you'd think I would know this after 15 years of knowing people who have babies but I find myself at a loss
she's quite serious and demure so probably not a £20 at wetherspoons while he looks after the kid
(ps they did try to make her wear a mask during the c-section...)
0
0
My wife has always been a fan of babyblooms.co.uk sock bouquets.
I mean its a bit of a WTF for me (though I suppose its kind of a combination of pretty, practical and low maintenance) but she got one and liked it so much it is her go to gift for others.
0
0
this sounds promising, thank you!
0
0
Heading over with a homemade lasagne and curry that can be bunged in the freezer is the best gift when you're stuck under a baby.
0
0
no can do, she lives miles away
her mother-in-law has moved in
maybe some valium
0
0
Wine.
0
0
sounds naff but we were exceptionally touched by all our gifts
0
0
Forget practical, buy them Champagne!!
0
0
she doesn't really drink
I know I know
0
0
A beej.
0
0
Get one of those prison stripes baby gros that says on the front”
”I’ve just done 9 months inside”.
0
0
The absolute key - and OMFG I cannot emphasise this enough - is not to give something which is actually just another task for them to do. So NO FLOWERS. Also personally i found the sock bouquets fooking annoying and if i ever have to pick a fooking sock off a bit of bent wire again i will go mental.
Hayley's idea is spot on. Or offer to go round and do their washing up.
0
0
Don't get babygrows, terrible suggestion. they just shite in them. advise them just to buy 1000 plain ones from primark and bin them instead of trying wash them.
How about this:
https://www.my1styears.com/large-grey-star-storage-bag.html
you can't have too many things to dump stuff in to tidy it away.
0
0
The most useful thing we found was one of those tommee tippee nappy bins. That and next size baby grows/vests.
0
0
muslins
babygros
vests
can never have enough of any, or if they are bottle feeding a shit ton of milk powder for 6-12 months
0
0
Get her a Spa day so she can go off (once she feels happy doing so) and take some time away to herself.
0
0
Meals from Cook? Bought some recently for a friend and they loved it.
0
0
No no no no no no
0
0
Ostheimer wooden animals. Just so beautiful and a nice keep sake
0
0
yeh but what you don't want is a single £30 polarn o pyret one that people give as gifts
0
0
terrible idea, especially if she is breastfeeding
0
0
Muslins is a good one. If you’re a good cook - a supply of frozen pasta sauces or curries for Mum and Dad would be ace.
0
0
Notwellers, you do know that women can pump? For the sake of a few hours, it isnt the end of the world
0
0
She will have sorted the practical stuff.
0
0
Lol at wellers / Martian as the authority.
We received an amazing piece of art for a push present.
getting anything like Muslins (we never really needed them) socks (useless in summer) tiny clothes etc - it burns through really quickly and is pretty wasteful
0
0
Yes i do. I also have a wife with two kids. the last fvcking thing she would have wanted after having baby was to go to some w**ky spa where she spends a few hours wondering if her baby is ok.
0
0
err what? why the fvck are you any more of an authority than i am you complete fvcking bitch?
0
0
Agree with OB and if they are still in the first 4 to 6 weeks there is literally nothing for them to do. The little things just sleep all the time.
That's why booze is a good idea. Or maybe something for them to do while they wait for it to wake up, like a meal kit or if she is as dull as you say a jigsaw puzzle.
0
0
each person is different tbf. Mrs Wellers clearly has issues anyways if she is with you
0
0
Cuddly toys, bath toys, clothes, sleeping bags and books and were all good gifts.
0
0
Reported.
0
0
snoozeshade, matchstick monkey (NOT sophie le giraffe, it's useless), sensory box (Etsy have good ones) for baby. onesies/vests etc aren't great as i think she'll have about 3mn of them already. If you get clothes for when it's older, remember to think ahead to the season that it will be when the baby is that age.
For your friend, something from https://www.notanotherbunchofflowers.com/ could work
0
0
Wow a gentle ribbing at you for acting as authority on what mothers want (what mothers do is an amazing book for a new mother to read and I would recommend it wholeheartedly)
and I’m a complete fvcking bitch
by the way, I’m not a bitch, complete or fvcking either. What horrid and unnecessary insults.
