19 Thoughtful Gifts for New Moms

Isn’t it exciting to visit someone with a new baby? I know it’s a lot of fun to buy precious tiny clothes and cute toys. And they’re also a lot of fun to receive. But what can new parents use that people don’t usually think to give? Well, I’m here now with a list of awesome gifts for new moms to help you out!

When Judah was born, he was 4 weeks early so we hadn’t had any time to prep for a boy. (We were already well stocked for a girl because we’d had a foster daughter the year before) We didn’t have a baby shower, by our own choice, so when we got back, we I spent the majority of the rest of the year catching up – clothes, gear, room decor…

People were beyond generous! For months after we got home with Judah, people were sending cards and gifts. It was amazing and so incredibly heart warming. And some of the best gifts were the ones that were a bit outside of the norm. So check out this list I put together and find some of the best ever gifts for new moms!

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Gifts of Food

Coffee

Duh. This one is kind of a no brainer. Some babies are great sleepers. And some are non-sleepers… Chances are, your new mom is seriously lacking in the sleep department. So she could use some coffee. Or tea. Or whatever it is that she uses to help herself stay awake.

This the first thing we told people when they asked us what we needed.

Meals – Fully Prepped or Frozen

Your new parents probably don’t have time for much else other than snuggling their new little one. So fully cooked meals or freezer meals they can just pop into the oven will be very much appreciated! Taking care of dinner for the new family takes a lot of stress off them and makes one less thing they have to worry about.

My chicken pot pie and lasagna recipes make great freezer meals!

Frozen meal components (like all the delicious meat below) are amazing gifts for new moms too!

And don’t forget dessert! Cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream, lemon bars. Dessert at 3am is an awesome treat after having to get up with a crying baby.

(Of course, make sure you know about any dietary restrictions they may have…)

Snack Station for Feeding Times

Whether Mom is nursing or bottle feeding, she’s going to be spending a lot of time sitting around with her new tiny person and not be able to move. So help a sister out and bring her a feeding station snack basket! Things like a reusable water bottle (or a case of water if she’s not super environmentally conscious), flavored water packets, candy bars, granola bars, chips, crackers.  If you know there’s something she loves, throw it in there! She will be eternally grateful that you thought of her comfort.

Use something like this as a gift basket, and when she’s finished with it, it can be used as a diaper caddy! Strong Washable Baby Diaper Caddy: 100% Cotton Canvas – Portable Gray and White Chevron Nursery Storage Bin and Car Organizer by Gracie and Belle (Gray Chevron)

Gift Cards

New babies need a lot of stuff! Even if the new parents had a baby shower, they probably didn’t get everything they needed. Gift cards are ALWAYS a good gift. Target, Walmart, Meijer (if you have those by you), Buy Buy Baby, local grocery stores. All great places for new parents to pick up things they may need. Amazon too. Amazon has just about everything!

They don’t just have to be for “stuff.” Restaurant and fast food gift cards are perfect too and do the same thing as bringing a home cooked meal.

And should your new family have traveling to do, whether due to medical reasons or adoption, like us, or just to visit far away family, gas cards are very welcome too.

Gifts to Provide Free “Services” for New Families

Let Mama Take a Nap!

Like I said before, new parents are exhausted. When you come to visit, tell Mom to take her snack and go to her room to take a nap. She will be so grateful to get some rest, especially when her little one is in such great hands.

Laundry/Cleaning

In the same line of thinking, she probably doesn’t have much time for cleaning her house or keeping up with laundry either. Offer to help out. Do a couple loads of the baby’s laundry or offer to mop the floors or vacuum or dust. Or if you are so inclined, offer to pay for a cleaning service to come in. It could be a one time thing or several. Every little bit helps, and having a clean house will help Mom feel a bit more normal.

Free Babysitting

Once the new family is comfortable and getting into routine, Mom and Dad might want to have a date night. Offer to watch the baby for an hour or two while they take some time for themselves to reconnect and talk about things other than dirty diapers and baby puke.

Gifts to Make Life Easier

Diapers

New parents love getting diapers as gifts. They’re EXPENSIVE and babies go through a lot of them. My tip for you is: buy larger sizes. People tend to buy newborn and size 1s when they go visit a new baby. But depending on whether the baby is petite or chunky, they may not ever wear newborns and could grow out of 1s before they use them all up, especially if they are gifted several packages of them. So go with size 2 or 3. They will use them eventually, and that will be one less pack of diapers the new parents will have to buy later. And when they break open that new package, they’ll once again think of what an awesome gift giver you are.

Baby Wipes

Baby wipes are an absolute necessity! Not only do they clean little bottoms, they also do a myriad of other things, from cleaning faces and hands to cleaning tables, car dashboards, and car seats to makeup removal, and more. So new parents can always use a pack or two of wipes.

