Friday, September 26, 2014

Baby shower gift ideas for moms of many

We host many baby showers at our church, as it is our custom to have one for every baby born to our church members, and not just the first. We like to celebrate mom and baby every time! 

Of course, many babies means many growing and large families. Giving a gift to a mom of many who likely already has all the gear and clothes she needs can be a bit tricky. Below are some of my favorite ideas. 

(I can post this now that I am not pregnant, so it won't sound like I'm trying to drop hints of things I want for myself - ha!)

- Flowers, chocolates, balloons! So simple, and yet always loved. High-quality dark chocolate is not just a delicious treat, it is also great for bringing in mom's milk supply, too. My midwife gives me the baby chocolates and flowers after every birth when she comes for the 1-day checkup.


- Paper plates, cups, plasticware: Many large families, used to living frugally, will not splurge on these, no matter how convenient they would be after baby. Mom will think about you with gratitude every time she uses these!


- Diapers & wipes: Every baby needs these, whether it's baby number 1 or 10. Find out first if Mom prefers fabric or disposable, or certain brands. You can make your gift more fun by making the diapers into a cake, wreath, or other elaborate item like a stroller.


- Frozen meals: A cute idea for a shower of a mom of many is for everyone to bring a frozen meal to keep on hand for after the baby is born. Pinterest has a wealth of freezer meal ideas.


- Lactation-boosting cookies: An economical, yet highly appreciated gift. They can be baked, then frozen, and enjoyed straight out of the freezer. If you prefer them soft, they only need a few minutes at room temperature. Personally, I absolutely LOVE eating nursing cookies during the first month or so of having a newborn. Nothing like sitting down with a couple of cookies and a tall glass of raw milk to recharge mom AND her milk supply during those first busy days and crazy nights of adjusting to a new family member. Click here to see my favorite recipe for these. Only changes I make is to reduce sugar/honey by half, and to use 1 cup each of dark chocolate chips and walnuts. Or, you could try this "Lactation Cookie in a Jar" mix.
- Stuff to keep the older kids busy: This need not be a purchased gift or toy. In fact, the last thing most moms with lots of kids want or need is more toys! It could be a simple consumable like playdough, bubble solution, sidewalk chalk, sticker books, etc. Basically things that don't require mom's help and are not too messy (or intended for outdoor use).


- Membership to a warehouse like Costco or Sam's club if you want to be practical, or the zoo or some other family place if you want to make it fun.


- Magazine subscription for mom to enjoy while sitting down. Again, this could be something strictly for mom (cooking, crafts, homeschooling) or something the whole family might enjoy.


- Professional services: If you are a photographer, offer to do a photo shoot of the family. If your husband does landscaping, he could offer to take over lawn care for a limited time. Alternatively, you could pool resources with others to hire professionals, such as housecleaning help for the first few weeks after baby.


- Stuff for pampering mom: Likely, mom will use her time and resources on herself last. Which, in a large family, may mean practically never. Some ideas are: high quality teas and supplements, body care products, a gift card for a massage or spa treatment, etc.
 

- Small luxury items for mom or baby: There are always plenty of nifty new gadgets and accessories being invented to make taking care of a baby easier. Since many of these might fall into the "would like to have" rather then the "must have" category, even a mother of many may not have them. For example, Bumbo seats were not mainstream until our 4th baby. An amber teething necklace is both cute on baby, and a sanity saver for mom. Another fun new baby item is teething jewelry from brands such as Chewbeads and Nixi. My husband recently bought me one of their necklaces, and I just absolutely love it!



What are your favorite ideas of baby gifts for Moms of many?

11 comments:

  1. In our church we do baby showers for all expectant moms as well no matter what number baby it is! We ussualy just collect cash among all ladies and gift it together with flowers,balloons and a card with wishes from all ladies, it might not be a big amount of money but it is always a blessing when your about to have a little one.
    - Iryna

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  2. I love these ideas! I'm expecting #4, and a lot of my friends are asking what I'd want. Aside from diapers, I don't really know what to ask for. Any of these gifts would be great for a shower for a not-so-new mom :)

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    1. In winter, a nice, new, fluffy robe in a dark color what won't show spots from things spilling when Mom's tired. Also fluffy, soft socks. Those were my favorite gifts in winter. Everyone else buys newborn baby stuff. Think about what you'd like if you were sick instead of a new mom. Those comfort items usually get overlooked.

