Gifts for third baby?
My boss is having her third baby tomorrow, and I knew just what to send her: a little knitted sweater and a baby washcloth. It's her first boy, so she'll be needing a few things that aren't entirely pink, ruffled and floral. I've been telling her she needs to be indoctrinated into Thomas the Tank Engine -- she has no idea who Percy is! The very idea. I'm going to suggest some board books about trains, including Trains; Stop Train Stop; and Red Train.
Although it's easy for me to come up with little things to make for her, my colleagues, many who don't have children, or are on their first baby and have no reference point for baby #3, are asking me what they should send. But I need more ideas -- we have a lot of colleagues! For those of you who have been through the babyhood thing a number of times; what small gifts would you most like to receive in the week or so after the birth of your baby? Baby booties are cute but I just know they wouldn't cut it for me anymore... (especially since Grandma's already given me a full complement of crocheted booties in every color ;)
set up a schedule of people to bring food! or collect frozen casseroles.
Posted by: sarah | April 10, 2007 at 01:19 PM
I was going to say, "we're all remote and food won't really work for us" but then realized she's in New York and there are probably dozens of casserole (or, umm, tandoori?) delivery services there! That's a great idea, and I think I'll suggest it to the ones I know have a little more cash to play around with :)
Posted by: sarah gilbert | April 10, 2007 at 01:27 PM
I dont have any insight yet on what's helpful for 2nd or 3rd babies yet, but it seems that help around the house would be good for just about anyone--dinners, meal delivery, or cleaning services....
As for boy things, anything with diggers, dumptrucks or bulldozers would likely be a hit, and almost definitely not duplicate what they've already got. I never imagined I'd know so much about construction equipment at this stage of my life!
Posted by: NoPo Mama | April 10, 2007 at 01:30 PM
A gift certificate for a massage is perfect after birth. Even the simplest delivery knots up all kinds of things, and I can't tell you how wonderful a massage feels in that first week.
Posted by: Kathy | April 10, 2007 at 02:12 PM
There are always new and wonderful books to get them...some my son loves still (and these are only a few):
•Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson (she does a series of these bear books, all are good)
•The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood
•Gilberto and The Wind by Marie Hall Etts (a classic from my childhood)
•The Little Engine that Could - a MUST have
•Two Little Trains by Margaret Wise Brown
•Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
•Curious George!
Otherwise, a new blanket, new burp cloths and/or bibs are great, too.
A couple new teether toys are nice to have.
Fisher Price makes these great cars that they sell individually or in a pack, and they're easy for little hands to grab. They're soft plastic w/no choking hazzard parts. I looked online to find a photo, but of course can't track one down. I know they sell them at Freddy's and Toys R Us. The cars have faces on them and no sharp edges. My son loved them!
Anything that rolls, car/train/ball/etc., will be an instant hit when he's crawling, or starting to crawl.
Posted by: Laura S. | April 10, 2007 at 02:18 PM
First baby boy? Peepee teepees!
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.crocodilebaby.com/site_assets/www.crocodilebaby.com/images/dynamic/150peepeeteepee.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.crocodilebaby.com/qs/category/17/2936/0/0&h=113&w=150&sz=6&hl=en&sig2=fv0_zWYUnSXee_JjkiGUcA&start=2&um=1&tbnid=uvW2vc2OuRV70M:&tbnh=72&tbnw=96&ei=gAUcRo_2FoPigAO8zOnVCg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpeepee%2Bteepee%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN
:)
Posted by: Melissa | April 10, 2007 at 02:46 PM
oops! sorry, here's a better link:
http://www.crocodilebaby.com/site_assets/www.crocodilebaby.com/images/dynamic/150peepeeteepee.jpg
Posted by: Melissa | April 10, 2007 at 02:47 PM
Well, there are the fun gifts (books, toys, clothes) and the practical ones. As a mom of two boys (2 and 4) about to have a girl, I would say that any offers of childcare (if possible) would be the best gift ever! That being proximity prohibitive (and maybe not coworker appropriate for some), I would say that toys to distract my two other kids while I sit on the couch and nurse would also be a godsend. But back to the childcare possibility...a gift certificate for a nanny to come for a couple hours an just play with the older two children in the other side of the house? Or a subscribtion to Mothering or Brainchild to read during the 2 am nursing...
Posted by: Andrea | April 10, 2007 at 03:40 PM
The best gift we got after our second baby was born was from my husbands work. They gave us a very generous gift certificate to a very very fancy restarunt and and offer to baby sit. We didnt end up using them as a babysitters but did get a chance to go out to a restarunt that we normally would never get to go to. It was WONDERFUL!
Posted by: Gillian | April 11, 2007 at 04:08 PM
How about going in on a year subscription to Netflicks? A little something for everyone of all ages in the family?
Posted by: hau | April 11, 2007 at 09:56 PM