Post birth hamper

[piercedmyfootonaspiiiiike]

Hi all,

My best friend is giving birth in August. It's very unlikely the baby shower we've planned will go ahead, so I wanted to make her a special hamper to give her after she's given birth!

So far the ideas I have for the hamper are:

Lanolin nipple cream (other brands are suggestible)

Comfy post hospital outfit

A letter for one week after she's given birth

Big disposable knickers

Big pads

Tiny jug to pour over her bits in case she has stitches (another mum recommended this for when she goes for a wee!)

Any other recommendations would be very very much appreciated!!

Thank you

Also if anyone has any ideas for a virtual baby shower, please let me know

Insulated cup with lid.
Chocolate
Any food/drink she's been particularly missing during pregnancy

It's a lovely idea but if you're not giving it until after the birth, the likelihood is she will already have bought most of that stuff - they are on most lists for hospital bags which women start packing anytime from 32 weeks onwards.

Is she planning on breastfeeding? If so, reusable breastpads, a haakaa pump, muslins, a feeding scarf, an insulated cup or sports bottle for water, milk storage bags

Agree with all @RhymingRabbit3’s suggestions plus get the hydrogel breast discs which were a lifesaver to me

Thank you for the suggestions! I'll be giving it her probably two months before the birth. Well, it'll be left outside her house in compliance with social distancing regulations 😂

I wouldn't go buying pumps and accessories, that could be quite a lot of money for something she might never use (I never did even when I went back to work). Never used a feeding scarf either. Muslin squares are always handy to have lots of though. Also nice treat food.

Do a virtual shower on Zoom and leave the presents outside her house for her to open online.
Ask her partner (if poss) to take pics of her doing so so she has memories of it 😊
Leave her a cake outside/something nice as a treat

Post birth treats:
Any food or drink she has missed during pregnancy
Face masks
Books/kindle book voucher
Hot chocolate
Insulated cup
Reusable breast pads if she plans to breast feed. She may not invest straight away in these

Xx

@ExpletiveDelighted that's a good point! I didn't want to get too many breast related things in case she can't breastfeed!

Nappies, top and tail bowl, baby wipes etc

@bookish83 that's a great idea, thank you!! I think you can record on zoom too, so we could record the whole baby shower and she could watch it back.

Thank you everyone for the ideas and suggestions, they are much appreciated 😊

It's not just if she can't breastfeed, I did for a long time but never expressed - I borrowed a pump to try and it was such a palava compared to just feeding her. She hated the bottle too. I never used a scarf when feeding out and about either. Virtual shower by Zoom with gifts on the doorstep sounds like a great idea.

Im due a baby shortly. I personally wouldn't really want anything from your first list as its all very personal and depends what someone would want. It also does seem very gift like receiving disposable pants!

Things that would be handy for me and baby:
-Weleda baby bath/ wash - slight luxury
-Freerider or fabelab large muslins - not your typical white type, and super soft.

• lindt chocolate, or nice cake
• amazon voucher for kindle books
• dummies and wooden dummy strap
• natural baby teether

@piercedmyfootonaspiiiiike

You can record on zoom! X

I'm sure it's a nice idea but I would have hated this.
Lanolin nipple cream (other brands are suggestible) I was given three tubes of this and barely used half of one.

Comfy post hospital outfit What's your idea of comfortable may not be hers. I just wore maternity jeans for a few days then normal clothes. Wouldn't have wanted anything especially for this time

A letter for one week after she's given birth Maybe. But a big assumption you know how she'll be feeling

Big disposable knickers No way do I want anyone picking my underwear. I would be really weirded out by this

Big pads Definitely needed but I had more than I needed. Still a bit more intimate than I'd fancy too

Tiny jug to pour over her bits in case she has stitches (another mum recommended this for when she goes for a wee!) Doesn't need a special jug. Any old glass or jug works fine. Just an necessary purchase.

The best present you could gift is some homemade freezer food.

The best present you could gift is some homemade freezer food.

Now that I do agree with

Personally I’d have hated being gifted dummies. They’re also very divisive generally!

One thing that I loved was the cowshed mother / baby gift set

Oh and if they're into coffee, maybe a cheap coffee machine?

My nespresso was such a great purchase on the days where taking the lid off the kettle/filling it up/waiting for it to boils/forgetting it's boiled/re-boiling was just tooooo much. A machine gave me instant, drinking temp coffee

those big half moon shaped pillow things you prop yourself up with in bed (don't know what they're called but my daughter used hers constantly)

Don't forget mum. MY dcs are in their 30s now but I have never forgotten a friend made me up a box of facepacks, body sprays, nail polishes and remover, moisturisers for face and body, lip balm etc when I came home from hospital. I was delighted with it.

Oh yes yes to the pillow thing. Invaluable.

Yes to the pillow thing, my DD is a teenager now and still has it in her bed.

Isn't cancelling the baby shower a bit premature? She's still got around 4 months to go, it's very doubtful lockdown will be in place for that long.

Suggesting to amend the date if it's booked shortly, you could plan it for July time, for example?

I agree with pp that all those things on your list, although practical, are kind of personal. They’re all things I would have just wanted to and did sort myself. If I was going to receive a gift hamper I would have preferred more, you know, ‘gifts’ - not a hospital bag hamper I think it would be nice to include some things that would encourage her to treat herself/ take care of herself once the baby has arrived - maybe some nice bath oils or moisturiser, nice pjs, a nice water bottle (breastfeeding is thirsty work), a list of great Netflix shows to watch while sitting there breastfeeding... but that’s just me. You know your friend best.