After having a baby

[Mostmylarbles]

What is something that you think is useful/a good idea for someone who is pregnant/ just after had a baby.
Maybe something that isnt usually thought about when people are giving gifts to new parents. Is there something you received that really stuck with you/helped you?

Looking for ideas for baby shower gift for a friend, she has lots of friends and family so I know she'll get some great stuff, but wanted to give something that was maybe a bit different and useful! Also she lives 2 hours away so I don't get to see her much.

Thank you in advance :)

Ewan the white noise sheep. This was the most helpful baby gift we received.

This is probably not for everyone and a matter of personal taste/style, but I got a crossbody bag that sits quite high which is fantastic for grabbing my phone/sunglasses etc when I'm pushing the pram! Bit like a camera bag.

Everyone always buys stuff for the baby, my favourite gift after having my first DC was a pamper pack for me - bubble bath, face masks, a bottle of fizz, bath bomb, a voucher for afternoon tea etc. I LOVED it, it’s about the mum too and I felt very special my lovely friend thought of me not just the baby

Ooh this too!! Absolute miracle device

A cup holder for the pram!

A rockit that rocks/vibrates the pram.

Insulated cup so you get a hot drink rather than a lukewarm one that you never get round to drinking.
As well as a bit of a pamper thing for mum - chocolates, bottle of fizz (alcoholic or not), bath salts etc.

I also found things like baby toiletries useful. Clothes are cute but really I needed bepanthan, snufflebabe, calpol, lansinoh.

Just been thing about this for a friend.

Things you don’t know you need until you need them - Calpol, baby thermometer, snot sucker, bath thermometer, dummy

Breast pads - I thought you only needed them when you started weaning. 🙄Don’t know why I thought that. Very grateful to be given some at my baby shower and therefore have them at home when needed.

Electric baby nail file - omg, this is so much easier!

Hand cream. Washing my hands after every nappy change destroyed my hands.

Cook vouchers!

This is working wonders for my baby!

I've got a friend a basket of things like this plus some other stuff. I put it in an actual basket that I bought especially. ( The basket was from a supermarket. I originally seen one in Ikea but they didn't have one in at the time.)

Her husband kept checking with me that they could keep the basket when I handed over the stuff.

The basket was then used to store nappies.

The most useful thing anyone gave me when DC1 was born was an ear thermometer. We still use it, and that DC is 21.

Insulated cup so you get a hot drink rather than a lukewarm one that you never get round to drinking.

Lots of people have them already.

I've been given a few at conferences and use to give them away to people I knew took a long time to drink tea and coffee.

<eyes you suspiciously>

Are you my friend?

If so, the basket is still in use!

😂

Mummy clip - basically a massive carabiner that goes on the pram handle. Also those smaller stretchy keychain things with clips on the end. Useful for keeping hold of so many things - dummies, gloves, sunhats, drinks etc.

Easy foods, preferably ones that don't need to be in fridge/freezer. So tins of soup, packet noodles, cereal bars etc. Obviously only if you know what she'll eat.

GroSnug. Sock Ons. Mini hand sanitiser. Metanium. Child's Farm baby wash/bubble bath. Eye mask and ear plugs for when it's dad's turn to get up.

Thank you for your he great ideas! Maybe I'll do a gift box similar to the basket gift 😁with a few bits in it. I love that!

The greatest gift people got us after our second was home cooked food. We were given cook vouchers as someone has already suggested which were great, but we also had a friend batch cook us a delicious pasta sauce and a curry. They portioned them up and we put them straight in the freezer. After our first we were so dead we just lived on takeaway and it felt really grim. After our second it was so nice to know dinner was covered and it would be yummy, comforting, didn’t break the bank and wasn’t crazy unhealthy. So if you can cook, bring food!

The absolute best present I got - a thousand times better than anything else - was a letter box delivery of the gooest, caramel brownies ever. I ate them at about 2-3am the first few nights back from the hospital and I’m not sure I’d have had the strength to keep breastfeeding and staying up all night without them. It was years and years and years a go now. I’ve forgotten who got which blanket or babygro but I remember the brownies.

I would say not to get more cuddly toys or those lamarze pram toys, no baby needs more of that stuff.

So my bet would be - COOK vouchers or a subscription to something like brownies or cake delivery service for a few weeks.

Costa voucher or takeaway voucher.

A friend gave me an audible subscription - I’d never used it before but became an addict. It was a present specifically for me, nothing to do with baby/pregnancy but meant I could read while pushing a pram or in the dark during night feeds. It was perfect.

Yes, JustEat or Deliveroo vouchers would also be good.

I would actually caution away from the basket of useful things idea. A lot of things I was gifted by friends who wanted to give me things that I would “actually need” never got used - I got those things that hold socks on for instance, and never really understood the appeal. At least half of what my friends told me they couldn’t live without I never used. And you certainly don’t want to give things like dummies or whatever unless you know the person is dead set on using a dummy. I think I’d have found a dummy quite condescending in a “you may think you won’t use one, but I know better!” way.

www.bearsbrownies.co.uk/product/brownies/fill-your-own/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmZejBhC_ARIsAGhCqndknySLhBVTAeNrJmbJd3M7EUJO9BtyqNt3vuKmBLQeVH1f6reZlIUaAnrcEALw_wcB

These to be delivered on day 3 after coming home.

Take away vouchers
Not a cute thing to give

But boy what a lifesaver it can be

Oooo, a food package for me with all the things I didn't eat during pregnancy.
Sushi, brie, smoked salmon, coffee beans, wine.
Anything that's a treat for mum and not baby gets my vote. A treat, not practical stuff 😉