People are assuming the mother is breastfeeding exclusively and will never pump and save any milk. It’s possible to drink wine, eat strawberries, etc. if mom is either not breastfeeding or pumping. To send fruit, dipped or not, I would not buy it locally and ship. I would order it from a vendor local to the mother, or from a larger company that has local vendors or ships overnight.
Sseamom, the posts about breast feeding came with a disclaimer “if…”. If the OP does not know, why take the risk? I can imagine the torture of drooling over chocolate covered strawberries sent to ME and not being able to take a bite.
As said in another thread, no one wants to get a gift they can’t use - so it’s up to the gift giver to do their best to give a gift that can be appreciated and used. If the OP knows the mom doesn’t drink, then no wine or if she DOESN"T know if the mom drinks, then no wine! (or chocolate or whatever)
Thanks for the plug, @BunsenBurner, but I have closed my chocolate business. (:
I would definitely not send chocolate-covered strawberries through the mail to a warm location. It gets VERY hot very quickly in delivery trucks sitting in the sun. You could overnight them in an insulated carton with a cold pack, but that would cost more than the strawberries.
Here’s an idea for mom and baby: The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. It lists best books to read aloud (because many wonderful books don’t lend themselves well to reading aloud). It lists them by age of the child. It was our go-to resource and we read aloud to our children every night and includes great info as to HOW to read aloud.
I love the gift of books. Pick something you loved.
Books have long been my choice as a gift for new babies and I am thrilled to note that my D has now taken on books and a soft toy as her go to baby gift as her friends start having children.
As a follow up, I pulled out my well worn copy, and about the first 200 pages are for parents, then the list of books begins. One book listed for “infant to toddler” is The Everything Book by Denise Fleming. Another great one for little ones is The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss. You could send one of those along, and both could be ordered from Amazon of Barnes & Noble and delivered directly to your friend. Plus she could return them if she didn’t like them without ever having to tell you she did. 
Here’s a fun book idea. Amazon or Barnes and Noble search for books that feature a character’s name in the title that is the same as baby, Mom and Dad.
So for instance:
If baby’s name is Alexander, then buy “Alexander and the Terrible No Good Very Bad Day”
If mom’s name is Annie, then “Annie Bananie” http://www.amazon.com/Annie-Bananie-Leah-Komaiko/dp/0060519126
If Dad’s name is Danny, then “Danny and The Dinosaur”
You get the idea. 
Sorry, did not see the disclaimer. I guess a one-time work friend might not know the mother’s preferences. But if one DOES know the mom well enough, I’d be all over locally delivered chocolate covered ANYTHING.
Sadly, some of us are sensitive to the sulfites in dried fruit, so have to limit our consumption of them, the chocolate dipped dried fruit is a nice treat otherwise.
It’s really sweet of you to be sending mom and baby a gift. I have sent swimsuits to babies of friends, in Hawaiian prints.
I also love giving sturdy board and plastic books. Costco has a nice selection and no questions asked return policy. I have also given a check toward baby’s educational fund.
Thanks all. So no strawberries – I didn’t even remember that people can be allergic.
I’m actually liking a lot of the baby gift ideas and am gravitating towards something personalized – blanket, picture frame, book etc. I feel like there’s less chance of duplication or sending yet another outfit that’s outgrown before it can be used. I imagine even if there isn’t a particular use for an item, you’re a bit more likely to save it if your child’s name is on it – though who knows.
The gift for her is a bit tougher. Reading some of the suggestions, I’m not sure that chocolate is a great idea simply bc it’s gotten warm. I’d like one package with everything in it – rather than having her gift come locally and the baby’s gift come from me. Wine is out. I’m really not sure re her spa/lotion/perfume types of preferences – given that I’m not too into those things, I’m terrible at buying them for others.
My go to baby and wedding gift is a silver photo frame. A simple tasteful profile in silver plate or sterling depending on the budget and/ or relationship has always been appreciated.
@Consolation – what?! You’ve closed your chocolate business??? Oh no! Wow, all of us who were planning to order some day should have moved faster! Seriously, so sorry to hear that. Have you started some other fabulous business?
I agree that I’m partial to photo frames as well–classic and useful. D got a personalized baby momento that had the time, date, height, and weight of her birth. It’s been hanging on her wall since we received it. S doesn’t have anything similar. I never give anyone things with scents unless they have made a point of telling me they’re very fond of say, “Beautiful” perfume/cologne. Then, I’ll buy ONE bottle right after they tell me they’re running out of it. Otherwise, all of us in this household are so allergic to scents, I feel it isn’t safe to gift anything scented (tho I know many do love scents).
I’m probably in the minority, but I think a lot of the personalized or “keepsake”-type gifts are better left to very close friends and family members who are more in touch with the mother’s taste, decor and interest in mementos.
When my daughter was born I was working at a place where the senior folks --mostly casual acquaintances – presented lavish baby gifts on the junior folks who were having kids. It was very odd to get the keepsake stuff from people I barely knew. An engraved sterling silver baby cup from a grandparent might be charming (if I had parents who would ever present such a gift, which I didn’t) but it just seemed out of place from an acquaintance. Same thing with the baby china sets, porcelain Beatrix Potter frames, and myriad personalized baby blankets etc. Although I appreciated the generosity, so much of the stuff was so far afield from my taste that I felt bad.
From that experience, I developed a strong sense of proportionality with baby gifts based on closeness of relationship. I give a lot of baby gifts because I love buying baby stuff, but for friendly acquaintances I stick to relatively inexpensive, relatively generic, basically disposable outfits, usually on sale, from Hannah Anderson or Baby Gap or Gymboree. Size 12 or 18 months, stuff that can be worn indoors in any season, and can be easily exchanged. Not the most creative or thoughtful gift, but in proportion.
Music is another option. A CD of lullabies, books on tapes. I used to give a kid’s tape recorder and a few tapes, but I have no idea if kids even use tape recorders anymore! I’ve also done a swim suit/towel/beach toy theme, and you could include the mother with sun glasses, a floppy hat, a towel, a book. Kitchen stuff (spoons/forks, plate, placemat set) are nice.
I think I got 5 copies of Goodnight Moon, and I hate that book so they were all returned. I’d give a personal favorite (Make Way for Ducklings) or a holiday book. I think a beautiful blanket would be lovely. For some reason, I received tons of clothing, 2 baby swings, a dozen baby bath towels, and no blankets! Clothes for my child were not appropriate as she was a preemie and so small. She didn’t wear 12 month clothing until she was 2 years old and by then, looked silly in clothes that were for an infant with ruffles and ‘baby’ written on them.
Add me to the minority. 
me 3.
i like the book ideas, and second what Mathmom said, go for the less obvious choices, and always include the gift receipt.
Himom’s Hawaiian print bathing suits sounds great!!! Lots of good suggestions for very nice clothing, at larger sizes.
I don’t think I would have wanted candy.
Carter/Oshkosh is having a 50% off sale right now.
Haven’t read all this thread but saw the music suggestions. How about a CD of current music? A DVD of news articles of what is happening now? In the “year you were born” theme?