Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Baby Shower Gift?

When you're in the stage of life I'm in... 20-somethings, you find yourself at a lot of baby showers. It just happens that way. After college you find yourself at a lot of bridal showers and weddings, and soon after the babies start rolling in.

I have pondered baby shower gifts many times. I desire to get the best gift for the mom-to-be. I want my gift to be something she remembers as a "favorite". I'm kinda delusional like that.

Thinking back to my own baby showers, there were some good gifts.

And there was a lot of clothes.

I used to give clothes as baby shower gifts too. It's hard to resist bite-sized pieces of pink and blue that just jump out at you from the baby department. But let's be realistic people. If the mommy is expecting a summer baby, that baby will live in onesies and socks for the first months of life. A winter baby? Footed sleepers. And let's face it, they grow out of everything at break-neck speed the first year of life! So teeny, tiny clothes for the smallest of babes just isn't a real practical gift (however cute the outfit might be!)

Want to give a real winner? Give diapers!

Although it feels quite boring to hand a basketball-bellied lady a cutesy bag with diapers and wipes inside (she might even feel slightly let down), I PROMISE you that it is the best, most practical gift for a baby shower! That mama may have no idea, but she's about to change at least eight diapers a day for at least two years. Help a poor woman out!

Now the question is, cloth or disposable? Do a little pre-shower detective work and figure out which route the new mom is going and gift accordingly. She'll thank you later!

So on the second day of Diaper Week we learn-- always bring diapers to a baby shower!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.clothdiaper.com/index.asp

http://www.diaperjungle.com/moms-who-choose-cloth-diapers.html

Hi, my name is Penny, and I love pre-folds! :)

I like LiteWraps for covers. Work well and are very economical.

I feel sick when I use a disposable because of both cost and being a good steward of God's creation......

HOWEVER!

We recently took an airplane trip, and I discovered Pure and Gentle Pull Ups work great for taking a young toddler to the bathroom in an airplane "stall." Much easier than taking off a diaper! I have taken cloth diapers on vacations, but no one wants to smell a wet, cloth diaper on an airplane! :)

I will be giving clothes for several more showers as I collected lots for my future children (not shower gifts, but ones I bought myself) that I didn't end up needing.

I personally think board books or picture books make the best shower gifts.

Unknown said...

Although we don't have baby showers here, I came up with a more unusual gift today - in which you could put the diapers you are giving....a bread basket - check it out on my blog!

nanja said...

My daughter unfortunatly will not be following in her mother's footsteps. I used cloth diapers for all 3 of my children with an occasional disposable every now and then. Now that my daughter is having her first she has decided on disposables, mainly because of working full time, 60 hours a week, she can barely keep up with her own laundry!
We are having a baby shower for her during which time we will be having a raffle for a gigantic gift basket of goodies. Anyone eho brings one small package of diposables gets a raffle ticket
nanja[at]comcast[dot]net

Unknown said...

Recovery kits for mom-to-be make excellent baby shower gifts. Mom-to-be's health is often overlooked in the days and weeks following delivery and it is certainly something that should not be ignored!!!

www.therecoverykit.com has a variety of recovery kits that will help mom-to-be get back on her feet in no time!!!

IE Mommy Blogger said...

Yes, that is a great gift. I have learned how to create diaper cakes and have given those out to rave reviews...but it is something they definitely need!