What is the best baby gift?

[Grumpy's Gal]

I 'd like to hear from you - what is the best baby gift?
It's a couple having their first and they are on a budget.
The gift doesn't have to be a budget since several of us can go together.
My immediate thought was diapers ( a years supply? A service?) but I'm sure there are lots of other ideas.
I'd love to hear your opinions! TIA

 

[cjbcam]

I 'd like to hear from you - what is the best baby gift? It's a couple having their first and they are on a budget. The gift doesn't have to be a budget since several of us can go together. My immediate thought was diapers ( a years supply? A service?) but I'm sure there are lots of other ideas. I'd love to hear your opinions! TIA

If there is a few people going in I would say a baby swing or a monitor that is a camera as well. Just a thought about the diapers... I'm not sure if you buy a years supply or a service if you can switch brands. Two of my kids were extremely allergic to certain brands. My youngest is 4 so not sure if there's any new neat little gadgets out there but I loved those two things.

 

[Dax]

Diapers in more than just size one...This way when baby grows, they have some then. Wipes as well...We go through wipes like they are going out of style. Do they have a registry? Do they have a good quality car seat? How about a stroller? Gift Cards are also great so they can pick up things as they come up. Clothes are OK, but go for functional for little ones...My DD lived in onesies and footed PJs for the first 3 or 4 mo. I got tons of frilly clothes she just never wore at that young age.

 

[SEA333]

Gift cards with packs of size 3 diapers. Most babies/toddlers are in size three the longest of all sizes. 2 of my 3 kids went to size 2 by 2-3 months, and size 3 by 6mo and pottytrained at age 2 having never moved up to 4's. I would have loved a stockpile of size threes!!

If not gift cards, I'd pool the money to buy the brand new Graco carseat booster combo that converts from a 4-lb infant carseat all the way to a backless booster, with a 10-year warranty, which is running about $299 currently. I would have coveted that carseat 8-14 years ago when my kids were babies

Oh, and my kids were dressed in real clothes every day when thwy were babies and never stayed in onsies or pajamas all day...ever. So we got to use all of the adorable baby outfits people bought us. Thank goodness, too, because I'm lucky if I can force DD to wear a dress or cute shoes even for holidays anymore, so I'm glad I dressed her when I could

 

[jen19806]

Humidifier & ear thermometer. Sometimes they don't realize these come in handy until the first cold.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

My favorite gifts with my first baby were big boxes of size 3 diapers (the giver explained that that's the size they're in the longest and by that time you don't care about the brand! It was true in my case.) And cute outfits for size 12-18 months - and the giver had counted out the months and picked items that would be in season when DS got that big!

Money was very tight when DS was a baby so I really appreciated having those supplies on hand once he got bigger!

If I were having a baby now, I'd love to get something fun like a photo shoot for baby and the new family - that would be reasonable with everyone pitching in for a group gift.

ETA: Yes on the thermometer! And you can get the temporal ones now too. My go to gift when I knew more people having babies was a Thermoscan and extra covers. It's something practical so people aren't likely to get you one because it's not cute and expensive, so you're not likely to buy one yourself.

 

[Malibustyle23]

I saw a commercial just the other day that made me say "Why did they not have that when I was having babies!?" It is a carseat that lasts the length of the child's need for a car seat. It starts off as a rear facing to a front facing to a booster seat. That would be a wonderful gift that saves money now and in the future for many years for the parent.

In addition to that I would suggest as others and add to include: swing, diapers, travel system to include stroller and car seat, crib, bouncy seat. You could do a baby bullet or a similar product so that they could make their own baby food to save on baby food in the future and be more natural. If they would like that kind of thing. A good quality breast pump and milk packaging items if you know mom intends to breastfeed.

 

[SEA333]

I saw a commercial just the other day that made me say "Why did they not have that when I was having babies!?" It is a carseat that lasts the length of the child's need for a car seat. It starts off as a rear facing to a front facing to a booster seat. That would be a wonderful gift that saves money now and in the future for many years for the parent.

In addition to that I would suggest as others and add to include: swing, diapers, travel system to include stroller and car seat, crib, bouncy seat. You could do a baby bullet or a similar product so that they could make their own baby food to save on baby food in the future and be more natural. If they would like that kind of thing. A good quality breast pump and milk packaging items if you know mom intends to breastfeed.

Yes, that is the new Graco carseat. I love that commercial, and the idea!! And it comes with a ten year warranty.

 

[Malibustyle23]

Yes, that is the new Graco carseat. I love that commercial, and the idea!! And it comes with a ten year warranty.

Sorry, now I see that you replied that already. It has been a LONG day. That would be my vote as well. My only issue is that "most" carseats traditionally expire 5 or 6 years after manufactured so I wonder if that has changed with this one or what the story is there? My 5 year old is still in a booster. Honestly my 10 year old is as well ( I know flamesuit prepared, snowflake, helicopter, insert every other DIS insult <here>) although I am sure he meets the guidelines to get out of it the seatbelt falls right on his neck without the booster. My fear is of him being decapitated without it with the way the seatbelt lies. So I wonder how the skirt the expiration issue.

