Moms of babies: Favorite baby "goodies"?

[cjcouple]

My "babies" are big now (14 and 11) so I have no idea what's a hit/new these days.  My niece is having a boy in July yay!!   What's the latest and greatest goodies/conveniences you love?  I'd like to put something together to send to her. She is in FL so it'll have to be mailed so prefer nothing too heavy unless it can be mailed direct.  I was thinking about doing a few smaller items anyway and sending a gift card but I am open to other ideas.  Thanks

ETA: I realized "new moms" wasn't quite accurate so adjusted title :-)   

[noodleoo]

Buy off the registry! She's done the work for you and picked out what she wants.   (assuming she has one)

[cjcouple]

noodleoo, she does not

[macmars45]

Is it her first baby or does she already have baby stuff?

Signed, my baby is almost 5

[mccallister84]

We got a nice set of burp cloths from H’s BFF. Otherwise I’m drawing a blank on something small that was nice. Maybe a collection of baby meds? Gas drops, vitamin d drops, Tylenol, ibuprofen?

[noodleoo]

Feb 11, 2021 14:16:36 GMT -5 cjcouple said:

noodleoo , she does not

Really?  Surprising!  First baby or does she have other kids?  That changes what I'd recommend. 

[cjcouple]

Feb 11, 2021 14:56:30 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Feb 11, 2021 14:16:36 GMT -5 cjcouple said:

noodleoo , she does not

Really?  Surprising!  First baby or does she have other kids?  That changes what I'd recommend. 

It's her first. My sister is going to talk to her about that but with COVID she likely won't have a shower.

All of her family is here. His family there is only 1 sibling. The logistics are just tricky with her being 20+ hours away. I can wait a little bit and see if she makes a registry. Either way, I will just send a large gift card with a couple small items.

I was just wondering what people liked. I remember the Sophia giraffe was huge when my son was little so I thought some things like that would be cute to accompany the gift card.

Its nbd if there's not much. I'm sure I can find some things at Target. :-)

[Pilsy]

Without a registry, I think your gift card idea is especially perfect! I would do that, a board book that's not super popular, and a 9-month sleeper.

[cjcouple]

Feb 11, 2021 15:09:12 GMT -5 Pilsy said:

Without a registry, I think your gift card idea is especially perfect! I would do that, a board book that's not super popular, and a 9-month sleeper.

Oh duh, definitely a board book. Great idea. She is a K teacher, not sure why I didn't think of that. thanks.

[cricketwife]

Depending on the season the baby will be born, Zutano booties are really popular. Though my "baby" is 4, sniff, sniff.

[macmars45]

I loved the swaddleme velcro swaddles when my DS was born! They're at Target.
Of course books. My favorite board book that I give to all my first time mom friends/family is Blanket of Love by Alyssa Satin Capucilli.

[al dente]

SwaddleMe velcro swaddles, Aiden and anais muslin blanket pack, black and white soft "book", cute silicone shaped teether, Ryan and rose pacifier or clip.

[mccallister84]

Feb 11, 2021 15:12:22 GMT -5 cricketwife said:

Depending on the season the baby will be born, Zutano booties are really popular. Though my "baby" is 4, sniff, sniff.

Oh yea this would be great!

[tiki]

these make great gifts since they're pricey but the magnet closures are cool and their modal fabric is wonderfully soft: magneticme.com/collections/gowns

[mbcdefg]

Following - my cousin had a baby recently and I will be buying a gift of some sort.

My DD will be 4 this summer. When she was an infant we liked Aden & Anais swaddles, basic onesies and pants sets, Halo sleep sacks, plain burp cloths, a drying rack for bottles, and my mom put together a holiday bib set that we used every holiday.

Someone also gave DD this socks which were cute: www.nordstrom.com/s/trumpette-socks-baby-girls-toddler-girls/3221305?country=US¤cy=USD&mrkgadid=3324514225&mrkgcl=760&mrkgen=gpla&mrkgbflag=0&mrkgcat=&utm_content=65093601038&utm_term=pla-311429259359&utm_channel=low_nd_shopping_standard&sp_source=google&sp_campaign=1660749043&adpos=&creative=320031522658&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&acctid=21700000001689570&dskeywordid=92700049875988762&lid=92700049875988762&ds_s_kwgid=58700005469839745&ds_s_inventory_feed_id=97700000007631122&dsproductgroupid=311429259359&product_id=51566198&merchid=1243147&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&locationid=9003505&targetid=pla-311429259359&campaignid=1660749043&adgroupid=65093601038&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyJOBBhDCARIsAJG2h5dHhZsY7RjE3PvJMf4JTjwtMSZatwz4zFUCUVGWzStKvi32KFKCxz0aAuj7EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[wizardressofoz]

My youngest is 4, so ahem. But some ideas nonetheless...as I too like to send things.

"The Night You Were Born" board book

Extra scissors. I just couldn't have enough scissors between opening formula and taking off tags.

Muslin blankets

Probably not shipment friendly....I gave my SIL a laundry basket filled with stuff for the older baby and she loved it (360 cups, plastic plates, stuffed animals,, straw cups, boon lawn tray,muslin blankets, crib sheets, books, small mirrors and toys like bath cups or boon suction cups, aquaphor, desitin, baby meds, thermometers, some socks and clothes, etc.)

Robeez

Zutano

[maudefindlay]

A Skip Hop Pronto Changing Station, sleep sack, and the gift card.

