gifts for baby?

hey, mamas and papas...

a new but good friend of mine is having a baby in august. i want some real original ideas on what to get her for her shower, without spending too much money. i'm not yet a sewer or knitter, not enough to create something giftable anyway! (plus, i am BUSY!)

so far, i found someone on ebay who silkscreens onesies (about 6.99 each) that say "led zeppelin" and "my mommy's tattoos are cooler than your mommy's tattoos" (how freaking cute!), etc... i'd like to find a couple inexpensive tye-die onesies, too.
friend is not going to find out the sex of the baby, so i think she'll be getting plenty of green and yellow overall outfits!

any creative ideas? what were the best gifts YOU got for your babes?

thanks in advance.
peace.
LP

 

I like the onesies idea. Cute. If you are able to do woodwork, a shelf (well sanded and painted with safe paint, white) to hang next to her changing table would be good. Bear made me a few of these over the years and they served me well.

If you sew a little, some nice, comfy blankets are nice. You really can never have too many medium size blankets for swaddling. There is a way to make a blanket by knotting together two pieces of sweat material. Better for an older baby who won't try to eat the little pieces on the sides.

One of the mamas on this forum makes baby slings (for carrying the baby with no car seat*, a wonderful idea for any mama or daddy) that have no seams. Maybe check out the sling thread.

Go to the craft forum, they'll have some ideas.

*I don''t mean IN the car, I meant as a way to carry the baby on her body. I just hate babies in car seats, when they are not in the car. Slings are so much better. When IN the car, of course, the baby always needs to be in a car seat.

 

I second the craft forum. The mama's on there are great and oh so talented! You'll get some great ideas there.
Plus, if you want to learn how to crochet or something, so make a gift, you can easily learn...there's tons of great websites and stuff. The mama's on there can help you basically do anything you like!

 

Not sure if these count as 'originial', but baby books, those ones you fill out with details about their babyhood milestones and such, are wonderful. As are good quality photo albums. The time passes so fast that it's so good to keep a record of the memories.

My brother and I still enjoy looking through ours.

Do agree with the others too

 

This aint exactly original, but what about a quilt? If you don't have time to make one, you can buy one. I saw some really cute ones at Target.com.

 

receiving blankets! Mamas can use those in bulk!

Maybe if she's cloth diapering and you're a bit crafty, you could make some cool and fun diaper covers.

I like the onesie idea But make sure to buy them in a bigger size than just newborn, because newborns spit up a lot and white is best for them. Plus, they grow out of NB clothing quickly. Getting a good 3-6 or 6-9 month onesie will really guarantee a few months of wear.

 

If you have access to a sewing machine, a sling is super easy to make. I'm just going to copy and paste from the baby sling thread, feel free to ask me any questions about my design and how to do it yourself.

so you go to the fabric or craft store and get some "Utility muslin" it isn't as wide as regular fabric. This way, you don't have to cut it or hem it. You want 2.5 yards. Wash it in hot hot water, so it shrinks all it's going to. Dry it partly and then dye it any way you want it. I like mine tiedyed but not in bright colors or those hideous spiral designs (just my personal preference). The dyeing is the most fun part!! After the dye has set and you have washed and rinsed the fabric really well, you take one pair of large nylon slingrings (from the link above) and you sew one end of the fabric to the rings. I make them with a pleated shoulder, using some of that blue masking tape to hold the pleats in place instead of pins (just works better that way, plus gives me a straight line to sew along to keep my seam nice and even). I sew it with the tightest zigzag (satin stitch) across one direction, then turn it over and go back the other direction on the other side. Presto! done.

 

If your not into sewin and dont have that much time. what about a diaper cake? i made a few of those for friends, there so easy to make. u just use the stuff u have bought like lotion washclothes etc. whateva u think she could use and like. do a search on diapercakes and check out the pics of what i am talkin about if u dont already know. there great for babyshower centerpieces too. best gift i have came up with yet. peace and good luck

 

or you can even use some cotton sari fabric. Most saris are about six yards, enough for two slings!

 

hay, i bought one of these for my sister when she had my niece,

http://www.bodyjewelleryshop.com/online_store/body_casting_kits_537.cfm

i know this is a british site but i'm sure they must make a similar product in the states.

she loves this as it caputures part of baby forever, plus you kinda forget how small babe was.

 

You can never go wrong with diapers!

 

I beg to differ. A friend of DH's bought us a case of Huggies. I use cloth, and am very outspoken about why I made that choice. DH was afraid to even bring them home to me, he had his friend take them back!

 

I agree. That would be similar to giving a case of formula IMO.

 

No, it wouldn't. It's as easy as asking, "Do you plan to use cloth or plastic diapers?" and going from there.

 

yeah, i would have apreciated it if someone would have bought us some cloth diapers. They're expensive!!! No one asked us, though, and bought us huggies. grrrr.

 

wow, thanks for all the ideas! i am definitely going to do my best to make a sling...
and i'm gonna buy some white onesies, and try for the tye die (i haven't tie dyed since i was like 11--that's some 17 yrs ago!).... gotta start somewhere, huh?

thanks again, and keep the ideas coming! baby won't be here till august...

peace.
LP

 

You can buy awesome kids stuff at Little Hippies.com or Little Lefties.com or Littlepagans.com They all have onesies and other really cool kids stuff. Some adult stuff too. Check them out.

Kathi

 

There are a few things I wish I had gotten when I had my baby shower:

- A good sling. They're great for carrying a sleeping baby and wonderful for nursing. Maya Wraps are supposed to be the best.
- Avent bottles. I went back to work after 10 weeks, so Taylor had to take a bottle of pumped milk and I've heard the Avent ones are best for avoiding nipple confusion.
- A swaddling wrap. It's like a blanket with velcro to swaddle the baby. I'm terrible at swaddling and this thing was a lifesaver.
- All-in-one cloth diapers. I LOVE Re-uz-'ems.

Things not to get. She will get TONS of these and won't need any more.

- Blankets
- Onesies
- Pacifiers (pointless things that mess with breastfeeding anyway)
- Stuffed animals
- Baby toiletries

 

i'm gonna get joey a ramones shirt. and the one that says "breastfed baby. stick around for the show."

 

lol, that's so cute!