http://firstyearbabiesandbeyond.com/baby-shower-gift-ideas
Inevitably, the more friends you have, the more baby showers you will be invited to go to. Whether or not this is your bag of fun, this is a very important time for the pregnant couple inviting you. Baby shower gift ideas? Is it a party? Is it a celebration of life? Or is it a way to prepare the said couple through gifting that may need a tonne of baby gear? Truth is it’s all the above. But the generosity of friends and family can go a long way in helping the parents to be, stock up with the essentials needed when their baby enters this world.
What is a Baby Shower?
Traditionally a baby shower is a party of sorts for an expecting mother, consisting of family and friends (typically female). Usually occurring early in the afternoon, food can be served, games can be played, normally each invitee brings a baby oriented gift for the mother.
The Real Meaning
The more kids you have, the easier it is to prepare. But to first time parents this is a key event. While it isn’t easy to mentally or emotionally prepare to have a baby, it’s easier to get all the apparatuses and supplies you will need. With family and friends, some of them experienced mothers hopefully, equipping you with these items, this is an invaluable time for the expecting couple.
Gift Strategy
Baby clothes work in cycles, what’s important to a new born baby won’t be important to a baby at six months. When you’re considering gifts you want choose a particular month. With baby clothing and toys etc. it usually works in three month cycles. New born, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months and so on, you get the picture.
In a perfect world, the gifts received are in a variety of all the early months, and spread out to all the different items you will need. But it’s not a perfect world and no doubt you will get a lot of same gifts, but hopefully you get a decent variety and you don’t have to fill many gaps out-of-pocket.
Baby Shower Gift Ideas
Things new borns need right away are diapers, warm clothes and swaddles/blankets and lots of them. Babies are messy! The three Ps, puking, pooping and peeing, happening very regularly! It is common to be changing diapers regularly through the day and night, many times with a full outfit change to boot. Swaddles/blankets are great for keeping the baby warm, but also cleaning up messes to big for a cloth.
Soothers, bottles, bibs, and hats are nice but not needed in any quantity. In the early months baby are little lumps on a log so they don’t need much. But they do grow fast, so it’s nice to receive clothing in different sizes.
Baby Gifts
Other helpful gifts although a little more expensive are bouncy chairs, small, light and easy to move around, perfect for when you need to put the baby down. The best gift we received was a swinging cradle, our baby would be asleep within 5-10 minutes from when we put him in, not sure what we would have done without it!
More helpful items are a bassinet, baby bath with hooded towels for drying, sleep sacks, breast feeding pillow, change pad with several covers, baby carrier and a sound machine was surprisingly effective.
There are also higher budget items, so you may want to find one or two to go in on with you, but definitely needed are a crib, car seat, baby monitor, stroller and a play pen.
People unsure which gift to buy may go for toys, but babies most likely won’t really acknowledge toys for at least six months.
Something I really got a lot of use out of even though I bought it for myself was a pregnancy body pillow. It really helped me find comfortable sitting and lying down positions, but most of all I used it several times a day breast feeding.
What Would I Buy?
Keep in mind it’s a baby shower so the baby is on it’s way or newly born. Really you can’t go wrong with any of the above. I would buy swaddles/blankets and clothing in the 3-6 month range, I think that is the best choice. New born babies sizes can be tricky, some babies are born bigger and fit 3 month old sizes already.
Early on parenthood can seem frantic and confusing, moms need time to recover physically, emotionally and mentally, some a lot more than others. Dads can be running around making ends meet at home and work. Having all the little things early on can make it easier for sure.
It goes without saying babies demand a budget, budgets can differ, so can the couple’s ability to meet that budget. If you are able to buy one of the more expensive items, it can go a long in preparing the family for the journey ahead. Don’t worry if you buy something they have or someone else gifts them, there will surely be something the couple needs it can be exchanged for. Happy hunting.