These happen to be my favorite and are the ones I go back to, no matter how many I try: HUGGIES Simply Clean Fragrance-Free Baby Wipes, Pack of 9 Soft Packs, 648 Total Wipes

Hand sanitizer

Give the gift of health by bringing the new family some hand sanitizer. In fact, get 2 or 3 – One to put right by the door (Judah was a preemie born during a bad flu and RSV season so we had a hand sanitizing station right inside the front door)  and one to keep by the diaper changing station. I’m not an overly obsessed-about-germs mom, but there are some illnesses that are just no joke. So better safe than sorry, especially when there’s a big outbreak.

Cloth Diaper Burp Cloths

We were gifted some of these, and they have been so handy! Gerber Birdseye 3-Ply Prefold Cloth Diapers, White, 10 Count Since they’re meant to be used as diapers, they’re super durable and absorbent. And they’re soft so when the new mom (or dad) is wiping the spit-up off baby’s face for the 10^th time that day, it will be nice and soft against their skin. Plus when the baby doesn’t need them anymore, they make great rags for cleaning.

Crib Sheets

Diaper blowouts happen. Unfortunately, the next blowout doesn’t necessarily wait until you’ve done the laundry before it shows it’s disgusting face. So it’s ultra helpful to have at least 3 crib sheets (and a couple waterproof crib mattress protectors too) for those nights when baby blows through multiple sheets (and diapers and jammies…) So a cute new crib sheet is always a good gift for new moms.

Gifts for Mom

Hand Lotion and Dry Shampoo

Self-confidence is important. Showers are few and far between as a new mom, so you know she’ll appreciate taking part in the dry shampoo trend. Even if she can’t do a full clean up every day, if she can stretch out the amount of time she has before her hair looks like a grease ball, that’s a big help.

And don’t forget Mama’s hands too! You know she’s washing her hands a lot thees days…. Pick up a can and a tube, respectively, and throw those in the snack station basket too!

Mom Books/Magazines

Is Mom really excited about the new Janet Evanovich book? Or is she a Cosmopolitan junkie? Pick up a fun read (or two) and add it to the snack station basket! If she can’t move because of a sleeping/eating baby, at least she can keep herself entertained.

Netflix

On those nights when brainpower is at it’s minimum capacity, sometimes it’s just better to watch some mindless television. A subscription to Netflix will help her do just that. If she already has it, get her a Netflix gift card or pay for several months as a gift subscription. Her poor, tired brain will thank you.

Amazon Prime

This is a must have for, well, pretty much everyone. I don’t know what I would have done without it after Judah was born. Amazon has almost everything, and with Prime, so so many things are included in the two day free shipping. This is amazingly helpful with a new baby when Mom just can’t get out of the house to buy the necessities. And one of the many services they offer is Prime Video so Mom will have access to tons of movies and TV shows here too to pass the time.

Click this link to purchase a gift subscription for Amazon Prime. The new mom will thank you!!

Gifts for Baby That Will Make Mom’s Life Easier

These are technically gifts for the new baby, but they will ultimately make Mom’s life easier so really, it’s a win/win.

Giraffe/Seahorse Musical Soother

We have both of these, and they’ve been a lifesaver! Many a night, we’ve had to grab one or the other because they would be the only thing to calm Judah down. We even kept one upstairs in his room and one in the living room so we wouldn’t be without one when we needed it.

Fisher-Price Soothe & Glow Seahorse, Blue

Fisher-Price Soothe & Glow Giraffe

Sound Machine

Eric and I sleep with a fan on so there was really no question whether we would be getting a sound machine for Judah. The white noise is calming, and we know that random noises around the house will be less likely to wake him up. Plus, it also means that he won’t need complete quiet to fall asleep if we’re ever in a place where we don’t have it readily available.

This is the one we have. Hatch Baby Rest Night Light, Sound Machine and Time-to-Rise  We can control it through our smartphones too – change the sounds and colors, volume and brightness, and switch back and forth between settings.

Hooded Towel and Wash Cloths

I didn’t realize how often I would use these! I give Judah a bath every night so we use hooded towels a lot. And obviously, wash cloths too… I, personally, have found that I like the super thin ones the best. They worked better on my teeny baby, and I felt like I was able to feel the body part I was washing through the wash cloth so I knew if I missed anything. I also used larger and/or thicker ones as a warming “blanket” of sorts. I would soak it in bath water and put it over his torso to keep him warm in the tub, occasionally re-wetting it so it and he stayed warm.

Baby and Kids Books

Reading to your kids is so important! And it doesn’t matter how early you start. So if you’ve got some favorite kids books, grab them and take them to the new baby. Not only will it start the process of teaching language skills, but reading helps the parents bond with and connect with their baby. Plus, it’s never too early to start a reading program!

Be the best friend ever and use these ideas to give thoughtful and impressive gifts to new parents. They’ll gush over you, and brag to all their other friends about how awesome you are. And you know they will be forever grateful that you were so kind in giving them gifts that showed you truly care.

What was the best gift you received as a new parent? Or what was the best gift you ever gave to a new parent? I’d love to hear!

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