Soooo your friend is pregnant. The time when you and your bestie can just soak up each other’s awesomeness alone is growing shorter. Soon she’ll be welcoming a baby into the pack, and you’re just going to have to learn to share. There will still be wine nights and happy hour and evenings you can’t remember, they just may be fewer and further between. In the meantime, though, she’s got a baby shower to plan, and you better be buying her the right sh*t.
We know she took weeks to put together her registry, and you should definitely buy her some of the stuff that’s on there, but here are the things your pregnant friends really want/need. Anybody can pick a gift off a registry; you will be a hero if you show up with some of this stuff.
Diapers
Pampers Swaddlers Disposable Baby Diapers
I never in my wildest dreams could have fully grasped the amount of diapers a less-than-15-pound human could go through. At roughly six to eight diapers per day (some days are 10, let’s face it), there is no limit to how many boxes of diapers I want stashed at all times. I personally thought putting diapers on our registry was tacky, but, my God, am I glad we did. A 164-count pack of Pampers diapers, size 1, will run you around $40 on Amazon; more if you buy them at a store. Buy two boxes of these and have them delivered to your friend. She will thank you when she (or her partner) doesn’t have to run to the local WalMart at 5am with the other psychos because, in their bleary-eyed state, they didn’t realize they only had two diapers left in the entire house.
Oh, and don’t even think about looking for cheaper or discounted diapers. We bought a certain celebrity-backed brand of diapers that were half the price of Pampers, and I still have sh*t stains on one of my blankets. That, and my son thought it was really neat that he could pee right through the back of them. It’s my personal belief that with diapers, you really do get what you pay for.
Wipes
Pampers Baby Diaper Wipes, Complete Clean Scented
Like diapers, wipes will be your friend’s best friend once she has a baby. From cleaning up countless spit-up situations to wiping off crusty fingers to, yes, truly getting down and dirty during diaper change time, wipes are the thing your friend will need multiples of, multiple times per day. Go ahead and order hundreds of these bitches for your bestie. I promise she’ll use them and thank you for them.
Fleece Footie Pajamas
Simple Joys by Carter’s Baby Boys’ 2-Pack Fleece Footed Sleep and Play
Tiny outfits with pants and shirts and skirts are like, so adorbs. But for the new mom running on roughly two hours of sleep, they just aren’t practical. The first few months I’ve been home with my son, he has LIVED in footie pajamas. They’re easy on, easy off, and easily changed when he has a blowout. They also are a one-and-done outfit, which can be layered or not. He’s warm, I don’t have to f*ck with socks or tiny pants, and he, like me, can hang out in loungewear all day.
Wine
So this kind of goes without saying, but your no-longer-pregnant mommy friend needs wine. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive or from a boutique winery. Honestly, showing up at her door with a homemade meal and two to six bottles of wine in hand will have her in happy tears. Grab your favorite bottle, ask when she needs to shower and have a moment to herself, and either show up and take the baby off her hands or leave the wine in her garage.
Nice Loungewear
Kindred Bravely Ultra Soft Maternity & Nursing Nightgown Dress
If your bestie is #blessed enough to have maternity leave, you better believe she’s going to be sporting a lot of pajamas and loungewear. Because bringing home a newborn kind of zaps your ability to dress up and look put-together, having loungewear that looks cute, fresh, and is super comfy is hella important.
The sets from Kindred Bravely (which are also available on Amazon) are buttery soft, comfortable, and look good whether you’re wearing them to bed or need to make a quick trip to Starbucks. The nightgown/dress above is cute enough to wear out with a cardigan or wear as a top with your stained sweatpants while hanging out around the house. I should know—I have it in three colors. If she’s more of a pants and top person, the Amelia Nursing & Maternity Pajama Set is a soft, cozy, quality option.
Nipple Butter
Earth Mama Organic Nipple Butter Breastfeeding Cream
Listen, I know it sounds kind of weird, but trust me. If your bestie plans to breastfeed, nipple butter will be her new normal. Whether she’s exclusively pumping, feeding, or doing a combo, her boobs are going to be a little worse for wear. Since you won’t be sure of her preference or the level of research she’s done, grabbing her an organic nipple butter without lanolin (which some say can be upsetting to a newborn’s tummy) like the one by Earth Mama is a great option. You could even grab her a few nipple butters, some nursing pads (her boobs will leak whether she’s breastfeeding or not), and some cooling gel packs for a nicely rounded kit.
