Best gifts for pregnant mum - practical and luxury

[Lottapianos]

My BF is having her first baby in 2 months time. I would like to put together a bunch of pressies - some for her, some for baby. I know she will get tons of cute little outfits so I'm hoping to get her more practical stuff, with maybe one little outfit chucked in! Her husband is a twunt and I feel she will be left high and dry with baby a lot of the time so I would like to get her things she can use to spoil herself, as well as really useful stuff.

What were/are your absolute favourite gifts for a new baby? And for yourself as a new mum?

TIA

My mum always gives new mums lovely creams and lotions etc (Decleor / Clarins etc) as she always reckons the baby gets tons of gifts and the mum (who did all the work so far) gets nothing! It seems to go down well with the various friends she's done that for, so might be worth considering.

Get her a v-shaped pillow for feeding, whether she breast or bottle feeds it will be really handy for sitting and holding her little one :)

A voucher for a cleaner or fill her freezer with lovely grub. And a pedicure.

I second the idea of some lovely creams - I was given some lovely sanctuary scrubs and creams after I had DD1, and loved it so much, I asked for the same after DD2 (from a friend who asked, btw, not just as being preg-zilla)

It's nice to get something that has nothing to do with baby and makes your BF feel better about herself instead.

And take along lots of freezable food when you go visit :)

Metanium bum cream (for baby!) was the best prezzy I got. Its the only thing I found that really helped red bums. I passed on the wisdom to my SIL but not sure she appreciated the thought!

Also I second the v-pillow and nice creams etc and also some choccies or fudge, purely medicinal to help keep her energy levels up ;-)

Travel mug. Sounds shit, but actually worth it's weight in gold. You can guarantee that the baby will need feeding as soon as she makes herself a drink. If it's a hot drink, the bugger will go cold, if she's outside on a hot day with a glass of something cold, a bloody fly will get in.

Travel mug sorts both problems out

One of my close friends recently had a baby.

I made up a hamper for her.

I bought a material basket (which she can use to store her baby's bits in once she's taken the gifts out), on one side I filled it with baby clothes, blanket & cuddly teddy & baby bath giftset. On the other I put Hot Milk breast feeding pyjamas, bath gift set for new mums, washable breast pads (she planned on breast feeding) & kamillosan and a million packets of pumpkin seeds as she has had a mad craving for them which has continued post birth.

For another very old friend who lives very far from me and has no family close by;
I arranged to have a hamper filled with a weeks worth of meals from here sent for her so she could spend her first week with baby eating and sleeping.

Both friends loved their gifts.

Best I got was a basket shaped like a moses basket, filled with nappies, wipes, a sippy cup, muslins, baby bath products and some little socks and hats etc. All cellaphaned (sp?) and a baloon attached. It was wow. We also got a voucher for our favourite restaurant from a friend, which spurred us on to go out for dinner sans baby.

For me, the best was a new book and a bottle of bubble bath, off a workmate when I left for Maternity Leave. I read the book and bubble bathed each night before DD arrived, knowing time would be precious after she got here.

Things I didn't get, but imagine would be brilliant would be a stack of ready meals or a lovely blanket. I found photo albums the worst for want of a better word, as even though I appreciate the thought, and no gifts necessary, I feel a bit bad that all my photos are on the computer, I only print them out, rarely, to put in a frame. I have pushed myself to print some photos in an attempt to fill one of the albums.

I wasn't bothered with gifts just as well as I didn't get any! I remember though a family member had plated up a few dinners to stick in the fridge or freezer and in the first week it was completely priceless.

A friend made me a lasagne and a few other things and brought them round a few days post birth, which was great.

Creams, lotions, baby bath sets etc were all pretty redundant, I found, as I don't really use that kind of thing and if I do I like specific brands.

Magazines were fab, also chocolate, snacks, cakes and brownies, etc, both for us and so that we had something to give visitors.

If it's a close friend that you're willing to spend a bit on, and if her dh is not going to be terribly helpful, the best things you can give her has got to be a Waitrose delivery of meals and snacks that she can just grab or pop in the oven easily, so she doesn't have to worry about cooking, and also a cleaner (maybe not immediately but after a month or so when things might really start to get chaotic if her dh isn't pitching in).

Go easy on any theme stuff, too, as my DD was due a week before christmas and I got about 5 'My First Christmas' outfits (wasn;t going to change her 7 times in one day) and 5/6 snowsuits. If you get anything for baby, simple outfits non-themed are probably the best way to go.

