Things I can do for a friend with a new baby near Asheville, NC

April 11, 2017 3:54 PM

My friend is real close to popping this baby out and already has most of the stuff she needs. She has an Amazon list thing I'm going to peruse (though I know she also gets a percentage off for larger orders, so I will do this strategically), but I was thinking that things that make their lives easier in the immediate aftermath of the baby would be useful? what is most life saving in the couple of months after a new baby comes home? This is a first baby, so they are also kind of out of their minds having no real idea how to prepare. I was thinking delivered meals could be helpful, but I don't know if my friend will still have dietary restrictions or where to order such food on a regular basis. I am bad at babies. Help?
posted by schadenfrau to Human Relations (9 answers total)

If they don't already have a cleaning service, pay to get their house cleaned.
posted by k8t at 4:05 PM on April 11, 2017 [8 favorites]

You can get them a gift card for this food delivery service.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 4:11 PM on April 11, 2017 [2 favorites]

Two weeks after baby born, send one of those fruit bouquets. Not a fruit basket though. One where the fruit is all cut up, and ready to eat. Edible Arrangements is the company I use.
posted by Ftsqg at 4:31 PM on April 11, 2017 [3 favorites]

A post-partum doula. Hire one to visit for a couple hours in the day or two after they are home and then a few days of week later.
posted by amanda at 4:33 PM on April 11, 2017

A month of diaper service is always a nice touch.
posted by Freedomboy at 5:18 PM on April 11, 2017

A very nice friend sent us a huge delivery of frozen ready meal food.
It was just what we needed, and was also a great motivator to buy a freezer....
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:34 PM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

We used disposable diapers on the kids, but having a big pile of good quality cloth diapers has turned out to be super-useful. They're great for changing pads and burp/spit-up cloths (just toss them in the wash!).... and then when the kid is out of diapers, you have amazing things to clean with (put on the pee-on-carpet spot to sop up the pee from the accident getting to the toilet, etc. etc. etc.). (We still use the diapers regularly, and my kids are 8 and 11.)
posted by leahwrenn at 7:00 PM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best thing my good friends did when my son was born was got their whooping cough and flu shots. It meant they could come over and watch him sleep while I too had some sleep, or bring round a dinner, or just hang out and adult at me for small spells without risk of the newborn getting terribly sick.

The first month they're likely to have a fair bit of support. Remembering to be there for them with this sort of thing when bub is two or three months old is just as important.
posted by Jilder at 8:47 PM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

+ 1 for Just this guy's suggestion, especially if it's homemade! You'd parbake or parcook the dishes, freeze them, wrap them and package them with a small instruction paper inside each ziplock freezer baggie. Things that freeze well after parbaking or parcooking are lasagnas, casseroles, quesadillas (recipes from America's Test Kitchen/Cooks Country work), some cook in fry pan noodle dishes from America's Test Kitchen. If you're not living in NC, the frozen things can be shipped in an Omaha Steaks foam cooler with dry ice.
posted by dlwr300 at 6:32 AM on April 12, 2017