To ask what you would have loved someone to buy you after having a baby.

[mrswhiskerson]

My best friend is ready tomgive birth any
minute and since she has everything for the baby I want to put a big survival box together for her with loads of treats and anything you can think you would have loved someone to get you after you had your baby.

I don't have the biggest budget btw.

Homemade cake and a big tin of homemade cookies. Visitor entertaining was a pain in the arse.

I would really have appreciated an M&S hamper full of ready meals delivered, starter, main and desserts for a few evenings for mum& dad to try and have dinner together would be very thoughtful.

A photo book of photos of the newborn baby
A hair cut
Eyebrows threaded
Clothes vouchers
Clothes vouchers
More clothes vouchers

Well, there were 3 people who gave me frozen meals following the birth of DD2...2 of whom put them in disposable foil containers which could be thrown away so didn't need washing up. I lurve them!!

My DSis came and spent 40 minutes ish a day for about a month after she was born too (I was a lone parent with 2 other under 5s), during this time I would have a shower or bath, and she would hoover or iron or wash up. This kept me sane. Wouldnt expect anyone other than family to do this every day ut if you have several mutual friends you could make sure she has some company each day for 20 minutes or so. I found it really lonely with DC1 when Dh went back to work and I was too knackered to get out of the house.

Other lovely gifts were photo processing voucher, chocolate and biscuits

Vouchers from here: www.cookfood.net/ then she can pick and choose what she likes and it'll get delivered.

Offers to come and hoover or do laundry, I couldn't manage hoovering after the birth and obviously the laundry is never ending.

Brie, pate, and wine and lots of other things that you're not allowed to have while (though perhaps no shark meat )

Tatty

Oops.. that was meant to be a

..on the other hand, perhaps i was right the first time!

Maybe also a voucher for a back massage while you look after baby for her? I found that I was quite 'highly strung' after ds was born so something that forces you into relaxing would have been bliss!

If she's going to be breastfeeding I recommend a Love Film subscriptions for three months. :)

my friend arranged for a reflexologist to come to my house, said friend arrived over to babysit for me while I lay there getting pampered. It was great, honestly, totally converted me to reflexology

Home cooked meals and lots of horrible, comfortable, gigantic pants I could throw away relatively guiltlessly after a few unpleasant stainy leakages.

Ps can I be your friend too?

The presents I remember were some lovely soap with rose petals in it and some green & blacks choc with cherries in. I can still remember the smell of the soap now as it washed that awful hospital smell off me and made me feel like me again. Definately also do the meals thing. Don't know how babies seem to take up so much time but they do...

A homemade voucher for a few hours a week of babysitting!

I made some of these for my friend, as well as some vouchers for 'a good cry whenever you feel like it'

Anything edible! Or for you to hold baby while I ate (and free, if you're on a tight budget)

I bought a selection of things I'd found the most useful myself and chose the best brands of each thing that I'd discovered by trial and error:

1. Natracare maternity pads - absolutely the softest and most comfortable
2. Lansinoh breast pads
3. Arnica pillules
4. Tea tree oil (for post natal bath soak purposes)
5. Kamillosan - I preferred this to Lansinoh cream and it can be used on baby's bottom as well
6. One black, one white boob tube thingy for stomach coverage purposes when breastfeeding
7. One black and one white vest top to wear over boob tubes
8. A stack of magazines - for reading while breastfeeding
9. Mini tubes of Earth Friendly baby barrier and nappy wash cream, as I found these a godsend for fitting in change bags
10. A huge slab of chocolate

10. A pack of luxury biscuits 11. Jar of luxury hot chocolate 12. Big home-made chocolate cake - for her 13. Home made tea-brack - for guests or her 14. Home made banana-loaf - for guests or her 15. Chammomile teabags 16. Fennel teabags 17. Card offering to babysit while she has a bath/break, highlighting my mobile number and offer for her to call anytime, be it for a chat, help or advice 18. Bottle of a fantastic postnatal soak which is both healing and supposed to help stave off baby blues - for some reason the name of it eludes me at the moment though 19. Little pack of sleep and revitalise aromatherapy pulse point rollers

I think there was more, but it was a couple of years ago now. I do remember it weighed a tonne and dh had to carry it in for me! I gave it to her on her due date so she had it all ready for when she needed it and she sobbed all over me!

some of the thoughtfulness on this thread has really made me feel all warm and snuggly inside - moosemama your last post made me well up!!! and it def covers all the things i was going to mention. no wonder she blubbed!!

I would say really nice, fancy jammies- I love the autograph ones in marks and spencers, or a voucher to get my hair done and an offer to babysit!

And if I was really pushing my luck a Jo Malone Pomegranate candle so I can pretend I still have an organised and sophisticated life!

The best pressie I got was surprisingly from my somewhat carefree slightly irresponsible sister; she loaded a Boots gift card with £50 when each of my girls were born. This meant I didn't have to think about nappies, wipes, sudocream and other such essentials for a good while. I have repeated the gesture to friends and they have all really liked it. I appreciate not everyone likes vouchers though.

The other really good pressie I got was a lovely thick pram blanket for dd2 from John Lewis. I got loads of people asking me where I got it from whenever we used to go out with it. It is perfect for winter babies.

or maybe a membership of Love Film as there won't be any trips to the cinema for a while- my husband and I treat ourselves to a good tv boxset through it and it is just nice for something to do together one or two evenings a week- at the minute we are on Judge John Deed and hoping to progress onto Kavanagh QC!

My sister is 20 weeks. I have a DS whos 6yo.

I am doing a hamper for her. Mindyou I have 20 weeks to get bits and bobs and spread the cost.

I'm doing:

1)minitures of baby shampoo/talc etc. Great for when you get caught short without.
2) plain white bibs/ vests for baby from 3 months. (as most people will get newborn) and if its huge as DS newborn won't fit by 1 month!
3)bath stuff for my Sister - lavender etc.
4) beer for her DP
5) plain photo frames in various sizes
6)scrap book with the accessories to make it how she choses
7)muslins cloths - lets face it they are great for anything!
8)I'm going to put in vouchers/ tokens for babysitting/ ironing and clothes washing that I'll do when she's heavily sleep deprived.
9) Also an old soft toy of DS he got as a baby he wants to give to his cousin.

Absolute best pressie by far I got after ds1 (and it was from a friend of a friend who lived nearby so felt it was really sweet of them): 1 bottle babycham, a copy of vogue and a tub of cookie dough ice-cream!

Ds2: my mum did a whole weeks shopping of super easy but nice ready meals (I wouldn't normally buy them but dh is no cook and I felt it was ok to eat as I didn't buy them- and they were yummy! Made first week sooo much easier)

Ds 3: really good friend bought a giant sushi platter to the hospital! Blew hospital food out the water!

It got to be a cleaner every time. I am so hoping for this as a gift this time round. It beats baby grows and ready meals any day.

A friend who is also a mumsnetter left a lovely cake on my doorstep and some dairy free crispy cakes for my dairy allergic DS. Was the most thoughtful thing anyone did for me.