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Present ideas for a new mum - what did you love?

Hello mums,

I have several friends due before me and was wondering if you could let me know what was the best presents you were given.

I would love to hear present ideas you were given for you newborn baby as well as any presents you recieved as new parents.

Thanks, xxx
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Replies

  • i agree with crilly, it was so handy being given nappies from people. i got a lovely baby book too which is great as i'll never remember the age she did everything. i friend also gave me some vouchers for lush, and another gave me some posh bubble bath which was great coz once id put LO to bed all i wanted to do was have a nice relaxing soak in the bath especially when stitches were healing etc. xx
  • My friend did a lovely basket with allsorts in - handy bits like nappy soak and a mini bottle of baby wash, knitted stuff (booties, teddy & hat - she'd already given us the cardigan she knitted ages ago), a time capsule thingy, a bowl/plate/mug set, set of plastic cutlery, brush/comb/rattle set and a couple of other things i can't remember right now - just handy little things she'd picked up and all together it made a lovely basket to go through!! Oh yeah..there was the blanket she knitted too.

    A friend sent a lasagne over..doesn't sound like much but it was appreciated - anything like that is great cause its one night where you don't have to worry about cooking!

    Anything like nappies/wipes/toiletries will never go to waste. Clothes are good also but avoid the smaller sizes - we still have a pack of 0-3 month babygrows we just haven't needed and its such a waste!!

    Pressie for mum is nice too.. my cousin didn't have a clue what to buy for a baby so he got a rattle and I got bubble bath & hand cream.. that was good.

    Alcohol is probably not such a great present .. or at least not for us it wasn't! we have a bottle of expensive champagne and a bottle of umm something else that we haven't touched and probably won't for a long while as we aren't likely to drink more than 1 glass each!!

    Some friends threw us a kind of babyshower and clubbed together and bought a mobile, grobag and baby monitor, although they had asked hubby what we needed - thats why we got the bag and monitor. Mobile not so great cause apart from the 2 we had already we now have another 3!!!!

    If you are buying clothes - don't forget to think about what season it'll be when the baby is that age. Don't mean to sound patronising there at all..hope I don't - but my brother bought some clothes for Cole, and his friend who has kids who was with him stopped him buying the warm jumpers and stuff he was looking at cause it would have been no good in summer when Cole was that age!

    I can't remember anything else specific we got - we ended up with a bunch of stuff all at once and its kind of a blur, but we had a variety of teddies, a musical pram toy, clothes, blankets (you can never have too many blankets!!) knitted cardigans, a baby keepsake book, some books... umm......... thats probably about it.

    Making up a box of stuff is nice - we ended up with 2 baskets of baby goodies and the baskets have also come in really handy..we have one upstairs and one downstairs with all the stuff needed for baby changing.. it helps keep the house tidy!!

    Oh yeah... another useful bag of stuff from a friend who's already a mum..she sent teething gel, infant olbas oil, calpol sachets (so you don't end up wasting a bottle when you only use it a couple of times apparently), and a few other bits and bats. Calpol was handy to have in so I didn't need to go get some before injections.

    Babies tend to get tons of pressies....its always nice to get something for mum, and even nicer to get something for mum and dad... its the dad that always seems to get forgotten about!
  • The nicest present I got for me was a pre or post natal treatment session for Clarins, it was the most relaxing thing ever and it was really appreciated. It's a bit pricey but ideal for someone close to you.
    As for presents for the baby - they've all been mentioned!
    xx
  • thanks for you all your replies.

    The last couple of babies i have brought for, i brought a couple of outfits in size 6-9mths which the mother said was nice as it meant she had a few things less to buy in this age range as most people by for 3-6 months. I also got them a height chart, something a bit different.

    Im always abit careful what i buy people as i dont want to buy clothes in 0-3 or toys as people seem to get lots of them.

    thanks for the ideas regarding new parents, keep them coming. theres a friends whos due within the next week who i would like to buy a present for the parents especially as she had a really bag 2nd trimester.

    Kia, i like the idea you had about the bag of stuff like calpol, teething gel etc. do you remember anything else she put in it? I like the idea of thinking a head for the new mum and getting her things that will be useful a few months after birth when they are still quite busy getting into routine. I know she will get spoilt by her siblings with expensive things so I guess it would be useful to have some useful everyday stuff.

