Gifts for out-of-state new parents.

November 8, 2006 7:06 AM

My boss lives several states away (we both telecommute). His wife will have their second child in a few weeks. I'd like to gift them with some useful goodies that can help them get through those tough early days, but are relatively easy to mail and/or order. Any suggestions?
posted by lucyleaf to human relations (14 comments total)

I love 1-800-diapers. They deliver disposable diapers in bulk to my door. You can get them a gift certificate from there.
posted by saffry at 7:14 AM on November 8, 2006

They'll be busy, so sending some tasty dinners would probably be greatly appreciated.
posted by jrossi4r at 7:34 AM on November 8, 2006

If you decide to make a gift basket, I'm sure they'll appreciate having some Caldesene which is the best thing on the market for diaper rash (in my experience).
posted by LuckySeven~ at 7:41 AM on November 8, 2006

I found having a dozen or so cloth diapers to be indispensable. I ordered these and they were great. Handy for spit-up, burp-cloths, general baby-wiping needs, to put on the changing table, etc.
posted by leahwrenn at 7:57 AM on November 8, 2006

Seconding the food idea. A lot of cities/towns will have a delivery service that allows customers to order from any of a number of restaurants, so if their town has something like that, a gift certificate would be ideal.
posted by decathecting at 8:12 AM on November 8, 2006

Gift Certificates!!

Your imagination (and budget) is the limit. You can go as unoriginal as Toys-R-Us (they have diapers and lots of baby supplies) or food delivery service or maybe a trip for the new mom to a local day spa.
posted by ilsa at 8:24 AM on November 8, 2006

This is one of those 'not answering the question' side shots, but just as an added note, it's usually considered bad form to gift up in the corporate hierarchy. It tends to look like a bribe or sucking up or such to give your boss a present.

That said, people end up getting a lot of 'stuff' for babies, even second ones. Look for things like baby food (though that's not so much for newborns), food delivery for the parents, etc, that they'll be able to use up. And then get gift certificates for it, rather than placing orders yourself - you don't likely know which specific items they'll want, or when they might need it. If all their neighbours brought them casseroles when they got home from the hospital, food delivery this week might be all kinds of overkill - but 2 weeks from now when the local help gets bored, might be very welcome.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:04 AM on November 8, 2006

Onesies are my catch-all baby gift. I understand that with a lil baby one will go thru several a day at times, so new parents can never have to many. They're sized by age, and I tend to get them 3 - 6 months "older" than the kid is, because so many babies are bigger than average, and too big still works while too small doesn't. They're also the easiest thing in the world to mail.

Squidfire prints some very cute designs on American Apparel onesies, but I think you can also get less designery ones generally 3/$10 - $12.
posted by Cranialtorque at 9:58 AM on November 8, 2006

per jacquilyne's thought, I think gifts for the newborn generally fall into the "nice gesture" category as opposed to the "sucking up" gift. I also think that keeping it under $25 also prevents any discomfort at accepting the gift.
posted by Cranialtorque at 10:01 AM on November 8, 2006

Food is always welcomed. If you think that doing some dinners might be overkill, why not focus on breakfast or a food basket? This looks great. As does this.
posted by Sassyfras at 11:00 AM on November 8, 2006

Cranialtorque, unfortunately onesies often end up as too much of a good thing. I got dozens as gifts for both of my kids, some were still in the package by the time they were outgrown.
posted by saffry at 2:19 PM on November 8, 2006

Thanks, Saffry, good to know. I was under the impression one could never have too many.
posted by Cranialtorque at 3:33 PM on November 8, 2006

These rechargeable candle lights have been extremely well received by all the new mothers I've given them to. They provide enough light for a late night feeding without needing to light up the room. They are bright enough to read by without waking a partner, and make a perfect night light for when the baby gets older.
http://vessel.com/prod_light_can4.html
You can also buy them from hammacher schlemmer who sells them with a lifetime guarantee.
posted by natness at 11:35 AM on November 9, 2006

These are all great answers. Thanks to all.

In regards to jacquilynne 's point, i work at a small company and the boss is a friend too. And the co-worker is going in on it with me, which will help.

And I'd agree with saffry - and go on to say that it'd be great to have a ton of onesies in different sizes.
posted by lucyleaf at 1:30 PM on November 9, 2006