New mum and dad/newborn present advice please!

[karen3]

Hello,

I would love any advice you can offer me!

What is the best present or thing someone did for/gave to you and your newborn when they first visited you all at home?

They're my first close friends to have a baby and I'd love some advice on what you most appreciated at the time!

Thank you!

xx

[hellosailor]

particularly if the baby came a little early and they may not have got round to doing this for themselves, cooking something like a lasagne to freeze in portions is a nice thing to do.

If you were thinking of a specific present more then a baby sheepskin / lambskin is lovely but quite expensive (new they are about 40 quid)

or I only discovered the 'miracle blanket' stretchy baby swaddle which you can buy from mothercare or online from amazon and other places, a couple of months in - if someone had given me that as a present at the beginning it would have saved a lot of pacing round blackout rooms trying to get my little one to sleep! They are about 14 quid I think and I found much easier / more effective than when I tried to swaddle with a normal / cellular type blanket, and without the anxiety of overheating etc. Will definitely buy that for new parents in the future

x

[madmum]

I got a voucher for a manicure and pedicure, I must say that my inital reaction was Great I will use this when baby is like 2!!! but no they also added a homemeade voucher for Friends Baby Sitting Services...It turned out to be a fab gift,When DS was 4 months we cashed in the voucher and had a wonderful day,i had a my treatments whilst hubby emersed himself in a book shop then we had lunch (with wine) strolled round shops, drank coffee( whislt it was hot)and talk ( mainly about DS and other baby related topics) and there were the frequant check in calls to see if DS was ok . we reurned home to 1 sleepy baby and 2 tired friends....

I bought my best friend a clarks shoe voucher..this paid for babies first pair of shoes. which they have kept along with a photo of her in clarks getting made a fuss of...

xx

[Belle]

We were sent a delivery delicious muffins and cakes (think there is a healthier option that includes fruit too) from the Beverly Hills Bakery and they were lifesavers! You can get them sent in a tin if outside London (or want to keep them fresh). We've now sent quite a few to first time parents since and they always go down well. Depends if you're looking to get them more of a lasting present though. But personally it's something that stands out as being so welcome in those early days.

[Pickle]

I agree with gifts of food - either some nice home cooked meals which can be frozen then heated up easily (if you're so inclined) or there are some fab local chefs/companies who will provide the same thing for you. Love the idea of muffins etc. too - I remember constantly worrying that we were going to run out of biscuits in the first weeks when visitors turn up, so they would be great.

[Smiler]

favourites were Cocoa loco brownies by post, yum. Voucher for "Cook" (frozen, home-cooked meals, although only works for those with freezer space!) sophie le giraffe toy. Jelly cat stripy monkey toy. (those too cos the babies loved them). Crinkly fabric books. Crystal thing that you hang in the window and when it's sunny moves round and sends rainbows round the room. Massage voucher for very local place. Cake.

Least favourites: complete tales of beatrix potter. Bootees. Swaddling blanket. Giant fluffy pink horse for age 3+. giant loud plastic toy teddy that never shut up. Pink clothes. Soft toys. Anything with bunny rabbits or slogans. Or pink. Any "mums" toiletry type stuff (sat in cupboard for ages until guiltily chucked out).

[karen3]

Wow, thank you so much for all your lovely ideas!

I was thinking food as well, maybe picking up homemadey frozen meal things from "Cook", not quite the same as lovingly ACTUAL homemade things by me, but probably better tasting!!

Muffins sound great too, may save that for next week and then thinking some kind of present sounds nice as well! I love the mani/pedi idea and voucher for babysitting and the idea of the baby swaddling blanket, although, and please forgive my complete ignorance here, are there different opinions on swaddling or is it something everyone likes to do? Just don't want to get them something that maybe they won't want to use?!

xx

[karen3]

Ahha, thanks so much Smiler! Was posting my post at the same time as you! Love the favorites and non favorites and confirmation of "Cook" idea, but yes, they will need to have freezer space. . .xx

[Belle]

Also if you want to get them something special clothing wise - Pickle who posted above won't mind me saying I hope that she does lovely handknitted things - we've just bought some for our second baby due in a couple of weeks - and I have bought a cardie from her in the past for a friend's baby. There's just something special about giving a handmade present, and her things are lovely. :)

Re swaddling - I think there are different opinions, yes, but wd say we were given a miracle blanket (have now lost track of where it went afterwards) and it was useful in the early weeks. Th ink swaddling still pretty widely practised and ok as long as not too tight. Also we had a lovely handknitted blanket which we used tonnes until I washed it too hot and it 'felted'...

