Best present for a new mum

[sharkstale]

My brother's wife is having a c-section as I type this! I remember after having my first baby, my sister bought me new pyjamas and a dressing gown, and it honestly felt like the best thing since sliced bread to be able to put on a brand new cosy dressing gown after the whole ordeal and when snuggled up with my newborn. So I'm thinking of doing the same for my SIL. Also contemplating other present ideas as mums go through so much with pregnancy and birth, and everybody turns up with presents for the baby and mum doesn't always get to feel appreciated for what they've just been through.
What would have been your ideal gift to receive after giving birth?

I remember asking for soft towels as I was sore all over. Perhaps a nice set of towels? Love the pjs and dressing gown idea too. Some food for her too, maybe some handy snacks? Our neighbours bought us an M&S afternoon tea set so we had cake and snacks for the full first week.

I had 2 c sections and the 3 best gifts i got were:

-Frozen Cook meals which were healthier but quick to make
-A nice water bottle with straw for when I was nap trapped
-Some nice earrings

Also just practical help, holding the baby so i could rest and recover.

I would have hated clothes (sorry!). I already had plenty of comfortable things to wear after I gave birth.

Healthy snacks, coffee, tea, a fancy cake/brownies/cookies from a nice bakery. Personally, I am someone who is very well organised and I had all post-birth meals planned with things I knew I really liked. But nice snacks would have been much appreciated.

Food - a bunch of nice snacks and drinks.
Gift card for a takeaway delivery.

The best gift I got with my first was a box full of snacks and a lovely massive waterbottle with a straw and a lovely thermos cup to keep my drinks warm for when I am napped trapped. I thought it was so thoughtful as I didn't think I needed that.

Food was also my favourite present!
The day my husband went back to work a friend left a huge bag of M&S goodies on my doorstep - it was all picnic style bits (quiche, sausage rolls, prepped fruit, treats) - so handy to just grab from the fridge and eat one handed!
Another friend turned up with one morning with a sausage sandwich (she live down the road) which was divine 😂
I would have loved cosy pyjamas/ loungewear too!

I bought a friend the M&S letterbox afternoon tea set so she could enjoy a cuppa and cake. The present went down well :-)

I've taken a food shop round to a couple of new mums, stuff like a cooked chicken, bread, salad, milk, tea bags ect, plus an assortment of treats. It was really appreciated. Friend has baby due in the spring and I am going to get the parents a Deliveroo voucher so they can get a take away.

2 gifts I really appreciated and remember

a hamper with all my favourite foods that I couldnt eat when pregnant like pate and Brie etc

my mum came to my house and cooked my favourite dinner for me

Brand new super soft PJ's were my favourite! I put them on after my first hit shower at home and it was amazing! I didn't have a dressing gown but that's because I had a June baby and it was quite warm out, I imagine if have loved a dressing gown if I were having a baby in this weather!

Snacks are a great shout too!

Tray of chocolate brownies from a nice bakery. And/or other favourite treats

Can’t really comment as mum through adoption so no gifts received but one thing I bought (and have now learned to buy better version) is an insulated cup. I treated myself to a Yeti cup last year and that thing keeps a cuppa hot for hours! And it has a nice safe lid so you don’t need to worry about it spilling or getting knocked over. My mum couldn’t believe I hadn’t drunk my tea 3 hours later when we’d gone out and I said it was still piping hot!

food, food, more food.
snacks
m&s vouchers
coffee shop vouchers

I got loads of ‘new mum’ body lotion type things and honestly most of them are still in my wardrobe. Who has time to moisturise?!

Aftershokz headset for safely pushing pram
gower cottage brownies

Definitely food. Some easy to heat up frozen meals. If she'll be expecting a lot of visitors then cake/biscuits to give them.

You know those trays that have those little squishy balls on the underside of them so that they balance on the couch?... no idea what they're called but after my first was born, I'd sit on the couch feeding and if the tray was beside me, I could still have my cuppa to hand. So handy. Also second a thermal mug with lid and water bottle with straw.

Also, I have been using a luxury shampoo since giving birth in October and it just makes it that teeny bit more special whenever I actually get a chance to wash my hair

Best present I got (from my SIL) was a big tube of lansinoh nipple cream.

Another vote for Cook vouchers.

Biscuits. I still remember 11 years on how much I appreciated them and I always buy a pack for a new mum! Also my friend put together a little box, with lots of random things, some new, some hand me downs. Snacks, fennel tea, an oat warming thing to put in the microwave, a lovely soft muslin and a little toy for the baby. It was so thoughtful.

Not a dressing gown but a bed jacket for extra warmth sitting up in bed

Food delivery service

My family brought around some delicious home cooked meals which were greatly appreciated. Personally I don’t think Cook food is that great and I was glad I didn’t get a voucher from anyone given how popular it is as gift suggestion online. I already had a water bottle, but I bought myself some Chelsea Peers pyjamas that are some comfortable and I still love.

What I really loved was a luxury foaming shower oil. Breastfeeding made me feel so gross and damp and sticky that I was showing two or three times a
day and having really fancy shower product made it feel really nice.

But I honestly didn’t really need a lot of stuff and didn’t really want anything either and I didn’t feel under appreciated by people buying for the baby.

The best thing I got was a large, long shirt. I loved it, with hot socks and knickers wandering round the house, easy for feeding. With a short skirt, jeans or leggings when walking with the pram or for bed at night on its own. Over my swimsuit on the beach etc
I don’t know where my sil (a midwife)got it but it must have been good quality as 38 years on and many many washes it still is one of my favourite things. Both dil asked for something similar when they were pregnant, one I got from With Nothing Underneath and one from Reiss

I got for my friend (and she loved it)
a contigo leak proof thermal flask
a box of mini brownies
a patchwork blanket - she used it as a play mat, a blanket and it’s now folded on the end of the bed

my wonderful mil God rest her soul got me the most amazing pants! She knew what type would be best for c section scar as she had gone through it herself. High waisted, material so soft but also very supportive as the scar needs held in place at first or it hurts!

She also got me a lovely big fruit basket.