• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
A Quiet Simple Life with Sallie Borrink

A Quiet Simple Life with Sallie Borrink

Simple Living, Homeschooling, Faith, Homemaking, & Books

  • Start Here
  • Blog
  • Categories
    • Easy-To-Use Category Page
    • Books
      • Book Lists
      • A Month of Cozy Children’s Books
      • Picture Books for Children
      • Chapter Books for Children
    • Christian Devotionals
      • Morning Hope
      • Eventide Blessing
      • Streams in the Desert
    • Christian Faith
      • Prayer
      • Marriage
    • Current Events
      • Sallie’s Stack of Stuff
      • Grand Solar Minimum
    • Faithful Living In Difficult Times
    • Favorite Comfort Food Recipes
    • Free Printables
      • Free Homemaking Printables
      • Free Learning Printables & Worksheets
    • Gardening and Foraging
      • Foraging & Mushrooms
      • Intensive Regenerative Gardening
        • Building Soil
        • Food Storage
    • Gifted & 2e
      • Raising Gifted Children in the Christian Faith
      • Gifted/2e Parenting
      • Gifted/2e Homeschooling
    • Gracious Christian Parenting
    • Health
    • Holidays & Traditions
    • Home Business
    • Homemaking
    • Homeschooling
      • Relaxed Homeschooling
      • Homeschooling a Creative Child
      • Our Homeschool Curriculum Choices
      • Homeschool Mom Life
      • Homeschool Planning
      • Homeschool Relationships
      • Homeschool Curriculum Reviews
      • Right Brained Learners
      • Homeschooling High School
      • Homeschooling Middle School
      • Homeschooling Preschoolers
      • Homeschool Rooms
    • Introverts
    • Learning With Themes
    • Money
    • Our Simple Family Life
      • Only Child
      • Pregnancy & Baby
    • The Prudent & Prepared Homemaker
    • Restoring America
      • The Fourth Turning & The First Turning
    • Simple Living
    • Simple Living This Week
  • Tags
  • The Shop
    • A Full Year Shopping Pass
    • Explore The Shop By Category
    • Digital Products Terms of Use
    • Your Account Details
      • View Your Orders
      • Go To Your Downloads
    • Lost Password Help
  • Subscribe
  • Newsfeed
  • Social Media
  • Forum
  • Donate
  • My Recommendations

Ideas For A New Parent Survival Basket

You are here: Home / Our Simple Family Life / Pregnancy & Baby / Ideas For A New Parent Survival Basket

Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure statement.

August 12, 2007 by Sallie Borrink
19 Comments

My friend, Amy B., is putting together a New Parent Survival Basket for her brother-in-law and his wife. They are expecting their first child in a few weeks. Amy wondered if I had any ideas and I immediately emailed her back:

Sleep-in-a-Bottle




Okay, so beyond sleep and food, what does a new parent need? If you received a basket like this, what would you want in it?

Leave a comment below and let’s see what great ideas we can generate!

    
Category: Pregnancy & Baby

Recommended For You

Birth Plans, Post-Partum Depression, and Getting Real About Being a Successful Mother

The Dilemma Of A Childless Mother On Mother’s Day

Miscarriage And Grieving With The Gentle Shepherd

Everything Changes…

 

Spreading Traditional Goodness, Beauty, Truth, and Hope

Please click here to donate. Thank you! ♥

Previous Post: « Cranberry Orange Nut Bread
Next Post: Crazy Busy or the Quiet of Home? »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mrs. Brigham

    August 12, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    Good quality hand cream was very useful for me. All of the extra hand washing left my poor hands in bad shape. Those little eye masks are nice for daytime naps as they block any light that manages to sneak in a room. Night lights were something I did not think of, but really helped out. Using this bit of light to take care of baby during the night helped me get back to sleep much easier than if I had tuned on the “big” light. Low-wattage light bulbs are nice for this, too. If the mother is going to be nursing, a tube of Lasinoh, package of Mother’s Milk Tea, and a nice water bottle would be very useful.

    Reply
  2. Marianna

    August 12, 2007 at 4:24 pm

    Coupons offering to babysit or do some laundry or make a meal etc. Desitin and A&D. Burp cloths. Hooded towels. Onesies, socks and caps. The night light is a good idea. A CD of soft, soothing music.

    Reply
  3. Chel

    August 12, 2007 at 4:38 pm

    Gift certificates to local restaurants… or frozen casseroles that can easily be reheated. After both of my kids, the LAST thing I wanted to do was cook!

    Reply
  4. Elizabeth

    August 12, 2007 at 4:50 pm

    baby thermometer and baby tylenol; stack of cloth diapers (I never used them for actual diapering but they were great for burping and other things; diaper rash cream, baby nail clippers.