    Probably sounds obvious, but for those who got lots of gifts in a box etc what sort of boxes/basket were they put in? does that make sense?

    for the mum I have a nice no7 pampering gift set or was thinking of some nice expensive bubble bath. I will be checking on here for other ideas. For the father I currently have no idea!

    keep posting your ideas /thoughts image xxx
  • The present that I liked best was a painting (for a child's bedroom) of a rocket in the night sky with Rory's name and date of birth on it. It was really special and something that we will always keep. It was a proper oil on box canvas painting, not a print and was given to us by the people that hubby works with. The most amazing thing was ...... it was arranged and chosen by a man! Unfortunately, I'm not sure where he got it from, if it was from a website or a local artist ... I just felt it was personal and a bit special.

    Gill x
  • I was given touche eclat concealer by one friend - amazing!!!! If you could club together with some mates to do meals it's great - our church family made food for us for 2 full weeks - it was a total Godsend - included loads of homemade cakes which were so lush while 'needing' to eat for bfing! Another good one was someone asking what we needed after a couple of weeks - most of the pressies had come and we knew what we already had.
  • oo i just remembered a friend of mine gave evie a blanket with evie's full name embroided in the corner. that was a lovely idea. she had bought the blanket and gotten her friend who's a dress maker to stitch the name on. you could do the same and go to a sewing shop to get it done? she told me later that she'd planned on getting the date/time of birth and also her weight on it but couldn't remember what i'd told her! lol. new dads.... thats a tricky one.. hmmm. perhaps just smellys too? or maybe you could scower book shops or the internet and perhaps find a childrens book which would be appropriate specifically for daddy to share story time with LO, that would give them some nice bonding time as mummy's have the obvious advantage of BF, and longer off work (most of the time). if you were to make up a basket, my mum made evie a stocking for xmas and there were two little sets, one a hairbrush and comb, one nail clippers and scissors which came in very handy as i'd not bought those, so they'd be good. or another idea for LO would be a money box? i know lots of jewellers sell these and that would be a good keepsake. if i think of any others ill tell you! xxx
  • Oh.... I forgot to add this cause it was actually a Christmas pressie - I got a mum to be pamper session voucher but I only used it 2 weeks ago!! I ended up with a massage and facial which was nice!

    Also - the other thing from my friend in the basket was one of those picture frames that come with clay to do hand/feet prints, and this funny looking toothbrush thingy for baby to chew- but the toothbrush thing was mainly bought cause it amused her.

    Along with the calpol etc, my friend put in some disposable bibs, and little set of thomas books. She also got us a little pair of shoes with Cole's name, DOB, place of birth and weight embroidered on the bottom - they are really cute!!

    Other useful things I can think of off the top of my head - cotton wool, wipes, disposable changing mats, changing bag (you can get some cute ones off ebay cheaply!) nappy sacks (the ones for throwing nappies away), baby wash, bubble bath, flannels or sponges, muslim cloths, vests (we got bought a 5 pack..it was a total lifesaver!!) cotton buds. If you are looking to spend more then some of the best things we have are a bouncy chair & baby gym. Apparently musical/light projection cot mobiles are great too.

    Oh..we also got bought a picture frame!

    The baskets - one was just a wicker basket with a cloth lining - my mate just wedged everything in. The other basket was a deep wicker basket, the clothes were underneath a blanket, and there was a bottle of something alcoholic on top of the blanket - both baskets looked really nice with all the stuff in them.

    As for other useful stuff that mum might appreciate... a meal, a promise to come wash up or hoover the house or something, a promise to come babysit while mum has a shower or bath or nap (the first couple of weeks after hubby went back to work..having a shower was hard work!!).

    I like the sound of a height chart! One of my biggest regrets is that we didn't measure Cole when he was newborn..they didn't measure him in hospital! I think I'll have to buy a height chart for his room image

    Gill - the painting sounds lovely
  • A big box of gorgeous choccies! Meant i could have an indulging time whilst bfing and not feel guilty!!! Don't know what my excuse is now....!
    Make the most of new mum pressies...they mainly decrease in number and generosity the more bubs you have! lol
    Kia - you got loads! Cole's a very lucky boy! We mainly got clothes for Gracie or people doubled up with it being so near to Christmas - that'd better not happen for her 1st birthday!!!
  • Oh another thing... we got a bath thermometer! Very useful.

    We didnt get doubled up stuff really - and I will be very annoyed if people double up on birthday/christmas next year!! Some of the birth/christmas pressies have kind of got mixed up in a dazed blur.. I was a bit out of it for a while!!

    Cole is a lucky boy... he got so much stuff. My friends were great with presents too. My ex got him a bib that says 'help, my arms and legs are short and fat'. Made me laugh loads!!

