Good baby shower gift for coworker?

[Sagginit]

i missed the pool for a co-workers shower. i found she had photo albums (with a nice silver plated cover) on her registry. i sent them direct to her and she was thrilled to actually get them. another nice gift a lot of people don't do is children's books. for my friends shower her registry was picked over so i picked up some burt's bees, extra baby towels, bath toys, and three dr. seuss books. i put them in a basket so she could do bath & bedtime. she loved the gift, even more amazing her shower theme was children's books! i would head to the bookstore and pick up a few classics that the parent can read to the child and then the child can use to learn to read.

 

[Megara5115]

As the mom of a two month old- I say diapers! I recommend Pampers swaddlers in size 1. I also like the PP suggestions of a Starbucks gift card or pedicure for mom. Especially if her registry is already picked over.

Just to add since another user noted there may be an issue, I'd include a gift receipt just in case there is a reason they can't use them. Diapers would have been great for me, even if I had to trade them up a size or something but of course everyone is different and everyone has their own suggestions and opinions. You've gotten a lot of good ones here!

To add to posters after me, I agree that books are great too! Good luck!

 

[kuhltiffany]

Onesies are always needed, I like to buy one in each size, from newborn to 2 years then lay them on top of each other! It's neat to see the size progression…

 

[LJSquishy]

I wouldn't buy diapers...every kid seems to need a different kind and so many people cloth diaper these days anyway. I'd skip clothing because you never know the proper sizing for the season and everyone has their own idea of what they want their kids to wear.

I think most moms would love a gift certificate for some pampering or a gift card to a restaurant, grocery store or organic produce delivery if you have that in your area (we have one called Full Circle produce). If you want to buy something for the baby, Earth Mama Angel Baby products are wonderful and safe and natural. I also liked the idea of a stand up activity table, books, etc.

 

[roseaster]

Books are always great if she doesn't have other children. I love books and always loved reading to my kids (there is a 10 year gap between the last baby and the one before her) but we have a bunch of books.

Diapers have become tricky. I've known several different moms who have said that their kids have had allergic reactions to different brands. (one to Pampers and one to Huggies)

I agree with the clothes. My goodness, my baby has clothes that she never wore before she grew out of them. Everybody wants to buy a cute outfit.

 

[Vijoge]

Onesies are always needed, I like to buy one in each size, from newborn to 2 years then lay them on top of each other! It's neat to see the size progression…

Great idea, and everyone loves onsies!

 

[DnA2010]

My go to gift is a pedicure for mom- always goes over very well!

 

[Vernie822]

We usually all pitch in for a collective gift (we did the high chair for one coworker, and a big Babies R Us gift card for the other, since baby came 6 weeks early and we had to throw it together in a pinch). I also gave a gift of my own since one of them was my supervisor, I just gave a couple of cute outfits!

 

[dreiwhit]

IMHO, give a gift card. That way, your coworker can purchase whatever they need.

 

[Gracie09]

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=48766696&cp=&parentPage=search

My go to shower gift is a diaper caddy (see above) with my favorite diaper creams, some baby wash, thermometer, bulb syringe, baby lotion. Everyone has always come back months later and said it was great to have.

 

[pampam]

I've always felt that cloth diapers were a good shower choice.

 

[cel_disney]

My go to gift these days has been a stack of 'Holiday' board books. Usually 7-10 of them depending on the prices - Amazon is great for this.

Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, Easter, Passover, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc....if you need to do fewer - you could do one for ever season (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall).

I know someone mentioned that books are only good if it's their first kid - but that hasn't been my experience - mainly because early board books take a beating and it's often a nice treat to get some that are not completely chewed up for another kid. We do tend to stay away from the classics (Goodnight Moon, I love you this much, Sandra Boynton books etc) if it's not the first kid, but there are so many great choices out there!

For other coworkers, I have also done the 'bath and bed' bucket - a fun bath towel (toddler size not infant towels), bath bubbles, a few toddler bath toys, and a bedtime book or two.

I will say that as a mom of 2 - the things I needed the least both times were clothes and onesies. There were so many hand me downs available to me that I hated getting clothes as there were so many hand me downs available from friends and of course I wanted to be able to select a few myself as well that we just didn't need them...I really liked things that were for use when they were a bit older (9-12 month toys/books/towels etc).

 

[Zim]

If I am close to the coworker, I'll contribute to the main gift and then get an extra little onsie, usually Halloween themed if I know it won't offend the parents, and I usually get a Halloween timed photo back from the parents of the little tyke wearing the outfit, which is nice. I also like keepsake gifts like the hand molds, or a trip to a local paint place where you can do a print of their hands / feet.

On the receiving end, my all time favorite shower gift, which happened to be a work shower gift, was a handmade blanket. Not an afghan - this was an adorable soft fabric with nursery rhyme characters from the Cat and the Fiddle poem. And then if you really looked at the stitching, it was patterned to a larger design from the same poem. My coworker's mother made them as gifts and 18 years later my DD18 and I still fight over what we call the Magic Blanket - it's surprisingly warm on top of everything else!

Another favorite was a cross stitch a friend did with my daughter's name and fairy tale items cross stitched with each letter - like a golden egg in a nest for G. Adorable.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

One thing now that many new moms are somewhat sensitive to are Johnson & Johnson products- I had two friends recently return some J&J stuff they got because of all of the hype recently about cancer - causing ingredients. I use the bed time bath soap because it doesn't contain the two ingredients that are suspect but I tossed everything else. I stick to Aveeno and California Baby when buying gifts if I give them just to make sure.

Just in case you didn't know, Aveeno is a brand under Johnson & Johnson.

 

[KarenAylwood]

Just in case you didn't know, Aveeno is a brand under Johnson & Johnson.

Sorry, I should have been clearer, I was talking about the brand, not the company/owner. Those labeled Aveeno have not been flagged as containing carcinogens. Thanks for making the distinction.