OT: Need Baby Gift Ideas!

[pandapooh]

I just found out that my friend will be giving birth shortly and I will be visiting her as she lives in LA on my way to disneyland.

What are some things besides, clothes/toys that she'll need that I can get for her? I want to buy her things that are useful instead of just toys. It's her first child.

So far my plans are:

To buy boxes of diapers and make her a Diaper cake. (2-3 tiers, different sizes?)
Try and find a local bakery to make a special cake for her.
Personalize a baby shirt or something for her?
Gift card for a dinner out for them

For the diaper cake i was thinking of adding, wipes, baby powder, baby bath.

I was hoping that i'd be able to get more idea's from the wonderful dis'ers who have kids.

I'm open to anything, even if it's things that can just make her life easier xD

Thanks in advance!

 

[Aliceacc]

One of my best gifts was a book on baby's symptoms and illnesses. It was one of those things that came in handy the first time I came face to face with croup at 2 am and a million other times I can't remember now.

I think I would skip the cake; she's probably thinking of dropping that excess weight soon.

Some will disagree, but i LOVED the Baby Einstein DVDs. (Actually, they were "tapes" when I used them ) Educational hype aside, they were the only way I knew to keep a 9 month old busy and happy, pretty much unsupervised, for long enough for me to take a shower or even prep dinner.

 

[alyssa810]

I actually got 2 diaper cakes and they were probably the best gifts I got. I don't think I had to buy diapers until my DS was in a size 2!! One of my cakes was had some outfits and bibs, pacifiers, rattles, and small wash clothes. The other one had bottles, some dark chocolate hershey kisses (ok, that's food ), more pacifiers, spoons, and tub toys. I'm going to try to post pictures:

Anyway, if there is a place that delivers fully cooked meals and you can get her a certificate for there, that might be helpful too as for me, cooking supper was the last thing I wanted to do. And dinner out might be tough in the beginning.

 

[mjkacmom]

I never used baby powder or wash, and babies are very pacifier and bottle specific. No cake - in the beginning, people tend to give you lots of goodies, and it's overwhelming. Food that can be frozen is a great idea. I LOVED those DVD's! My baby gift of choice now (after 5 kids) are Robeez baby shoes - they are adorable, stay on great, are soft enough to be slept in, and the best invention on earth.

 

[Aliceacc]

Postage stamps and thank you notes are another good idea. You have tons of thank yous to write, and it's hard to get out with a newborn.

How about a gift certificate to Sears or Penneys or one of the other Photo places? Your friend will most certainly put them to good use!

 

[poohfriend77]

Unless you are sure you'll be seeing her within a week or so of the birth, I'd suggest buying size 1 or even 2 diapers, not the newborn ones. I made a diaper cake for a friend's shower, and she used it as a nursery decoration for a few weeks. By the time her husband convinced her to take it all apart, the diapers were too small for the baby. And because they weren't in a package, she couldn't really "regift" them or donate them to a charity.

I'm also a huge fan of buying books for babies. It's never too early to read! My favorites include "I Love You as Much," Sandra Boynton or Baby Einstein board books. And you can never go wrong with anything that has pictures of babies or animals. My daughters LOVED those!

 

[mlynn]

I never used baby powder or wash, and babies are very pacifier and bottle specific. No cake - in the beginning, people tend to give you lots of goodies, and it's overwhelming. Food that can be frozen is a great idea. I LOVED those DVD's! My baby gift of choice now (after 5 kids) are Robeez baby shoes - they are adorable, stay on great, are soft enough to be slept in, and the best invention on earth.

I would give her clothes for when the baby is older. Everybody always give for when the baby is just born. But I would buy 6/9. My daughter was born in Aug. All my family (I have a LARGE family) all brought me summer clothes. Now that is great but it was all 0/3-- 3/6. I live in NJ so after Sept those clothes won't work anymore. Now if they bought the same clothes in 6/9 they would fit the following summer.

If you want to give her something for herself. A gift cert. to a hair salon or spa for a day trip.

Also the best gift is while your there to let her take a nice relaxing shower/bath. While you look after the baby. I remember not being able to get a shower until my husband got home at 6 somedays.

 

[chloe770]

I alway put together gift baskets of all the little thing. Examples- baby tylenol, mylicon, diaper rash cream,binkies, larger size pack of onesies, blanket, car seat toys, high chair toys, sippy cups, purell, etc. All that stuff adds up if you buy it all at once.

Also, I got a clean shopper grocery cart cover for my son. It was a great gift especially for a kid who always has his fingers in his mouth.

 

[two-foxes]

Bigger clothes are a must, like PP said. Everyone is all about the NB sizes, but I didn't put my little guy in much besides T's and diapers and bibs for a while. But one of my favorite gifts was a basket full of neccessities that I didn't know jack about. Gas drops, tylenol, breast pads, lanolin, bottle brushes, baby sunscreen, pacifier holders.....

