[name]Hi[/name] guys, I was hoping you could help me out. My cousin is pregnant and while she isn’t due until [name]October[/name], I’m a planner and would really like to start thinking about gifts for her and the baby right now.
This will be my cousin’s first child and she is not very knowledgeable about pregnancy or parenthood AT ALL. So I would really like to help her out.
I’ve been trying to think of nice presents I can buy or make for her. However I’d prefer the presents to be somewhat unexpected, something not everyone will be getting her (diapers, clothes, soothers, etc). I was also thinking maybe even making her meals after she has the baby (as I can imagine she wouldn’t have the time to cook for herself) but that’s for her.
I was thinking of buying her something for the needs of the baby and then making a cute decoration or personalized onesie with non-toxic stuff (or something similar).
However I’m having trouble thinking of things she will REALLY need that no one else will buy for her. And the internet is not much help since it gives me ideas that are wayyy too expensive for a 15 year old.
So naturally I come to you guys, hoping you can help me.
Can you think of any gifts that were given to you or someone else that really helped them out with being a new mom (that is also not too expensive) while still being unique from all the other overdone gifts?
Any suggestions/ideas/advice is much appreciated!!
I don’t know about making something useful other than a blanket… perhaps a crotched rug for the nursery?
Or if they know the name and share it ahead of time, buying and decorating the letters to put up on the wall. You could also make a mobile of some sort.
We were given a “note/coupon/iou/whatever” from a friend who is a chef promising to make us dinner after the baby is born, which is a really nice gesture.
For baby shower gifts for new moms, I most often go to a big mass retailer like Target and pick up odds and ends for baby care that might be overlooked. I usually create a large basket with things like baby acetaminophen, baby gas medicine, diaper rash ointment, baby nail clippers, a nose suction bulb thingy, lanolin nipple cream for mom, saniwipes that fit in a car cupholder, a little bath ducky that turns a certain color in water that’s too hot, etc. It’s usually gone over quite well.
The meal idea is a wonderful idea for the mum, I am sure she’ll appreciate that very much!
For the baby… she’s due in [name]October[/name] which means it will get cold soon. Are you any good at knitting or crocheting? Cute little hats, gloves or a nice cosy blanket for the pram are always useful. My cousin made my daughter all these adorable stuffed animals from old fabrics. My mother made my daughter a baby blanket from fabrics that had some significance to me (like old almost worn out clothes). My nephew who’s the same age as you made my daughter a book, it is so cute. He’s drawn very colourful but simple settings, and then he’s taken photos of his teddy bears and placed them in the pictures (they’re out having adventures). It’s very cute, and truly one of the best gifts we got for her.
Good luck, I think it’s so sweet that you want to do something special for your cousin!
Bringing a meal post-baby is a wonderful idea. If you wanted to go further with this, you could organize other family/friends in providing meals as well. This website http://www.mealtrain.com/ makes that very easy. It’s free and organizes everyone’s planned contributions on a calendar and sends out automatic email reminders. There are other websites that you can use for this as well, that is just the one that I am familiar with.
My favorite gift for new parents is a date night. I like to get them a gift certificate for a nice restaurant (this is not limited to chains, any restaurant can sell you a gift certificate these days) and include in the card an offer of free babysitting. Everyone always loves this.
If you want a free variation of this, just offering babysitting coupons (assuming that you and your cousin are comfortable with you babysitting) is a great plan. You could even go a step further (but still free) and find fun, free, local events for the new parents to go check out while you watch the kid.
If you want more of a gift for the baby, books are a great way to go. Building up a collection of good board books for a baby is surprisingly expensive and most people give cute outfits, not books. Wrap up a couple of your favorites with a sweet note. If you want to commit to something bigger and longer term, enroll the baby in a book of the month club (where you give the baby a new book every month for the first year or something, so as to spread out the cost and make it more fun.)
You can even make custom board books nowadays. Here is a link to one of many websites that offer this service: http://www.pintsizeproductions.com/Design-a-board-book.html Since she is your cousin, you could even make a board book about the family with photos of everyone and a little blurb/description. Like, “This is your cousin, ladyvanraven! She is looking forward to sharing her name obsession with you!” Babies [name]LOVE[/name] looking at photos of faces. If you need this to be cheaper, you could just get a photo album and do something similar.
If you live close enough, “coupons” for other things - aside from meals - like doing her laundry, bringing her favorite takeout, watching the baby while she naps, vacuuming her home, etc. would probably be very helpful/appreciative.
If you’re looking to do something crafty and sentimental, it’s easy to make a home-made mobile…you can do one using origami animals strung from dowels, or fish made out of small soda bottles (google those). Or, make her a scrapbook where you can start with a page on her pregnancy, and then make pretty scrapbook sheets with spaces for her to stick pictures in as the baby grows and write her own little captions.
