Beautiful shower cake for EGB!
Emily Grace has been BEYOND blessed with many wonderful gifts. I feel very fortunate to have so many great friends and family that have given us things we need and use on a regular basis. Before I became a mom, I always struggled with what to get new moms as gifts. Not having a baby makes it kind of difficult to know what to get a baby! Walk into any Target or Babies R Us and the choices are overwhelming. In hopes of helping other gift givers, I've compiled a top 10 list of the things that I most appreciated getting:
1) Diapers! It's so practical, I know, but so great to have stacks of diapers in her nursery ready to go. Also, it really helps to have various sizes, so go ahead and buy the next size up.
2) Formula! Yes, again oh-so practical but needed because baby's gotta eat. Also, if you collect formula coupons, new moms appreciate those too!
3) Wipes! The last of the practical gifts. :)
4) Hand/foot impression kit. We received a kit that was surprisingly easy to do! We now have her 4 week old picture and 6 week old hand print proudly displayed on our mantle.
5) Bibs and burp clothes. Feeding time can be a messy time! Having a bunch of these on hand help to keep clothes nice and clean and with so many cute designs, they make awesome little fashion statements. :)
6) Big ticket items. If you can go in with a few people and purchase the "big ticket" items-do it! Our car seat/jogger and bouncy seat were two of the more expensive items but are ones we use every day.
7) Books. I love books and we started reading to Emily when she was just a few weeks old. The classics are great (Dr. Seuss anything, Pat the Bunny, Good Night Moon) and we also love different, unique ones (like Happy Adoption Day).
8) Something personal. We have received several homemade, personal items and I just love them because you can't find them in any store. Whether it's a monogrammed bag, print for the nursery, or hand sewn outfit and blanket, I cherish them all. I love seeing the creativity and the special time and attention put into making them.
9) Picture frames. I have taken so many pictures of Emily but have no where to put them! We have received a few picture frames and photo albums and I've really enjoyed starting to fill them up. I especially love a picture frame with Emily's picture in it that I got around the time I returned to work. It's sitting in my office and helped ease the transition from stay at home mom to working mom.
10) Something for mom and dad! Ok, it's not technically for the baby but a gift card to a restaurant or movie tickets may just be the thing needed to get mom and dad out of the house for a much needed date night.
You may notice clothing did not make my top 10. Not that we didn't getting new clothes (because we did and my goodness, is there anything cuter that baby clothing?!?!) but a lot of what we received were hand-me downs. I have to say some of my favorite outfits had been worn and were so soft and broken in. Plus they were all in great condition because many of them were only worn once. If you are like me and cannot resist buying one cute little outfit, maybe go up a few sizes and find something that has multiple pieces (onesie, pants, top) that can be layered or mixed and matched.
Moms: what made your top ten list? Friend and family shopping for baby: what's your one go-to gift item? Please share your comments below.
Happy shopping!
*M