‘Everything you didn’t know you needed hamper’ for new parents

[Giftser]

Some very dear friends are having a baby soon. I am sure they have the big items and everyone will obviously buy the clothes and nice bits. So thinking of putting together a small hamper of useful ‘everything you didn’t know you needed’ items to save the obligatory new parent dash to the 24hr supermarket 😅

So far the draft list is…
Infacol
Gripe water
Metanium
Milton wipes
Scratch mittens
Mam Air Dummy
Raspberry tea (to promote labour)
Lactation tea
Peppermint tea (for oversupply)
Ibruprofen
Paracetamol
Movicol stool softeners

Any other essential must haves that you cherished pre or post partum?

Lanolin nipple cream and hydrogel breast discs. Witchhazel. Cool padsicles (basically icepack for your fanjo), Epsom bath salt's. Those things that you need the first few weeks to make things a little easier. I also recall you could get delicious lactation cookies that helped with milk supply.

Ahh yes the breastfeeding problems! Just reminded me a Haaka is good too maybe to catch the other side. And great idea about the Epsom salts. I remember with my first trying to draw out a bloblet with Epsom. Never had that fun with my second sadly 😂 I obviously wasn’t enjoyable at the time but I remember such joyous achievement when I freed the blob 😅

Haakas can lead to mastisis as many people don't use them properly, so we were told to be really careful with them in our antenatal class so if you do add one, please in that info too 🙂 But yes that's a good one to include if the budget allows. I'd also add a Haaka Baby Nail Care set, so much safer

A giant insulated mug with a lid.

With the teas, I would ensure things are clearly labelled what they are for, especially the inducing labour one!

Snot sucker
Baby emery boards

Sadly yellow metanium isn't currently available as far as I know, so you might need to find a sub for that.

echo the nipple cream! And breast pads - disposable.

sad about the metanium - they have stopped making it :(

I’d find a lot of these things weirdly personal as gifts. I wouldn’t want a friend buying me nipple cream and cold pads for my nethers.
Birth and breastfeeding are such a personal time that what my friend considered essential could just be a waste on me, or even insensitive in certain situations.
I’d stick to nice things like chocolate, takeaway vouchers, an insulated mug and nice toiletries.

Bepanthen nappy cream
Ear plugs
Bottle of wine
Lovely chocolate
A good book to read while breastfeeding

Not so much them being personal, but what if they don't need or want certain items and they get wasted. Not everyone uses infacol/gripe water or dummies.

I'd go for some more items for my friend:
Nice hand cream
Luxury chocolates
frozen ready meals like Cook
Bubble bath
Neals remedy pulse point roller I.e. relaxation/balancing/sleep

Ear plugs and wine?! 😵‍💫

I second the idea of nicer things for your friend though rather than baby centred as totally agree a lot of what's listed would have been wasted on me!

I would have loved things like nice teas, chocolate, nice snacks, a thermal mug, a good book, some massage oil suitable for mum and baby both... Just nice little luxuries. Having a newborn can be quite stressful and demanding so little treats are important!

More so than gripewater anyway IMO 😂

Agree with PP that these all feel very personal- how do you know they are going to/are able to breastfeed?

Its a very lovely idea and you’re clearly a considerate friend, but I’d keep it more to treats for mum etc as suggested. Or what I’ve done for friends who have given birth in the past is sent them some nice frozen meals from Cook.

Also I wouldn’t give any gifts of any kind until baby is actually here.

Just to add, mineral based barrier creams such as bepanthen (sp) contain liquid paraffin and petrolatum which are not really great options for a baby... There are plenty of natural barrier creams out there!

I disagree, you never know what you need until you have a baby so I can't think of anything more thoughtful or useful rather, much prefer that than a generic gift of chocolates. It's a gift from a loved friend. So many MN users are too uptight, if your friend can't get you nipple cream, who can.

Honestly, such a waste of stuff

nice idea but don’t do this. Let them get their own stuff

With the exception of paracetamol, used once, the rest of those things would have been no use to me, I never needed any of them.

scratch mitts and dummy — not something I wanted to use and not needed.

I’ve never heard of some of the other items. Agree a nice natural cream would be better than those proposed.

I was given and found useful a baby thermometer and nail clippers, I wouldn’t have thought to buy those.

calling it everything you didn’t know you needed is pretty patronising, something like ‘things I found useful’ is more neutral and still makes the point.

wtf is lactation tea ? 🫣

This is a lovely list. I've had two kids and have never used any of the items on OPs list... except paracetamol and ibuprofen but I would have that in the house anyway.

Nice hand cream
Luxury chocolates
frozen ready meals like Cook
Bubble bath
Neals remedy pulse point roller I.e. relaxation/balancing/sleep

See I wouldn’t have used any of these things! I like practical gifts.
I really liked the giant mussies but didn’t even know they existed pre baby.

Gripe water is a placebo unless you are thinking of getting the good stuff with the alcohol in it from the 1950s.

Honestly the word 'hamper' just makes me die inside. Just get one thing and don't saddle the poor people with a box full of shite.

I would add a bottle of baby Calpol, a baby thermometer & some baby teething gel for further down the line.

The only thing on OP list that I used was paracetamol

I was told on here that lansinoh isn't recommended any more as can trigger allergies?

I agree with Cook! /homemade meals. I would have loved healthy flapjacks or similar as I was so ravenous. Picky food good too - one of my best friends came and brought a bag of deli goodies, made a plate up (cut into bite-sized pieces as DC decided he needed a feed) and then held him while I finished eating. It was glorious. Another sent a delightful haul from m&s

Other brilliant gifts - finishing a couple of the odd jobs around the house. Helping us to put up blackout curtains before baby arrived. Thermal mugs with lid. Hand-Knitted baby bootees. A planted-up tub to sit outside our door. Storing some stuff that we didn't have space for for a couple of years.

I think a stash of “medical” or “personal care” stuff might make soon-to-be new mum stressed (“argh! I didn’t know I’d need a whole pharmacy and things will hurt”)….also might not be needed. But as PPs say, lovely edibles and a thermal mug, brilliant. I was v grateful to the neighbour who gave us two home made casseroles for the freezer

I've just had a baby and I really wouldn't appreciate most of that and a lot makes you look like a terrible parent. Ibuprofen is not recommended if you're breast feeding. Breast feeding herbs have no scientific basis and can potentially fuck your supply. Scratch mittens are no longer recommended because the baby needs to feel things to develop. Dummies aren't recommended until breast feeding is established at 4-5 weeks. Gripe water is also not recommended for tiny babies.

What I would have and have appreciated:
A guaranteed spill proof water bottle for keeping in bed
Chocolate
Luxury shower gel (who has time for a bath with a new born! )
Interesting tea bags
Easy lunches
Chocolate
Light weight easy read paper backs that I could read one handed over baby
An extra long phone charger
A nice but washable throw to cover the sofa
Nice cotton old fashioned button up pyjamas
A warm-cold sports injury pack for breasts
Unpasteurised cheese and smoked salmon

You sound really considerate but the only thing I ever used with my babies was metanium. The rest would unfortunately be a waste. The things you have suggested aren’t really generic as others have said. I would find a gift of stool softeners really weird. Frozen meals from Cook would have been greatly received.

Yes, this. I’d find this hamper pretty odd, and I don’t think I’ve ever used anything in it other than the painkillers, and the ‘oversupply’ tea would have landed really badly as I ever developed any milk supply, and was very upset about it.