Burp Rags
Not so glamorous, but so, so necessary since your friend may have forgotten to put the good ol’ burp rag on her registry. These are used for wiping your boobs after pumping, wiping your baby’s face after he’s spit up, for cleaning up water spilled on the counter while you only had one free hand, and for all the general grossness that comes with having a baby. There are no less than five of these within my reach at all times.
Also—aside from the physical stuff, one of the best gifts you can give a pregnant friend or new mom is a listening ear, conversation, and lots of support. Mommin’ ain’t easy.
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Blessed be the fruit. Honestly, we’re a little shocked that we’re having to put up posts about baby gifts, but here we are. Unfortunately for all of us, at some point we’ll have to attend a baby shower and watch a v pregnant almost-mom open gift after gift of everything from oversized stuffed animals to nipple balm. It’s a thing, and it’s terrifying.
Anyway, if you want to be the real VIP MVP of the baby shower circuit, make sure your gifts are on point. Whether you shower the parents-to-be with amazingly hilar onesies or gift cards to the best area restaurants ensuring them a night out, don’t fall into the trap of getting boring, loud, or weird baby gifts.
Hilarious Onesies From Shop Betches
Shop Betches Cool Mom Baby Onesie
I’m not going to NOT plug our own merch, which is like, rly cute. You may as well buy about 100 onesies for any new child, since they’re likely to go through anywhere from five to 500 in any given day. They may as well look cute while they throw up on themselves. Babies, they’re just like us.
Something For Mama
Nektek Foot Massager Kneading Siatsu Therapy Plantar Massage
Mama is going to get a sh*tload of stuff for baby, i.e. toys, diapers, more diapers, onesies, baby food puree systems, tiny shoes and socks, etc. Get something for the new mom to enjoy, like, a day trip to a really nice spa complete with an offer of babysitting (I KNOW), several bottles of wine that age well considering she won’t be able to drink it until she’s done breastfeeding (unless she pumps and dumps), or a foot massage system that she can sit in while ordering her SO to actually change a diaper for once.
Baby Food Puree Systems
BEABA Babycook 4 in 1 Steam Cooker and Blender
If mom is already the owner of something like a Vitamix or Ninja blender system, she’s probably going to love the Baby Bullet (kinda off on the name, there, marketing people) or a similar product. It allows mom to make her own concoctions of baby food. That means she doesn’t have to run to the store and buy 1,000 glass jars.
Quiet Distractions For Bae
Melissa & Doug Soft Activity Baby Book
You know what new parents don’t want? Any kind of toy/distraction device that sings a song or makes any kind of sound. They’re getting enough sounds every three hours, morning, noon, and night. Find a toy that makes no noise but will keep bae distracted so mom can, like, pour a glass of wine for herself. Try items made from fabric, like soft baby books, foam blocks, and other soft, soothing, items.
Tiffany’s Things
Love Feeding Spoon by Tiffany’s
Call it bougie, and it is, but if this is mama’s first baby, you can’t go wrong by buying the classic silver baby spoon from Tiffany’s. This isn’t really something that serves a true purpose–it’s a keepsake. Tiffany’s also has baby brushes, rattles, and other silver things that, at the price of around $300+, will definitely get you into the good graces of the parents … hopefully, so much so, that they’ll never ask you to babysit. It’s a win-win for everyone, fam.
Diapers
Pampers Baby-Dry Disposable Diapers
This is neither classy nor cute, but the parents-to-be will be singing your praises. If there’s one thing that babies go through a lot of, it’s diapers. Duh. Build a diaper pyramid with about 15 packages of Pampers or Huggies or whatever, and the parents will be forever grateful. You’re essentially saving them a screaming argument at 3am about whose turn it is to do a diaper run. Praise be.
Baby Monitor
Hey, you know what’s awesome? Being able to tune into baby in the crib without leaving the comfort of the couch. These days, there are tons of systems that include full sound AND video, so mom or dad can watch bae sleep (not in a creepy way) and decide whether or not the fussing is worth getting up for.
Images: Nynne Schrøder /Unsplash; Amazon; Shop Betches; Tiffany’s