One lovely gift you could get her is to a local spa in her area for a pedicure. It was one of the best gifts I could get. I used it about a week before DS's due date (which he thankfully was the day he was born!) But all I can say is that I was looking at my toes quite a bit during labor and was happy they were pretty! It is the little things sometimes, particulary after birth, that make you just a bit happier If she doesn't use it before her baby is born, it will be a nice treat for one of her first trips away from the little one for a little "me" time.

 

[asoko]

Books.. I loved getting books. I am still reading new ones for them. I would get an assortment of books for different ages; texture ones, picture ones, beginning reading ones. Kohls has the Brown Bear series (I love those)

 

[squirrel]

I like making the wrapping part of the gift-I don't buy wrapping paper. I use large plastic Rubbermaid boxes or baskets to put gifts in, they can be used again.

I filled a basket with many things: CD with lullaby songs, bibs, sleeper, baby bath wash and lotion and what ever else I can find.

 

[pandapooh]

I never used baby powder or wash, and babies are very pacifier and bottle specific. No cake - in the beginning, people tend to give you lots of goodies, and it's overwhelming. Food that can be frozen is a great idea. I LOVED those DVD's! My baby gift of choice now (after 5 kids) are Robeez baby shoes - they are adorable, stay on great, are soft enough to be slept in, and the best invention on earth.

Robeez baby shoes - what size would i buy? I'm not sure exactly when i can get down there and the baby i'm guessing would be around 3-6weeks

One of my best gifts was a book on baby's symptoms and illnesses. It was one of those things that came in handy the first time I came face to face with croup at 2 am and a million other times I can't remember now.

I think I would skip the cake; she's probably thinking of dropping that excess weight soon.

Some will disagree, but i LOVED the Baby Einstein DVDs. (Actually, they were "tapes" when I used them ) Educational hype aside, they were the only way I knew to keep a 9 month old busy and happy, pretty much unsupervised, for long enough for me to take a shower or even prep dinner.

Point taken on the cake, could you maybe let me know the title of the book? sounds like a great idea. Baby einstein Dvd's i'll add that to my list as well

I actually got 2 diaper cakes and they were probably the best gifts I got. I don't think I had to buy diapers until my DS was in a size 2!! One of my cakes was had some outfits and bibs, pacifiers, rattles, and small wash clothes. The other one had bottles, some dark chocolate hershey kisses (ok, that's food ), more pacifiers, spoons, and tub toys. I'm going to try to post pictures:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/PhotoVi...77207&folderid=0&UV=272088665359_223405303307
http://www.kodakgallery.com/PhotoVi...77207&folderid=0&UV=272088665359_223405303307
Anyway, if there is a place that delivers fully cooked meals and you can get her a certificate for there, that might be helpful too as for me, cooking supper was the last thing I wanted to do. And dinner out might be tough in the beginning.

Diaper size wise, what do i start with? If the baby is lets say 3-6 weeks by the time i get there? Size 1,2,3 for the tiers?

I alway put together gift baskets of all the little thing. Examples- baby tylenol, mylicon, diaper rash cream,binkies, larger size pack of onesies, blanket, car seat toys, high chair toys, sippy cups, purell, etc. All that stuff adds up if you buy it all at once.

Also, I got a clean shopper grocery cart cover for my son. It was a great gift especially for a kid who always has his fingers in his mouth.

Thank you so much, this is great exactly what i want to give her, i have no idea what mylicon is but i'm sure it'll be useful! Where did you get the clean shopper grocery cart cover from?

Bigger clothes are a must, like PP said. Everyone is all about the NB sizes, but I didn't put my little guy in much besides T's and diapers and bibs for a while. But one of my favorite gifts was a basket full of neccessities that I didn't know jack about. Gas drops, tylenol, breast pads, lanolin, bottle brushes, baby sunscreen, pacifier holders.....

One lovely gift you could get her is to a local spa in her area for a pedicure. It was one of the best gifts I could get. I used it about a week before DS's due date (which he thankfully was the day he was born!) But all I can say is that I was looking at my toes quite a bit during labor and was happy they were pretty! It is the little things sometimes, particulary after birth, that make you just a bit happier If she doesn't use it before her baby is born, it will be a nice treat for one of her first trips away from the little one for a little "me" time.

I will definatly look into a spa thing, Depending on how she is feeling and if her husband is home maybe i can make this a girls afternoon out for the two of us.
lanolin what is that for? ooh the bottle brushes and pacifier holders are awesome, i'll put that down for my diaper cake.

I like making the wrapping part of the gift-I don't buy wrapping paper. I use large plastic Rubbermaid boxes or baskets to put gifts in, they can be used again.

I filled a basket with many things: CD with lullaby songs, bibs, sleeper, baby bath wash and lotion and what ever else I can find.

I like the idea of a rubbermaid box!

Thank you so much everyone this is great! i'm really trying to make it really special for her because her family and friends are in canada and she's in the states. She didn't have a baby shower and i just really want to try to do all the things she would be doing if she had her friends and family around.

About clothes, i probably will try to stay away from it because i KNOW her lol she probably owns everything by now. But i will definatly keep in mind to buy the bigger sizes.

