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Original poster

What were the best gifts you received for yourself after birth?

40 replies

Turniptracker · 08/01/2020 11:59

My friend will have just had her first child by her birthday and I'd like to get her some useful gifts that aren't all about the baby. She isn't into alcohol so I'm just wondering what the best gifts you could've received for yourself were after birth?

OP posts:
SisterSistine · 08/01/2020 12:02

Best thing I got was a gift pack of meals from Cook. They were delicious and perfect for easy dinners when neither I nor my DH wanted to bother cooking.

ConstanceL · 08/01/2020 12:02

Sheepskin slippers from Celtic and co - made being awake in the middle of the night so much more bearable! Also my dad got me a backlit kindle that was great too Smile

yadayadayesokay · 08/01/2020 12:05

I was given a Himalayan salt lamp which was gentle and great to have on during night feeds

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OvalCanvas · 08/01/2020 12:07

A basket of mini muffins and cakes to eat during night feeds.

Megan2018 · 08/01/2020 12:08

Really warm button front pyjamas, I am bed sharing so no duvet allowed and I was cold! My mum got me 3pairs of really cosy PJ’s that I can feed in that I have lived in (baby currently 16 weeks).

notaregularmom · 08/01/2020 12:09

A huge bottle of Malibu 🥃

leasedaudi · 08/01/2020 12:10

Food. Not chocolate or cakes but healthy nutritious food. Or vouchers for food.

OverthinkingThis · 08/01/2020 12:11

Food! Anything you can eat with one hand while feeding. Also a travel mug with a lid so I could have cups of tea that stayed warm and could be drunk without risk of dripping on baby's head.

Meganc559 · 08/01/2020 12:11

Me and my partner got a huge fluffy blanket from a friend! So cosy for newborn cuddles

AwkwardAsAllGetout · 08/01/2020 12:14

Definitely a travel mug, I got one when dd was about a week old and I still use it every single day. TK Maxx sell good ones. And well done for thinking beyond just buying for the baby, so much was wasted when dd was born as she was bought so much. Lovely for people to think of us and buy a gift, but most was exchanged for things in bigger sizes or just not used at all.

KMoKMo · 08/01/2020 12:17

Cosy hooded dressing gown and breast feeding friendly lounge clothes.

feelingverylazytoday · 08/01/2020 12:19

Hand cream.

DennisSkinnersMolotov · 08/01/2020 12:20

My friend got me Epsom salts for soothing baths and some gorgeous facial skincare bits that I wouldn't have bought for myself. My skin was awfully dry post birth (still is) and it was lovely to feel fresh faced.

HarrietM87 · 08/01/2020 12:20

Food! Some friends did an online shop for us which was amazing - they picked really random but nice things, snacks and ready meals went down really well. Others home made us stuff which was brilliant too.

If bf then a big bottle with a straw for water was also great.

DailyFailAreTwats · 08/01/2020 12:29

I second Cook meals! Or a cosy woolly cardi for feeding in.

Original poster
Turniptracker · 08/01/2020 12:33

These are all fantastic suggestions thank you so much!

OP posts:
riddles26 · 08/01/2020 12:41

For Mum: as most have suggested, something that allows her not to have to make a meal or have a drink while it is still hot! Handcream or nice bathsoap/showergel is also a great one and if breastfeeding, something comfortable to wear that allows easy feeding access. A couple of close friends came round during the day and held baby while I slept - was amazing not to have to feel like I had to sit with them and keep them company but could leave them to relax and make themselves at home

For baby: something practical like muslins/massage oil/baby toiletries. The latter particularly if you know what kind she will use - one of my friends knows I prefer natural products and made me a wonderful hamper with products from ethical brands that I would have bought myself

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 08/01/2020 12:42

A friend brought me a homemade chocolate orange teabread. Not useful, exactly, but it has stuck in my mind for almost 20 years...

ememem84 · 08/01/2020 12:43

We were given vouchers for cook, and sent a fruit and veg box every 2 weeks.

Also gin. My uncle and aunt signed me up to craft gin club for the duration of my mat leave.

20viona · 08/01/2020 12:53

Chocolate, face masks and bath bombs to relax.

AllYouGoodGoodPeople · 08/01/2020 13:06

Hand cream, travel mug, small cartons of drink - however the random day a few weeks in that someone dropped off a copy of Hello and the biggest bar of Galaxy is a day that stick in my memory Grin

strawberry2017 · 08/01/2020 13:18

My sister sent me a cookie cake - made me so happy but also having my hair done a couple of months after baby was amazing x

MotherWol · 08/01/2020 15:00

One of my friends visited soon after we'd come home from hospital with a nice pack of sleepsuits for the baby, but mostly gifts for me: really nice coffee, fresh fruit, and some stinky cheese and crackers, that I'd been missing during pregnancy. It was so nice to have snacks on hand, feeding the baby left me really hungry!

fee1234 · 08/01/2020 15:15

A silk kimono dressing gown! It was a godsend in the early days of breastfeeding, I could have bare boobs under it and it was very soft against my sore nipples and didn't hurt like everything else did.

abstractzebra · 08/01/2020 15:17

An M&S Cumberland Pie and a trifle for pudding!
I had my DD at home, so there were no meals provided!