Help on gifts for Mum and Dad??!!

[Rita]

Hi Mums and Dads (and those to be!)

I am going to be a first-time aunty in approximately 45 days and am asking you for inspiration for gifts to pamper Mum and Dad and make their life easier when my new little niece comes along (yayayay!)....


I have bought baby-safe soft toys, natural baby massage oil, moisturisers, natural nappy rash creams and soap-free washes to contribute to a little hamper I am compiling but really would like to get something that WOWs my sister in law and brother... Especially as I have not been very involved in helping them out to date (we all lead busy lifestyles and don't catch up often at the moment).


I was hoping some of you could inspire me... When you're babies were born, what sort of gifts did you just think "WOW! that was a god-send"? Or think "Geez, I wish I had a ...."

I am thinking of getting Mum-to-be an at-home 'pregnancy massage and foot treatment' during the last weeks when she is home from work - just to give her a day to herself (is this a good idea?). I've also decided that maybe cooking a few meals at birth time and taking them over to store in the fridge might help out once bubs is born... Maybe even dropping round and doing the housework on the occaision, so they can just chill out with bubs when she's here...


But in the interim am looking to you guys to see if there was anything that just blew you away! ??? Especially in these final weeks. I've thought of general skin treatments and 'nice' gifts for Mum to pamper herself...

I'm also at a bit of a loss to come up with something for my bro that helps to make him feel a little less left out, rather than just lathering the attention on the girls ;)

Cheers in advance :D

Rita

[jakobsmum]

Well the best gifts I got were a nappy bag filled with everything and my sister bringing in all the food I couldn't have whilst pregnant. Smoked salmon, cream cheese, sushi. I was hanging for it all and it was great for a snack. I had a massage in the hospital and it was great. So great idea. What about a mould for the baby's hands/feet?, nappies, film for camera, photo vouchers? We spent soooo much money on developing photos :o We borrowed a friend baby carrier and Chris used this to carry Jakob around. He loved all the attention he got. Good luck with your ideas. Congratulations on becoming an aunty :D

[Shelangelang]

Definately pedicure for mum to be is a great idea. I highly recommend Keri oil and cream and bepanthen for the care package, god send for me, receiving blankets and also face washers for bathing (can't get enough). A photo album so dad has somewhere to put all the photos he will no doubt take... hope this helps. :) :)

Also photo paper for printing digital photos at home if appropriate.

[rebecca]

Hi there,

I am only 14 weeks pregnant, honestly I will be happy with whatever I am given. The hamper to me sounds like a great idea. Maybe u could also put in a gift voucher from yourself...."One Free Night babysitting" when mum and dad are ready to go out for dinner for some time together.
Also if your sister in law is using cloth nappies, a nappy service for 3 months would be of great help to her and your brother.
Hope this helped!
Congratulations Aunty.......

[xkwzit]

Hi Rita

I think that getting Mum a massage *before* baby is an excellent idea. I was given a voucher for a massage at my baby shower, but on the advice of all the mums there decided to have the massage after the baby arrived. But I found I had NO TIME :eek: after the baby (well that's a bit of an exaggeration :p ), but with feeding my baby every 2 - 3 hours it was difficult to get out of the house without her (and taking her along just didn't seem relaxing! ;)

I recently made up a hamper for my cousin and I included some nice bath salts, a book voucher and some chocolate (idea being take some time to soak, read a book and be decadent!, you can do that even if you only have 20 minutes before kiddies wake up!)

[razzle]

I'm a big reader so books were my godsend. The "What to Expect..." books are great, I got the "...in the First Year" just before Eloise was born and it's like a bible to me. They're about $40 but well worth it. There's a lot of first-time-dad ones out there which might make your brother feel included.

I also got a bottle of Bailey's (and numerous bottles of champagne) whilst still in hospital but could only drink little bits at at time because I was breastfeeding.

And yes - all the forbidden foods are a real treat - although stay away from coleslaw, I CRAVED coleslaw after she was born, pigged out at dinner one night and paid the price dearly, straight through me to her via breasfeeding and the smells that eminated from her bottom were just unbelievable! VERY embarassing at visiting hour... :o

Congrats on becoming an Aunty! :p

[mamafelix]

The best thing we got was a baby sling. Great for mum and dad to be close to bubs. I particularly recommened the 'hug a bub' ones- they are mainly for small babies (up to 6 months I'd guess), soft fabric that 'hugs' the baby- supporting their head beautifully, the sling 'sits' like a baby bjorn with straps over both shoulders- v. comfortable- but the baby can be front facing as well as snuggled up on your chest.

Amazing for being able to do things during those early days when you need to hold your baby so much, and for dads to bond, especially if he's a bit unsure on how to hold the bubs. Great for family walks as well.

[Gemma]

Hi Rita,

I agree with mamafelix, a sling was my best investment. I used baby bjorn, really handy when bub just wants to snuggle ot won't settle and needless to say...out shopping it was fantastic.

