I have been paying more attention to baby items as my DIL is expecting the first grandchild on both sides. As many of my friends are also expecting new grandchildren, and my nieces and nephews are having children, I have been, and will be invited to a number of showers. While many will have a registry, I am always looking for that gift that the new parents will love. My DIL is so laid back, her registry has nursing items, nail clippers and snot sucker and only a few other gift ideas. She isn’t one to ooh and aah over the newest and greatest, and would be just as happy with whatever she had.
Looking for suggestions for big and little items that you know a new mom could not imagine not owning. Is there a particular brand that is better than another? I remember years ago my niece said there was only one brand of swaddle wraps worth the cost; knowing her mother, I am sure it was the most expensive brand out there!
Do you have a go to gift you send for a new baby? When my friends were having babies, I use to order a wooden rocking horse that could sit on the dresser and had the baby’s name, date of birth, weight and time of birth painted on the side and was filled with delicious cookies from a local company.
For family members…I give either a car seat…or a bookshelf for the baby bedroom. Both are big ticket items.
There is no question the family must have a car seat if they have a car…and I personally think a book shelf is something every child should have in their bedroom.
I make baby blankets and like to give those. For some reason with my daughter, I got a million baby bath towel sets and no receiving blankets. It seemed to be the only thing I needed to buy. There are a lot of cute and soft blankets available with all kinds of textures - nobby, fluffy, crinkly.
Sleep sacks seem very popular among young moms… I was babysitting a neighbor’s toddler and was amazed to see him instantly get sleepy when I put it on. And every baby these days seems to have a WubbaNub pacifier. The attached stuffed animal makes it easier for the baby to find and use.
We would often buy car seats or strollers with others—buying a big gift instead of many smaller ones. They often need a car seat for mom’s car, dad’s car, and sitter’s car. Often good to have more than one stroller as well.
Not a shower gift, but I always send personalized name puzzle stools to the new baby. My kids got them as gifts when they were born and they are well-loved and well-used. https://damhorsttoys.com Not sure they qualify as gifts new parents can’t live without, but they seem to be appreciated.
One thing I highly recommend after many of my friends have had babies in the last few years: ask the parent before you get them anything that isn’t explicitly on their registry. I doubt very much their parents’ generation knows (because they’re outwardly very grateful) but a few received several car seats, strollers, etc that all had to be taken back. The last thing a new parent wants to do is have to return an item to the store that they never wanted in the first place.
a high chair, preferably plastic. (Easier to clean.)
for a small gift, a winkel. I don’t know why but babies love them and then when teething comes they are great.
For a big gift, a rocking chair for mom, especially if she’s breast feeding.
I’d really hesitate to buy a car seat unless you let them pick it out. A lot of new parents want the kind that snaps right into a baby carriage/stroller. You need the whole “system” to be one brand.
We had a surprise baby 2 years ago. Most baby stuff is the same but man, baby wearing is where it’s at these days. The carriers are SO much better than when our eldest kids were infants. Personally, I love my Lillibaby… like, wore a 13 month old for two weeks trekking all over Europe without a sore back at 46 awesome.
Books are always great. Clothes in bigger sizes like 12-2T… so nice to have free clothes spread out instead of all at 3m. Diapers, sleep sacks, those tiny socks that look like ballet slippers and sneakers… so cute!
A little different but a gift certificate for 3 months of Netflix or some other streaming subscription (and at least with Netflix, if they already have it, they can still use it to not pay a few months.) lots of late nights and being home with a new baby is prime binging time. If you know them well and they don’t have Amazon Prime, that would be an awesome gift.
Experiences… a membership to a local zoo or aquarium or museum with a toddler section can be really great. Even a membership to a favorite museum so Mom has someplace to escape to to feel like an adult even with a baby in the stroller.
Oh, and how can I forget Sophie the Giraffe lol. It’s an overpriced teething toy that new moms clambor over. My kid was deprived but I admit that babies do seem to cling to it. I think it’s even mildly vanilla flavored.
I always purchase a couple of pairs of socks in size 9-12 months, a couple of outfits in various larger sizes( 12, 18 and 24 months) and a gift card for a massage for the Mom.
D is expecting as are many of her friends. They all have a registry with less expensive to more expensive.
Last baby gift I sent last year was on a registry–a baby crib mattress from Amazon delivered to their door.
Most of D’s registry is from Amazon.
If the name is not so very unusual, I like to gift the baby a children’s book with their (correctly spelled) name in the title or story. Recently, didn’t do this for a Domenick because I could only find a Dominic. (and, yes, I do know about places that insert your name into their story).
I also like to gift ‘health care items’ such as nail clippers, progressive tooth care sets, teething gel, baby bath soap and shampoo, baby Tylenol/Motrin, various diaper rash creams, baby sunscreens, etc. all in a diaper bag.
I plan to bring my soon-to-be-born grandson the first Gund stuffed animal which DH and I got for his mother. And I’ll establish a 529.
