If you’re on your way to visit a new mom and you want to take along a little gift bag or basket filled with some goodies to help her through those early postpartum days, here’s a guide on how to pull a gift bundle together.
Where should I start?
You can start three ways: the budget, the gifts or the container.
Let’s say you want to spend $20, figure out what you want to buy, then source your bag, basket, or simple bow from there.
If you start with the gifts, gather everything into a pile and see how much space you’ll need. I like to err on the small side so the gift looks packed.
If you start with the container, add any tissue or filler to the bottom and then add the items in to see how they fit and look. I’ll often take my basket or bag into a store to fill it up to see how things will fit rather than eyeballing it.
Tip: I love picking up storage baskets that can double as diaper caddy or nursery storage so she gets extra use out of it. Thrift stores are a great place to find these as well.
What Gifts Should You Get?
I often have to remind myself that this is a postpartum care package, not a baby gift, so I try to include only things for mom that she might not think of (like an extra long charging cord when she’s trapped under a sleeping baby at 4%) or self-care items that might be needed while she’s focused on a baby.
Be sure to stay mindful of how well you know her. I’m going to give my best friend a bottle of wine, some nipple pads, and an activity to keep her toddler quiet, but I will give my neighbor a bag of snacks, paper plates and an offer to walk the dog. Err on the side of ‘not intimate’ if you’re unsure.
Here are some suggestions from other new moms and my list of tried and true winners. I’ve included the links below or you can shop the full list here. Almost everything on the list is under $20.
- Grab and go Snacks like Kind Bars, Edamame beans, hummus and pretzels
- Grab and go breakfast like instant oatmeal cups
- Dry shampoo to keep her feeling human if she can’t wash her hair
- Lip balm – Flexitol is my favorite and I have tried a zillion
- Hand cream because you have to wash your hands constantly with a newborn
- Hair ties because you never have one when you need one
- Baby nail files for baby talons and her own nails
- Ibuprofen because postpartum exits are no joke
- Noise-cancelling earplugs (they just dim the noise) to prepare for purple crying
- Sleep mask if she scores a window of sleep in the middle of the day
- Notebook to help with the brain fog
- Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts book because over 90% of new mothers will have scary, intrusive thoughts about their baby and themselves.
- Hand sanitizer with a holder for all the inevitable ick
- Fresh pair of slippers
- Cooling Hydrogel Nipple pads for those rough first days of breastfeeding (know your audience on this one, of course)
- Shower steamers for a little treat when she finally gets a shower
- Night light (get a red night light so no one wakes up during feedings)
- Extra long phone cord for when she is nap trapped.
- Microwave sanitizing bag for pump parts, bottles and pacifiers
- DoorDash or Uber Eats gift card
- Miss Mouth’s Messy Eater Stain Treater Spray for back poops and spills
- Big reusable straws that work for smoothies
- Coconut water for hydration
- Paper plates for easy clean ups – either pretty or practical
- Coffee pods sampler for a little caffeinated variety
- There are Moms Way Worse Than You book to prove she’s doing a great job no matter how unprepared she feels
- Bottle of wine with fun label
- Alcohol test strips for breastmilk for said wine above
- Servd New Parents Game
- Low maintenance distractions for toddler siblings. Here’s a list of suggestions under $20.
To Sum Up Building a New Mom Postpartum Gift
Giving a new mom a goodie bag of things that help her through her postpartum days (and night) doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive. Finding things that help her day-to-day or make her feel a little pampered are a thoughtful way to show her that you’re thinking of her and her recovery. (Especially at a time when everyone is focused on the baby.)
I hope this helps but let me know what else you would add to the list!
Also check out: Unique Baby Gifts: 100 Ideas No One Thinks Of