Looking for Gift Idea for Little One

Hi! I've been a Mom for 33 years. My 3 daughters ages range from 13, 18 and 33. I'm also a Grandma 2 Granddaughters. I'm a big believer in special gifts that make memories for a lifetime. I've always been the one to by the my kids their 1st rocking chair. I usually buy one that's made of really good wood and will last forever. You can also sign a message on the bottom of the seat. All of the girls still have their chairs and talk of keeping them forever. Another iten I get them is their 1st baby ring. You can also have it engraved. As they get older they have worn them on a chain for special events in their lives. Hope this helps, L.

One of my favorite gifts when my daughter was born was the start of a book collection. My aunt asked each member of her family to choose a book & write one sentence about why they picked it for my daughter. It was fun for them, too, because they got to remember the books they loved as kids.

My baby loves her "taggie" blanket. There's a lady on ebay that sells them personalized, and they are very cute and reasonably priced. You can go on ebay and search for tag blankets.

Maybe I'm an oddball, but I really loved receiving organic baby products. They're usually a bit expensive, so new moms often don't bother, but since I received some, I've made a switch and only use organic products on his skin. Another cute idea is a diapee & wipee bag, though until her little one is a bit older it won't do her too much good. It's just a cute little bag that holds a travel pack of wipes and 2 or 3 diapers (or 2 diapers and an extra onesie) so whe can throw it into her purse instead of packing the whole diaper bag. I was skeptical at first and thought this was a silly idea, but it keeps the diapers from getting lost (and misshapen) at the bottom of your bag, and is great for tossing in the glove compartment. Two other items that I really loved are the cribside CD player, which you can find at most baby stores. It's better than a mobile because 1)more variety of music since you can put any soothing CD in there that you want, 2)longer play time than a mobile so the baby doesn't get upset when the music stops, and 3)doesn't need to be removed from the crib as soon as the baby can sit up. There's also this awesome robe/towel for giving little ones baths. I can't remember who makes it, but when I got mine, you could only get it online. Now I think they sell them in all the baby stores. It's an apron made of terrycloth that you wear to keep from getting soaked during bathtime, and then you just pick baby up out of the tub and wrap her up in the apron to keep her warm and dry until you get her dressed. It prevents having to keep an extra towel on hand and unfolding it while holding a slippery, wet, and cold baby. If you're interested, I'll look at mine when I get home and find out where I ordered it from. The last thing I'll suggest is a baby sign DVD, either the one by Baby Einstein or something along those lines. Even though your neice is too young to benefit from it just yet, you would be amazed at how quickly babies pick up sign language! Then her daughter would be able to communicate what she needs before she can actually enunciate. Even if mom just watches the dvd and uses the signs around your neice, it'll be a quick learn. Hey, if my hubby can pick it up, anyone can! lol There's also a book/dvd set about 'baby language' or how the sounds that babies make in the first 4-12 weeks of life actually mean something. I didn't find out about this method until my son was too old, and I was kicking myself, but my sister used it for her twins and swears by it. Anyway, congrats on the new family member! Oh yeah, and I'm sure her mom would appreciate something for when the baby gets older, like a savings bond, or if you opened a 529 account for her... You should check out www.upromise.com and find out how you can start saving money for her college education without spending anything! You just register your grocery cards and/or credit cards, go through their site for online purchases, you can even get a special Citi card that contributes 1% of everything you spend into this account. If the rest of your family signs up too, you can save a good amount of money without spending anything that you wouldn't normally spend. In my case, my son is 18 months old, and I've accumulated $250 for him already in this account (and I don't use a credit card very often or shop online that frequently) and linked it to a 529. It may not be a huge amount, but at this rate, by the time he's 18 I should have around $3000 in that account, in addition to any extra money I deposit. It's nice that if I buy something at say Bed Bath & Beyond, I'll see money deposited into his account a few days/weeks later. Good luck and congrats!

Hi!

One of the favorite gifts I received for my daughter and now give to all the new babies I know is a blanket that is personalized with all of the babies information. Full name, date of birth, weight, height, hospital, parents, siblings, etc...You can find this at sassysprout.com

M.

I buy the same thing for every baby that is born. I even bought it for my own. A foot and handprint kit. It's something they can keep forever. When they get older, they will be able to see how tiny they once were. They can also show it to their own children one day.

As an aunt of 7 my favorite gift was for my neices (I struggle with the boys...lol). It is a monogrammed jewerly box. My thought was when they are first born it is a nice place for the hospital braclets, special cards, etc. and as they grow it can hold the more meaningful jewerly. It is also something that can be kept forever! I'm sorry I can't offer anything great if the baby is a boy but hopefully someone will offer up something and I can borrow that idea as well.
Congrats on becoming an aunt! I'm sure you will have many fantastic years and thousands of memories together!

not sure if you know it is a girl or boy.
But for my neice I got a charm braclet, that for special occasions (her baptism, birthday, and christmas the arrival of her baby brother) I get her a charm to add to it.
She's only 2 but I know when she gets older- she will love it.
My godmother did it for me and I still have it.

A really nice blanket or baby book. One of the things that my first daughter got was a very cute piggy bank that says my first piggy bank, she still has it today and puts her money in it as she gets it. I really liked that.

How about a nice picture frame and a gift card to Portrait Innovations?

I have given this suggestion a few times on Mamasource, so I apologize if I am driving everyone nuts but I have bought many of the kids on my lists ceramic pumpkins and snowmen from a site called ceramicscraze.com. The website does not really showcase all the adorable things the owner makes but I have gotten my daughter a light up lidded pumpkin with her name carved into the mouth area. If you don't want the traditional orange pumpkin, she also makes them in sports team color and motif (i.e. baseball eyes, baseball bat-shaped nose). The snowmen also light up and have the child's (or family's) name carved into the tummy area. The snowmen can be painted with any color mittens, hat, scarf and buttons you like. They're unusual gifts that will be brought out for years to come. The average sized pumpkin runs about $40 as does the small snowman. The larger snowman runs $80. If you check out the site and email the owner, she will send you photos of what she can do.

I just became an aunt this Monday;) It is WONDERFUL! I am so excited - she is coming home from the hospital today.

For her baby shower, I knew she had all the big stuff covered. I had a lady on etsy (local - from St Charles) re-create my sister's favorite stuffed animal from when she was a baby. It was a stuffed Santa, and it looked PERFECT. It now has a place of honor in the nursery. Here is her link - she also does adorable taggies, and custom ones too. She is GREAT to deal with! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5534201 Look at her completed sales to see her past work. It was really reasonable - I think I paid $20.

I also gave her a gift certificate to a great in-home photographer I use. Instead of having to drag the baby to the mall, Sam will come and take pics in the nursery, etc. Her website is http://samanthaprovenzano.com/ .

I also loaned her my cradle, and had my kids' names embroidered on it, and the new baby's as well. It was a nice way to start a tradition.

Good luck, and congrats!

I bought my neice her first blanket and she takes it everywear. It has holes in it and has been through everything but she is 6 now and it's still her favorite.