    Reply
  5. Cathy

    August 12, 2007 at 4:53 pm

    I definitely agree with the food suggestions, whether in the form of gift cards to restaurants or casseroles, or else “coupons” to be scheduled and redeemed at the couple’s convenience. One dear friend of mine brought not only an easily-reheatable supper meal, but pumpkin bread for our breakfast. A nursing mom would also appreciate healthy individually packaged snacks such as fruit or homemade goodies. If this is not a first baby, babysitting for the older sibling(s) for a few hours would allow mom and dad to get some sleep or have some time alone with the new baby just oohing and aahing without worrying about jealousy.

    If the mom is nursing, I would specifically recommend something called “Soothies”, found at big chain drugstores such as Walgreens. They were not available when I had my first but were absolutely awesome for soreness with my second and third. A Boppy or other nursing pillow makes nursing so much easier those first few weeks as well.

    Reply
  6. Michelle

    August 12, 2007 at 4:53 pm

    Love the restaurant gift certificate idea except I would make sure the restaurants had a delivery/take out service. My baby is 8 months old and we still do take out instead of eating out when we want a break from cooking. Pair that with a stack of take out menus from a variety of places – Chinese, Italian, Mexican, etc. Just last night we had to hunt down the phone number to our favorite place.

    Reply
  7. Imajackson

    August 12, 2007 at 4:55 pm

    FOOD. Big one there folks. How about an offer to mow the lawn for the new family? It’s hard to keep up with things like that after a new baby. Also, a postcard pre stamped with two babysitting times available during the day! If the mom can sleep when her newborn sleeps without the other kiddos around, life gets better in a hurry. Also, the coupons for take out are a good idea, and I would include paper plates and bowls for the family to use. Dishes are the absolute hardest things ever to get to with a new baby…

    Reply
  8. Jeana

    August 12, 2007 at 6:02 pm

    Anti-gas medicine. We used to call that stuff liquid gold.

    Reply
  9. stephanie

    August 12, 2007 at 6:29 pm

    I always appreciate a gift card to someplace like blockbuster or hollywood video and some microwave popcorn. Ingredients for an instant date night should the kids be asleep and mama has a little energy to hang out with husband. 🙂

    Reply
  10. Amy

    August 12, 2007 at 6:30 pm

    Thanks for the great ideas! This is what we have in our basket so far: two books: a baby’s first year journal and a breast feeding book, take out menus, gift certificates to restaurants, favorite snacks and candy, hand sanitizer, coupons for free babysitting, housecleaning, yard work etc, movie tickets for a night out, video coupons for when a night out just isn’t possible, coupons for baby items, batteries, a mother and father’s devotional and a white noise cd to help baby sleep and a few quick clean micro steam bags.
    I’m looking for a few more items to add…thank you for you’re great input and thank you, Sallie for posting this!

    Reply
  11. Lindsey @ enjoythejourney

    August 12, 2007 at 7:17 pm

    The hospital sent us home with a basket that had a box of spaghetti in it, a jar of nicer brand sauce, and a loaf of homemade french bread. They gave these meal-in-a-baskets out to all new parents. When we went in to have baby #2 and #3 they had discontinued it.

    Not exactly what you were asking for, but maybe she could do dinner in a basket after the baby is born??? I dunno. Just brought back a memory for me 🙂

    Reply
  12. Andrea

    August 12, 2007 at 10:16 pm

    Amy – I think you’ve got quite an extensive basket already for this new mom! She’s so lucky to have a friend like you! Things I’ve gotten from my showers include coupons for a reheatable meal, gift certificates to local restaurants, a few gift certificates to the local supermarket, diapers, wipes (tons of both!), Desitin, some nummy peppermint lotion for me, and tons of baby clothes.

    My only suggestion? Make a mix or two in a bag – all mom or dad have to do is add the perishable ingredients like eggs or milk. I made a few of these for a girlfriend’s shower – things like vegetable soup and pumpkin bread are great choices! 🙂

    Reply
  13. Jess @ Making Home

    August 13, 2007 at 2:12 am

    * Nursing pads (the Lansinoh ones in the purple box are the best!)
    * Burp cloths
    * a couple cute but easy-to-change one-piece outfits for baby (for her to keep in the diaper bag or whatever for spit ups at church, etc.)
    * a couple of coupons for things you’re willing to do for her… (come for 2 hours one afternoon and watch baby so she can rest, come do laundry for her one morning–as in, pick it up, take it back to your house, do it, and bring it back all folded and nice), bring a meal one night when she just absolutely can’t manage it, etc.
    * A phone number with a GENUINE offer for her to call ANYTIME with ANY question (assurances that none are too insignificant or personal might be nice too!)

    That’s what I can think of right now.

    Reply
  14. Amy

    August 13, 2007 at 6:48 am

    Just a note….This basket cost very little to put together because it was a group effort. Each person/couple in our extended family donated one or two items. They could spend as little or as much as they wanted depending on how creative they were. Many of the items were free or homeade. Combining sales and coupons and using points from promotional programs enabled us to aquire a number of “free” items for this basket. Because I’m putting the basket together, my husband and I waited until everyone else donated their items before contributing. Now, we’re in the process of trying to decide what we would like to add to it.