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  3. What wonderfully simple (yet needed!!) suggestions! And they won't break the bank! Thank you for sharing :)

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  4. Hi Zsu,

    I've been reading your blog for a long time, and while I don't agree with many of your religious and political views I do find you a very charming person.
    I think what you do for your community, and what your family does for your religion is very, very respectable.
    Its obvious from your pinterests and blog posts that your children will never ever have doubts that you adore them. I genuinely respect that.
    I think this idea of helping new mothers is great because in some religious communities most people keep to themselves and i do believe that in order to really know "brotherhood" or friendship you need to be involved in caring for each other.
    anyway i'll end this silly ditty by saying that I love all these ideas and whatever lucky mother decides to have a shower in the coming years will definitely get spoiled by me! (Taking care of a baby will never be an easy task, but loving them always will!)

    -anon

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  5. I once bought a new mom some fun hair accessories for HER. --Raani

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  6. One of the best presents I ever got after having a baby was a100% cotton knit nursing friendly nightgown. If mom doesn't wear nightgowns pajamas are just as nice. I found the 100% cotton knit was very postpartum friendly because they were breathable, stretchy and so soft. ~ Traci

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  7. I always make up some coupons on the computer. "Good for 1 night of babysitting the older children", "Redeem for 1 homemade meal", "Exchange for 1 load of laundry washed, folded, and put away." It's practically free for the giver (all I have to pay for is food to make a meal), and it's something the parents always appreciate.

    Jessica

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  8. I agree with most of these. I always hated dealing with paper plates and disposable flatware. The dishes I hate are pots and pans. Plates and flatware and cups, if they are rinsed and set in the dishwasher right away instead of rinsed and set in the sink, take no more work than throwing away paper plates and making extra runs to the trash can and store to get more. My family experimented with this. We counted down to the second how long we spent using disposable one week, excepting the actual lmeal time itself, how much time was spent taking it all to the trash after every meal (ew, food-drenched paper sitting inside), and each run to the store to get more, for a couple weeks, and how much time was spent using non-disposable with the rinsing, setting them in the washing machine, and putting them away. We didn't count the time the machine was running since we didn't have to do anything. Disposable took about 40% more time, and cost about 5x as much as the dishwasher pellets we use (the soap could be less if we didn't use those fancy premeasured pod things). We have some disposable stuff sitting in our kitchen, but don't use it. It's just that must less convenient.

    I would replace that with Belly Bars, which work as a quick snack when you're short on time that has a lot of nutrients, and it can go in the purse easier than cookies.

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  9. I think these are awesome ideas! Wow!!

    Two other things that come to mind...

    - A subscription to BabyBug magazine. This is a magazine for babies and toddlers, made to be very durable, and the children adore it. It's pricey, though - about $35 for a one-year subscription (which is why I'm glad relatives get it for us!).

    - The hands-down BEST baby shower gift I've ever received was an enormous basket of healthy snacks (all from Trader Joe's) that was specifically for ME to eat in the postpartum period. Oh, goodness - it was such a tremendous blessing!! All that postpartum exhaustion, new-baby sleeplessness, etc. - there were so many times when I just needed a snack. And this was so perfect - I appreciated it so much. Unfortunately, to make a really big one like I received must have been very expensive, but smaller baskets could be made according to budget.

    I'm really glad you post about this, because something that upsets me terribly in the modern church is the tendency to acknowledge baby #1 with a shower, and sometimes baby #2 (it's iffy), but to politely ignore every baby thereafter. Unfortunately the church (on the whole) has really taken off with the horrible mindset that babies are only a blessing if they're perfectly timed, wanted, healthy, and only #1 or #2. Just ask mamas-of-many where hurtful comments come from, and they'll usually say that they get as many inside the church as outside. It's sad. Having churches celebrate EVERY baby with a baby shower is a wonderful way to witness to the fact that children are a blessing. Every single one!

    Enough rambling!
    Love,
    Diana

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  10. I'll try again (my comment is kindly worded, so I think its a computer glitch, not a moderation issue. Our church does baby showers for every baby too..1st, 6th, 10th...good gifts for new (later in the family) baby can be gift cards or a collection of money for the family's need...clothes are also still good, because sometimes the older sibs stuff can get worn out. It's great to celebrate each baby.

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Your KINDLY WORDED, constructive comments are welcome, whether or not they express a differing opinion. All others will be deleted without second thought.