I’m a busy mom of two, and most of my friends have at least one child. I’ve recently been invited to a number of second baby showers. I don’t have a lot of time to shop, so I’ve started getting gifts at the grocery store when I’m doing my own shopping. It is fun to put together a mix of things, and I like buying things that I know the family can enjoy, or use in a pinch, and that I know won’t have to be returned. Since I’m buying mostly consumables, I try to get the nicest version of the product that is available at my store. And even though I’ve been doing this for second time parents, I think this works well for first timers too! Here are some favorites:
1. Diapers – Diapers are always appreciated, and these are fancy pants!
2. Stickers & Coloring Book – If the family is welcoming a second child, I try to throw in something small and entertaining for the older child. My grocery store usually has a few activity books, stickers, crayons and simple craft products. A new activity book like this is such a lifesaver when you’re stuck inside with a nursing baby and totally tired of putting the toddler in front of the TV.
3. Gift Card – Bringing food to a new family is great. But sometimes– and especially with two!– you just gotta get out. of. the. house. NOW. I know that when our youngest was a newborn we didn’t have a lot of extra money for splurges for dinners out or lattes. A place that is casual, serves all meals, and offers takeout or coffee is perfect. Starbucks is always a good choice too, since they typically have drive-through. Surely I am not the only one who would take my toddler and infant to Starbucks for a drive-through date when things got really tense at home!
5. Champagne – Ok, Cliquot is a bit over the top, so this one is for good friends. But any nice bottle of wine, champagne, or craft beer pack is a good choice. I especially think this is a good choice for second parents, because with the second one you don’t get to enjoy as many celebratory moments. And a super nice bottle of champagne is the sort of thing that parents don’t usually do for themselves. I really relished that one glass of wine I could have between the 9 PM and midnight feeding! It would have been nice to pop open a bottle of champagne on a day when I felt totally overwhelmed.
6. Baby bath products – Baby bath products are always a solid choice for a gift, and this is the nicest version available at my grocery store! We usually go with the more modestly priced brands. This would be a welcome upgrade!
7. Coffee – For the parents who prefer a cuppa to a clinking champagne glass. Imagine your friends scrambling for coffee on a rough morning and pulling out this lifesaver!
kiwi / 549 posts
I know this makes me a stinker, (sorry) but just a note on diapers– it’s good to ask what the family’s diapering plans are before giving disposables. We used cloth diapers, and despite this being fairly well known prior to our shower… we were still given loads of disposables that we ended up donating. We hated just turning around and donating what we’d been gifted, but we knew we wouldn’t use them.
guest
Oh my goodness in response to the diapers though, even though my daughter was 8lb 7oz and never fit in newborn clothes, we went with Best Bottoms which didn’t fit until she was about 8 weeks. I was very much in the camp of poo-pooing (pun intended) the disposables we received until we ended up having to buy more! You can obviously get newborn cloth diapers but for many people it’s just not economical and I SO appreciated when I didn’t have to go straight to the store from the hospital to buy diapers. People even had the forethought to buy us Honest Company diapers knowing we were ultimately going with cloth so it’s great to see the Seventh Generation ones on your list.