OK - now it is my turn for help with a shower gift :)

[bethbuchall]

But Not The Hippopotamus is my favorite baby gift! Closely followed by Barnyard Dance. If you have a TJMaxx or Marshall's close by they usually have copies of those Boynton books. You could get a book and a soft plush toy and call it a day.

I love the Boynton books. My youngest is almost 11, and I can still quote But Not the Hippopotamus, Moo, Baa, Lalala, and The Going to Bed Book. My youngest was so in love with Doggies that we had to replace it at least once, and it was still held together with tape by the end. They make great gifts if you have time to order. I also think that a gift card is perfectly fine in this situation.

 

[mom2boys77]

I agree with both of your comments.

As the mother of two amazing boys, I just wanted to say that attitude really annoys me. I have a cousin like that. Boys are great!

Okay, rant over...

To finally answer your question, I would go with the gift card.

 

[laurafergie]

One of the best received baby gifts I gave was a pair of infant sized 1 Nike sneakers. I got them on sale and they were in the $20-25 range.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Ehhh... just give a gift card. It's not even like you seem to like the girl, and you're only doing this to appease your co-worker, who would otherwise be in a snit. Gift card is good enough, and that way, she can save her gift cards to buy her all the expensive things on her registry that no one is going to buy!

 

[minniecarousel]

I love giving one-sies - usually in a couple of sizes.

My favorite book to give is The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar. Babies R Us had the clothes to match when I wanted to give a bigger gift.

I see nothing wrong with giving a gift card at the place she's registered. Go with an amount you're comfortable with.

 

[BelleRocks]

Another vote for gift card - a registry is only a suggestion.

Comment on the daipers - my DD was very sensitive and could only wear one kind of daiper that didn't irritate her. Some moms are also picky about the kind of daipers they like. Just a though for all you daiper-givers!

 

[SC Minnie]

For baby showers that I don't know what to buy I usually get a lullaby CD- try to find one with ocean sounds and add a little something with it.

 

[surfergirl602]

I just had a baby shower a few weeks ago for our first little boy, and honestly, I would have been THRILLED if I received gift cards to where we were registered at! I ended up having to go buy the stuff we really needed from our registry because everyone that gave us a gift gave us clothes, diapers, and toys. What I really needed were the items on the registry, and unfortunately, baby stuff now a days is really expensive!! I couldn't believe some of the prices on things. (It's been 4 years since we shopped for baby stuff) Gift cards would have been great, so we could have put them towards the swing or the crib, etc. Not that we aren't truly greatful for the things we did get - they are all appreciated and will be used! (hopefully he's not too biig to fit into those newborn clothes at least once!) But we would be so happy for gift cards!

 

[HelenePA]

I just had a baby shower a few weeks ago for our first little boy, and honestly, I would have been THRILLED if I received gift cards to where we were registered at! I ended up having to go buy the stuff we really needed from our registry because everyone that gave us a gift gave us clothes, diapers, and toys. What I really needed were the items on the registry, and unfortunately, baby stuff now a days is really expensive!! I couldn't believe some of the prices on things. (It's been 4 years since we shopped for baby stuff) Gift cards would have been great, so we could have put them towards the swing or the crib, etc. Not that we aren't truly greatful for the things we did get - they are all appreciated and will be used! (hopefully he's not too biig to fit into those newborn clothes at least once!) But we would be so happy for gift cards!

I'm sorry I just had a baby last year and I know the prices of thing and there are much cheaper options out there than 100+$ swings, high chairs and stuff.. she might WANT the high end expensive stuff but if people dont want to buy that for her then she's going to have to shell out the cash for it in the end.. I'd never expect gifts like that from friends yet alone co workers! Maybe parents but never friends.

 

[surfergirl602]

I'm sorry I just had a baby last year and I know the prices of thing and there are much cheaper options out there than 100+$ swings, high chairs and stuff.. she might WANT the high end expensive stuff but if people dont want to buy that for her then she's going to have to shell out the cash for it in the end.. I'd never expect gifts like that from friends yet alone co workers! Maybe parents but never friends.

