5 Essential Baby Shower Gifts for under $50
September 11, 2009 by Candy
Filed under Baby Shower Ideas
As most mothers know, we most likely had some baby gifts that go unused once the baby actually arrives. It may seem like a good product and something that will be used often when we received it, but once baby arrives, it never came out of the box to be used. Typically the new mom looks for the most practical and easiest products to deal with. Naturally, the “gotta haves” like a crib, stroller, and car seat are required but they represent higher priced items.
I thought it would be helpful to list some baby shower gifts that are reasonably priced and sure to use items for the care of the new baby. Here’s 5 essential baby shower gifts that I put together that are all under $50.
Swaddling Blankets
Babies love to be swaddled and some newborns have a hard time sleeping unless they are tightly swaddled. Even if a mom doesn’t use swaddling blankets as actual swaddlers, they can be used for laying baby on the floor, covering baby outside, and covering up when breastfeeding. There are plenty of uses that a mom and baby can get from swaddling blankets.
Baby Medicine
Baby medicine is usually a baby product that most new moms forget about until it’s 2am and the baby is running a fever. Prepare mom for those nights by giving her items such as Infant Tylenol Balmex, Orajel, and Pedialyte to have on hand.
Sleepers and Onesies
New parents often find out that their baby wears more sleepers and onesies than any other outfit. Yes, there are so many cute outfits for little boys and girls, but many times those outfits go unworn as it is just not practical to put a baby in them. Instead look for cute sleepers (I preferred the ones that zipped instead of button types) and onesies that you know the baby will get good use out of.
Gift Card For Carry Out
When a new baby arrives, the last thing that a mom wants to do or has time to do is cook. This is when a gift card to her favorite carry out restaurant comes in handy. When mom is happy and less stressed, the baby can be happy and better taken care of. Everyone needs a break now and then and this makes a great idea.
Diapers
Every baby is going to need diapers and in the beginning a baby goes through a lot of diapers. If you do buy diapers for a baby shower, I recommend avoiding buying newborn size diapers and sticking with size 1 or even 2 instead. Some babies do not even fit into newborn size diapers when they are born or they quickly outgrow that size in a couple of days. If you want a creative way to give diapers, think about getting a diaper cake made for the baby shower gift. Yes, I’m obviously biased. 
We have several diaper cakes that are priced under $50.
I hope you found these baby gift ideas useful. Perhaps you have some you would like to share. Feel free to add your comments.
3 Excellent Online Pregnancy Calculators
One of the first things that a woman does when she suspects she might be pregnant is try to calculate the baby’s due date. The easiest way to determine your due date is by using a pregnancy week calculator. These can be found for free online on pregnancy and parenting websites. Because you can find so many calculators online it’s noteworthy to point out they may yield different results. With these thoughts in mind I put together 3 pregnancy calculators you can check out from the following reputable sites.
About.com has an excellent pregnancy and childbirth guide on their website. That guide includes a pregnancy week calculator. The calculator will provide you your due date based on the date of your last menstrual cycle and it also has a well-organized week by week pregnancy calendar. It outlines the entire 42 weeks of pregnancy, with clickable links to get images, illustrations, and in-depth information for that week.
Babycenter.com is an excellent website for expecting mothers or women who are trying to conceive. The website is filled with useful information and resources. They also have an excellent pregnancy week calculator that will give you your child’s due date, a free weekly planner, and regular e-mails with updates regarding your child’s development. It also has a number of other tools like an ovulation calculator and a baby name finder among many others.
Babiesonline.com is a really fun site for expecting moms. It has a really unique pregnancy week calculator that is easy to use and provides lots of fun information. The pregnancy calculator on this site tells you the basic info you are looking for like your conception date, due date and age of your baby. However, it also tells you some fun birthday facts about your baby like their birthstone, flower and astrological sign. Plus, it calculates the year your baby will start kindergarten, graduate high school and when they will likely finish college.
Pregnancy week calculators are a dime a dozen online, but not all of them are accurate. The three listed above provide accurate information about your pregnancy based on the date of your last menstrual cycle. In addition to that, they are attached to useful websites that you can frequent for information, support and pregnancy resources.
There are a few other websites of note that have pregnancy week calculators along with useful information. Those would include pregnancyweektoweek.com, babyzone.com, mayoclinic.com, justmommies.com and healthatoz.com.
I hope you find these resources useful throughout your pregnancy.
5 Websites For Baby Shower Thank You Cards
August 22, 2009 by Candy
Filed under Baby Shower Ideas
Sending baby shower thank you cards is a must for any mom-to-be. It follows proper etiquette as you want your guests to know how much you appreciate the baby gifts you received. With that in mind, I put together 5 websites you can visit to help choose your baby shower thank you cards.
This website offers several different designs that you can get in a variety of colors and fonts. You can choose from the basic boy motifs such as trains and a firetruck or go more of a neutral baby theme with bassinets and ducks. They also have very cute baby shower thank-you card for girls as well with butterflies, teddy bears, and flowers. The have almost 100 different designs to choose from.
This website offers thank you cards and notes in several different designs. You can choose from girl themed, boy themed, and they also have a pretty large selection of gender neutral themes. The sell cards from different designers and manufacturers which gives you plenty of different looks to choose from.
