Gifts for New Moms and Parents
Now that we’ve emerged from the 4th trimester fog, things really are starting to feel easier… and more fun! I might still be new to the whole mom thing, but I’d love to share some of the purchases that made these first 4 months a bit easier. Some of these items are “treat yo’self” kind of things and some are useful for, you know, parenting. I used 🤰 for products that lean “mom” and 🫶 for products that are good for any parent.
Bookmark in case you have some friends making the jump into parenthood or are planning for a baby yourself.
Special treats for mom
🤰 Merit 5-Minute Morning: This makeup bundle was on my radar for quite a while. I don’t know what I was waiting for, really. The mascara and lip oil are the real MVPs here – I don’t wear enough makeup to have strong opinions about the complexion or highlighter stick but I do love how light they feel on my skin and they certainly do their job. Check it out here.
🫶 House cleaning every other week: We were lucky enough to have the first several weeks off together. During this window of time, our house chores didn’t feel too difficult. When Ryo went back to work part time, things started to slip. Once I went back to work too, it would’ve been nice to have extra hands at cleaning the house once a week (or biweekly). We have a dog, we were tired, and deeper cleaning felt really hard. Check with new parents to see if they’d like a hand – yours or hired.
🫶 Dog walk or help with animals: We had friends stop by to take our dog for a run once or twice a week (since that’s what she was used to). This was helpful during my 3rd trimester into the 4th. Once we started getting out for walks, we felt better about exercising our dog on our own, but still dropped her at daycare once per week for a little playtime and enrichment.
🫶 Amazon gift card: There’s nothing like being a new parent, awake during the wee hours of the morning, panic-ordering things we “need” for baby… to have them on our doorstop by 6am.
🤰 Letter Necklace: Mejuri is another brand I’ve been watching but hadn’t splurged on. For my birthday (about 2 weeks after baby was born), I asked for Mejuri’s Letter Necklace and I haven’t taken it off since (even for workouts and showers). I love it and have earings on my wishlist next.
🫶 Fujifilm Instax Mini EVO Instant Camera: This camera is so fun because it has a small amount of memory so you don’t need to print every photo. Other Instax cameras, like the ones you see used at weddings, print photos instantly – this camera is not that. We typically keep this in our diaper bag so that when we’re meeting up with friends or family, we can print little keepsakes for them (and us) in the moment. This makes an awesome gift for new parents – esp. ones that tend to never print photos.
Gifts to keep them fed (and caffienated)
🫶 Our Place Wonder Oven: OK this one is so random but we switched from a toaster to a toaster oven recently and opted for this Our Place one that does all kinds of stuff. I love how compact it is (doesn’t take up a ton of counter space) and it’s an easy way to toast, reheat, or air fry dinner. Maybe this is one of those things you purchase for yourself to re-heat freezer meals or leftovers.
🤰 Tony's Chocolonely Chocolate Bar Variety Pack: Pretty much from my 3rd trimester through the first month postpartum, all I wanted was chocolate things. Tony’s is so tasty and feels fancy and these mini bars were great to have around for treats (esp. during long feeding or pumping sessions).
🫶 Meal Train: Hot tip… new parents have a bit of decision fatigue and brain fog. They don’t want to decide what to eat, they just want to eat. At least, that was the case for us. So, if you’re cooking for new parents as part of a Meal Train, they might prefer you just take note of their preferences vs. asking them to choose between a few of your staple meals.
🫶 Door Dash or Uber Eats gift card: To that vain, they can totally handle ordering takeout from their favorite spots. Well, sometimes we would find that difficult too but, lucky for us, the apps suggest dishes you’ve ordered before. 😏
🫶 Coffee subscription: There is never enough coffee for the 4th trimester. We both only drink a small amount of coffee each morning, but it was absolutely necessary during that period. One of us would get out of bed to go make the coffee and deliver it back.
I’ll continue to add more gifts as I think of them! Here are some items we loved for the newborn phase.