Best Baby Shower Gifts

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Best Baby Shower Gifts | Columbia SC Moms BlogIt’s spring, which means it’s baby shower season. At best, it’s a reasonably fun way to spend an afternoon with people you love (or at least like). But at worst, it’s a stressful shopping experience followed by several hours of awkwardly passing blankets around and playing gag-inducing games. (Why is guessing what kind of chocolate looks like poop in a diaper a thing?? Really, I’m asking.) A thoughtful gift goes a long way, and the registry will steer you in the right direction, but here are some of my tips and must-haves that were lifesavers during the first year!

  1. Stay on-registry. I repeat, STAY. ON. REGISTRY. Don’t assume your friend wants some random item you THINK she wants. Don’t make more work for the parents-to-be by requiring them to make a trip to the store for a return.
  2. Unless the parents have specifically registered for clothes, don’t buy clothes. Just don’t. They will get plenty. Babies poop on everything. And even the most adorable $30 outfit will absolutely be promptly exchanged for a box of desperately needed diapers. 
  3. When in doubt, diapers and wipes. All the diapers and wipes. Millions and millions of diapers and wipes.
  4. You can’t go wrong with light muslin swaddle blankets; we used them every single day during the first few months.
  5. A GOOD white noise machine will work miracles; we have a Dohm that is still going strong almost two years later.
  6. Gift cards to the couple’s favorite restaurants are gold, especially restaurants that deliver.
  7. Sometimes moms don’t plan as much for the immediate postpartum period. Earth Mama Angel Baby postpartum products are magical. I highly recommend the Earth Mama bottom balm, bottom spray, and nipple butter, and they have a whole line of post c-section products too.
  8. A local spa gift certificate. What new mama doesn’t need a mani/pedi or massage??
  9. A membership to Babywearing International. It’s only $30 for a whole year, and you can borrow new carriers and learn how to use them every month!
  10. Your favorite children’s books, with a personal message written inside about why that book is special to you. These are some of my most treasured gifts. A child can never have too many books! 

What were the best gifts you were given at your showers? We’d love to know!

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Kimberly Poovey
Kimberly is a writer, speaker, wife, and new(ish) mom. She directs the teen pregnancy prevention program for Daybreak pregnancy center, and is a founder of Pearls, an organization that serves women in the sex industry and fights human trafficking in the Midlands. She studied English literature at Florida Atlantic University, and though she will always be a Florida girl at heart, she has called Columbia home for the last seven years. She and her husband Braden have been married for a fabulous decade, and they welcomed their first child, Declan Finn, into the world on June 3rd, 2015. She is a contributor for Scary Mommy, the Huffington Post, and The Mighty. You can find her wandering around the great outdoors, drinking far too much coffee at her favorite local shops, and on Facebook.

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