0
0
Champagne.
Or if for the baby you could get a set of safe sleeping cuddlies like these (my kids liked the ones with longer ears) https://shop.saveoursleep.com.au/category/1175/
0
0
I loved my baby cakes present as it was pretty to look at and have with all the other mhite and really practical as it had everything in it, nappies, bottle, teether, scissors, muslins, socks etc etc which could also include something for the mum, fab pate, a lovely drink of her choice, some skincare product that makes you look awake after 2 mins sleep. All that is quite expensive though so depends how much you'd want to spend. You could make your own.
0
0
get her one of those yellow milking machines, preferably second hand
0
0
sleeping bag, baby towel
https://emandlu.co.uk/baby.html
0
0
anything from the white company
0
0
Dear God JB. Wind your neck in.
Cook do deliveries of frozen food depending where she lives, it’s tasty and feels home made so good option if she has space.
m&s will let you return anything, receipt or not, so that’s a good choice if you think she’ll have loads of things and then she can take it back and get something she wants later.
Babygrows etc seems good but there are only so many you can use.
A small light blanket is a good choice, sort of size you can put on them when they are sleeping on you.
0
0
Geoff, are you talking about those giant medela machines?
0
0
Didn’t even finish reading the thread as had to rush to the end to say DO NOT get one of those babybloom things, they are weird and horrid. Why do I want 30 baby grows all wrapped up like flowers? Ugh.
things I liked
- cheese box / cheese vouchers
- nice shower gel (REN do a nice energising one)
- baby blankets (depending on season)
- jellycat toys - useless for first few months but they are always lovely
- kids books - ditto
- if it is a first child, one of those electric cordless drills for opening all the fvcking battery compartments of kids toys and screwing and unscrewing endless Allen key kids furniture. (This is my no 1 baby shower present and is always appreciated)
0
0
Peloton.
0
0
Yeah, the sock bouquets are ace.
Otherwise: The gift of life, obvs.
0
0
ewan the sheep
0
0
Say you would love to come and see mother and child, but agreecthe day, say you will bring lunch (ready meals, paper plates, all into a black bin bag), say you will do one chore while you are there (cleaning, ironing), and that you will take baby out for a walk so mum can have a nap.
You will be worshipped and adored.
0
0
Heh at ml 1428 and HEH at justsome 1538
jb in a bad mood. I’m sure she’s a better mum than you are a dad
0
0
Sinj gets it with his 16.01
BTW do you fly helicopters in real life?
0
0
You can get Taylor Swift vibrators on Etsy now.
I was quite disturbed when I found that out.
Just saying.
0
0
Reported for racial discrimination
0
0
Wellers - you may have read the title, but clergs references ‘she’ in the opening post which I understood to be : mother
I’m not calling you a bad parent. Calling me a ‘Fvcking bitch’ and a ‘complete Fvcking khvnt’ is completely unnecessary and I’ve reported your posts as offensive.
0
0
my favourite thing was a tiny (age 2yrs) hooded bathrobe with spawn's name embroidered across the back from the walton st linen co. THe same person sent the same with nu-spawn's name for the second as well. God they were sweet.
A tiny pair of pink suede pumas.
the jellycats are all still in action more than a decade on.
gifts specific to spawn's name - paintings for the wall of their room / a set of books led by a character of the same name
we got astonishingly generous presents from all sorts of people and I remember most of it / who gave it.
0
0
You literally did. You’re weasel words don’t change what you said. Apologise immediately
0
0
I got a baby suit bouquet and a balloon
I will give her something more personal in person
thank you for this it's guid
0
0
I suspect you’re not the best parent tbh
0
0
Balloons pop and terrify babies
baby suits get grown out of or shat on instantly
you might as well have just sent her a note saying you don’t value her as a friend
0
0
Did none of your babies wear nappies?