Oh you could do an old timey -mixed tape/ playlist … seriously your 15 and nobody is expecting you to break the piggy bank. Offering meals after the baby is born and just helping out around the house like taking out the dirty diaper trash and doing the laundry while she naps is the absolute best thing you can do for her. (My second cousin did it for my mom when I was born and my mom still raves about how pampered she felt and how awesome it was to have an adult to talk to when she wanted to but where she didn’t have to be ueber polite like she did with visitors.
No seriously, a playlist with kids songs or a book would be awesome. There are a ton of new children’s song out there that most adults don’t really know about. I particularly love [name]Paul[/name] [name]Ellis[/name]’ “Dragonfly Races” and listen to them all the time (I should at this point let you know I have no children and just listen to it cause I like it :)). I think he recorded it when his kiddo was born and does folksy music with fun child friendly lyrics and stories that are great for adults to listen to - I feel like a lot of artist are now doing this and they are usually the songs we don’t hear on the radio.
Oh, I like [name]Lex[/name]'s suggestion, a mix tape is brilliant! [name]Vienna[/name] Teng’s Lullaby for a [name]Stormy[/name] [name]Night[/name] is a beautiful lullaby you can put on it
@Poppy528- I love the basket idea! That way I could get her a lot of little things that she will need. Target just opened up here so I could go there too.
@[name]Ottilie[/name]- no I don’t knit but I wish I did. That would have been fun to make hats and blankets…I could always learn though! There is plenty if time before [name]October[/name].
I love that book idea! So cute! Unfortunately I don’t have a camera…
@tarynkay- I think babysitting and giving her a coupon for a restaurant would be nice! I definitely would like to babysit since I want to get used to being around babies (I want to be a midwife when I’m older). Giving her books is a great idea too! [name]Just[/name] yesterday I saw this book I used to read when I was a child, I’ll get that one for her and maybe get her another 2 or 3. I love the custom book idea!
I will check out both of those websites for sure
@leadmythoughts- I like that scrapbook idea! That way I won’t need to have a camera! I can just decorate it and give it to her! I never thought of laundry, I could always do that for her too.
@lexiem- lol I know but I love to buy/make gifts and this is the first baby in my family since I was born. So I really feel the desire to help.
Oh I love that mix tape idea!! I know a song that could go on there!! Plus I believe there is an old nameberry thread on here that covered songs for babies! I will try to find that and listen to songs.
Can you get her a gift certificate for a mani or pedi (or both?) [name]New[/name] mom will feel so special that someone wants to do something for HER, since all of her time, resources, and even her body are going to be belonging to her little one soon. [name]New[/name] mom will feel like a million bucks getting something done to pamper herself.
In that same (non-budget braking) style: A gift certificate for ice cream, a nice-smelling hand cream, a pair of fuzzy socks or slippers, a cozy PJ top, a pretty, colorful cup with a straw for guzzling water (assuming she’ll nurse), gift card for a coffee, a back massage by you (massages are always winners!), babysitting for an hour or two so she can take a rest…
baby socks! Newborns in [name]October[/name] need socks and don’t keep them on. I got lots of cute ones for my DD but was driven mad by trying to find the mates for them (they hide everywhere in the laundry-in sleeves, pant legs, other socks etc). Next time around I am going to buy 20 pairs of the same ones (I like ones that look like little mary janes for girls or sneakers for boys), so that when my babe drops, throws or or loses a sock (which happened a lot in my house) I have another matching one that is ready to go.
Any household help would probably be greatly appreciated:
laundry
dishes
meal preparation
After awhile (how long is totally an individual thing) babysitting so she can get out for a few hours would probably be welcome. Or even coming over to watch the baby while she naps could also be very helpful.
[name]One[/name] thing to think about is that as a new mom you get a lot of stuff for newborns but it can actually be nice to get a few things for a slightly older baby. Babies grow so quickly in the beginning that they will grow out of all the newborn stuff quite quickly. If you are going to put a lot of time into making something, or finding a unique gift it is worth considering trying to target it for maybe 6-18 months. [name]Even[/name] if you ‘only’ do a cute onesie, it will stand out if it is in a bigger size.
[name]One[/name] of my male friends was a stylist. So for the baby shower, he put together a pampering basket for me! Hand treatments, hair treatments to prevent fallout, cremes, nice polish, etc. It was awesome!
A soft, easy-to-wear gown for mom & album of modern music (coldplay, etc) lullabys from iTunes. Mom can relax and enjoy music she knows in lullaby form. These were the two best unique gifts I received
