Top 10 baby shower gift ideas

SO your friend just announced on Facebook that she is pregnant, and immediately your mind goes to the baby shower she will most likely be having. What should you bring? What is the ideal gift for an expectant mother? What gift can you give that everyone she knows will not be getting her?

Kerisha Cadogan, manager of Baby Bop, shares her top 10 gift ideas for baby showers.

1. Baby swing/ bouncer/ rocker

These are chairs which, as the names suggest, are specifically designed to either rock or bounce the baby. They are great gifts because they keep both newborns and parents happy. The baby can wiggle and jiggle to his heart’s content, and parents can squeeze in a chore or two knowing he’s safe and entertained. This versatile, portable piece of baby gear features cheerful fabric stretched across a metal or plastic frame, with straps to ensure safety. Some models are battery-powered for a rhythmic and more soothing bounce.

2. Baby health care and grooming kit

This is the ultimate bag of tricks, with everything parents will need to keep the new baby healthy and groomed. These kits may contain all or some of the following essential items: a nasal aspirator, digital thermometer with case, soft-tip medicine dispenser, comfort tip medicine spoon with cap, brush, comb, scissors, nail clipper, fingertip toothbrush, emery boards and convenient travel/storage bag. Some even include a baby care, wellness and safety guide so mommy can master every task with confidence. You name it, it’s in the bag!

3. Baby bath gear

For a gift that’s fun yet practical, you can get creative by assembling your own themed gift bag. Grab a baby bathtub and fill it with all the things that the parents will need to keep baby squeaky clean. Include baby shampoo, a mild soap that won’t irritate a newborn’s sensitive skin, a soft washcloth (or sponge), a hooded towel, and a bright yellow rubber ducky for good measure.

4. Baby activity gym

Babies spend so much time observing and learning about their strange new environment. Help baby out by making it even more fascinating with an activity gym – a contraption that typically includes a cloth mat and toys suspended from soft bars or arches. Colourful mirrors, noisemakers, and other objects of different shapes, sizes, and colours dangle within the baby’s grasp, encouraging his developing eyesight and growing physical skills. Portable and lightweight, activity gyms are travel-friendly, whether you’re shuttling between rooms or to grandma’s house.

5. Baby sling or carrier

One of the easiest ways for a new parent to tote a baby around along with all the other items that they will need to take along for each trip is in a sling or front carrier. Babies love the warmth and feeling of being snuggled up close to mom or dad, and the ingeniously simple design leaves a parent’s hands free to do housework or errands while their little one sits safely in a makeshift pouch.

6. Diaper bag

If you’re a parent – or even if you aren’t – you know it’s virtually impossible to get out of the house without leaving something behind. Help the happy new parents avoid mishaps with a diaper bag full of baby essentials. Start with a gender-appropriate diaper bag; add a couple of diapers and some wipes for good measure. The parents-to-be will really appreciate it.

7. A mobile

A good description for many parents of newborns is ‘sleep-deprived’. Help them and the baby survive those first few months with a great gift to help soothe baby to sleep. Fill your gift bag with an inexpensive comforting night light, a soft blanket, and a white noise sound machine or a special mobile that plays music and projects dancing light pictures on nursery walls.

8. Baby monitor

Nervous first-time moms and dads will appreciate the reassuring presence of a portable baby monitor receiver on their bedside table. These gadgets have become more and more sophisticated – some models can pick up a baby’s faintest breaths within a range of 600 feet or more. Other more hi-tech options include motion sensors that sound an alarm if the baby hasn’t moved in a certain period of time, and video monitors, and WiFi Skype capabilities which allow parents to see and hear their baby in another room.

9. A newborn feeding starter set

Giving new parents bottles is probably a cliché gift; however, this modern twist of a starter set is great spin on a traditional gift. The set will include BPA-free bottles with each brand of bottle boasting its own anti-colic system. The set will also include different-sized bottles to keep feeding consistent as baby grows. Some sets include add-on items such as replacement nipples, sippy trainer cups with soft spout, a formula dispenser, a bottle brush and pacifier. The most important item in these sets, however, is the steriliser which ensures that baby’s feeding is always sanitary and germ-free. Depending on your budget, this gift could be coupled with a feeding pillow such as Boppy or bottle-drying rack.

10. Traditional Jamaican baby items

Many people have forgotten about the traditional and not to mention affordable Jamaica-made products such as the chemise, nighties and nappies. While most modern moms have shied away from these conventional Jamaican must-haves, we are here to tell you that they are great gifts, especially for those parents expecting summer babies. Throw in a bucket and basin for laundry, along with baby hangers, and you have a functional and quite sizeable gift for under $3,000.