 

[Nicolepa]

Robeez baby shoes - what size would i buy? I'm not sure exactly when i can get down there and the baby i'm guessing would be around 3-6weeks

They come in 0-6 months, 6-12 months etc. You can get them at stride rite, Nordstroms, just about anywhere that sells kids shoes.

My little guy is 5 months old. My favorite gift I got for my baby was one of these blankets....

http://www.123swaddle.com/

I now own 4 of them and he will not sleep unless he is wrapped up in one of them. Best Blanket I've ever had and the only one that has ever been big enough to properly swaddle them in.

My 2nd favorite thing was a taggies blanket.

www.taggies.com

My baby has a big blanket for when it's cold outside and a little taggies for nap time.

 

[Aliceacc]

Point taken on the cake, could you maybe let me know the title of the book? sounds like a great idea. Baby einstein Dvd's i'll add that to my list as well
.

This isn't the book I got-- you wouldn't want a 10 year old version of anything anyway. But anything similar to this would be great:http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Your-Childs-Health/Barton-D-Schmitt/e/9780553383690/?itm=3

This is the part of the synopsis I liked:
"Emergencies:
--when to call your child's physician immediately
-what to do in case of burns, bites, stings, poisoning, choking, and injuries
Common Illnesses:
-when it's safe to treat your child at home
-step-by-step instructions on dealing with fever, infections, allergies, rashes, earaches, croup and other common ailments "

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I had people at work asking what I needed that I didn't get at my shower.. The main thing I lacked getting was more receiving blankets.
Then, as the baby is here and 5 months now, I always need more washclothes and hooded towels.
Diapers of course... and bottles... extra pacifiers...
and something personalized is always special

 

[Aliceacc]

The thing about diapers, though, is that most moms come to prefer a particular brand.

I loved Huggies, my sister preferred Pampers. I would use a Pampers in a pinch, but found that Huggies worked better for my kids. (I also liked the house brand at BJs and at Target, at least in the smaller sizes. I hated the Babies R Us house brand.)

So SOME diapers are great, but I wouldn't go overboard. A better alternative might be a gift cert to Target or Walmart.

And I wasn't big on too much personalized stuff, particularly clothing, especially when child #2 came along!

 

[brandylouwho]

This isn't too glamorous, but I have started to give baby proofing supplies as part of my baby gifts (outlet plugs, etc) as everyone needs them before they know it.

I second the Robeez, I loved those shoes. For new newborns I always buy little velcro booties (made by carters) because they were the only booties that would stay on my daughters.


Maybe a variety of diaper brands in the diaper cake would be useful...so she could figure out which she likes better. Unless baby is allergic to a certain brand I would think they would all be useful.

 

[lilybrooke14]

You could always do a theme gift. Buy a baby bathtub and fill it with hooded towels, washcloths, duckies, bath and changing items, and throw in some nail clippers and stuff for good measure. Or buy a diaper bag and fill it with changing essentials, a few changes of clothes, diapers, wipes, pacifiers, etc. I never bought a bouncy seat because I thought I would only need a swing or a bouncy, and I already had a swing. Although, in retrospect, a bouncy seat would have been much easier to take into the bathroom while I took a shower. Oh, and you can never have too many of those Carter's gowns with the foldover hands.

 

[Miz Diz]

If she didn't get a baby shower, I would get her something she really needs versus robeez. They can live without that and those shoes are expensive. Did she register anywhere?

The swaddle baby blankets someone else mentioned are great. She will also want a bottle warmer - even if she is nursing she will use it. An infant bathtub. One of those soothing vibration chairs, a high chair, playpen, swing. I loved my Diaper Dekor (hated the diaper genie). A diaper changing mattress with cover. A sleep positioner. Crib sheets.

Not sure how much you want to spend, so trying to name some of the things that people really need.

 

[mjkacmom]

If she didn't get a baby shower, I would get her something she really needs versus robeez. They can live without that and those shoes are expensive. Did she register anywhere?

The swaddle baby blankets someone else mentioned are great. She will also want a bottle warmer - even if she is nursing she will use it. An infant bathtub. One of those soothing vibration chairs, a high chair, playpen, swing. I loved my Diaper Dekor (hated the diaper genie). A diaper changing mattress with cover. A sleep positioner. Crib sheets.

Not sure how much you want to spend, so trying to name some of the things that people really need.

I disagree about the shoes - my kids wore them all day, every day, and for about $25, well worth it. I hated my diaper warmer - threw it out after a month (took forever). I used the microwave with ready to feed, but usually used powder with warm tap water (I still remember the stress of waiting for that warmer to work at 3 am while dd screamed).

I love the suggestions of diapers, bottles, and pacifiers, but please make sure ahead of time of what brands she uses. I wouldn't ever buy someone a diaper bag - she must have one, and it's kind of like buying someone a purse - too personal.

If she doesn't have a bouncy chair/infant chair, that's a great gift. I had 4 with my twins, 2 upstairs, 2 downstairs, and I used them for solids when they were 6 months old, too squishy for the highchair.

Just make sure you know what she already has before buying stuff.