    Reply
  15. Susanna

    August 13, 2007 at 10:45 am

    It may sound dull, but one of my life savers were muslins. Now, they may be what you call burp cloths, in which case they have already been mentioned. I was not without these for ages, especially as my boy was quite sicky.

    Reply
  16. Micki

    August 13, 2007 at 4:08 pm

    Receiving blankets would also be a nice addition to the basket.

    Reply
  17. Lura

    August 13, 2007 at 8:45 pm

    Chocolate and Coca Cola! I’m not kidding either. It’s what got me through!

    Reply
  18. judy

    August 15, 2007 at 8:50 pm

    My daughter just had our second grandchild.

    I think the thing she would want most in a basket is a reminder that she is being prayed for.

    Reply
  19. Becky Miller

    August 29, 2007 at 11:30 am

    Christmas lights! I used a string of white Christmas lights in my bedroom when my daughter was born in October. She slept in a co-sleeper bassinet next to our bed, and leaving the Christmas lights on at night made it dark enough to sleep but light enough to see when nursing her and returning her to bed. A string of Christmas lights would work in a baby’s own room too.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Thank you for your comment. I read and appreciate each one even if I am unable to respond.

Sidebar

Welcome! I’m Sallie, Christian wife, mother, homebody, relaxed homeschooler, autodidact, truth seeker, and digital soldier. Traditional and conservative both theologically and politically. I value freedom to live quiet and simple lives. I don't apologize for being white. Please start here. ♥

Chit Chat

~ Forum thread covering ROE V. WADE ruling by SCOTUS

~ I can't believe I missed the white supremacy/privilege angle. READ THIS: The Assault on Children’s Psyches - California’s ethnic-studies curriculum is fueling a mental-health crisis among teenagers.

~ I'm trying out a daily "Sallie's Stack" thread in the Forum, right at the top.

~ In the process of setting up ads with a new company (Ezoic). I'm aware there are a LOT OF ADS right now. I appreciate your patience while we get it set up. If you turn off your adblocker on my site, I will truly appreciate it. ♥

~ Thank you second quarter donors! ♥ ED, AC, BO (x2), AC (x3), DH (Initials only for privacy)

~ Did you put on the Armor of God this morning? Ephesians 6:10-20

Popular Posts Today

  • Forum (Read-Only)
  • What Was In The Envelopes At President Bush’s Funeral?
  • Home Page
  • Recommended Video: “Take Your Children Out Of School” – Psychiatrist Dr.…
  • Simple Living This Week No. 87
  • The Ginghams Paper Dolls (Free!)
  • Understanding Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Resources
  • The Ultimate List of AIP Comfort Food Recipes
  • Raising Gifted Children In The Christian Faith
  • Why We’re Relaxed Homeschoolers (and Not Unschoolers)
  • Recommended Video – “Ghosts In The Machine” From 4th PSYOP Group (Army)
  • Clear It Out Challenge – Free Printables
  • Stocking Our Homeschool Arts and Craft Cabinet
  • Copywork Printables in Print & Cursive
  • Classical Conversations Negatives And Why We Didn’t Join
  • Let’s Learn About Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks
  • The Ginghams Visit Grandma Paper Dolls (Free!)

Categories

In Your Cart

Popular Today – My Shop

  • A Quiet Simple Life Planner & Guidebook (January 2021 – December 2022)
  • Butterfly Fun Facts Cards
  • Fact or Opinion Activity – Independence Day
  • Thanksgiving Copywork – Print & Cursive
  • Winter Word Search Puzzles
  • Spring Word Search Puzzles
  • Fourth of July Acrostic Worksheet
  • Short and Long Vowel Sounds Activity – Picnic
  • Sentence Scramble Activity – Picnic

Recent Comments

  • Sallie Borrink on Sallie’s Stack of Stuff – June 22, 2022 (They Are Doing This On Purpose)
  • Sallie Borrink on Sallie’s Stack of Stuff – May 18, 2022 (The Great Replacement Theory)
  • Brenda Nuland on Sallie’s Stack of Stuff – June 22, 2022 (They Are Doing This On Purpose)
  • Sallie Borrink on Sallie’s Stack of Stuff – June 22, 2022 (They Are Doing This On Purpose)
  • Sallie Borrink on Sallie’s Stack of Stuff – May 18, 2022 (The Great Replacement Theory)
  • Sallie Borrink on Sallie’s Stack of Stuff – June 20, 2022
  • Sallie Borrink on Sallie’s Stack of Stuff – June 20, 2022
  • Barbara on Sallie’s Stack of Stuff – June 20, 2022
  • Sallie Borrink on Sallie’s Stack of Stuff – May 18, 2022 (The Great Replacement Theory)
  • Delilah on Classical Conversations Negatives And Why We Didn’t Join

New Post Alerts

Get new posts by email

Powered by follow.it

 

Access Everything

Contact Me • Privacy Policy • Disclaimers & Affiliates

Copyright © 2022 · A Quiet Simple Life with Sallie Borrink · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme

Scroll Up