New baby gifts.

[nannynewo]

Hello everyone,

so my best friend is having a baby this winter and it is quite a shock! We are early 20s and it will be my first friend to have a baby. In the past my mum has always dealt with baby gifts within the family/friends and as money is a little tight I wondered what I could get for my friends baby.
I have had a thought and that is to get her some new clothes for the baby as I know money will be tight for them too. My question is, is it acceptable to buy baby clothes from places such as tesco and asda for gifts? I don't know if this is a silly question but I am very new to this! I know I would personally be happy with gifts from said places but do not know if there is some sort of unwritten rule that you do not give gifts from these places?!
Please if anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it. I guess I thought if I had a look in these shops every few weeks I could pick up a few items and by the time the baby is born I will have a lovely little collection for them!

It really doesn't matter where you get the gifts from! Asda and tesco clothing washes really well which is important.

Maybe make her a basket of goodies including muslin squares, wipes, nappies etc?

Thanks all. I am very excited about the new arrival and the baby isn't even mine haha! so everything I see I just want to buy!
I won't buy any newborn things but make sure everything is at least 3-6months.

DeepPurple Thanks for that suggestion! I hadn't thought of doing that. I will definitely put other things than clothes in too. Brilliant idea.

You sound like a really lovely friend! My little girl was born when i was 22. She was very much a shock baby, & I was the first of my group of friends to have a baby (still am, actually and she's 4 now!)

What you suggest is really lovely. Can i also suggest maybe you plan something when the baby's a bit older for her as your mate rather than as a Mum. My mates were all really excited when dd was born, but they drifted away back to their normal lives after the initial excitement (as well they should- not criticising!!) I felt so isolated. I was so aware that they were all out partying. & i was stuck at home holding the baby! It doesn't have to be anything major , even just a movie night or something.... It would have made a huge difference to me to know they hadn't forgotten me & i wasn't too boring for them.

Hope that helps. x

Get yourself a crochet hook and some washable yarn and make a blanket? Lots of instructions on you tube, and lots of help available in Arts and Crafts

Try TKMaxx for nice, unusual baby stuff. Think about what season it's likely to be when the baby wears the clothes you buy. My ds was born in November, is now 8mo and wearing 6-9 clothes, and hasn't worn a baby grow in months.

Think about what your friend would like too - she's still a person as well as a mum, but she'll be restricted in what she can do. Plan some nice things for daytimes, have an open ended offer to babysit in place (she will probably take you up on that around this time next year, i would!) and don't either pressure her into going out in the evening or exclude her because you think she can't.

Meals for the freezer, or turning up with a pot of something for that evening can be good. I've made emergency dashes with a plated up dinner to see even very with-it friends when the baby won't nap and they haven't washed for a day or two and it's all just too much.

I couldn't live without my travel mug. Less likely to spill on a delicate, wriggly baby who howls every time he's put down and stays hot while i deal with all the other, more urgent crap i have to do!

IBlameThePenguins That is a brilliant suggestion! It is her 21st soon after the baby arrives so I may buy her something special for that. Like a spa day or something. Her partner is very very supportive and they have lots of family to help out so I am sure she would love a day out with me for a nice rest :)
Hope you get as much me time as possible!

PurplePidjin again these are brilliant suggestions. From what a few of you have said I know it can be easy to forget in the nicest way possible the mother and focus on the baby so I will definitely offer to do plenty with just mum as well as mum and baby.
The meals idea is fab however I actually live away from her most of the time so when I come over it will be for short visits a few times a year until I finish university. Then when I am back for good I will be able to see them all the time (can't wait!!!)

I honestly don't know who is more excited right now..me or her!

Make sure there's a long date on that spa day - 3 hours is the longest ds will happily be left, and my boobs start getting engorged (although that depends if she breastfeeds) she may not be comfortable leaving him, and that's perfectly normal.

Buy her a hair cut/pedicure/facial at a salon near a park and offer to walk the baby in pram or sling while she has it done. Book her a session with a local sling consultant so she has an alternative to the buggy if the baby won't be put down. Book a day to go shopping for maternity clothes having first researched which high street shops stock them.

