baby redesigned: unique shower gift ideas

As I have mentioned before, when I was pregnant with my son [pictured, above], not too many of my close personal friends had children already or were planning to anytime in the very near future.  Not to say there is anything wrong with that, just that many of them were in a different place in life than my husband and I were as we were preparing for our first baby.  As a result, the most common baby shower gifts we ended up with were clothes and blankets.  And since I had already received a generous amount of hand-me-downs from one friend [who did have a baby] and we lived in warm and sunny Southern California [where we needed very few blankets], there were a lot of things returned when we found we had duplicates of said items, but were lacking in some other essentials.

Then after my son arrived, I felt like I found so many little things here and there that I had no idea I needed but was constantly running out to get.  So, I decided when I had friends’ baby showers to attend, the best gift I could give them was my little slice of new mommy wisdom in the form of these small, practical items I wished I had known about from the beginning!  As always, many of the items in this feature are newer products I have discovered even since my first son was born.  I suggest picking a few smaller items to bundle together in a cute gift basket, or go in with some friends/family members for the coveted Mamaroo.  Either way, these finds are sure to be useful to you mama-to-be BFF.  And she will thank you for your savvy gift later when she is in the throws of new momdom.

Spoiler alert to my pregnant mama friends: you will likely be getting some combination of these unique items as a gift from me at your baby shower.

1.// the ollie swaddle // I have mentioned one of my favorite beautiful muslin swaddle blankets in this previous post, which I love not only for swaddling, but for a variety of other uses.  However, having an easy Velcro swaddle like the Ollie [with no Velcro on the bottom for quite diaper changes!] is essential for overly exhausted parents of ever-wiggly babies [which is all of them].  You might want to pick up a few of these, actually.

2.// nursing pads by bamboobies // these are very environmentally friendly as they are washable and reusable and made from eco-friendly super soft bamboo.  However in the very first few weeks, you may opt for these slightly more convenient disposable ones.

3.// ryan & rose cutie clips // If baby takes a pacifier, having a clip to keep it close by and prevent it from falling into icky stuff is an absolute must.  And I mean, it might as well be cute!  We had one babe who loved the paci and the other, try as we might, just never really did take to it.  And while we’re on the subject, I also love these Naturesutten natural eco-friendly rubber pacis that are made from a single piece of rubber [which avoids build up of germs and mold in cracks of multi-part pacies].  They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, so you are sure to find one that works for your paci-loving babe.

4.// 4moms mamaroo bouncer // This definitely did not exist when my first was born.  We had a swing, a vibrating chair, and various baby wearing devices [see more on that here].  But I have had so many friends recommend this one thing, that supposedly can replace most of those others, that I am seriously considering buying us one this time.  Or if anyone needs a gift idea for us [hint, hint].

5.// memory book by lucy darling  // ok so this is not really essential for a brand new mama, but it’s nice to have it from the beginning so she can start filling it out as things happen, rather than trying to remember to do it later!  I also love their onsie of the month stickers, which are a great way for mom to document each month of baby’s life for that darling album.  Pair these with some basic white onsies in various sizes for the first year and you have yourself an awesome memory making gift.

6.// motherlove organic nipple cream // I have mentioned it before, but it’s worth mentioning again.  Lanolin may be as old as time, but it is NOT a food grade product.  Which means you will need to wash off your nipple each time before you begin feeding baby – no fun when your nips are already super sore (the purpose of having this stuff in the first place!).  This is my personal favorite, but look for any organic, food-grade brand to be extra safe.

This was my baby sprinkle for #2.  I apologize for both the pictures’ quality [cringe].  At each of these times, I did not have a good camera and the only pictures I could find, for some reason, from each of these events were pulled down from online share websites.  This is an argument for always having a professional photographer at your events. 😉