[vmars]

Boppy baby lounger
Swaddle me by your side sleeper
Car seat cover
Baby bum brush (basically a diaper cream spatula)
Munchkin step diaper pail

[Susie]

It's so hard... because I'm seeing stuff suggested above that people gave us and I didn't really like or use.  The velcro SwaddleMe swaddles for one; I preferred Halo swaddle sacks, and then transitioned to sleep sacks.  Velcro stuck to everything in the wash on me.

I liked A&A swaddle blankets, and those stretchy infant car seat covers that can double as a nursing scarf if she nurses (but are also totally useful just as a car seat cover if not).  Especially with covid, having covers over a newborn is handy.  

1-2 pacis of several different brands is nice too.  Never know which shape/kind baby will prefer.  Paci clips and the paci pals that connect to a variety of different paci brands are nice too.  Like a Wubbanub, except you can take them apart to wash.  

Board books are also great. 

[jordylee]

Without a registry is really hard. I got so much stuff that I didn’t need/use and felt horribly guilty returning most of it.

My most used inexpensive item was a giant pack of plain white cloth diapers as burp cloths. I would probably go with that, a few books, snacks for mom, and a gift card.

[chickadee77]

Honestly, my best off-registry item was clothing for 9 months. My first was peanut, so she wore preemie/nb/3 month, but when her growth kicked in, it was like I woke up one morning and had NOTHING that fit, except these two outfits I got at my shower. I laughed a bit when I received them, but they saved me that day, haha.

[waverly]

Feb 14, 2021 7:05:09 GMT -5 jordylee said:

Without a registry is really hard. I got so much stuff that I didn’t need/use and felt horribly guilty returning most of it.

My most used inexpensive item was a giant pack of plain white cloth diapers as burp cloths. I would probably go with that, a few books, snacks for mom, and a gift card.

I struggle with this too. Everyone recommends blankets or swaddles but I had soo many.

I found clothing in larger sizes to be useful. I agree with a board book. I got one with a nice handwritten welcome to the world and their signature. Gift cards are always useful.

Not small but one of my nicest gifts was the hooded towel from pottery barn with her name in it.

[sloan]

I like the swaddleme Velcro swaddles as well, and for my youngest they had a new model with a zipper at the bottom so I didn’t have to unswaddle her top half for middle of the night diaper changes. Loved it.

I also recommend sippy cup straps bc they get to the high chair right about when they’re figuring out cause/effect and gravity. I attach mine to toys instead as well and connect them to the stroller for walks so we don’t lose any.

Agree with the recs for bigger clothes- my firstborn was almost 10 lbs so the newborn stuff never fit at all, and those early days they spend so much time swaddled anyways the clothes don’t matter.

[starryfish]

Boon grass drying rack. We still use ours 4 years later for sippy cups and yeti cups to dry

[shauni27]

one thing I didn't even realize until I had a kid was that babies only see in black and white. We got 2 different black and white infant board books and they were great. Our son love looking at them and you could see his eyes looking for the images if we moved the books around a bit while he was doing tummy time.

Gift cards for sure.

[Aloe Vera]

Things I really liked 11 months in:

- Angel care bath support. It doesn't take a ton of space and it is super convenient to have both hands to bath your baby. I used it until my baby could sit independently.
- hard foam changing pad (like Bumbo). You don't need fabric covers. If there's poop or pee, you just wipe it clean.
- Fridababy windi. This saved me when my baby had horrible gas. Her gas pain were gone in 2 seconds. I could hear it come out.
- a foldable high chair. I like being able to put it away when she's done eating. The Ikea high chair is popular but it isn't the best. It takes a lot of space with its leg that are a tripping hazard and there's not footrest.


And tell her to do a registry! This will help people who still want to buy something and she will get a completion coupon. Plus it serves as a nice list of things you have/need. Without a registry, people will still buy stuff but it will be a town of newborn clothing. Half of it will be unused.

[CloudBee]

I still use the wet bags that I bought when DS was an infant. Even when we weren't cloth diapering I kept one in my diaper bag. It gave me something to toss soiled clothing into, dirty disposable diapers when we had nowhere to dispose of them, etc.

Now with an almost 8 year old we still keep one in the car for possible carsick episodes, and he always kept one in his swim bag for his wet towel/suit.

I also appreciated having a variety of different baby carriers for different situations.

[Pilsy]

Feb 15, 2021 13:20:23 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

I still use the wet bags that I bought when DS was an infant. 

A wet bag is a great idea! I never cloth diapered, and we still use a couple wet bags I picked up when my first began swim lessons. 


OP, let us know what you get! 

[janegold]

Zutano booties - they really are great but a little pricey for what are essentially socks, so one of those things that is really nice to receive as a gift 

Ollie swaddle - we didn't have this when our son was a baby but we used it this time around for my daughter and it is great and worth the hype.  I like Halo swaddles too, but loved the Ollie. (Did NOT like SwaddleMe at all.)

Boppy Newborn lounger - we got a LOT of use out of this with both my kids. I just got rid of it and was a bit emotional about it.

If you know she will nurse and/or pump, a Hakka (another new invention from my first time around, and very useful!)

Agree with others who suggested larger clothes, too

[pickel]

My “go to”s are

White cloth diapers ( awesome as burp clothes)
Woombie swaddler
Baby shusher
Board book
Sleep toy