I got a snuggly blanket, breastfeeding vitamins, meals, chocolate, nice breasfeeding bra :) Some different things for baby - grobag (or cheaper supermarket brand), cloth books, rattle, teething ring, little tag blankets, soft toys, nappies, baby bath stuff.

I love the idea of a cleaning voucher (heaven!) - and maybe you could make your own babysitting voucher iyswim :)

I also love those delivered freezer meals, they look yummy and really helpful, too.

Well aren't you a lovely lot! Great ideas here, especially about frozen food and ready meals. They don't have a bath but I'll definitely get her some nice smelly shower gel. I was also planning to give her myself as a gift - time limited of course! I thought after he's back at work and the big fuss has died down, I would go round on a weekday (now and then!) and make myself useful, cleaning, chatting, taking baby out for a walk - whatever she wants. Then make myself scarce when he gets home but leave dinner in the oven and wine in the fridge. Would that be appropriate d'you think?

Alternatively if you buy an outfit for the baby, buy something aged 6months+ (and for the season appropriate to that age) - everyone buys newborn or 0-3!

I was going to make my own vouchers McPopcorn for a night out with me when she's feeling up to it. Will include some for babysitting too, good thinking!

For her:

Lotions and potions to use in the shower (gels and scrubs etc) and rub into her body. Nothing for the bath - chances are she'll be having more showers than baths!

Meals - whether they're home cooked or ready meals. Anything tasty and freezeable. Preferably thinsg that don't need accompaniments that take a long time to cook - so anything you could serve with pasta or rice, or better still, things that don't ned accompaniments.

Magazines/short story books. Something she can read in bite sized chunks.

If it is affordable for you, a voucher for a local cleaning and/or ironing company. It would be nice if she could contact the cleaning company direct to book them in for a clean, rather than then having to ask you to arrange it (she might feel uncomfortable about calling on you for it). That woudl eb amazing.

A cake that doesn't go stale quickly eg a Christmas cake or a fruit cake. Great for her and great for visitors - she won't have to think about what to give them when they coem round.

For the baby:

Something for when its a little bit older. She might get given loads of soft toys and clothes for up to 6 months. Anything (season appropriate) clothing wise for an older baby, maybe some weaning things (melamine bowl/plate set or a sippy cup), grobag, something for the back of the car seat to occupy the baby when it moves into a forward facing seat, an enormous hooded towel, swimsuit and swim nappies, an inflatable seat for swimming (I think they come in 3-12 months now and 1-2 years) ...

Perhaps not taking baby out for a walk, most new mums (not all) want baby near them all of the time and have to fend off GPs suggestions to take baby out for a walk for the first few weeks/months Sitting with the baby while she has a bath/shower/full meal with both hands available to use cutlery though...you can't buy that

Rest of it sounds lovely though.

pedicure is a life saving gift im 38+2 and my partner has bought me a voucher to have one before our baby is born and I cant wait my feet are swollen sore and achy so great gift!!
also hes got me a voucher for new look so when I feel ready i can treat myself to some new clothes.
you cant beat nice bubble baths etc.

Pay for a cleaner for the first 8 weeks, more if you can afford it.

Flisspaps, that's a good point. I will see how it goes - she may be thrilled to have me take baby off her hands after the first few months, but I'll also be happy just to have cuddle time while she sleeps/showers/whatever

DS2 arrived recently and the best presents I had were

A magazine subscription
A voucher for an online deli shop (Natoora) and another for some Waitrose food
Neil's yard baby soap and bath stuff
A basket of cakes and biscuits
DP asking the cleaner if she would do an hour's ironing for us each week - priceless!!!

Nice face cream would be a good idea - my skin is so dry and the Dr Haushka stuff I got for Xmas is doing a good job!
Or how about paying for something she could do with baby when it is older like a baby massage course, music class or tumbletots type activity? They are a good way of meeting other mums and a kick up the bum to get out of the house.

Presents that I have not used:

Newborn-3m clothes: we got loads so if you get clothes buy 6m+
A nappy wrapper
soft toys

My friend got me a breastfeeding vest top (like this: www.maternityandnursingbras.co.uk/emma-jane-nursing-vest-top-1208-p.asp), which I thought was a bit rubbish to be honest, but once my baby was here, I ended up buying two more & wearing them everyday!

A really great body lotion is a good idea too - my skin was super itchy afterwards - or maybe a lovely lip balm or lip gloss to help her feel more glam after a sleepless night? :)

I second the poster who said no to flowers. They took up so much space but then I ended up faffing about clearing up dropped leaves and then having to empty the bin when the dead flowers took up too much space.

A friend sent me a tin of goodies from a bakery which was one of the best gifts we had.