This is a very popular website when it comes to baby shower thank you cards as well as baby announcements. A cute idea would be to get thank you cards that will match future baby announcements. They have some really unique designs for the thank you cards for both genders as well as more neutral baby designs.
Another great website for unique baby shower thank you cards. A few of their cards actually come with add ons that you can stick on your cards when you get them. Some come with glitter or foam stick ons for the front of the card and others have stickers for the envelope.
This is a very creative website that allows you to have a caricature made up of you and then you can have a thank you card designed around it. You get to control what your caricature looks like as well as the colors, font, and background of your card. This is definitely a baby shower thank you card that will impress people.
It doesn’t matter where you get your baby shower thank you cards from, but what does matter is that you let people know how much you really do appreciate what they did for you and your baby. I hope you found these suggestions a good start. Perhaps you have some additional sites you want to share. Feel free to add a comment if you have found some other sites with great ideas.
4 Baby Shower Themes for Twins
August 15, 2009 by Candy
Filed under Baby Shower Ideas
Hosting a baby shower for twins? If so, there are many creative baby shower themes that would fit perfectly. I thought I would offer up 4 themes that could help you plan a twins’ baby shower.
Noah’s Ark
With this Noah Ark’s theme concentrate more on the two by two part of the theme. Decorate with little stuffed animals by putting them in pairs. These stuffed animals can then be given to the mom-to-be for the babies. Noah’s Ark is a pretty common baby shower theme so there should be plenty of favors and decorations that you can find, but you can add your unique twist so people know it’s for twins. A cute idea for favors would be cookies in the shape of animals and instead of only giving guests one cookie, you can wrap up two cookies together.
Two Peas In a Pod
A two peas in a pod theme is a classic theme for twins, however, you can take this in several different directions. First, there are many different favors and decorations that you can find for this theme. The major problem will be paring it down to the ones you like. The most common are two little babies in a pea pod or two actual peas in a pod. You can go either way with the theme or incorporate both into the theme. Decorate the baby shower with green and white and if the sexes of the babies are known you can add in some blue or pink if you wish.
Double Your Delight
This baby shower is perfect for the mom-to-be who is having twins but also loves sweets. Instead of having a full meal at the baby shower, you can have a dessert only shower with close friends and family. Ideas would be for an ice cream bar, a candy station, and whatever other delightful sweet treats the mom-to-be loves.
Two of a Kind
For this baby shower theme you can pick any normal theme or style you want and just make two of everything. A way to get your guests into this theme is to put on the baby shower invitations to buy two of whatever gift they are giving, within reason of course. So, if they were going to buy a baby bathtub, they would buy two of them. Rather than having one dish of a certain food, have two dishes of every food to eat, as well as two cakes. You can take a classic ladybug theme for girls and turn it into a two of a kind ladybug theme by simply doubling whatever you would normally do.
Well I hope these ideas can get you started on selected a theme. You can start with any of these and tailor them for your specific shower. Most of all, have fun and enjoy.
Third Trimester Pregnancy Tips: What to Take in Your Hospital Bag
August 11, 2009 by Candy
Filed under The Last Trimester
Getting Ready for Baby
As your third trimester rolls around and your due date gets closer and closer, you need to start thinking about packing your hospital bag for the birth of your baby. It is important that you do this early enough as it is possible that you may go into labor a few weeks before your actual due date. Here is a list of items that I came up with that you should pack in your hospital bag so that you are prepared to welcome your little one into the world.
Camera – You don’t want to miss having pictures of the big event. Also be sure to pack an extra set of batteries for your camera as they always seem to go dead at the most convenient times.
Clothes For You – Some hospitals allow you to wear your own clothing while others will only have you wear the gowns with a robe. Be sure to bring along comfortable clothing such as pajama pants, sweatpants, t-shirts, and sweatshirts, as you are not going to be wanting to wear any tight or restricting clothing. Don’t forget plenty of undergarments and socks as well. You will also need clothes to wear home when you are discharged from the hospital. You will still be in maternity clothes, so don’t try to bring your regular clothes as they may not fit and leave you frustrated.
Going Home Outfit For Baby – Choose a cute outfit or sleeper for baby to go home from the hospital in. It is a good idea to have a newborn size as well as 0-3 months size to choose from. If it cold outside, be sure to include a coat or blanket to cover baby up with.
Toiletries – After giving birth most women like to be able to shower to freshen up and get a little rejuvenated. Remember to bring shower supplies and other toiletries as well.
Snacks – You don’t want to have to rely on the hospital to provide you with food, especially since you get quite hungry after giving birth. Pack a few healthy snacks for you and your partner.
Car Seat – Although you can’t pack this in your bag it should be installed in the car and ready to go as a hospital will not release a baby unless you have a car seat.
Some other items to include in your bag are:
- address book
- cell phone
- insurance paperwork and cards
- change for vending machines
- slippers
- hat for baby (if not provided by hospital)
- baby blanket
- cord blood kit
If you follow these tips you should be all set when it’s time to leave for the hospital. Maybe you have some other ideas to share. Feel free to leave your comments so that others readers can benefit .
