Your fingers swell, your back aches, and your heart is touched by the generosity of all your friends and family. In short, you are an expectant Mom with a ton of baby shower thank you notes to write.

No need to worry. Here is a quick "how to" guide that allows you to show your gratitude, get some help, and get the rest you deserve.

First, delegate the material-assembling process.

It takes more than one person to make a baby. Why not more than one person to help with thank you cards?

When somebody asks you, “Is there anything I can do?” Say, “Yes.” If no one has specifically offered help, ASK.

If one task is too much, then delegate the task to a couple of people. Your friends or family members can help you by doing any part of or ALL of the following:

• Send someone on Team Mom to pick out and purchase the baby shower thank you cards or some cute stationary sets for you if you do not have them already.

• Send someone to buy stamps. You can also have the post office deliver the stamps to you or buy postage online. There are cool online services that will even let you print custom postage from your computer--a great task for Dad to do. Make sure to get more than enough stamps. You will always use it. Remember if your notes are square or unusually shaped, it costs extra.

• Stamp all the envelopes in advance so they are ready to drop in the mail the second they are complete. This task is easy to delegate to a child, friend or even a husband. Every second you save is a second you can rest.

• Assemble a list of current addresses via group E-mail or calling people over the phone. A tip: Sometimes if you put a person's home telephone number into google within quotes in this format, "(555) 555-5555”, their address pops up. Shocking, but true.

• Address the envelopes all at once. Once again, if you get somebody else to assemble the list of current addresses for you or with you, you may be able to coax them into either writing the addresses straight onto the envelopes as they get them or helping you transcribe or print out your list. Alternatively, if you have labels from your baby shower invitation list, just reuse.

• The ultimate delegation move--Have DAD be in charge of writing the thank you notes, and the two of you sign them. Do not worry if he does not know what to write, that is covered in the next section. Convenient explanations: He wants to be an active Daddy. My knuckles are sore and swollen.

Streamline the note-writing and mailing process!

• Write on the flipside of the gift tag of the present a nice comment about the gift. Alternatively, if you threw away all the tags, you can just put a note in each envelope. This insures you do not have to waste time looking up the correct spelling of the giver’s name or struggle to remember who gave you what.

• Put the gift tags or notes in the corresponding, pre-addressed and stamped envelopes.

• Make a template of what you want to say or use one of the thank you note template found here: www.my-thank-you-site.com .

• Write your notes in your spare time by carrying a few of envelopes and baby shower thank you cards in your purse or keep them on the coffee table or near the phone. Good times to do this include: while waiting for food at a restaurant, when you have trouble sleeping, in between cycles of laundry, and during commercials. The great thing about doing a few at a time is it keeps your handwriting neat.

• Remember to drop the cards into the mail as you go. Refrain from waiting to mail them all at once. It makes sure that you won't quit half way through.

Congratulations on your new baby and sharing your gratitude with all your friends and family.

Author's Bio: 

Christy Murphy is the creator of www.my-thank-you-site.com , which provides ready-to-copy thank you note samples for all occasions including baby showers, and other practical tools to demonstrate and attract gratitude in every day life. She is a writer, public speaker, and comedian, who has been featured on numerous television shows including CNN’s Showbiz Today, Australia’s Seven News, and CBS News in the U.S.