To ask what your most treasured gift for your newborn has been?

[dirynosaurusrex]

Looking for inspiration for a present for a newborn.

Not a "gift" per se ….but one mum ( who I didn't really know that well, TBH - she was/is the wife of an old school friend of DH) came to visit and made a lot of nice comments e.g. " what a natural mum I was" and how well I was doing with newborn DD etc etc

I felt completely out of my depth and was really anxious about being a good mum... and her extremely kind comments gave me a massive confidence boost.

It is only afterwards ( after I came out of the newborn fog!) that I realised that she had said this on purpose!

My lovely friend and mother of 3 boys bought me an urban decay eyeshadow pallet and brushes. Brilliant.

Honestly- nothing. piles of unwanted and unneeded crap, clothes that didn't fit (mine ever fitted in newborn) and duplicate stuff that we already had.

My great grandmother knitted a lovely jumper which we still have as she died shortly after.

Why not start with a small cash donation rather than starting the child as an unnecessary consumer.

To add;

I take sanitary towels (you need loads more than any list says) and ready meals when I visit very new borns.

Friend coming round with a casserole in a huge thermos thing, all ready to be eaten whenever we were ready

Thank you so much, some great ideas here!

Also, next size up clothes

When I had DD2, my friends (all mumfriends I'd met from having DD1) gave me various gifts, but the thing that really touched me was that they all wrote little messages on nappies. They made a little box and labelled it "emergency nighttime nappies", and wrote lovely things: sweet, soppy, funny, sweary etc.

DD2 was in hospital with a mystery virus at 3 weeks old and I happened to grab some nappies from this box as I hastily packed a bag. At 4am, when I'd not slept for 30 hours and just watched my tiny baby have a lumbar puncture, when I changed her nappy and saw a note from a friend telling me I was a great mum, it lifted me in a way I can't describe.

My all-time favourite gift was a five-year line-a-day diary. It’s nearly full now and wonderful to look back at the early days at all the stuff we’ve forgotten in the newborn haze. It’s my now go-to baby present.

Waitrose £10 meal for two. Delivered by a great friend after each baby born. Stayed for all of five minutes, said congratulations, handed over lovely food and left!

Things that were most appreciated and most used (although perhaps not the most exciting thing to buy) were:

Large, coloured muslins
Sleepsuits in bigger sizes - 12-18 months etc.
Some classic Julia Donaldson books
Gro-bags
A basket of Johnson's shampoo, baby bath, wipes etc.
Personalised towel with hood
Stacking cups
A really good travel cup that I used for keeping my tea warm whilst feeding
A 'taggie' blanket and book
Things like sippy cups, melamine plates/bowls fro weaning
A box of 'oddsocks'

Things that I didn't really use (although I was very grateful for the gifts):

Blankets and shawls
Cuddly toys
Newborn / 3-6 month outfits - too small for DC and I preferred them in babygros
A beautiful cashmere, handwash only babygro - I shrunk it in the wash
Moneyboxes x 3

I loved everything home made. The most useful things were:
Schnuggle bath
My Hummy
Travel blackout blind
Jumperoo
Clothes in bigger sizes

What I appreciated the most was anyone who came round and did something useful - especially if said thing was taking the baby for a bit so I could sleep!

A beautiful 4 layer muslin blanket, 6-9 month (season appropriate) clothes, cute bibs. To be honest though I was greatful for anything! It was also really nice when people brought my eldest a little token gift so they didn't feel left out (packet of stickers, colouring book etc)

My favourites were books that people had enjoyed themselves in childhood, and luckily lots of people went with this option. When certain stories go through a phase of being the favourite of DDs it's nice to think of the gift giver and the shared enjoyment.

A very soft fleece blanket with DS's name on it (and a bear on it) - this has become "blankie"

His Tomy Dreamshow, which has been put on every night of his life as he falls asleep

Also I don't know about treasured, but the Metanium, Sufflebabe and ear thermometer saw a lot of action that first year.

It really depends on the parents. I would not have been fussed with nappies, sanitary towels, sudocream, Muslins etc. Most mothers will have all that and some will prefer cloth nappies, organic nappy cream etc.

Clothes are nice but I like what I like and most never got used or by the time she fitted them they were out of season.

I really enjoyed bottles of champagne ;-) we ordered hello fresh ourselves so a voucher would have been awesome. the first toy my daughter actually used was the Lamaze Freddie Firefly which I picked up for £1 at an NCT sale would have loved one of those as a newborn gift. Also black and white books for the very early days but they are done with after a couple of months and we ended up with loads of them.

Teddies are fairly useless and still at 10 months she’s not interested unless they rattle. The “that’s not my” books got a lot of use in the first 6 months too.

DD 1 was a jellycat mouse toy. She has slept with it every single night for 5 years. That little mouse and how she loves it means a lot to me.

DD 2 was a beautiful rainbow blanket. She will not nap without it, it goes everywhere. It’s gorgeous and still so very soft.

Practically wise, we got gift vouchers for mother care, Tesco online shopping ordered for us, my mum batch cooked loads of food for us both times round and muslins. All of the muslins !

A nose frida (for sucking snot out of noses). Absolute lifesaver

My dd was given a soft toy by friends who visited when we were still in hospital (we were in for a week, difficult birth and health problems for dd).

As it happens, and I'm sure it's entirely by coincidence, that has been her one treasure that she has always slept with and always taken away with her. Of all the many (probably 50+) soft toys she was given as a child. She is now 18.

But I don't think you can manipulate or influence these things. They just are.

My nan turned DD’s clothes into a personalised blanket for us. It’s beautiful, filled with memories and she adores it.

A really nice selection of cheese, crackers and bottle of wine.

I'm seconding the Tuppence and Crumble Star Wrap. It lasted forever, washed brilliantly, was perfect for car journeys in the winter, perfect to wear when in his carrier and he looked so blummin adorable in it. I am not lying when I say I felt genuine sadness when he outgrew it. Hands down best gift we were given.

A book - "On the night you where born" cannot think who the author is though, and it's upstairs

Still makes me tear up now when I read it to her

A friend came round with a homemade quiche and a cake. Lifesaver.

My son has the name which is the name of the boy in a famous book and a friend bought him a copy as his newborn present. We still have it.

(Think along the lines of buying a baby Alice a copy of Alice in Wonderland,).