Why would I put something that is cheap and will break after 5 uses just because the price is low? If I wanted to put the cheap swing on my registry because of that, I wouldn't put on on there at all. I want the baby item that is built to last, has good ratings, is safe, and fits my needs. For instance, I wanted a swing that I could plug in that didn't use a load of batteries, and for that, I paid 120 dollars for the swing that fit all that criteria. I think it would be silly for someone to not put on what they wanted just because the price was cheaper for a different model. After going through many strollers, I could have saved myself some money and just bought the really good one, for yes, more money, but it would have saved me more in the long run. Of course its up to the buyer to buy what they want. They don't even have to get something from the registry. We did ours in hopes that maybe MAYBE someone else might get it, like my mom or my inlaws or something. But if they didn't, no big deal! I never said that people had to buy it for her. In fact, I never even mentioned anything like that! I simply stated that baby stuff has gotten really expensive over the years.

 

[scrapquitler]

I suggest giving the Mom in question a gift certificate to a nearby restaurant that does take out (or better yet, delivery). Then some night when the parents are burned out, they can just order dinner and not have to cook. Someone gave me gift certificates to the local chinese restaurant and pizzeria when I was pregnant, and I loved it. I've been doing this ever since.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Why would I put something that is cheap and will break after 5 uses just because the price is low? If I wanted to put the cheap swing on my registry because of that, I wouldn't put on on there at all. I want the baby item that is built to last, has good ratings, is safe, and fits my needs. For instance, I wanted a swing that I could plug in that didn't use a load of batteries, and for that, I paid 120 dollars for the swing that fit all that criteria. I think it would be silly for someone to not put on what they wanted just because the price was cheaper for a different model. After going through many strollers, I could have saved myself some money and just bought the really good one, for yes, more money, but it would have saved me more in the long run. Of course its up to the buyer to buy what they want. They don't even have to get something from the registry. We did ours in hopes that maybe MAYBE someone else might get it, like my mom or my inlaws or something. But if they didn't, no big deal! I never said that people had to buy it for her. In fact, I never even mentioned anything like that! I simply stated that baby stuff has gotten really expensive over the years.

I agree, but only to a point. I don't think the mom-to-be should register for *crap* (its' out there!) but maybe be a little more judicious in her chocies. Sure, I'd love a Baby Jogger City Mini, but I'm registering for something a little less pricey. That said, there's such a discrepancy in prices on baby gear, even between stores. You can still buy a swing for $99 that has all the criteria you want, or splurge on the $170 swing of the same brand, same features and different pattern. I see this a lot with Pack n Plays, the pattern makes a *huge* difference in price for some crazy reason. It just seems like the mom-to-be has champagne taste on a beer budget... or in baby terms, Bugaboo taste on a Graco budget.

 

[surfergirl602]

I suggest giving the Mom in question a gift certificate to a nearby restaurant that does take out (or better yet, delivery). Then some night when the parents are burned out, they can just order dinner and not have to cook. Someone gave me gift certificates to the local chinese restaurant and pizzeria when I was pregnant, and I loved it. I've been doing this ever since.

Great idea!!

 

[HelenePA]

But read the OP she said everything on her registry comes with a big price tag.. I can see a good stroller, even a good swing but an expensive bath tub? Really not necessary! I splurged on a good stroller and a good car seat. The rest I knew would only be used a few months so I found NICE but not out of the world expensive items. My son didn't know the difference between his 35$ bouncy seat and the high end 80$ ones.. some things you just do not need to spend ton of money on with babies.. especially if you asking other to buy them for you. You need to have stuff on there in every ones price range.. even the 10$ onesies that babies spit up on

 

[kpm76]

But read the OP she said everything on her registry comes with a big price tag.. I can see a good stroller, even a good swing but an expensive bath tub? Really not necessary! I splurged on a good stroller and a good car seat. The rest I knew would only be used a few months so I found NICE but not out of the world expensive items. My son didn't know the difference between his 35$ bouncy seat and the high end 80$ ones.. some things you just do not need to spend ton of money on with babies.. especially if you asking other to buy them for you. You need to have stuff on there in every ones price range.. even the 10$ onesies that babies spit up on

If I remember correctly, Babies R Us has a policy of allowing you to purchase remaining items on your registry for a percentage off (maybe 20%?), so we did register for some things we wanted (i.e. Britax car seat) that we knew would not be purchased by someone else but we would get the discount if it was on the registry.