 

[SEA333]

Sorry, now I see that you replied that already. It has been a LONG day. That would be my vote as well. My only issue is that "most" carseats traditionally expire 5 or 6 years after manufactured so I wonder if that has changed with this one or what the story is there? My 5 year old is still in a booster. Honestly my 10 year old is as well ( I know flamesuit prepared, snowflake, helicopter, insert every other DIS insult <here>) although I am sure he meets the guidelines to get out of it the seatbelt falls right on his neck without the booster. My fear is of him being decapitated without it with the way the seatbelt lies. So I wonder how the skirt the expiration issue.

I wondered the same thing myself about the expiration date, so I checked with one of my work besties who just happens to work on the Graco side (one of my company's divisions), and she was the one who told me about the 10-year warranty and that the seat uses new material that will last the 10 years (barring an accident, of course), so it seems legit. I just didn't want to say this at first because I really *would* have loved the seat 10 years ago when my kids were little but didn't want it to sound like a plug for my company

 

[set1208]

I'd pool the money to buy the brand new Graco carseat booster combo that converts from a 4-lb infant carseat all the way to a backless booster, with a 10-year warranty, which is running about $380 currently.

I have three of these seats and they're great. I got ours at walmart a couple of years ago for a lot less. My DD4 is still in the seat with full harnesses and my boys are using just the backless boosters now.

Theyll find out that they can get by on very few gadgets and gear.

Car seat
Crib
Stroller
Bouncy chair, doubles as a feeding chair for infants
Booster seat with a removable tray that attaches to kitchen char is less cumbersome than a full high chair.

Good luck. Keep us posted in what you choose.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

Baby nanny for the first few weeks at night.
Amazing what sleep can do for you!!

 

[superme80]

Gift cards to Target or Wal-Mart. We are always on a tight budget. Those helped feed mommy and daddy! Very thankful for them.

 

[Eureka]

We always give books...board books usually that the baby can enjoy early on. Not as practical as diapers, but as writers (and I am a former librarian) we believe you're never too young to be read to.

 

[NewRVLady]

Do they have a registry?
BE SURE to look and buy from it


My son &DIL did TONS of research and were VERY particular about brands of certain items-so check if they registered at Babies R Us or Buy Buy Baby

 

[wenrob]

When I was pregnant with my twins, my sister threw a diaper party where everyone brought diapers and wipes as "admission." The person who brought the biggest pack got the grand prize. It was awesome and I never had an issue with exchanging them for different sizes or brands. My kids were preemies so any seasonal clothes I ended up having to exchange, they were still wearing six months at nearly a year. Mine also lived in onsies and jammies. In particular I loved the little nightgowns with the elastic at the bottom that kept them from tangling up and made night time diaper changes a breeze. My favorite large gift were exersaucers, loved those things! I loved Bumbos too but I'm not sure they make them anymore.

 

[North of Mouse]

I like to buy diapers, plus clothing in the 6mo. size or whatever size the baby will wear for the next season. So many people give infant size clothing and they are outgrown very quickly.

 

[tnd]

The best gift I got was a couple sessions by a cleaning service when my son was born. It was such a relief to have someone clean my house while I was dealing with a grumpy newborn and nursing issues.

 

[pklein09]

Well, it's been a few years since I had a baby (youngest is almost 14 ...then almost 16, 17, and 18). My first instinct was diapers and wipes, closely followed by Baby Tylenol and Phazyme/Mylicon.

As I read through all the other suggestions, I remembered one gift from a co-worker with my first child: dinner. She and her husband (a chef in training) made a few dinners that were ready for the freezer, and one for use that night. It was so nice to have a wholesome meal that I didn't have to cook as I was trying to figure out how to me a mom, breastfeed, heal, and handle lack of sleep.

Best of luck to the new parents!

 

[wenrob]

Well, it's been a few years since I had a baby (youngest is almost 14 ...then almost 16, 17, and 18). My first instinct was diapers and wipes, closely followed by Baby Tylenol and Phazyme/Mylicon.

As I read through all the other suggestions, I remembered one gift from a co-worker with my first child: dinner. She and her husband (a chef in training) made a few dinners that were ready for the freezer, and one for use that night. It was so nice to have a wholesome meal that I didn't have to cook as I was trying to figure out how to me a mom, breastfeed, heal, and handle lack of sleep.

Best of luck to the new parents!

Oh yes, this! When my Dad asked what he could do I asked him to cook for me. (He's a Chef) For a couple months leading up to my kids being born we'd hit what was on sale and he'd make several meals to freeze. By the time I had them I had about six months worth of dinners in my freezer. Lifesaver! Especially since I had a nine year old as well and after taking care of two babies all day, making dinner was hard to do. Maybe some kind of meal service?