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!
Cranberry Orange Nut Bread
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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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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…
Anti-gas medicine. We used to call that stuff liquid gold.
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. 🙂
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!
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 🙂
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! 🙂
* 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.
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.
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.
Receiving blankets would also be a nice addition to the basket.
Chocolate and Coca Cola! I’m not kidding either. It’s what got me through!
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.
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.