Colleague's baby present

[rbe78]

Hi all - one of our colleagues has just given birth, and we had a whip round to get her a pressy. Appealing to the hive mind of mumsnet to see what we should get.

We have a budget of ~£200. It's her second baby, so she'll have all the big useful items. We're all WFH at the mo, so it would be nice to have soemthing a bit more personal than just a gift voucher.

So, do we get:

A: Several little things, mix of things for baby and mum
B: One little thing (e.g. toy, outfit) and the rest as a gift voucher (i.e. John Lewis)
C: One little thing and the rest as a bank transfer
D: One or two big things that she's not likely to have already

Answers on a postcard!

Also, any suggestions of potential big useful things that she might not have, or little things for her rather than baby gratefully received.

Thank you!

For A for the baby I'd go socks, bibs, little cute beanie, small pack of nappies, good brand baby lotion, little baby medical kit with like a thermometer in it and snot sucker haha I dunno what they're called. There's loads of things if you google it, these things came in handy when I had my baby.

If it’s her second then a voucher! She probably has all the clothes and booties already! Yes to the PP who said a jellycat toy, my LO Loves them they are so soft! Please send a voucher!!

D

I had everything l needed for my second especially as it was another DS.

Gift voucher but only if can spend it online as shopping is difficult currently.

Amazon was suggested earlier which is good.

£200 or £180 worth of eg John Lewis vouchers when you’re short of cash on maternity leave (using them at Waitrose even...) would be incredibly useful.

So many “cute things” people bought me for my second were never used - in fact the majority went straight in a charity shop bag. I didn’t need them - having already got rid of bags of surplus stuff from my first - and I didn’t have the space to store then either. And I didn’t have time - he never slept more than 45 minutes at a go for months on end -to sort them out.

I got a pamper kit from my work. Nice idea, but as I got precisely 0 minute to myself on maternity leave, I never even opened it :(

In your place I’d buy: cute babygro, book for elder sibling, posh chocs for mum and the rest in vouchers.

I'm finishing for maternity leave tomorrow and my boss is dropping off my gift tomorrow. I'm ridiculously excited as I love getting baby things.

I think a drink of choice (I e- prosecco or wine) for mum would be lovely, along with a voucher and a couple of nice baby clothes. I love next baby clothes and they always have a nice choice. My friend has bought me a myhummy bear which are expensive but got great reviews and I wasnt prepared to risk this baby not sleeping- like my first didnt (and still doesn't!)
I'd also quite like one of the morrck car seat blankets but they're one of those gifts that I wouldn't buy myself as they're expensive but as a gift it would be lovely!

Something that we ended up with far too many were the soft toys where it's a small square blanket and a teddies head. I don't know the name but you get them everywhere.

Having had kids - I would split £200 down the middle and spend half on mum and half on the baby.
I put together a hamper once of fenjal bath stuff, dry shampoo, paracetamol, eye roll on, and then some more expensive bits for Mum. Vouchers for Uber eats or something like that would be a total winner.
And then baby was a brush/thermometer/nail set and other actual practical pieces. Steer away from baby clothing she will have bloody loads. But a nice blanket or play mat would go down well.

Get a little something for the older child too, I was very appreciative when people remembered my first born and included him with a little gift to open.

I'm pregnant with number two and like you say, already have all the big things. Would absolutely LOVE to receive a little gift like an outfit or flowers or something and have the rest in vouchers or cash. John Lewis is always a good call.

I would do a Mum & baby hamper (loads around) plus a voucher which can be used across a range of stores, like Love2shop or One4all.

B, as long as it's a gift voucher that can be used online

A gift for Mum, a gift for baby and then a bank transfer.

There is no point buying her stuff that she already has and she will probably end up giving it away. I really won’t trust vouchers, especially at the moment when she is unlikely to be going into a shop and there is a good chance companies may go bankrupt.

@Sunshinehousexo I got a myHummy for my second and she sleeps better than my first but it wasn’t a magic bullet.

I'd say A for flowers/new outfit but mainly B. Gifts are so personal and hard to get right and they may have everything they need unless you know the recipient well enough to ask what they need.

My work gave me mothercare vouchers for my second and I bought a paddling pool which is still going strong 8 years later.

Www.cookfood.com vouchers!

We do a baby hamper at work. Everyone donates something small. From nappies you chocolate. It's always gone down well.

Honestly as lovely as shopping forba newborn is if it's her second she wont need anything. I'd go for a nice teddy (jellycat is a great suggestion) and possibly something small for her other child. Thr for the rest whereas I'd normally say vouchers given the current situation a bank transfer would probably the most practical and appreciated gift. Vouchers often don't get used anyway but at present I cant see them being used at all unless they are accepted online.

A little present each, some sweets or a little book for the older child and vouchers.

Definitely B. I wouldn't want loads of bits and bobs when I already have plenty of things and a voucher is always great especially if you get one that can be redeemed online. Standard gift at my work is a John Lewis voucher. Can't go wrong

I hate vouchers, they are so impersonal. Especially bloody tax-dodging Amazon. I’d go for a hamper of stuff. As already suggested, a jellycat toy, baby socks, hand cream, wine; plus I’d add cashmere bedsocks or luxury slippers for mum for all those night feeds.

Things I received too many of: hats, blankets, rattles (especially the ones that attach to wrists and ankles) and those fabric squares with teddies attached that a pp mentioned.

Play mats are a good idea too, as you can’t really have too many - one in each room means you don’t have to keep moving them, and they are always in the wash so spares are handy.

Amazon voucher. I hate money being wasted on things I don't want.

I’m due baby 2 soon and option B would be most appreciated here. Amazon voucher would be good.

I've just had my second baby.

My absolute favourite presents have been a massage voucher (for someone who does home visits and postnatal massage) and food, a few people have brought home cooked meals and good friends gave us a Cook ready meal. So my top two suggestions would be a massage voucher (ideally home visit) and Cook voucher.

For the baby, it kind of depends. My first is a boy and my second is a girl, so even though we had mostly unisex clothes and kept them all, we've been gifted some cute girly clothes which I do appreciate - it's nice for her to have some new bits and not just hand-me-downs. Ditto a few nice new muslins. But honestly, apart from that, we have pretty much all the baby stuff we need. There are just a few things we have bought (eg new bath thermometer as old one had died). So for baby my advice would be to get one small present - maybe an item of clothing but not 0-3 as everyone gets that, maybe 3-6 or 6-9 (but consider the season) and then a generic voucher, Amazon or John Lewis as they can buy almost anything including not baby related.

I usually do a hamper - a few things for mum and baby - so A