[Moos]

Definitely food! Food, food food.

But the best present that we got was this: cool travel changing mat. Maybe just a personal preference, but I found it really nice, and really useful.

[Oxalis]

My daughter was born earlier this year - a delivery from cook was the best thing anyone got me, followed by a massive slab of chocolate from hotel chocolat! The fisher price bouncer chair was also a godsend, particularly in the first few months.

My daughter has enjoyed various things from the jelly cats range - soft toys/ jungly tails soft book/ toe finders. The little scolastic glove puppet gets a lot of use too (despite my terrible singing)

[pebbles]

I second asking Pickle to knit something. I've bought quite a few things this year for various new borns and they've all gone down very well

[karen3]

thanks so much for all your lovely advice! I went with food from cook and the giraffe toy for now which both went over very well but now I've got lots of other brilliant ideas to follow up on in the next weeks for future presents!

Thanks again!

x

[amydown]

For anyone searching old threads for ideas, one of our friends had a baby in Putney recently and we ordered some delicious pies from Mike from the forum for the parents - Mike kindly delivered them to Putney for us and our friends were absolutely delighted! (have asked whether we can order some more for them next time they come to visit)

A really good gift for new parents especially if they live locally.

Mike's forum ID is bon3yard and mobile number is 07969206854.

[oimissus]

we were given one of these comforters http://www.johnlewis.com/231341223/Product.aspx and once we stopped swaddling and put our daughter into a sleeping bag, this became, and still is at aged 2, her No. 1 bedtime toy, she lies and strokes its ears. I would never have thought to buy one, but it turned out to be a top gift, and I've just bought one for my cousin.

[Pickle]

I second the recommendation for Mike's pies, they are lovely.

I've just signed myself up to receive "Graze" boxes and was thinking how much I would have appreciated getting them as a gift - perfect for me as a starving BFing Mum, and a bit healthier than the other things I've been reaching for over the past couple of weeks.

[susyp]

pickle i've just signed up to graze having read your post - i sit at home while my daughter is in nursery eating aboslute rubbish - it looks fantastic.

a friend of mine got bought one of those home delivery all your meals services by her sister - the type the celebs get - was amazing - woke up every morning to find breakfast lunch dinner and snacks on her doorstep. Sadly a bit out of my price range my sister got a home cooked lentil casserole - one off!

susypx

[Pickle]

Fab Susyp, hope you enjoy! My first one arrived today (an Eatwell box) and is lovely - I've eaten one little pot of goodies already and planning to make the rest last over the weekend. I've also ordered a low calorie one to arrive on Monday, will be interesting to see whether they're equally as yummy.

I have a promotion code for a free box/discounts if anyone is interested, just PM me :) No connection to the company at all, just excited to have found a new snack option!

[Monkey]

Agree with belle. The most useful, memorable, cosy, lovely present I got was a basket of muffins from the beverly hills bakery. Helped me out through the energy lows, kept me going and delighted the midwives!

[SR]

i love the lambskin i was given, didn't immediately love but it becomes a comfy part of baby life once it's used daily in the pram. I loved taking it on holiday too as even though we had a temp holiday buggy, the lambskin made it comfy and familiar to her. When a newborn tiny tot it is nice for them to lie on. So grateful to my friend that bought it.

[Annie456]

One of my fav things was a delivery from "kooky cookies". The biscuits were huge and delicious and I loved the novelty factor :o) also loved the Jo Malone goodies from my girlfriends which always make me feel a little less slummy-mummy in the morning!

Baby-wise, someone bought DS a gorgeous pair of PJs from the little white company and DH loved them so much he wants to buy a new pair each time DS grows out of them as a little treat! Would have loved a lambskin too and it's one if those things I can't really justify buying myself......hmmmm