What was your best baby shower gift?

[MrsSunshine]

mine are much older now but i know alot of young moms and the word on the street is the following
'jerry/jenny' the giraffe a plastic $$ giraffe that kids can chew on
mei teis' (not a drink) a wrap mom can wrap babies in til they are toddlers
photo shoots for that special occasion
maid for a day/week whatever
meals provided that mom or can pop in the oven (maybe a GC from a company in your area)
a swing (thats open at the top)
btw for the mom who said crib sheets. great tip.. put two on . one on each side. if baby has a blow out or is sick. take off sheet throw in wash turn mattress over and voila new fresh sheet. great especually in the middle of the night. (hubby can help out here if necessary to turn it over)
an RESP started/ bank account in their name.

[Zonny]

btw for the mom who said crib sheets. great tip.. put two on . one on each side. if baby has a blow out or is sick. take off sheet throw in wash turn mattress over and voila new fresh sheet. great especually in the middle of the night. (hubby can help out here if necessary to turn it over)
an RESP started/ bank account in their name.

IMO, easier if you just put on another mattress pad and another sheet on top of the first set. When a mess happens, just peel off the first layer and you have a clean second layer.

[bargain_hunter_lola]

mine are much older now but i know alot of young moms and the word on the street is the following
'jerry/jenny' the giraffe a plastic $$ giraffe that kids can chew on
mei teis' (not a drink) a wrap mom can wrap babies in til they are toddlers
photo shoots for that special occasion
maid for a day/week whatever
meals provided that mom or can pop in the oven (maybe a GC from a company in your area)
a swing (thats open at the top)
btw for the mom who said crib sheets. great tip.. put two on . one on each side. if baby has a blow out or is sick. take off sheet throw in wash turn mattress over and voila new fresh sheet. great especually in the middle of the night. (hubby can help out here if necessary to turn it over)
an RESP started/ bank account in their name.

We have Sophie the giraffe and DS loves it. They are pricey at $20-$25, but the kids love them. Although they do squeak like a dog toy and it drives our dog nuts! lol.

Great tip on the crib sheet! Never thought to put one on each side. Much easier than changing it in the middle of the night, generally with only one hand!

I love the meals idea too! My Step MIL made meals for us for a week after we got out of the hospital and it was sooo helpful not to have to worry about dinner or eat fast food. I loved it!

[safielstar]

my favourite was a set of small watercolour paintings made by DD's godmother (good friend of mine who's artistically inclined) with pregnant me and toddler-imagined DD dressed and drawn as fairies I'm still looking for the right frame for these so I can properly put them in DD's room. Same person also gave us a Star Trek onesie, perfect for our geeky family

In terms of a store-bought gift, it would be the Fisher Price Ocean Wonders light-up seahorse. DD uses this every night to go to sleep (we love it!). Also our BabyBjorn, it'll get a lot more use once the nice weather hits.

when I've given gifts at showers I always do an assorted basket of practical stuff (diapers, wipes, toiletries, an outfit etc.) unless I really know the mom well and know something more particular she'd want.

I like the basket of meds idea, when I had DD I had to scramble to buy infant tylenol, gripe water, nasal aspirator etc.

[sarajen]

We didn't have a shower for either LO (didn't want one) but one of my favorite gifts was a wipes warmer. We hadn't bought one as we thought it was too much of a "splurge" item but it was great to receive as a gift (and it was easy to sell on kijiji when we were done with it). Also, we received lots of clothes but one friend bought an outfit for DD#1 that was size 2. It was neat to look at the outfit and think "I can't imagine her ever fitting into this" and then look back on that day when she did fit into it! She did the same for DD#2.
I did receive some toiletries both times but I was pretty particular about what brands I was using so those eventually got tossed. Something to think about!
The last time I bought a baby gift I filled a gift bag with my favorites and will do the same with the next one (with a couple changes). Some of my ideas are:
bibs, sleepers (Costco ones are great and cheap), wash clothes, hooded towels, receiving blankets - you can never have enough of this stuff!
white noise CD
Sophie the Giraffe (and a "sophie leash" from etsy)
Winkle Ball (from TRU - best toy for little hands)
a favorite children's book (Sandra Boynton ones are fun!)
crayon roll (with paper pad inside), mitten clips (more etsy finds) - for when they're older

[vibrantflame]

Hmm well I'll share some things that we loved having for our boys, and some things I wish we had. I second Sophie the Giraffe, she's a bit expensive, but a lot of kids really enjoy her, I know both my boys loved her and she was great for teething too.

One thing that is hard to just go buy at the store is proper soother clips. The only ones I've found at most stores are ones that attach to the soother with velcro. So as soon as baby gets a bit bigger, they are constantly ripping the soother off the velcro. But there are a lot of Etsy sellers who sell nice ones that snap on!

Also "leashes" to keep toys on! When you've picked a toy off the ground 10 times and you don't want to take it away because it'll result in the meltdown of the century, you start to really wish you had one of these! lol

Oh also someone bought me a little kit for baby with nail clippers, thermometer, nasal aspirator, etc. (I know Wal-Mart sells these) - it was great! Especially with the first baby, you don't really think you'll need to get this right away, but boy it comes in handy when sickness suddenly hits! It's great to throw in some baby Tylenol too, I think everyone needs that sometimes, and it sucks if your baby gets sick in the middle of the night and you don't have any!

[MrsSunshine]

hmm maybe thats what I did.. put two sheets on one side instead. been awhile i just remember things being easier as I had somehow had two on it.

[mdutka]

i bought this for myself but loved it. not really having a regular babysitter for evenings, if we went out for dinner we took the kids. this kept baby happy and occupied for long enough for us to enjoy a *quick* meal the great thing is they cant throw the toys on the floor. i dont think this model is available new anymore but im sure there is a replacement. i even used it at the cottage and friends houses.



also with both of my boys i bought nice soothing sounds alarm clocks. they switch between thunder, heavy rain and waves. it worked so well with baby #1 that we bought another one for baby #2 so now they each have one.

[alohamom]

UPDATE-Here is a pic of the "bouquet" of baby clothes. I chose 2 little shirts, 2 pairs of flared leg pants and a pair of velvet pink skinny jeans. They are rolled into the buds along with some fake roses. I ended up getting the Sophie Giraffe and will give it along with this. Thanks so much for all you suggestions, it was a hard desicion but all your wonderful suggestions were truly appreciated -thanks again!

[vibrantflame]

Wow, that looks gorgeous!!! Fantastic job, and I am sure they will love it (those clothes sound SO adorable, makes me pine a little for a baby girl lol!)

[safielstar]

oh that's gorgeous I'm sure it will go over well, I would've loved to get something like this at my shower

[robin1234s]

My fav gift was a caddy for the change table. I love how everything we need for a diaper change is within reach and organized.