Building My Own Shower Gift Basket

I had gotten one of these at my babyshower and she used a laundry basket and filled it with stuff. One of the things in there was a little white hamper for the babys room. I loved that gift, she had lots of goodies in there!! Have fun!!

Hi M.~
Im with you...I always buy the useful stuff for expectant moms. I learned the hard way that new moms have no idea what to register for/buy...b/c I did it myself! A few things I always give; disposable bibs, disposable changing pads, rolls of diaper disposal bags (they have Eddie Bauer ones at Target for cheap), refillable travel wipe containers, Avent breastmilk cups/lids (they work for formula, cheerios, etc.), pacifier keepers, onesies, take/toss spoons (Ive had the same set for 3 years now, still use it), and my vote for burp cloths are the diapers that are NOT prefolded...they are softer (after about 4 washes) and my baby always has one to chew on..LOVES them! That's my two cents! Let us know if you came up with some really clever ideas!!
~L.

How about a gift certificate for a free night of babysitting or a cooked meal?

One thing I suggest is diaper wipes rather than diapers to keep the cost down....and instead of Dreft laundry detergent..ALL makes a soap for babies that is just as good and A LOT cheaper than Dreft..I use it and it smells great and keeps my daughters clothes soft as can be...also bowls with lids...if she will be formula feeding a container that you can use to put it in premeasured in the diaper bag (I have one by munchkins and its great)...also if shes bottle feeding bottles and extra nipples....

M., the best idea I ever saw at a shower was either using a basket or a gift bag, buying a few outfits and attaching them to clothes pins on a rope so she pulls them out on the string one at a time, it was really cool i thought, but other baby products that you could get would be maybe some socks, oneies, thermometer, pack of newborn diapers, spoons, baby food in jars, also they now make formula in little single serving pouches those are great for on the go, pacifiers, a cute stuffed animal, maybe something with the baby's name on it if they have a name picked out, a trinket to put baby's first hair cut and tooth into, hope these are helpful

I like to go buy flannel and make my own burp clothes. You can pick much cuter designs and they are very soft after a few washes. Also, don't forget to pamper mom! You could put in a few of their favorite things as well as some lotions, etc. Everyone always thinks of baby and it's nice to have a few things back for mommy to pmper herself too.
C.

A feeder bottle would be a great gift. I know you can get them at Babys R Us and I know you use to be able to get them at KMart and Meijer. They are made by Sassy and you put baby food in them and the baby sucks it out. VERY useful. I loved them when I had my triplets. Here is the link for them on the Sassy website.
http://www.sassybaby.com/category?cattype=category&ca...

Oh yeah, and a pack of cloth diapers for spit up rags. I went thru those like you wouldnt believe with 3.

Hi M. - For my shower I received a baby tub filled with all the bath things I needed - sounds like you have thought of a lot of those things already - just put them in a little baby tub with some baby wash, lotion, etc. and you have a very nice theme gift which is neat. You can get the tub, lay out a hooded towel to sort of make a "nest" for the items, add nicely rolled washclothes, bath items, toys, etc. L. W.

PIZZA CUTTER!! Works great for cutting up toddle size bites, and double for all those lazy new mom frozen pizza nights. I have at least 4 in my house. I use it on grilled cheese, pizza, pancakes, strips of lunch meat, you get the idea.
One more thing I found usefull was a dryerase board, to keep track of what time you did what, lets face it when you only get 4 hours sleep a night you need some help remembering things, it is also great for when dad askes when did you feed her last, you can say go look at the board, and when you have well baby visits you will have a better idea of how much and how often the baby eats and poo's.

I received a few as well at my shower (loved them) my girlfriend gave me a bottle of Dreft laundry detergent, burb cloths, a blanket, a little dress and many small things. I think if you go to Walmart you can get a cute outfit real inexpensive or if live near Ikea they have real cute toys. I would put the large items (diapers,wipes) on the bottom and build the small cute things on top. With all the items you bought I really don't think it could look cheap!!

M.,

I think baskets are a great idea. The most useful gifts I got were packages of cloth diapers, to be used as burp cloths and travel packages of baby wipes. My kids are much older now, but I still carry those.

M.,

I dont want to sound TOO cheap, but have you seen the baby section in a dollar castle lately??? OMG they have the greatest things there. I was able to purchase much much much more for my friends grandson than I would have been able to otherwise. I was then able to use the money I saved to put add some really nice things to the basket I made for her. I used a wicker laundry basket and it looked beautiful.

My daughter gave me a grandson recently and although we were grateful for everything that was given to us, the things we ended up giving away (unfortunately no one included receipts for these) were all of the bottles, nipples, and pacifiers that were not on her registry. We ended up with so many different kinds from so many places. Babies settle on one nipple design and when they decide they like it, thats it. They dont want to use any other. I don't recommend including any that are not on her registry.

Good Luck, I'm sure it's going to be beautiful when you're done.

L.

I love the baskets you can get at Michaels they are usually 40% off. I like the ones with handles. You can carry them easier. I always enjoyed the hooded towels the best. My kids still LOVE them and they can use them for years! It sounds like you have some great useful ideas. Please be very careful when buying baby skin care products. 98% of them are full of mineral oil and petroleum and chemicals. All of these are very harmful. I am a mom of 2 and I am a cosmetologist. I am sure you will do a great job! Jenn K