My goat baby
5So my best friend since high school is having her first child and due the beginning of March. She’s having a girl. I want to get her something or some stuff that’s personal and stuff she’ll really use. I can’t have children so i don’t know beside the basic stuff. I’m having a baby blanket made for her and bought her a handmade stuffed animal. But what are some things that new parents really need but don’t realize they need? She hasn’t decided on a name or theme for the nursery yet so it’s making things a little bit harder to customize.
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A beautiful photo album and/or baby book?
)
(I was actually expecting to hear that you had a baby goat!
I have heard the suggestion that many parents end up with too much stuff for the first six months and very little for the next few years.
Something to consider if you want it to be remembered.
Also, if you give something that is not baby specific, it might also be valued longer. Like the album idea above, or a rug for the nursery, etc.
Or buy her a baby goat - she can tell everyone she had twins.
@bdb I would second stuff beyond size 6-9m. If she lives in a cold climate these are really nice for the car seat:
https://www.fatherly.com/gear/best-baby-car-seat-covers-winter-cold-weather/
I bought the JJ Cole ones back when they were the best choice (few choices then). Now there are more good choices for these baby sacks. While my kid just left it in the car seat, some are designed so you can reasonably easy to remove the car seat belts from the bag the baby still in the bag.
@bdb
She does live on 6 acres so plenty of room for a goat.
@bdb @Kidsandliz
I totally forgot about those. All my boyfriends friends had babies years ago and I bought one for one of his friends even though it wasn’t on the registry and she said it ended up being the best gift and she used it all the time. Thanks.
@Star2236 Yeah they are pretty handy.
@bdb The “bundleme” is really handy as you can undo the seatbelt from the kid, thread it out of the slits, and remove a sleeping (or not) baby while still then in the bag (you have to unzip the sides to undo the seatbelt as it goes directly against the kid under the blanket thing, not over it. I’ve dealt with these before.
Do NOT buy the hat. They run really small. Buy the bigger size unless you are buying for now as it is better to have too much room than too little. It is always easy to fasten them in it (eg seatbelt), put a small baby sized throw (or cut a piece of fleece to fit) inside on top of the baby to take up extra space and zip it up than stuff a kid in one that is too short. Kid will need a hat if you buy one of these though as there is no hood. But it is safer if there is no hood incase they end up with their face against the inside of a hood.
The advantage of these over the covers is that you can keep the kid wrapped when you take them out of the car seat and don’t have to then wrap them up, put a jacket on them, etc. and if they are sleeping the first rule is never wake a sleeping baby.
Our neighbor gave us a very simple baby blanket made from soft, quality flannel with the tightest hand-stitching (overcast?) I’ve ever seen protecting the edges from unraveling. Twenty years later (!) that blanket is still being used, tho now cut down into handkerchieves
For my sister it was little things like burp cloths, this thing that attaches the binkie to the kids clothes, onesies, just every days stuff.
Seemed like everyone wanted to buy ruffles and bows (fancy clothes, headbands, etc)
@tinamarie1974
I did by some handmade burp clothes bc they were extra big and extremely cute, the clips are a good idea too.
Just as a thing new moms might not know they need a baby swing.
But every other mom probably learned that and someone probably got her one.
Just saying something practical that might make her life slightly better. Babies aren’t easy
I generally go with a very high quality stuffed animal cause I took the one I got attached too everywhere… And not gonna Iie liked my blankie but you already have those covered. But that’s for the kid not the mom
@unksol
I’m going to hang out with her next week, I’ll have to ask her about her registry. I have a sister that’s 11 years younger than me and do remember that my mom used the swing constantly when she was trying to get stuff done.
@Star2236 @unksol Two stuffed animals you rotate so if they become super attached you have one to serve if one gets lost.
Point made above about not buying clothes too small. Many babies these days never wear newborn size.
If this wasn’t the covid years, i’d say see what happens at the baby showers so you don’t duplicate. i know one thing we enjoyed was someone (this was 41 years ago) bought us one of those ‘of the month’ club. they were ‘educational but fun type’ baby toys and she got one a month for 12 months where each one was for a slightly more mature baby. it was fun. i’m sure there is something still out there like that.
another thing that might be simple if you live close are gift cards for ‘free baby sitting’ to give the mom/parents a night out.
one thing you might think about too are books. while everything is ‘ebooks’ these days, there is something to be said about real ones still, especially in these early years. you have a few months, shop for some story books that can be read to the little one and some picture books the little one might want a bit later in life. if you are a part of their life, this is a tradition you could start and something you could even do each year on their birthday, and allow them to pick once they are 3 or 4 or more.
good luck!
@Cerridwyn
I’m a big believer in books. I already got a few and I’m gonna go to an actually book store to pick out the rest. Get some of my favorites and others that I can find to. And I always think that toys should have some sort of educational value to them. Some toys are just toys but for early development I think it’s very important. Can you tell I always wanted kids lol.
@Cerridwyn @Star2236 Check with the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. They provide a free book every month until the fifth birthday. It is not available everywhere yet but worth a look. https://imaginationlibrary.com
/image Imagination Library
@Cerridwyn @speediedelivery
I just looked that up and unfortunately it’s not available where we live but so cool.
So many great ideas, thank you for all of them.
Most ideas I have are mentioned above. Concur on the larger clothing sizes. They grow fast and you can wear a bit big or layer in colder places.
We used a snuggle nest type thing far more than I ever would have expected.
Muslin cloth blankets - they’re breathable, so you can use them to cover a stroller without overheating the kid.
Swaddle sleep sacs.
I know it doesn’t sound personal - but gift cards to a place like Target can be a lifesaver when you’re low on cash and need stuff. (formula, wipes, diapers, etc.)
Depending on how well you know the person, you can find out if they’re planning to formula feed or not, or if they’re going the cloth diaper route. Those would open up even more ideas/options.
The other stuff has been said - burp cloths, blankets, larger size clothes, the clippy holder things.
(None of my links are affiliate links or even recommendations, they’re more to show you what type of product I’m talking about.)
@Thumperchick lol necroposter
@Thumperchick @unksol
Still good useful advice!
@Kyeh @Thumperchick not disagreeing. Just got in my feed out of left field cause original comments. So my curiosity is piqued. But I’ll hush
@Thumperchick @unksol The thread originally got resurrected by a spammer, earlier today.
@Kyeh @unksol ah yeah, I didn’t look at the date…
@Kyeh @Thumperchick lol just poking fun/curious what happened. That must be one desperate spammer. And why the odd clarification when we know.
Maybe some other goat momma will get some helpful hints.
Boudreaux’s used to have a gift set of their products including a coin to flip to see who has diaper duty.
/image Boudreaux’s buttpaste
@ironcheftoni that stuff is magic