16 Gift ideas for new moms

Update: I wrote this post after having my son in 2014, but after just giving birth to my baby girl… I added a few things to the list! (Oh and here’s my birth story with Amelia!)

Before I had Max, I didn’t really understand the whole bringing baby home thing. I mean how hard could it be? You feed him and stare at his cuteness. That’s easy enough. (Boy, was I wrong!)  I never thought to bring my friend meals or Lanolin and Tuks!  So, here’s the deal y’all… if you want to visit your friend that just had a baby, bring her a little something! Being a 24/7 milk buffet, attempting to feed yourself, and sleeping prove to be very tricky in those early months! Here are 16 great gift ideas for new moms. Oh and here’s the feed from C.R.A.F.T. facebook with more awesome new mom gift ideas!

And if you’re new here, here’s our natural birth story and 15+ things I’ve learned about infants! Oh and there are affiliate links to the exact things I use throughout this post!

1. Set up a meal train: Meals are an amazing gift with a new baby! Offer to set up a meal train (you can use this free site) and just ask for email addresses! It worked out well for us to set it up so that a meal came every other day!

2. Spa treatments: Gift cards to get a massage, manicure, or pedicure! Make sure the treatment is one hour or less at a time because it’s hard to get away for longer than that with a nursing baby. I’m pretty sure any new mama will enjoy one hour away and pretty toes at some point in the first 6 weeks of new baby!

3. Mason jar breakfast and lunches: Dinner is important, but you need to eat lunch too! I had a friend bring me over a mason jar lunch complete with salad, soup, and bread! It was perfect for when Andy went back to work and the fam went home. I just opened up my jar and dumped in a bowl! Easy and delicious! (Here are 6 mason jar breakfasts and 20 mason jar lunches)

4. Freezer meals: My friend Annie brought over 3 freezer meals before the baby was born. I love that she wrote the directions write on the container and even brought sides! Chicken teriyaki came with rice and the chicken spaghetti came with garlic bread. Yum! And so nice to have easy meals to pull out when all of the family goes home and you’re on you own!

5. Succulents: My brother in laws brought over this planter full of succulents when Maxwell was born, and I loved it! They are easy to care for and pretty up the kitchen table!

6. Button down pajamas: You come home with your nugget of love still looking 5 months pregnant and the bambino needs to nurse every 2 hours! Oh and now you’re having visitors! What are you supposed to wear?! I think a cute set of button down pajamas would be a great gift for a new mama. If it’s cold, maybe something like this or if it’s hot, these would be perfect! Just make sure they are mostly cotton and machine washable!

7. Gift cards to the grocery store, Target, Amazon, Nursing boutique, or Starbucks: Food is always good! And Mom can order anything she needs from her computer to her door with and Amazon or Target gift card! And Starbucks.. .well, that  is always a fun treat! Andy’s boss got us a gift card to a nursing boutique in Austin, and it was so nice to go pick out a few nursing bras post baby (it’s hard to know what size to get before baby)!

8. Nipple cream, Tuks, and nursing pads: These are very important things that she might not have gotten at a baby shower! I like lanolin for nipple issues and diaper rash, and reusable nursing pads are so nice to have at home. Although disposable nursing pads are really nice in the beginning too, you have enough to wash! And don’t forget the Tucks.

9. Wine: Because you couldn’t drink it for 9 months, it tastes extra good! Pair it with some Alcohol test strips, just to be safe!

10. Cleaning service: Set up a one time cleaning service to come to her house! I promise, she’ll love it. But, don’t surprise her, ask when would be a good time.

11. Bring Mama a Starbucks and a brownie (Thank you, Annie!) or lunch from Chuy’s (Thank you, Kristen!): Clearly, I like food! And a friend to chat with after all of the overnight visitors are gone and Dad is back at work is very nice too.

12. Flock of flamingos: We had friends deliver a flock of flamingos to our yard when baby girl was born! It was so much fun, and I love that it was a family gift and great photo ops! We had neighborhood kids coming over to count our flamingos, there were 30! Our friends used this local Austin service, but I bet a lot of large cities have something similar, or you can even set up the flamingos yourself. (And of course, come back and take them down, so new mama doesn’t have to!)

13. Offer to take the older sibling(s) for a play date: Mama is tired! Maxwell loves the special alone time with friends or grandparents and Mama loves that she gets a little rest and time alone with the squishy new baby! Chasing toddlers, recovering from giving birth, and taking care of a newborn is a lot of dang work.

14. Baby clothes: Especially for the 2nd baby and especially if 2nd baby is a different gender than the first baby… baby girl might be wearing all of the big brothers clothes! So, a few new girly headbands, bows, outfits, and/or cute diaper covers are extra fun!

15. Diapers: Diapers are always a good gift! Oh and unless the baby is super tiny or a preemie, don’t buy newborn diapers!

16. Older sibling gift: I know, I know this list was supposed to be gifts for a new mom! But, mama wants to see her babies happy… and I know I loved when Maxwell got super excited about big brother gifts! A simple Hot Wheels car, Big Brother Book, puzzle, even a helium balloon made him so happy!

Were you like me, and didn’t think to bring anything with you when you went to visit a new mama and baby? Or do you have a go to new mama gift? I’d love to hear…