What is the best baby gift?

[HM]

I like to give children's books as a gift. They last a long time and it's not something that parents think of asking for. They can start reading to their kids and introducing the idea of books right away.

 

[AZMermaid]

If they have a registry, look at it and get the practical stuff. For us that was crib sheets. Not all moms use cribs, some cosleep, so make sure that is not the plan, but if not, I recommend waterproof crib mattress protector and sheets. It is so boring no-one buys it, but so needed! Along the same lines, a changing table and the pad and cover for it. You can do without one, but they are just thr right height and after a while, it killed my back!

Also, an Ergo baby carrier is an invaluable kinda pricey baby tool that can be used for years.

 

[AZMermaid]

I'm part of a mom's group, over 30 mom's who all had babies between Aug-Oct 2013. We were recently talking about our fave baby products from the past year. The hands down winner was the Rock n Play by Fisher Price. Baby can sleep next to your bed at night or wherever you are in the house. It's the perfect height, unlike other soothers, for you to just reach out and pat/touch them. It's got a perfect incline for refluxers, or when they're congested, you can rock it (can also buy one with a vibrating function). Something about the way it is snug seemed to help all our babies sleep better. Look online, mom's swear by them. We were all so sad when the babies outgrew them

Muslin swaddles were also great (a good matching gift is the video or book, "Happiest Baby On the Block")

I am basically convinced my daughter is the only child who hated this thing. Maybe she would lay in it without crying long enough for me to go to the bathroom. Luckily, the resale value on these was high!

My son also hated the swing and the bouncer, so if they had it then, I think he would have hated it too! Both my kids were kids who had to be held for basically the first 3 months of life.

 

[pezaddict231]

Definitely something off the registry. Couples spend a lot of time researching and picking out the items they want. Otherwise a gift card to Target or Walmart would always be useful. I wouldn't buy them a ton of diapers in a larger size because you won't know when the baby will fit into them, if they will have reactions to that brand, and there are a lot of other things that they will need sooner anyway. I know people can always return/exchange things but the last thing you have time for with a newborn is returning things.

 

[Teacup53]

I vote baby video monitor and if you think they will have a second child (ever) 2 cameras are nice. Ones that have the option to have talk back - so when they are a toddler you can tell them to lie back down. Baby TV is the best thing ever!!!

Second best was the muslin swaddle blankets - Anais & Aden were the ones we liked - they washed great and we washed them ALOT!

 

[BadgerGirl84]

My favorite items were the Rock n Play sleeper and our Zen swing (that does side to side and front to back...and plugs into the wall rather than needing batteries). Once I found out my baby needed to at least partially be on formula, the Dr. Browns Formula pitcher was also a must-have-can't-live-without item for me. Oh, and the SummerInfant Swaddle Me velcro blankets.

Other than the other standard stuff (blankets, drool bibs, pacis, crib, crib sheet, etc) I can't really think of other gear that stood out for me. We had a wifi camera mounted in the nursery (could watch the crib from any device) but I think I used it 5 times. I'm not deaf, so I could hear the baby any place in my 3000 sq ft house....and I didn't put her in the crib with any unsafe items (blankets, pillows, etc) so I didn't really ever see a need to sit around watching her on a screen. If she needed me, she made noise and I could hear that with my own ears just fine.

 

[texasroni75]

Best baby shower gift I ever received was a new digital camera. Of course, now that most people have cameras on their tablets and phones, it might not be at the top of anyone's list. But, I have to say that it was great having a brand new high-resolution camera to take all those new baby pictures and video clips with. At the time we had a 5 year old camera that was on its last legs, and a new camera (group gift from my siblings) was an unexpected wonderful surprise.

Second best gift was our travel system. The carseat and stroller is used nearly every day.

 

[MrsPete]

Diapers are a wonderful idea. When I was expecting, I bought one pack of diapers every time I went to the store . . . and by the time the baby arrived, I had a closet full. Brand and size wasn't really an issue. Since I didn't have a paycheck for a while, those pre-purchased diapers were a great help.

Then I discovered a fantastic local woman (mother of two sets of twins) who sold second-quality diapers and delivered them right to your house. Very cheap, and I stored the large boxes under the crib.

If I were trying to buy diapers for someone else, I think I'd go with automatic delivery from Amazon. Diapers could be delivered straight to her door every month (or every other week), and if she discovered a problem with a brand (which I suspect is pretty rare), she could ask you to change the details of the order.

A breastfeeding pillow is a great gift. A new mother will spend hours feeding the baby, and that pillow is exactly the right shape to make the job easier -- it's a huge back-saver for mom. Likewise, gowns with hidden splits down the front are a nice gift for mom.

I also like the idea of books. This is genuinely a gift that "keeps on giving" in that it enhances the child's mind. Choose tough, chew-able board books.

I have frequently given a gift card to a photo studio -- especially for a second baby, when the mom already has everything. If you know that the mom doesn't have a nice point-and-shoot camera, that is even better -- but you'd know whether your friend does or doesn't have one already.

As for car seats, the concern about "expiring" is really overstated. Keep in mind that by the time the 5-6 year point is reached, the child is probably at the booster seat stage -- and that means that the seat is just "boosting" the kid up high enough to use the car's built-in seat belt. That doesn't "expire". What's more important is that the car seat has never been in a wreck.

Having said that, I totally agree that no one wants to use the same car seat for 10 years. Those things get nasty, even if your cover is washable.

Finally, several people have suggested Graco this or that. I vote NO. I had a moderately expensive high chair from Graco, and it was great for my first child. We put it away for a while in the back of our coat closet . . . and when we pulled it out for our second, the plastic was split in several places. We ended up buying a cloth cover that never really fit well. We also bought a Graco Lite-something stroller, and the wheels "melted" and "warped" the very first time it was left in the trunk of the car (my children were summer babies, and we live in the South, but you'd expect to be able to keep your stroller in the trunk of the car). I called and asked for new wheels, and they told me that what I was describing was impossible -- they DO NOT stand behind their products.