The best present I got was a bag of nappies, wipes, milk, vests and sleep suits , much better than fancy wee outfits that only get worn once if that

i always buy swimming trunks and baby nail clippers

all recipients delighted

christ not a sling

I know that the baby will be bottle fed. But agree the baby may not be happy away from the mum for too long so will research nearby spas etc...

Yonididnaedaethat I think I am going to go for something very similar. In fact I purchased some items today (which is what got me thinking about where to buy) and these were both vests! Will probably only buy one little outfit and everything else more practical.

Lamaze toys are great from when the baby is a couple of months old (Sainsbury's have them). DD is six months and we have a few to hand in various places around the house and she always likes a scrunch and a chew.

Prams hadn't been invented then, LadyMilfordHaven, so actually Mary would have had no choice

Good gifts I received were a baby sleeping bag, DD refused to be swaddled and we wouldn't have had a backup. A baby gym, bouncy chair, swing chair (2nd hand gifted/borrowed from friends) all handy and can get expensive buying new.
Clothes- the supermarket stuff is just as nice and my 5week old is already out of a few things.
Also friends made up gift baskets of nappies, sudocrem, wipes, cotton wool, calpol, infacol, bath thermometer, loads of johnsons baby stuff, muslins, cellular blankets, room thermometer, top and tail bowl.
Hope she appreciates you as a lovely friend

Chickenfactory congratulations on the little one. I think I will definitely do a little basket of essentials as it is a lot more practical. Thank you, I am only doing what I know she would do for me :D

Just been looking on next and it pains me to see two vest type rompers for £13 and in supermarkets they would only be a few pounds!

Don't forget that the shops don't close once the baby gets here, you can always buy outfits once it's here and you know the sex and what the parents like.

Also, don't underestimate the problem of buying wrong season baby gear. I inherited a load of baby clothes from my niece who was a summer born for my winter born and she only gets use out of the vests and sleepsuits as when I needed jumpers I had t-shirts and when I needed t-shirts she had jumpers!

I am making sure I buy things season appropriate. I keep seeing lovely sun dresses (we know the baby is a girl) and as much as I love them I do put them back. I will only buy summer stuff if it suitable to be worn with tights and a cardigan.

You sound like such a lovely friend! I can only echo other posters about present ideas and think that doing a bundle or a basket of things in different sizes is great.

A few of my friends clubbed together and gave me a similar basket with baby grows (from Asda, they're great) which they decorated with fabric pens, sleepsuits, jumpers in the right size for winter and a few posh baby items like a Jellycat white bunny and a rattle from White Company. Also hand cream as I've never washed my hands as much as I do now. And easy to digest munchies like chocolate cranberries, yoghurt raisins and cereal bars (as things can be quite, ahem, tender after birth).

Can't live without my travel mug either!

It is lovely to hear such a large response. I have a much clearer view on what to buy now!

If anyone has any different ideas I would love to hear them also :)

Maternity pads from Sainsbury's own brand. They were given to me by my MIL and they were the softest and most padded brand.

A poddle pod - it's a snugly cushion for baby and great for naps and safely putting baby down in for trips to the loo.

Hooded towels. Sudacrem moisturising mousse. Lavender oil and Badedas Original for mum's post birth baths (although if she has stitches best to wait a couple of weeks). Comfy and warm slipper socks as it'll be winter when the baby comes and she'll be padding into the kitchen at 4am to get bottles.

I'm 23 and just had my first baby. I got loads of presents/clothes from Asda and Tesco etc and they have been lovely and good quality. Your friend will be very grateful I'm sure.
Some of the best gifts I received were cheap and practical: cartons of baby milk (great for in the hospital), some cereal bars and choc bars to snack on while I fed the baby, a clip for the handle of the pram to clip my handbag/shopping bags to (they sell these in Tesco), baby coat hangers, nappies, breast pads, Badedas bath gel (helps when you're sore after giving birth) and things like Calpol/infacol/gripe water which saved us making a midnight dash to the shops.
I preferred it when people gave me stuff a week or so before my due date, because I felt more prepared.
We have ended up with about ten blankets and hooded towels so I would avoid those. And cuddly toys.
Your friend is really blessed to have you .