apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We got a grand total of three "lovies" (stuffed animal head attached to a small soft blanket.) Our daughter never liked any of them and now they just sit there. The best gift we got were a pair of Robeez, sized for when she would actually start needing them (6-12 months)

Baby Ugg boots? Oprah what were you thinking?

Best shower gifts, hands down, were my Maya Wrap (not the best sling in the world, I now know, but I had never even heard of slings before, and my baby LIVED in that thing around the clock for the first few months - enabled me to take him to school with me everyda on the subway, nurse him through class, and generally live my life as a single mom) and 3 months diaper service.

I gave a big box of Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers to friends for their shower and years later they are still talking about it, so I guess that was a winner.

My favorite gift was a quilt my mom made for me by hand - which took her all of 20 years, literally! Granted, we won't be using it until she'd older, but the quilt itself is such a craft of love - and she used fabric from a dress she had a child, one I had as a child, and a new one for my (to be) daughter. Hard to top that, as far as gifts go.

A friend brought us a variety of all natural baby bath products by various companies-California Baby, Burt's Bee's, Nature's Way, etc. She also threw in a comfy pair of pajamas for me to wear while recovering from childbirth.

Zid Zid animal pillows were recently on clearance at Anthropologie for $10 and I bought 6 of them and have been giving them as baby gifts for a couple months now, people are crazy about them.

Our favorite gift was a quilt my friend made. She started working on the quilt the very day I told her I was pregnant.
Runner up was a huge box of Pampers. We didn't appreciate it until we finished the last diaper and my husband had to run out in the middle to buy a pack.
The worst gifts are stuffed animals. Our son never cared for them. They sat on the shelf gathering dust for over a year.

Oh yeah, nursing pajamas were a total score. Who knew? Certainly not me.

I give Bumbos at showers, which I discovered with child #2.

My favorite thing I received and now give as well after a child is born, is a hand delivered meal. Several friends brought over meals to me after I had a child and it was such a warm, wonderful, caring gesture that I promised I would do whenever a friend had a baby. I try to do it about 2 weeks after the birth, when family is gone and the frozen meals are all gone. Sometimes it's just a pot of soup and stuff to make sandwiches, sometimes it's shrimp etouffee and a loaf of french bread. It's only one meal, but it's one the new family won't have to make in those early days when it's so hard to do the simplest things.

And the ugg boots? Yeah, that was dumb.

I totally agree with pelicollina--friends brought us a chicken enchillada dinner that we were to just pop in the oven, and that was a wonderful gift. It was a few weeks after the birth, and we were so tired of takeout. How nice to have a home cooked meal, IN my own home, that I didn't have to cook.

That aside, my brother gave me a laundry basket and filled it (FILLED it!) with books, ages 0-5. That was a great gift, too.

Some of our shower gift favorites:
- Little gowns with the elastic bottom opening and flip over hand mitts. Kept our baby's legs warmer (as they were together- a sort of mittens vs. gloves distinction) Great for beginner parents who may struggle with diaper changing.
- Stretchy cotton blankets for swaddling (ours were the waffle-weave type)
- A good middle weight, mid-sized blanket (larger than a receiving blanket, but smaller than a crib blanket)

From here on out though, I'm hoping to give all my close friends the gift of a frozen food baby shower:

http://babytoolkit.blogspot.com/2007/04/awkward-hostess-challenge-throwing.html

and of course aDiaper Valet:
www.diapervalet.com (they're built from my design).

The best things I got were singlets--in different sizes and colours. We had a shower registry so that helped (although as first time parents we didn't always know what we'd need, either!). Gift vouchers were great because we could use them as the baby got older. The least used presents we got were stuffed toys, blankets--mainly because we received so many that we didn't end up using most of them--clothes that didn't match the season when the baby would actually fit into them, and shoes since ours didn't wear any until he could actually walk.

I would have loved to have received a home-made quilt. Unfortunately, none of my family and friends were quilt makers.

I love the idea of giving food!

I hate Uggs on adults, but I had a pair of ugg-style sherpa booties when I was little, and they were like heaven on my cold toes. I was glad that we were given some for our kiddo.
I think some of my favorite gifts were actually hand-me-downs. There were some really dear and cute little things, and now that I know how emotional it can be to part with outgrown favorites, I really appreciate them even more.
My brother gave us a snugglenest (which didn't end up getting too much use) but since we are a 2-mom household, he covered all the "dad" pictures on the box with cutouts of B-list women celebrities. It was hilarious--definitely a big hit at the shower.

1. Hands down - The Miracle Blanket. An incredible invention that allows both baby and mom/dad to sleep.
2. Bumbo seats
3. Boppy pillow
4. Pottery Barn canvas storage/laundry bags
And yes - dinner for parents are great. We had friends who brough a homemade banquet and others gave us gift certificates for take-out. Here's the link to a service:
http://www.unfussyfood.com/index.php?page=packages_pricing

Best shower gifts were things I registered for like a bouncy seat, Bugaboo stroller, bathtub and Gymini mat. Worst things were the super expensive layettes (which I returned) and clothes sized up to 3 months, which fit him for about a week.