Help from mothers - office forgot to arrange maternity gift for coworker

Bibado pack! She’ll be weaning in a few months and it was by far my favourite (very practical) gift.

hmm, so our normal workplace practice is a leaving gift when they actually start maternity leave. It’s usually something personal and something baby related. Sometimes, mothers don’t want baby stuff and we’d make sure part of a gift in that case was a voucher for Amazon, John Lewis. After baby arrives, collective card and individual gifts or praps one from immediate team.

So if all that skipped as happened when I had a baby very early and the gifts were held back while DC in neonatal care. There was a really big voucher because lovely supportfull wave. A very sweet card from immediate team and a huge one from whole building. A couple of nice items from team - mum toiletries and a book.

As to whose responsibility, it’s the line manager and if they want to delegate they’d be likely to ask a close friend colleague.

I would not feel bad about it, but ask how you were supposed to know

Fucks sake.
Weaponised incompetence yet again... testicles mean they dont have to think about buying gifts for gasp a female and also alarm a baby

Definitely don’t send flowers or any baby stuff. Flowers are a nuisance and they’ll have necessary baby stuff. Send a voucher for COOK or deliveroo, or John Lewis. Or a box of food treats

We used to send these things called baby bloom baskets. They had baby clothes wrapped up to look like flowers. And a few other baby bits in there as well. We ordered those and they sent it to the person's home. So a variation on that might be good. We also sent muffin baskets. Flowers are nice but when you're a new mum you don't want to be faffing about with vases, and keeping the flowers fresh etc.
If you know the baby's name you could have the gifts a bit personalised.
Those things were about £40 when I got them, probably more like £60 now as it was about 7 yrs ago.

I'm assuming you don't know this woman personally if you are new and she had a baby in July and is presumably on maternity leave?

I'd give people my bemused face and say, 'Is it in my job description? I don't know this lady. Someone else should surely have organised this months ago?' and then carry on with my work.

Ridiculous that they’d expect that, they’re just as capable!

My work gave me John Lewis vouchers. Great choice, can be used for all sorts of useful things.

Unbelievable, they want you to arrange a gift because you are a woman. Is it the 1950s? I'd ask HR if they can arrange some combating misogyny in the workplace training for the lot of them.

Ask the coworkers who don't agree with your choice to make the decision and purchase and send the gift themselves. Job done!

revise = recuse

My work did a card flowers and a gift voucher for amazon. It was handy for Christmas coming. I think vouchers are good because then she can get what she will actually use and you're not trying to cater to the personal taste of someone you don't know well...

Is the unspoken expectation because you are a woman, and making the teas and doing this sort of shitwork is what the women do? Grim culture if so. I'd revise yourself -- suggest flowers again, if you get pushback say you're new so don't even know this lady, park it with either her manager or longest-serving team member and say you're happy to offer an opinion/second pair of eyes on what they pick.

Or, just let the idea die, and go out for a massive glass of wine when maternity colleague returns from leave and lament that unimaginative pillocks you work with.

This isn't on you. Having a penis doesn't stop your colleagues buying a present, and as a newbie who, presumably, doesn't know the new mum well or have it as part of your job description, it's not your responsibility.

I'd eye-roll if it's mentioned, and commiserate with the mum that you work with selfish misogynists when she's back.

I think as it's coming into autumn/ winter something cosy for the baby in the right size isn't insensitive. A warm dress or jumper or dungarees or something. Loads of people give you newborn stuff and then at three four months you have to buy it all yourself 😂Might be more welcome than you think.