Newborn days: what couldn't you have lived without?

[ShushBaby]

My friend is pregnant and I want to put together a care package for after the baby is born, to make that chaotic newborn bit more comfortable. Problem is, it's all such a haze for me now (dd is only 17mo but somehow I still can't remember a lot of it!), that I'm struggling to think of things to go in it!

A thermos mug is a definite. Mine was amazing, as the cold cups of tea would push me over the edge at times!

Any other thoughts? Things that help make night feeds/endless breastfeeding/tiredness nicer?

Thanks in advance.

Chocolate biscuits!
Loads of magazines and books
Selection of drinks - nice cordials and fruit teas etc
Big, loose, cosy PJs & soft slippers
Breastfeeding pillow

If you have the dosh a Kindle! So much easier to handle when bfing rather than a book or magazine!

More sensible though:
one of those heat/ice packs available from the chemist. Very useful for propping against sore bits or sore boobs.

A cabbage.

I second the homemade frozen meal.

A little book of nursery rhymes to sing to the baby. Its amazing how you start one and can't remember anything but the first 2 lines.

Some fennel tea for milch.

A couple of large tops- I'm normally a size 8 and needed size 14 tops to fit boobage in and wandering around the shops looking for suitable stuff to bf in was not fun!

DVD box set of something she loves for long midnight feeds...

My DS is 10 weeks and I would welcome pretty much everything mentioned so far, although food either in easy to grab and eat form or for the freezer would definitely be top of the list with me. I would also have welcomed some nappies and cotton wool in the early days as it was hard to keep up with the rate DS pooed, but perhaps best to call and ask if they need some picking up, as they might not be quite as ill prepared as we were.

aubergine - ah yes, the desperate yet ineffective scribbling of feed times...oh and which boob 1st...

A little bit of paper with "www.mumsnet.com/talk" on it.

we got together with a group of friends and gave one new mum some gourmet freezer meals which were sent to her for the first fortnight, so she didn't have to cook for her and her DH. I think we did it through Babes with Babies which has gorgeous stuff for new mums... not the cheapest, but lovely ideas.