present for a 18mo "new" baby - friend adopting?

[choolie]

A friend is adopting an 18mo baby girl, yippee, they've waited ages after finding out they couldn't conceive naturally. I'd like to buy a gift, but it's not quite the same as buying a gift for a newborn. Just wondering if there's something practical I could buy that they might not already get, or something useful that as new parents they might not have thought they'd need, not having started with a newborn?

She's a work friend, so would like to get something special, but not too personal that they might want to get themselves IYKWIM?

She's such a lovely woman, has waited so long for this and is going to be a fab mummy, I'm so pleased for her

Perhaps something that will encourage her to talk to her new daughter - talkabout books. Amazon has a few ideas:

this one - more are linked from this page I think

Or how about a mummy and me too bag set. I bought a handbag and inside was a penny purse in exactly the same style - DD loves carrying it around and we both got matching scarves and she loves pretending to be me.

I would go with a crafty type actvity that can be a fun bonding exercise - something like a frame and card and glittery paint for Mum Dad & Baby hand prints - "the day we became a family" memory.

oh thanks choc, just replied to you on my other thread on conception, cheers! that sounds great, I'd like to get something for friend too, as I got new mummy gifts, so want to recognise that she's now "given birth" too.

jingleyjen, that sounds like a lovely idea, we tried something similar when DS born, but decided they would be better to use with older baby as couldn't get a good enough imprint.

thanks both!

Might sound tacky but how about a picture frame with 'my baby and me' on it or something similar. Then you can take a pic of them when you see them and send it to her later on.

Or how about the Yummy Mummies handbook or something similar.

How about a click clack car thing
Or one of those games where you have to hammer balls in?

new mum luxury smellies?
2nd the idea of "baby" photo album or frame.
Be warned its hard to find new baby cards for adopted kids, read the words inside before you buy, some you would not want to give adoptive parents as would be insensitive.
If the child is a differnt race to the parents this problem will contine for years as you serch for books and birthday cards that feature families of multiple ( rather than mixed) races.

oh no please don;t buy her something practical - she's looked forward to this for years and doesn;t (if she would admit it) want to be treated any differntly than any other new parent (though agree the age is different)

The gifts which touched me most were the ones most like traditional baby gifts. A lovely washable blanket with faux suede on one side and faux sheepskin on the other was a treasured gift and was very very useful and much lovelier than my description would make out! Photo frames are good, age appropriate toys for the baby, mothercare vouchers (if you know her well offer to go shopping with her, its fun going with another mum, and Mothercare is still a novelty rather than a trial).

Music CD's nursery rhymes or bedtime tunes, nicely packaged baby smellies.

Lots of birth cards are appropriate for adoption just look for "new" baby or "arrival".

Thanks all so much, lots of great ideas.

Kewcumber, saw your "this time last year thread" and couldn't resist looking at your gorgeous pics!

When a work colleague adopted a few years ago, we bought her a membership to Tumble Tots (or something similar), having checked that there was a branch in her area. We figured she would not necessarily have many "baby" friends having not done ante-natal classes or the NCT round and it was a way of getting to meet people. she loved it - or she said she did!

When my friend adopted a little boy who was 12 months or so, I sent her some books for him - a few which my dcs had liked at that age.... for a slightly older child, maybe a classic book which she will enjoy for several years - e.g. a collection of fairy tales?