0
0
^ nonce question ^
0
0
It's a foil balloon so it will probably just shrivel
I hope the baby doesn't take it as an offence
0
0
Major mantrum from JB here
most amusing, provided OB isn’t too bothered, which I’m sure she isn’t
0
0
Heh at mantrum
0
0
reported for misogyny and because you’re gannicus
0
0
I tend to buy something small for the baby because like he gives a fvck. And then a voucher for something nice for Mum to use when she's coming out the other side... like for a clothes shop she likes or spa treatments or whatevs.
0
0
Cook them some one pot meals (that they have scratch cooked) that you can freeze and cook from frozen and bring round in cookware and say can i have the cookware back in a few months. That's what a friend did for us and of course we have them the cookware back the next day after using it - and they were a good cook -
0
0
O yes bathrobes and bath towels are also ace!
0
0
Pre-cooked meals would have gone in the bin in this house. We ate out every day while the bub slept until pat leave ended. And then just ate normal food at home as normal
0
0
Alcohol and no advice.
0
0
Euan the Dream Sheep would be a good one
0
0
St John Hawke’s suggestions are v v good.
0
0
Euan the sheep a good call if they don’t have one. Although mine just tries eating his when he gets a chance
0
0
Another option is to buy them a doula.
0
0
I loved cook meals but my husband got home late from work, so I needed to feed myself one handed for a long time. In lockdown she might have someone at home to get things for her so it might not be such an issue.
0
0
Our best gift was a little medicine chest stocked with calpol (actually dymadon but I'm translating for you), gripe water (doesn't work but makes mum feel like she's doing something), 5ml syringes, baby vix (for when they get their first cold and you think it will stop them from dying even though you're not supposed to use it until 3 months), infant ibuprofen (another 3 month one), cotton wool pads (Gammy eyes, also add saline capsules in case they don't have breastmilk for squirting into the eyes) and some plasters (really not necessary for a baby but a first aid kit seems incomplete without them).
My employer got us a massive bunch of flowers for our first one. That was fooking pointless. For the next person to give birth I suggested something practical band by the time out number 2 came round they sent us a little hamper with some nice biscuits and a few baby items.
The other thing that is good and not a common gift is a bulk set of white towel nappies that can be used for sick and shit catching, impromptu blankets, actual towels, be rolled up to keep bubs on its side as a last resort for sleeping (not recommended but sometimes works).
Alternatively get something just for your friend and bring the baby a gift when you actually see it, like a woolen cardigan or something (they're good because they seem to grow with the baby).
0
0
Periclean wins for getting the reference,, and yes I do, but FTAOD I was never MIA in Vietnam
0
0
Uncanonical. Suspect you may be an impostor.
Answer me this: why did stringfellow keep airwolf if not to compel The Firm to undertake search and rescue for you in 'nam?
0
0
Plausible deniability. The Firm needed a freelancer.
0
0
My friends gave me a 'cleaning voucher' and paid for their cleaner to come round for five hours. I used the voucher when no 1 was a few months old. Deep cleaned bathroom and kitchen was the best gift ever..
0
0
My uncle and aunt got me a premium bond. I am 60 later this year. It has yet to win a prize once in all that time... but I live in hope.
0
0
Fet her a 5k labiaplasty voucher and her other half a year's Tinder subscription for if she doesn't use it.
0
0
For all the people suggesting house work, my own home is currently carpeted with a soft layer of my own clothes and hidden perilous sharp objects
My kitchen surface is a mountain range of discarded spice jars, Nespresso cardboard tubes and washed but not put away dishes
Tidying would not be on the cards even if she lived nearby
0
0
Also why would a labiaplasty be necessary? Shiver maybe don't say.
0
0
heh @ Tromb but surely if she had a c section it shouldn't be necessary.
0
0
Diapers will be appreciated. But keep in mind, some babies are big and grow out of newborn sizes fast. And boxes take up space, so keep that in mind.
Here are some non-baby ideas: Food delivery gift cards, Snack food, Solo ice coffee for those sleepless nights Candy Alcohol free, hand sanitizer for their diaper station
Join the discussion