10 Gifts New Parents REALLY Want

We all know that deer-in-the-headlights feeling when someone close enough to us to warrant buying presents is having a baby or their baby is already one or two, and this year the parents are having a party.

Or Christmas is on its way and baby is now on the present list but couldn’t give a fig about anything other than the box or the wrapping paper.

During the very early years, present giving is for the parents. So here are 10 great ideas of gifts that parents really want (but may not know it yet).

1. Rain proof suit (for bub!)

The perfect gift once baby is sitting, an all-in-one suit that is waterproof, wind resistant and brightly coloured means that the park is no longer out of bounds if it’s been raining. Just because the ground is damp, the slide is puddled with water and the swings are slightly icy doesn’t mean you have to be stuck at home. A gift that keeps on giving through the wetter and colder months. Add gumboots for extra kudos.

2. Snap extenders

The first thing you learn about clothing with babies is just how gosh darned fast they grow out of them! Usually, and especially if the family is using modern cloth nappies, more wear would be had if there was an extender that could be used on the crotch snaps to make the suit just that couple of’centimetres longer. Buy a pack of these for the new family and give them the gift of a few more weeks for their favourite outfits.

3. Thermometer

The first time a parent notices that their baby is a bit warm to touch, they realise how worrying this can be and how there has to be an easier way to get vital information before calling their mum, doctor, help line or hospital. A tympanic (ear), infrared, liquid crystal or dummy thermometer can reassure parents that their baby isn’t worryingly hot and is a great gift along, with a magnet or laminated card with the relevant phone numbers on it.

Next Page: More’Gifts New Parents REALLY Want

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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