Gifts for a Baby???

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LovinHedgies

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 7, 2010
Messages
437
Location
Rochester, MN
Okay so I am really "baby stupid" and have zero experience with babies and baby stuff.
My friend is having a baby this coming November and I would really like to get her something useful/cute/special. She isn't registered anywhere and isn't really giving me any sort of a list. They don't know the sex of the baby and they want it to be a surprise so that makes it harder for me! lol.
I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas on what to get? Is there something that you didn't ask for and then found out you really needed? Is there a certian baby item that has gotten tons of use that you couldn't imagine not having?
Thanks for any help! :)
 
Diapers...seriously! Everyone always gets the cutesy stuff like outfits and toys but the basics often cost the most and people don't really think to gift them. What I do is buy a cheap laundry basket and then fill it with diapers and Dreft (baby detergent)...sometimes wipes as well. Your gift would be appreciated and you can't give too much of it :)
 
Definitely diapers.

Is this their first? If not, and they have many of the items they would already need for a baby, have you given any thought about maybe just getting the mom-to-be something? I've made baskets for friends that included "What to Expect the First Year", gourmet coffee and mug, bath/body stuff, giftcard for movie rentals, etc.
 
i completely agree!!!!

i always get a case of diapers. size 1. the newborn ones are too small. the size 1 lasts the longest. i always get a nice container of wipes. and i have to agree on the dreft too!
if you want to get one thing that the parents & baby will have as a keepsake from you, you could always get a soft toy, a cute onsie, or a picture frame. since all other items will be disposed of! or a premade scrapbook is a great idea too. you could either make yourself or purchase. that way all they have to do is glue in the photos.
 
I'll disagree with the diaper size. My baby is 8lbs 15 oz, and at 11 days old still has her cord stump. She fits into newborn diapers. We ran out of the newborn size 2 days ago so we put her in the size 1's we have and they rubbed her cord so it started bleeding, despite me folding the diaper down. The newborn size have a cutout to go below the cord. Newborn are supposed to fit until 10lbs, I'd say that's pretty accurate as they aren't anywhere near too small for my baby. But, that's just my opinion.

I'd say skip clothes, unless you just get one outfit. People always buy baby clothes.

One thing we can't live without is a swaddler. Not all babies like them, but at our hospital they used them from birth so now she's used to sleeping in hers. We wrap her up in her swaddler every night and she just sleeps in her diaper and that. Makes for easy diaper changes at night! They're not too expensive either, around $8 to $15 for the cotton ones. But you might want to get the fleece one since it will be colder out.
 
I'm with Alli on the diapers, Cassi was actually in premies for a bit. If you get clothes, get stuff besides newborns/0-3. Everyone buys those.
 
A bouncer. =) I love those things. haha I just got my sister in law one.

You can never go wrong with diapers and wipes. I bought those as well.

And clothes. She is having a girl and well, a girl can never have to many clothes. I'm getting clothes for 0-3, 3-6, 6-9 months. I'm not getting newborn or premie clothes. When my S.I.L. was pregnant with my nephew, for her baby shower people got her a lot of premie and newborn clothes. She didn't wear any of the premies and never wore half of the newborn clothes.

Bibs, bottles, teething rings, shampoo. Etc...


I buy random different things, because I <3 to baby shop.
 
Or a swing. Annamarie likes her swing, not the vibrating bouncer. I'm hoping she grows into liking the bouncer once she can move around more since it's cuter than her swing lol!
 
A baby bath tub. You can add towels, wash cloths, shampoo, etc inside of it and put a big bow on it.
 
Diapers diapers diapers.Get a size other than newborns because they wont stay in that size for long and it always seems people buy just newborns so maybe size 1 or 2.A diaper genie would also be a good investment.lol.
 
I'd look for a Moses basket (soft-sided woven basket about the size of a baby) or a bouncer and fill it w/ diapers (whatever's in the 10-20 pound range) and the stuff that runs out; wipes, Butt Paste, soap. You can also never have too many wash cloths and burp/spit up rags or bibs. The nice thing about the Moses basket is if they're having a girl and nothing dramatic happens to the basket, she's got a "bed" for her toys when she gets bigger, so she can keep using that for quite a while. :)

Another traditional gift is to make a blanket or piece of clothing, and if you have chins or hedgies, you're probably already familiar with how easy fleece is to work with. Since the baby's due in the winter, a crib-sized fleece blanket would be very useful, not terribly expensive, and stands the chance of becoming the Favorite Blankie that gets dragged to daycare etc. for years to come. :)
 
I don't know if your crafty or not. But my best friend and I make diaper cakes, diaper wreaths, southern bell diapier dolls, diaper motorcycles. ect... they are really easy to make and really cute. there are tons of how to's on the internet
 
A white noise machine or one of those spa machines that has different sounds like the ocean and stuff on it. They're great for soothing new babies and helping them sleep. Cassi's swings make noises and she LOVES the beach sound with the seagulls.
 
WOW great ideas guys! Thanks so much! I really didn't expect so many responses :) This is their first baby and really my first true friend who is having one. I'll probably buy her lots of stuff and the "mother-to-be" gift sounds great! I don't think she is pampered too much and she is trying to not make a big deal of out the pregnancy, but the first is so special!
 
i would say a warm and comfy car seat cover/bunting bag! the due date is right at the start of winter, and baby is going to be in a rear facing car seat for the first year, and the first half of that year is going to be winter, so he/she will be snuggly warm in their car seat with that kind of gift :))
 
I made a diaper cake for the first time last week. I think it turned out pretty good and the mom-to-be loved it. I just googled diaper cakes and watched a video on you tube. It is really easy and fun to do. The bottom layer is size 2 diapers and the other layers are size 1 diapers. In the center of the cake which kinda gave it some support is baby wash, baby shampoo and baby powder. I rolled the diapers up and secured them with rubber bands and then put a big rubber band around all of them to hold them together then I added some ribbon, bows, toys, bottles, rattles, pacifiers etc to make it cute.
 

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I got my friend a Boppy pillow, it's a U-shaped pillow that the baby can be cradled in and used for feeding and whatnot...

http://www.boppy.com/?gclid=CO_V5u2GgaoCFYeD5QodMEA10A

Some other ideas: maybe a humidifier for the baby's room for the winter, baby monitoring system, bath toys.


If you go the clothes buying route, I would buy clothes for maybe months in advance and season. She may be bombarded with newborn clothes, so maybe buying clothes for later months would be better.
 
Another option other than the Boppy would be the My Brest Friend pillow, that's what I use and it's very handy. I've heard most people prefer that pillow over the boppy since it's more rigid. I found mine cheapest at Walmart.com
 
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