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

Lottapianos I am pregnant too. Will you be my friend??

I may make up a wish list with all these ideas and hand out copies to everyone I come into contact with! They are great. I think luxury pamper products for mum is a good idea, I think people are all about the new baby sometimes, which of course is understandable but they forget what the mum has been through to get it there, it's nice to get something specifically for you to make you feel a bit more normal again. Any sort of practical cleaning/cooking help is good. My mum was great when DS 1 arrived with cleaning and stuff and it was very much appreciated. You sound like a very lovely, caring friend by the way.

I second easy dinner food, good chocolate (for mom - not to share) treats for guests, or not depending if you thibk she will want them to stay long, voucher for a pre-baby pedicure, and nice creams / lotions.

I sometimes buy new moms a feeding kit for when baby is 6 months. I include a good organic baby cookbook, mesh feeders, sippy cups, spoons and bowls ( i make sure they are bpa free). Or bunnykins bowls / cups if you want to splash out.

I also tend to buy clothes / shoes for 6 months plus, but have been known to buy stuff for up to 2 year olds ( fancy wellies, rain coats, dressing gowns, seasonal stuff for the next year - shorts / dresses...) with my dd I was given so much 0-3 stuff, she couldn't wear it all. And my niece grew from 0-3 tp 6-12 overnight, completeing missing 3-6.

of course!

Right, so flowers are definitely out (makes sense) and fancy pampering stuff, cakes, chocolate, frozen food and cleaning help are definitely in. Thanks so much everyone - great advice here. Her H really is such a twit, and I'm worried about how much more of his true colours he's going to show when bubs arrives. She was really quite ambivalent about baby but went along with it for his sake so I want to make sure I'm there for her in useful ways when baby arrives.

alligator I had spoons and things bought for DD, lovely but we did BLW so they were generally useless as she just used her hands, and ate what we did so no use for a baby cookbook

My MIL gave me a little hamper which she put together with first teddy, first year album, cotton pads, nappy rash cream, 3-6m white babygros and bibs.

I really appreciated the effort she had gone too- I know she must have been gradually accumulating bits in the run up- and unlike other people (erm I'm looking at you folks and dsis) didn't effectively make me feel bad for my DS coming early in totally inconveniencing them.

As a result I now do little hampers too. I get sex-neutral gear: white babygros and vests, white bibs, metanium, cotton pads, pack of wet wipes, paracetemol, box of chocs. Then when baby arrives a blanket, cuddly toy and card in blue or pink. Sexist yes but come on, we all do it. And I deliver with cake. I always try to remember how those first weeks felt. Mum needs hugs cake and chocolate. And not a competition over who gets to hold baby next.

Yeah, a little hamper is exactly what I'm planning streetcar. I will be getting gender neutral colours because neither she nor I are keen on the whole 'pink/blue' thing but as a non-mum I have to ask - are white babygros a total PITA? Would another colour be more practical? Or does it not matter as they all get totally filthy anyway?

I prefer white (14mo still wears them). They go in hot wash with non bio and bleach well in the sun on the line. Babes in white is just so lovely.

Ok thanks streetcar I'm sure your 14mo looks gorgeous!

White is lovely, but if you want colour (in n on-stereotypical colours) try H&M, where I was able to get unisex vests in black, red, purple, grey, bright yellow, turquoise etc. Lovely!

I was given one of these necklaces - it chimes gently and apparently baby can hear it then is soothed by it once on the outside... I loved it! www.mumstuff.co.uk/acatalog/MumStuff-Mexican-Bola-Pendant-Heart.html

To OP, you sound like a lovely friend - very thoughtful so I'm sure whatever you get will be happily received ;)

I quite often give new mums some nice handcream (Crabtree & Evelyn usually) and soap/handwash as you end up washing your hands a million times a day with a new baby and it's nice to have a little luxury that doesn't take time to use. I got a lot of bath stuff when I had DS and still had most of it two years later!

I like white babygros, especially on tiny babies who only produce white puke! Once they start moving around eating pureed carrots, they are not quite so practical but still very cute for sleeping in.

A good friend of mine got DS a packet of plain white vests in every size up to 1 year. That was a very well used present!

Fliss- how did you manage to not use spoons? I did BLW ( and nursed until she was 2 and a half) but still fed her home made soups and purees and yogurt. Didn't you feed your DC these things? Or am I misunderstanding BLW as something other than baby led weaning?
Sorry to hijack this thread, but I am intrigued.
Pbelle, that necklace looks really great. I am going to check it out.

I met someone at a baby weigh-in who was wearing a lovely long necklace made of threaded rubber, I think, or it might have been felt discs. Anyway, the point is, something safe for the baby to handle and soft enough not to bonk them on the head while you're bending over them. When I admired it she said it was a birth gift, I thought it was very clever.

We were given this penguin mobile and it was one of my favourite presents. The baby liked it and I enjoyed it too while I was sitting in her room.

Alligator on the rare occasion I had soup then I'd put it in a bowl for DD with chunks of bread and she'd eat it with her hands, we've never been really bothered with anything else spoon-worthy such as yoghurt, as it's not something DH or I eat often. On the few occasions we have eaten it with DD we gave her a normal teaspoon. She didn't eat using it (still doesn't) but rather brandished it with her right hand and ate using her left. I'm not fussed by the lack of cutlery use, it's just something she'll bother using when she chooses

On the luxury side, my friends chipped in together and bought me a Kindle. Best present ever. If your friend likes to read, then you can read a Kindle one-handed while feeding or just snuggling the baby while they nap. DD won't nap anywhere but on someone so the Kindle has saved me from many, many hours of crap TV!

Nice lotions etc. for mum - I would say particularly handcreams, given the about of times you are washing your hands post nappy changes etc.

Freezer foods, lovely snacky food that is easy to grab from the fridge.

Sophie Giraffe toy or play gym like this for the baby?

I also love these baby hoodies by Morrck.

Just resurrecting as a great gift for me would have been a bracelet - because it has practical use to switch sides to remember breast feeding (if you do) and can be as fun or fancy as your gift giver chooses! Babies birthstone in it if you are spending big bugs or a little simple friendship bracelet otherwise. Useful and sentimental! Some lovely ideas in this thread!

Bugs = bucks!

For people we're really close to, we send an Ocado delivery with lots of ready meals, nice salads, lots of snacks for Mum when she needs food for all those middle of the night BFing sessions and a bottle of champagne. (That's as long as we know the food they like and that they have the room to freeze meals!)

For other friends we send a box of goodies (midnight snacks like chocolate for Mum) some nice children's books, some Neil's Yard baby stuff etc.