Favorite Baby Gifts to Give

Now that I am a mom myself, I find that I'm a MUCH better baby gift shopper/giver. For my friends who are first-time moms, I usually give a combination of my own favorite things. These are things that I found that I used a lot or couldn't live without. I decided to post that list here. (As always, if I mention a brand name, it's purely coincidence. I'm not compensated in any way.)

- Triple Paste diaper rash cream. This stuff really worked for us.
- Onesies in a bigger size than what they'll need right away (I usually look for 9 month or 12 month).
- A board book... usually Sandra Boynton because they're fun to read. Or "Goodnight Moon." Always good to start building a library for the little ones!
- A Cheerios container. You know which one I'm talking about. The little yellow round one. Because when you try to look for this yourself, you usually can't find it.
- Stacking cups
- Links - those brightly colored interlocking links that entertain babies and toddlers for hours.
- A crinkle book
- Sippy cups
- Stacking rings (the classic Fisher Price toy)
- Bag dispenser for diaper disposal. This handy little contraption has odor-reducing bags for discarding dirty diapers. Very handy. I always kept it in the diaper bag.

Other tips:
- If I give clothes, I always try to give them a few sizes biger than what will be immediately needed. You get so many tiny clothes that sometimes you don't even get to use all of them. That way, they'll have some clothes to get in the rotation as baby gets bigger.

- I alway include gift receipts. You'd be surprised how many duplicate items you end up with. I also never take it personally if someone has to return or exchange something I got them.

- If you're getting a big item, get it off their registry or talk to them first.

Things I used to include, but don't really anymore - I used to throw in pacifiers, but since every baby is different, that's really a decision that's best left to mom and dad.
- Same thing with bottles. If you want to give the expectant parents bottles, get them what they register for.

This is just one of those things I've been pondering as I close in on two weeks to my due date. Also, a very good friend of mine just had her first baby. Welcome to the world, Logan! So I did some shopping for him a few weeks ago!