone checklist for 4 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies close their lips to show they want no more food?Answer: By 6 months. CDC milestone checklist for 6 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies hold their head steady, unsupported, while held?Answer: By 4 months. CDC milestone checklist for 4 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies hold their head up during tummy time?Answer: By 2 months. CDC milestone checklist for 2 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies laugh?Answer: By 6 months. CDC milestone checklist for 6 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies lift their arms up to be picked up?Answer: By 9 months. CDC milestone checklist for 9 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies like to look at themselves in a mirror?Answer: By 6 months. CDC milestone checklist for 6 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies look when you call their name?Answer: By 9 months. CDC milestone checklist for 9 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies make cooing sounds like oooo and aahh?Answer: By 4 months. CDC milestone checklist for 4 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies make strings of sounds like mamamama and babababa?Answer: By 9 months. CDC milestone checklist for 9 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies pick up small things between thumb and pointer finger?Answer: By 1 year. CDC milestone checklist for 1 year: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies play games with you like pat-a-cake?Answer: By 1 year. CDC milestone checklist for 1 year: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies pull up to stand?Answer: By 1 year. CDC milestone checklist for 1 year: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies roll from tummy to back?Answer: By 6 months. CDC milestone checklist for 6 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies sit without support?Answer: By 9 months. CDC milestone checklist for 9 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies smile or laugh at peek-a-boo?Answer: By 9 months. CDC milestone checklist for 9 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies smile when you talk to or smile at them?Answer: By 2 months. CDC milestone checklist for 2 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies walk while holding on to furniture?Answer: By 1 year. CDC milestone checklist for 1 year: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies watch you as you move?Answer: By 2 months. CDC milestone checklist for 2 months: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
By what age do most babies wave bye-bye?Answer: By 1 year. CDC milestone checklist for 1 year: most children (75% or more) can do this by then.
On a CDC milestone checklist, how many children is most children?Answer: 75% or more. CDC: milestones are things most children (75% or more) can do by a certain age.
Newborn facts from the AAP 27
About how long does a baby's eye color take to settle?Answer: About a year. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: the color change slows after the first 6 months.
About how many diapers does a baby go through in the first year?Answer: About 3,000. AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
About how many hours a day does a newborn sleep?Answer: About 16 to 17 hours. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: newborns sleep about 16 to 17 hours per day.
About how much weight does the average newborn gain each day?Answer: Almost an ounce (28 grams). AAP, HealthyChildren.org, on the first month.
At about what age do babies begin to have regular sleep cycles?Answer: About 4 months. AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
At about what age do babies get better at seeing colors and their shades?Answer: About 4 months. AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
At about what age does a first tooth usually appear?Answer: Around 6 months. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: most babies develop teeth between 6 and 12 months.
At what distance does a newborn see best?Answer: About 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm). AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
By about what age is a newborn back at birth weight?Answer: About 2 weeks. AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
By what age can babies follow a moving object with their eyes?Answer: By 3 months. AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
By what age do most children have all their baby teeth?Answer: By age 3. AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
By what age should the umbilical cord stump dry up and fall off?Answer: By 3 weeks old. AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
How long may a newborn sleep at one stretch?Answer: Only 1 or 2 hours. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: newborns may only sleep 1 or 2 hours at a time.
How much longer does a newborn grow in the first month?Answer: 1.5 to 2 inches (3.8 to 5 cm). AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
Stroke a newborn's palm and what does the baby do?Answer: Grips your finger. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: the palmar grasp, which disappears at 5 to 6 months.
Stroke the sole of a newborn's foot and what do the toes do?Answer: They curl tightly. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: the plantar grasp, which disappears at 9 to 12 months.
True or false: all newborns lose weight in their first week.Answer: True. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: all newborns lose weight during the first 7 days.
True or false: the sucking reflex is present even before birth.Answer: True. AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
What are the soft spots on a baby's head called?Answer: Fontanelles. AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
What is the average head circumference of a newborn?Answer: About 13.75 inches (35 cm). AAP, HealthyChildren.org: it grows to about 15 inches (38 cm) by 1 month.
What is the newborn startle reflex also called?Answer: The Moro reflex. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: it usually peaks in the first month and is gone by 2 months.
When do a newborn's first two growth spurts come?Answer: Around 7 to 10 days, then between 3 and 6 weeks. AAP, HealthyChildren.org.
Where is the larger of a baby's two soft spots: the front or the back?Answer: The front. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: the anterior fontanelle. The smaller one is at the back.
Which newborn reflex is nicknamed the fencing reflex?Answer: The tonic neck reflex. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: it disappears at 5 to 7 months.
Which newborn reflex turns the head toward a stroked cheek?Answer: The rooting reflex. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: it disappears at about 4 months.
Which reflex fades at 2 months and returns near the end of the first year?Answer: The stepping reflex. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: it comes back as learned walking.
Which teeth almost always come in first?Answer: The lower front teeth. AAP, HealthyChildren.org: the lower central incisors.
U.S. babies by the numbers, 2024 9
How many babies were born in the United States in 2024?Answer: 3,628,934. CDC, Births: Final Data for 2024.
How many births per 1,000 U.S. women aged 15 to 44 were there in 2024?Answer: 53.8. CDC, Births: Final Data for 2024 (the fertility rate).
How many triplet births did the United States record in 2024?Answer: 2,444. CDC, Births: Final Data for 2024.
How many twin births did the United States record in 2024?Answer: 109,195. CDC, Births: Final Data for 2024.
How many U.S. births in 2024 were quadruplets or a higher multiple?Answer: 144. CDC, Births: Final Data for 2024.
Out of every 1,000 U.S. births in 2024, about how many were twins?Answer: About 30. CDC, Births: Final Data for 2024: 30.1 per 1,000 live births.
Out of every 100,000 U.S. births in 2024, how many were triplets or more?Answer: 71.3. CDC, Births: Final Data for 2024.
What was the average age of a first-time mother in the United States in 2024?Answer: 27.6 years. CDC, Births: Final Data for 2024 (mean age at first birth).
What was the U.S. birth rate in 2024, per 1,000 people?Answer: 10.7. CDC, Births: Final Data for 2024.
Advice from the guests 14
Finish the sentence: on the hard days, remember ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What did you worry about that turned out not to matter?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What did your own parents get right that you only noticed later?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What do you wish someone had told you before your first baby?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What family tradition should the parents start in year one?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What is the best parenting advice you were ever given?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What is the funniest baby advice you were ever given?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What is the kindest thing a visitor did for you as a new parent?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What meal is worth bringing to new parents?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What one thing got you through the first month?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What should the parents do just for themselves once a week?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What should the parents write down before they forget it?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
What song always worked at bedtime in your house?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
Which rule did you swear you would keep, then drop within a week?Answer: No wrong answers. Write yours on a card for the parents to keep.
Wishes for the baby 12
The first book I will read to you is ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.
The first place I will take you is ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.
I hope you are never afraid of ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.
I hope you get your dad's ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.
I hope you get your mom's ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.
I hope you grow up to be ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.
I hope you laugh at ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.
I hope you learn to ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.
I hope you love ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.
I hope you never forget ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.
I hope you travel to ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.
When you are sixteen, call me if ___.Answer: No wrong answers. Finish the sentence on a card for the keepsake box.