    I didn't get any chocolates...no fair!
  • Hi i agree with most of these posts i think putting together a basket/box full of useful items is the best thing,of course after labour us moms want to be pampered too,so chocolates,wine,beauty products those sort of things!my freind got me a book which is just for the mom to fill out,its kind of all about the mom and her feelins its quite funny also and made me feel better!she also got one for baby which was nice as its something you can fill in and keep.and i have really enjoyed filling it all in,another thing was with a magazine but if you can find something like it i think it would be a nice little gift,its a calendar that tells you about your babies development each mth with stickers to mark off milestones...
  • I got a lovely cross stitch with lo's name on it and a teddy with her name and date of birth on.
    The best pressie for me was my friend cut my hair into a new style a few weeks after and that made such a difference, for mums i would say anything feel good, make up, bubble bath etc.
  • Oh..that reminds me..my friend has finished a tapestry for us.. haven't seen it yet!

    Woolies have some nice white painted baskets with either blue & white or pink & white cloth linings - they are ??10 and quite deep so could fit lots. I just bought one for a toy basket for Cole.. but I'll pad it out a bit cause its a bit rough inside. Be warned though ... there is tissue paper on the handles and its an absolute bugger to get off!
  • for my cousins, my mum has done a cross stitch for each of them with name, date and weight which is really nice. I might have to hint that she does it for us lol! Im not cutting with cross stitch plus I wouldnt want to start one in case her mother had done one for my friend. My aunt has hers displayed on her wall.

    I've jsut come across a reasonable priced wicker basket I might buy. Just making a list of things to go in it for mother and baby. She is planning on using terry nappies I think so will probably give the nappies and bits a miss. I like the idea of a babys book to fill in. I will have a look online. My parents had one for me and i used to look at it quite often and compare things with my siblings like who learnt to crawl first etc!
    Sarahlou - what is the title of the book you ahve got for new mothers?

    Im glad I posted this topic it has really helped with ideas! xxx
  • I got my friend a photo frame which had 1 main picture and then little pictures round the edge for lo's first year, she took a photo each month and now has a sort of picture diary of the first year.
  • if you go onto ebay and type in 'nappy cake' they are fantastic i got one for my friend and it is a cake made from nappys and all things baby needs bibs clothes vest socks some of them look really fantastic!
  • my sister (an very experienced mum) gave me a massive box of incredibly useful bits and pieces that she said from experience i would need these - at the time she gave it i couldnt quite understand what half the stuff was for or why!

    Got things like calpol, nappy rash cream, dummy's in various sizes, teethers, teething gel, bicky pegs, muslins, burping cloths, nappies in various sizes, nappy sacks, saline drops, dummy case, sterlilser descaler, baby rice, weaning bowls & spoons, baby juice, rusks, bibs with sleeves, milk bibs, beakers, baby wipes, hairbrush, cradle cap cream, blankets, photo frames, vasaline, gripe water, formula cartons, infacol, anti-bac wipes for changing mat, disposable changing mats & bibs, bath stuff,shampoo, head-to-toe, body wash, massage oil, sponges, flannels, talc, cotton buds, cotton balls, dummy holders, bottles, teats in various stages, insulated bottle bag, nipple cream, breast pads, maternity pads, baby progress book, napisan, netted wash bag, white noise cd (to help LO's sleep), anti-bac hand gel, plug covers, hat ,scratch mitts, bath thermometer, cupboard locks, room thermometer, bath books/toys, tap covers, newborn bath support and not forgeting a bib that says "i love my auntie" (i do think in the end she got carried away but not complaining although she did say buying all that made her rather broody)

    she got me as a birth present a voucher from my local beauty place with a handmade i.o.u promise card for babysitting along with wine, chocs, relaxation cd, lux bath stuff, bath pillow, calming candles and put a few homemade dinners in the freezer (all very much appreciated)

    i must say 4 months later am still increadible grateful for all the bits all so far have been very handy

    maybe if using terry nappies a pretty bucket with nappy soak, liners and nappy clips? (or other equip needed)
    or promise cards? for her to cash in before you have your own handsful!
  • kimw - whats a bicky peg? That sounds like an awesome box from your sister!

    As for the nappy bucket - I'd suggest a bin rather than bucket... the nappy counceller suggested it to me as a cheaper alternative and it makes sense...nappy bucket doesn't hold anywhere near a full washload of nappies!
  • i'd never heard of them either but there teething biscuits there 100% natural sticks for them to chew on. seen them for sale in boots.

    http://www.bickiepegs.co.uk/acatalog/Bickiepegs_Teething_Biscuits.html

    sis swears by them but were not at that stage yet so i cant comment, both my mum and mil used them as well aparently some 25-30 years ago
  • My sis in law done me a basket up with all toiletries for my lo. It was great.
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