If you have just had a baby, would you rather…

[SoLuckyToHaveYou]

receive a bouquet of flowers or a plant? I intend to get another gift for the baby as well. Please help me out because I am a chronic ditherer 🤷🏼‍♀️

I always find it interesting that hand cream is always suggested on gift threads for most occasions. I never use it!

If I were having a baby now, I’d appreciate some meals from Cook, ready to just shove in the oven.

Send food.

They’ve already got something to worry about keeping alive ;)

I’d say a small plant because although I love flowers, I was given so many I ran out of vases.

However my best gift was from a friend who turned up with an M&S Dine In deal for DH and I! Another friend chucked the flowers back while browsing in the shop and swapped them for some nice pizzas. We really appreciated it.

Yes!!

Sorry, OP but the last thing I’d have wanted with a new baby was something (else!) to care for or that required any kind of faffing.

Honestly: neither thanks. What I’d love is for people to ask for the gift list, and buy only what is on there. I don’t want clutter, and I definitely don’t want additional jobs.

I’m amazed so many people find a bunch of flowers hard work!

I have one year old twins. I didn’t get a single bunch when they were born and would have absolutely loved it! I wouldn’t have found it hard work to find a vase and put them in water, at all, and I had two premature babies.

It must be a personal thing, I’d have hated cakes/biscuits although would have appreciated freezer meals very much. My friend dropped us meals off when my twins were in Nicu/ the first few weeks they were home and it was amazing.

A lovely bunch of flowers would have been much appreciated and very much enjoyed, OP. Mumsnet can be an odd place.

I don't find flowers hard work either, plonk them in water and change it after a few days to keep them fresh ,that's it! I wouldn't enjoy meals being made for me either but I'm fussy, I don't like other people's cooking.

If you decide to give a plant how about a Peace Lily? They literally wilt when they need watering and then bounce back really quickly.

I always say it's the easiest member of my family to look after.

It's not so much that flowers are hard work but we were given several fairly large bouquets and simply didn't have anywhere to put them. They were too large to go on windowsills or mantelpieces, our only larger flat surfaces were the (small) kitchen table or the coffee table in the living room which had been shoved into a corner to make way for a moses basket and stand and was full of cards and other clutter at that point. They ended up in vases on the hearth but were in the way there too.

Neither. A gift card so I can buy whatever my baby needs.

I’m amazed so many people find a bunch of flowers hard work!

If there had only been one at a time that would have been great but I had more bunches than vases, and in the first couple of weeks didn't have time to unwrap them, trim them, feed them.

You mean your baby wasnt

I’m sorry you didn’t receive any flowers but there’s also nothing ‘odd’ about a new parent preferring a more practical gift is there.

I mean, stretch your mind beyond your own experience. Some of us might be ND and/or struggle with a house full of objects everywhere including flowers and/or have an absolutely raging dose of the baby blues or worse. So you didn't struggle with having a house full of stuff and that's great. Some people might not struggle with walking afterwards but you wouldn't invite them to go out hiking.

Assuming those are the only choices (let’s face it some people won’t like either). I would prefer a low maintenance plant, preferably already in a nice pot. Flowers mean I need to find a vase and then dispose of them when they die.

Hence why I said it must be a personal thing 😊