Best Present for Newborn?

[Twinkleinmyeye]

As it says, really. What's a nice, maybe unusual, present for a first baby? Or did you receive something which turned out to be worth its weight in gold?

The things I appreciated most tended toward the more practical side of the spectrum...

• Baby sleepsuits/long-sleeved vests
• One neighbour bought us a bumper pack of nappies!
• My sister batch cooked and froze several meals for us
• Biscuits/cake etc!!
• This toy went down really well with my baby

Sorry if this sounds rather dull and not very exciting. We did get some beautiful clothes which barely got worn as they just weren't particularly practical.

I don't tend to buy the baby anything, they get tons and tons of babygros, cuddly toys etc.

What I do now, because I know how much I would have appreciated it at the time, is buy a sort of 'night-in' kit for the new parents.

So, something like - curry meal for 2 from Tesco which just needs microwaved, some snacky things for nibbling whilst feeding, magazine (as I couldn't concentrate on a book for the first week or so), berocca for energy, etc.

Clothes - buy in larger sizes,
Smellies - for the mum
Nice photo album
hamper (or pretty box)of baby and mum bits and pieces - you could have fun buying baby shampoo, cotton wool etc
New top for mum to wear

Great idea foxy!

Homemade food, esp cake, but savoury stuff too

I just got a personalised painting done for my nephew but you could also take a name photo, maybe spelt out in fridge magnets for example and frame it. Notonthehighstreet has some good personalised stuff. Or buy a family photoshoot day for when the kid is a little older. Sophie la giraffe common but always good.

Lots of the notonthehighstreet prints are very easy to copy if you're any good on Photoshop - look here for inspiration.

I made one of these for DS's room, and as I don't want it to fade got it printed as a A4 photo print from Snapfish or somewhere like that. Bought a cheap frame from Tesco, total cost about £7!

Sorry, one of these.

These are things I bought much later on than newborn and have found really useful although not essential and as they are not strictly for newborn you are less likely to buy the same present as someone else. They have all been invaluable to me - would rather have got some of these as gifts than some of the useless newborn 'gift boxes' ect!!

Amber teething necklace / bracelet
Natural baby sponge
Good quality glass car mirror for when you move to forward facing
Happy nappy for swimming
Subscription to Green Parenting or Junior
Bumbo seat
Baby door bouncer
Audiobook of classic like Winnie the Pooh
White music CD / App
Sheepskin rug - ikea do one for a very reasonable £30
Memory foam v pillow - dunelm mill
Hippy chick seat - goes round waist with perch to sit baby when carrying.
Piece of Cath Kidson oil cloth - brill for play mat inside or picnic outside - wipe able!!!
Dimable night light for night feeds
Bike lights and reflector strips for pram.
Table top fridge for bedroom to keep formula in.

No soft toys!

Touche Éclat for mummy - it was bought for me with my first - life saver!

Likewise a lovely handcream

Big bar of Chocolate for mummy

This may seem boring but a simple cardi (0-3mths is best) was one of my favorite baby gifts the only item we were bought that was worn almost threadbare!

Feeding necklace

I got the annabel karmel weaning book and various weaning bits and bobs, very useful!

A voucher for a few hours of cleaning and or ironing. Or an offer of a few hours of your time. Thus you are giving the best gift one way or the other...precious hours for mother and baby to cuddle rather than clean.

Home cooked meal or sine in for ten pound meal.

When it comes to buying clothes for the newborn, I would try to find out the current weight of the baby and buy the correct size and is suitable for the current season.

My DD was tiny when she was born (even though she was only a week early). The 0-3 month stuff we'd already bought swamped her and as most people also bought stuff in larger sizes for her to grow into we didn't really have enough in the early weeks. Sadly many of the gifts we had were never worn because it wasn't the right season by the time DD grew into them. (Or they were put away in a cupboard and subsequently forgotten about until too late!)

The opposite of what Charlie says

Buy bigger clothes (still for the right season) - you get swamped with newborn and 0-3 month stuff and have nothing for later on.

A travel mug - babies always want feeding just as you settle down with a nice cup of something hot...

I've found these star wraps are great.

No cuddly toys!

Something I had to buy for myself was a nursery rhyme CD, as I found I didn't really know any. A good funky one is fun to listen to for the adult from the get go, you don't want a drippy one.

One of these. My baby adored it from early on, focusing on the patterns it made on the ceiling before almost anything else. We had the fish one but it seems to be unavailable now, from a quick google anyway.
www.amazon.co.uk/Train-Magic-Lantern-Revolving-Night/dp/B004BLQFSU/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1335957621&sr=8-9

Plot a Tot chart here plotatot.com/. They're genius. They're like a baby book/calendar thing to record 'my first' everything, but rather than a book (that you never, ever write in and then feel guilty about), it's a wall chart where you just have to stick the relevant sticker on the relevant day. They've got all the essentials (eg 'my first mama', 'my first smile' etc, but also some different/funny ones like 'my first sleepover', 'parents' worst night's sleep' etc). I did one religiously for both of my boys, and they're really precious to me now. And they're cheap!!

Wow everyone, thanks for all your wonderful ideas!! Was planning on doing them some home cooked meals/cleaning as well, as it's DSiL's first baby. But I'm loving Potteringalong's star wraps! Wish my DC had had those!!

Second the travel mug, the non-spill combined with keeping hot for hours was a godsend.

Personalised moneybox with £5 in has been one of the best-received pressies I've given...