I have a good friend who is getting ready to have her first child. I have to come up with a gift for her shower. My question is, what is the one thing that you could not have done without after having your baby? I don't have kids so any info is appreciated here! :help:

I loved the diaper genie it holds stinky diapers!!

oh my...every baby shower i go to i bring the same gifts. And I tell the mom they are going to use them like crazy. But they just smile and nod. Then the baby comes, and they are praising my name!!

BLANKETS!!!

The thin ones that you drape over your shoulder, lay on the floor, roll up to prob up toys or mirrors or for around the head in the baby carrier, for wiping up spit-up, for wetting and washing off dirty faces...you can never get ahold of enough blankets. You can get them in 3 packs. They are thin and sometimes called swaddling blankets. get 3 3-packs and explain that they will thank you for them after the baby comes.

Amy

Cloth diapers are wonderful for laying on your shoulder burping the baby. I went thru soooooooo many. The wipes warmer is nice too. Those wipes can be sooo cold strait out of the box. Bottle warmer that you can bring in the car and plug in. Crib sheets.... gosh, there's just so much and I'm sure its all appreciated. I know I appreciated everything. A baby's first photo book.

I'm sure anything you get she will love and appreciate.

As most of you know, we have a 21 day old grandson, and the best thing she has at the house is this swing that swings sideways and plays the softest sweetest soothing music. I had to laugh, you older moms will remember the old swings with the windup, crank handles, that as you wound them up they'd click and the baby would nearly jump out of the chair. The other thing is this papoose looking thing that goes right over the car seat and you just sit them in, snap it and zip em up.

I always buy the same thing for all my baby showers... I get a really cute diaper bag and fill it with all the things a new mommy needs when she takes her new baby out!... its always a hit..

I loved my boppy (nursing/feeding pillow). I also had a pile of cloth diapers in every room of the house for burping and cleaning up spit-up. I had the car seat papoose thingy that Pat is talking about too and I LOVED it, especially if you're in a cold part of the country. It's like a blanket that fits around the infant carrier and zips up. It keeps them super warm and you don't have to mess with infant winter coats.

Those cloth play gyms that you can lay the baby on are great too. I have more ideas, but I don't want to overwhelm you, lol! Is she registered anywhere?

she's registered at baby depot & baby's r us. She's not very good at registering though. I had the same problem with her bridal registry. :faint:

A couple of weeks of home delivered meals

A gym membership, time out, it was so wonderful.

Those are probably group presents and you'd need to know the person actually wanted them. Can you find out if she's going to do cloth or disposable diapers? Because there are some AMAZING cloth diapers out there that are absolute works of art. And they all come from the States. You can check out www.mothering.com for ideas. We used Fuzzibunz almost exclusively.

I couldnt get enough beautiful organic baby toiletries too. Burts Bees Buttermilk lotion is to die for. They have a website or Colleen from www.naturalbabies.com is wonderful to deal with and there's lots of beautiful stuff there.

You're so lucky, I had to import all that sort of stuff. You have it all on your doorstep.

You could maker her one of these cute little diaper wreaths like I make for the baby's room or door.

Or a blue one, sorry don't know how to do side by side, LOL.

I always appreciated the bigger clothes and bigger diapers...I always had to exchange the newborn diapers for bigger diapers...babies don't stay in those little ones too long. The diaper bag filled with all kinds of baby goodies is a good one. You can never have enough baby wipes.

That is adorable! & I am very crafty so this is right up my alley! Thanks Pat!

Thanks for everyone's suggestions! I love burt's bees too!! I had forgotten about that! I have till February 11th so I will keep checking back for more ideas! Please keep them coming! I may do a combination of different things. This girl is the reason I have my band! We worked together in the hospital & then she went to work in a same day surgery center & was working with a nurse, who was marrying a nurse from Dallas, who worked in a lapbanding center. He was in touch with my surgeon & got him introduced to the Lap band & the rest was history! I was looking into GB & had only heard of the Lap band. I didn't know it was even being done in Arkansas yet. So anyway, I always do something big for her. She was the means to making my life good again! Thanks again everyone!

How about a nursing basket for the livingroom. The basket should contain: diapers, wipes, baby wash cloths(they are smaller than adult ones) burping cloths, blanket, breast cream, diaper creme, nursing pads, bottles of water/juice/protein bars for mom, and a place for the cordless phone & TV remote(buy toy ones for baby). When mom sits down to nurse everything is within arms reach. Add things that match her personality.

The other hit gift I get parents is a copy of the daily newspaper on the babys day of birth. Wrap it in plastic and bring it to the hospital with a congrats card. It's the one gift they will not throw away.

The single most useful thing I had when Dylan was a baby was my sling. I cannot say enough about it.

As everyone knows, a baby will cry and cry when you put them down in their bassinet/cradle, etc. to leave the room and go do something else. They want to be close to their momma! So what better thing to have than a sling to put them in and keep them close to their momma!

You can find these on Ebay for a very reasonable price, or order them from different places online (but that will cost you more). The maya wrap is one version which costs more. I just had a friend make mine in exchange for some web work I did for her.

If you do decide to purchase a sling for your friend, please make sure that you get one with solid welded steel rings (to ensure sturdiness & that they won't break). Usually ones made of cotton material are the best bet, and ones that are unpadded work the best as well. Both will ensure that baby doesn't get too warm snuggling up with momma.

Any other info you need feel free to PM me anytime. I honestly can say that having the sling was the best thing ever for us.