RE: Diapers, yeah, I don't buy them for other people because DD has highly sensitive skin and we could only use Pampers. We're expecting another baby in a few months and now I am concerned about the new Pampers Dry Max and the reports of chemical burns....DD reacted to the Easy Ups when we were potty training so I wonder if it's some of the same chemicals they are using now??

 

[clh2]

I suggest giving the Mom in question a gift certificate to a nearby restaurant that does take out (or better yet, delivery). Then some night when the parents are burned out, they can just order dinner and not have to cook. Someone gave me gift certificates to the local chinese restaurant and pizzeria when I was pregnant, and I loved it. I've been doing this ever since.

OP here...I don't even know where the mom-to-be lives. Somewhere in the southern half of Milwaukee. I live more than 30 miles away...so GC's - while a great idea aren't going to happen either.

I did hear something funny about the mom-to-be and her mother. The mother doesn't even know the last name of the "dad-to-be". And mom-to-be isn't sharing that information with her mom.

Carter's has a really cute outfit, and the mom-to-be LOVES dogs, so I am thinking about this:
Carter's dog jammies

and

Doggie outfit

I have a 15% off at Kohls coupon, starting on Wednesday, taking the price of each down to ~7.20. I can make a cute card...shove the stuff in a gift bag...then I am done.

I loved the carter's sleep sacks when my DD was a baby. Since the baby's due date is August 20, I'll get the outfit in a 6-month size - so it will fit him most likely sometime between the fall and the spring.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Those are very cute!

 

[HelenePA]

If I remember correctly, Babies R Us has a policy of allowing you to purchase remaining items on your registry for a percentage off (maybe 20%?), so we did register for some things we wanted (i.e. Britax car seat) that we knew would not be purchased by someone else but we would get the discount if it was on the registry.

RE: Diapers, yeah, I don't buy them for other people because DD has highly sensitive skin and we could only use Pampers. We're expecting another baby in a few months and now I am concerned about the new Pampers Dry Max and the reports of chemical burns....DD reacted to the Easy Ups when we were potty training so I wonder if it's some of the same chemicals they are using now??

Do they still do that with the 20% off? that's a pretty good deal! But I still think its kind of unfair not to have smaller priced items on your registry as well KWIM? I'm not going to go out and spend 120$ on my coworkers.. that's just me. More power to ya if you can do that for everyone!

I wont use the drymax either.. we only use baby dry. When my other son was in diapers (many many moons ago!) he had a chemical burn like they are talking about from luvs then it was all diapers so we had to use cloth.. only good thing about that was he was trained by 22months my 19m old is just starting to use the potty but he's not nearly as easy has his brother was.. I gotta hand it to cloth diapers.. they rock for early potty training!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Do they still do that with the 20% off? that's a pretty good deal! But I still think its kind of unfair not to have smaller priced items on your registry as well KWIM? I'm not going to go out and spend 120$ on my coworkers.. that's just me. More power to ya if you can do that for everyone!

I wont use the drymax either.. we only use baby dry. When my other son was in diapers (many many moons ago!) he had a chemical burn like they are talking about from luvs then it was all diapers so we had to use cloth.. only good thing about that was he was trained by 22months my 19m old is just starting to use the potty but he's not nearly as easy has his brother was.. I gotta hand it to cloth diapers.. they rock for early potty training!

I wouldn't spend $120 on a coworker either but we will frequently chip in $25 - $30 each and get one of the pricier items.

 

[HelenePA]

I wouldn't spend $120 on a coworker either but we will frequently chip in $25 - $30 each and get one of the pricier items.

That would be nice but it doesn't sound like the OP is doing that