To ask what the nicest or most useful new born gift you got was

[DotDashDot24]

Would like to get a (small) newborn gift for an acquaintance.

What is the nicest or most useful small gift you got for a newborn?

(This will probably have to fit in a child's school bag).

Thank you 🙏

See, again, I never used bibs. At least not until weaning, and then I used the rubber ones with a nice deep well to catch food chunks. And I had plenty of socks. I don't think there's any one gift which works for everyone.

Thanks so much for all these great suggestions!!

10 x 2 person portions of frozen home cooked food. My dad is the BEST! All I had to do was cook pasta or rice or oven chips.

(he did check I had freezer space first!)

Dimmer plug for feeds in the middle of the night

I always buy this wheels on the bus book.

My kids absolutely loved it from baby til about age 4. The last person I gave it to said it was their son's favourite book.

Baby nail clippers

A lasagne from a friend.

A travel changing mat - it was ace for changing baby when out walking/on hols/visitingvpeople. One side was nappy changing, the other they could lie/sit on it.

For me ( and I didn't get it), it would have been offering to take baby out for a walk so I could rest or try to sleep. I had terrible insomnia as a result of being a first time mum, and it made me feel physically ill and incredibly anxious. Everyone is different though but if one of my children become a parent, I will offer that. Even 30 minutes would have been lovely.

Cook vouchers

John Lewis vouchers

Massive soft muslins

In ear thermometer

This too

I also agree with food / shop vouchers. Or getting short sleeve bodysuits in an older age eg 9-12 months.

You have no idea what mum has already bought for baby and I found I had lots of similar things eg teething toys as gifts for my LO. I also had lots of clothes from newborn up to 3-6 months. So anything older was very handy.

Sophie giraffe for baby and a coffee cup that stays hot for mum/dad

I had similar in the first days, then sleep deprivation due to my LO's feeding habits.

Sleep deprivation has so many dire effects on physical and mental health.

I don't know these folks well enough unfortunately. They do seem to have a lot of family help from the Mum's side (Dad's is in a different country within the UK) at least.

Another vote for massive Muslims. I used them for swaddling my boys. V easy to get dry too.
The other thing I loved was a sort of plastic cup with a lid, with three compartments inside for portions of milk powder when you’re out and about - just needed to add boiling water.

Useful was a sleeping bag for a bit older, 6m. Used it loads.

I've just realised something I should have added; she said she's scheduled for a c section.

I had a great padded bum bag type thing (you could also put heating and cooling packs in it) for post section but it might be a bit too personal a gift for an acquaintance.

We were given a little ceramic bowl with bears hand painted on it when DS1 was born 24 years ago. It’s still miraculously going strong and gets used for chopped up fruit or carrots, dips etc these days rather than baby rice. Makes me think fondly of the gift givers whenever it’s used.

I got Ewan the sheep. Game changer for a lovely friend.

I think a pack of nice giant muslins with a card with a just eat voucher inside would be a nice 'small ' gift - toys etc you run the risk of duplicates but you can never have enough muslins and a takeaway when you are knackered is a godsend!

next size up set of sleep suits, they are out of newborn stuff so fast and a copy of Michael Rosen's Bear Hunt book to put away for when they are a bit older, that is what I bought almost three years ago for a dear friend's baby and she loves that book so much. Over the past three years I have bought a lot of other stuff as I see my friend and her child often and I love choosing stuff for her. I treat my friend to tea and cake too, being a mum is hard and treats are essential.

A bibado bib for when weaning starts. Expensive as bibs go but worth every penny. Until I got one I would never had spent that much on a bib but I didn’t hesitate to buy another when I saw how effective it was.

Haaka but probably not a gift for an acquaintance.
I'd go with muslins. You can never have too many muslins.

One of those baby towels with the hood in the corner, lovely, very useful and it doesn’t matter if you get more than one.

A friend also got me some malteasers and some Badedas for me to use in the bath after I’d had the baby, somehow it stops the water from stinging and the smell of it now just reminds me of having a newborn in the house which was a lush time.

Nice moisturising hand soap was also a great as I found I washed my hands a lot when making feeds and doing nappy changes.

Someone I didn't even know (friend of a friend) got my DD a blanket with her name stitched on it. We still have it 12 years later.