The massage sounds great..Can I have one? :D

The babysitting voucher would be great as well...maybe you could add a gift voucher for their favourite restaurant.

I recieved a fantastic hamper...nappies, wipes, bum cream, bibs, dummy, washers, blanket, muslin wrap (v handy in summer), little outfits, bath wash, after bath cream (I personally like J&J milk bath and cream), nappy sacks (for dirty disposable nappies so they don't stink out your bin).

Don't get bottles...I didn't use any of the ones given to me as grace hated the teaths so I had to buy others.

Hope we have all helped.

[jakobsmum]

Gemma just reminded me. We were given some wraps that were bigger than what we had. Were a godsend as Jakob got tall/long very quickly :p Plus we have just bought a sling and wished we had had one to help settle him when he was younger. We have it now, and for next time though :rolleyes:

[Rita]

You guys have been a wonderful help!

Thanks for the feedback and the confirmations that I'm on the track! :D

(and for those of you who sent me off on a few new interesting tangents!)


...now I just have to decide which ideas I want to leave out!! (wish I could afford to get them the works!!!) ;)

[H&B'sMum]

HI Rita,
One of the best pressie we got when Harry was born was an adults hamper. In it had wine, chocolate, pate, crakers, bikkies and other food stuff. It was a bit like a David Jones christmas hamper. It was home deliveried and a complete surprise. After getting pressies non stop for five weeks for Harry after he was born it was a wonderful surprise to receive something that was just for us. Hope this is helps.

[Rita]

Thanks Karena :D

I'm thinking a hamper for Mum and Dad is definitely the go! Home delivery is an even better idea!

It's so easy to forget about them in such a time and I really want to make them feel special... THere's really plenty of time to spoil bubs in years to come!!!

Again thanks for the help everyone :D :D

[Kat]

Hi Rita,

Wow you've done so much! Especially in the way of trying to spoil your sister in the last few weeks - being in the last few weeks myself I can really appreciate how nice that is going to be for her!

You mentioned a gift that wouldn't leave hubbie out - why not shout them a lunch or dinner at a local cafe or something - encourage them to take a night out together? Or if you throw them a bridal shower, a night away at a luxury apartment / cabin as a combined present? Just a couple of 'couple' thoughts - it has gotten really hard for my husband and I to find time to just BE together and we are sure going to miss it really soon I think! :( So depending on how your family to be are coming along - perhaps some of that 'couple' time would be appreciated. Speaking of which, just make sure you check out how 'pregnancy friendly' the menu is if you pay for a meal for them!!! I went out for lunch today and ended up with Mayonaisse on a Hamburger!!!! (I thought all hamburgers had tomato sauce!!!) It was such a disappointment

And for your other ideas, I particularly liked your idea of meals for the fridge - I'd go a step further and make up meals for the freezer - so when the hulabaloo is all over in 3 weeks after the birth, people have stopped visiting, and the parents are still strung out and exhausted they can defrost one of your meals made with love! I think that has got to be one of the best gift ideas!

And I agree, if they are using cloth a nappy service is a fantastic gift idea - just for a set time period to give them a chance to adjust.

And last but not least - this comes from my own 'wish list', again it depends on whether you are throwing a baby shower - but if you talk it over with your sister and find that they have lots of small items, but need to spend a fortune to buy a cot or some other nursery furniture, then another idea for a shower is to pitch in the cash to go out shopping and buy some / one of the expensive items - it might be exactly what they need (we have this problem) - our baby has so MANY clothes and rugs and stuff and we still have to buy a whole nursery full of stuff!

Oops..thought of something else. I'm sure you've already done this - but its always a good idea to ASK what it is that they most want as gifts? Everyone has their own ideas about what is a good gift and what is something they would rather look after for themselves.

It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job Rita

I hope you get a lot of pleasure from becoming an Aunt!

Kat

[5cherubs]

I think that if you maybe do up a basket of things that will save them time it would be appriciated, sometimes the simple things are often overlooked, Nappies, wipes, powder etc... things that they may run out of, then nice moisturisers, bath products, magazines etc... for mum.

[Rita]

Thanks again guys!

Well we've done the first round basket of wipes, nappy creams, massage oils, moisturisers, (and a massage and foot pampering - at home- for Mum to be!) etc, etc... Went down very well!

About thirteen hours ago, Mum (I can say that now!) went into labour!

Thanks again for your input - I have now a plethora of ideas!

Am thinking a nice hamper full of food, wine, etc for now. And for when they get home, definitely going to go with the 'meals for the fridge/freezer' idea (problem is, my brother is a fantastic chef, so have a lot to live up to! ;) Giving them a voucher to spend some time alone (and maybe babysitting vouchers too) is a goreous idea!


Thanks again! Really appreciate everyone's input! I'm off soon(ish) to go shooping and then meet my new niece!

[jakobsmum]

Glad the ideas helped. Congratulations on becoming an aunty. Keep us updated ;)