New Baby gift Guide Giveaway!

To celebrate the birth of our new daughter, Bridget, I thought it would be lovely to show you some of our favourite things that we have received as gifts across the births of all of our children or used in the past but also somethings that we think would make great gifts too.
So, I’ve put together a range of ideas for any budget and would love to share them with you. What’s even better than that, is I will also be giving away some of these gifts in the give away at the bottom of the page.

Blankets

I’m going to start with one of my favourite things that Dexter, Paisley and Bridget have received – A hand crochet blanket, made by Gemma at Woolly Creations . Gemma makes such lovely blankets and they really are a high quality. They wash well and are so soft, I would recommend them to everyone. We often get asked where we got them from when out and about. An absolute perfect baby gift and they can be made to any colour schemes with plenty of patterns to choose from.
Just how beautiful are these rainbow variations? You can message her for a chat and to discuss designs on her facebook page(above).

Milestone cards

These things are becoming all the rage and are a lovely way of remembering all of the babies milestones – 1 week, 1 month old, 2 months, first smile, first steps and all those other important firsts. We didn’t have any for Dexter and just had a free set for Paisley out of a magazine, but have this set from Belo and Me for Didge which have such cute designs on. I can’t wait to start using them. I’m sure the announcement card will be included in her upcoming birth story.

Coaching Cards

On the subject of cards, I also really love the idea of these Coaching Cards for new parents. Especially good if this is your first baby. Becoming parents for the first time can put a massive strain on your relationship. Especially when it comes to parenting differences. These cards are awesome for just pulling one out of the pack and using it as a conversation starter. By answering the questions on the card, you learn more about each other, and your opinions on how to handle various situations. Some questions are fun, some are a bit more in depth, but they are a great way of figuring out the way you want to do things in a minefield of advise. I reviewed these cards a while ago (which reminds me, I was going to use them as future blog post topics) so you can find more info here. Whats better is that the Coaching Cards have recently been shortlisted for the Lovedbyparents Awards 2017 in the ‘Best innovative gift under £50’ category.

Next to bed style cribs

I have and still occasionally do co-sleep with both Dexter and Paisley. (We do it safely and follow the recommendations) and I’ve found it so much easier. Especially with Paisley being born via c-sec. Having her right next to me meant I didn’t have to strain to lift her in or out of anything and with breastfeeding, I was able to dream feed her and not worry about me dropping her as we were both laying down. Safe sleeping is very important to me. With most of Dexters epileptic episodes having been at night too, we are very cautious when it comes to bed time which is why we now have the Chicco ‘Next2Me Dream’ for our new little one.
The mesh sides make it breathable as a stand alone crib and there are so many adjustable height levels that you can lower the sides to line up perfectly to your mattress if you want to use it as a co sleeper. Also, for refluxy or sicky babies, you can also tilt it to a degree that helps them keep their feeds down, preventing them from chocking.

Teething Necklace / Bracelet

For Paisley I had a necklace with turquoise silicon beds. For the new baby I have a silicon bracelet in grey so it goes with almost everything. Wearable and stylish for you but soothing for your babies gums and perfect for tiny hands, they make a lovely affordable gift for any new parent and are available in so many colours, styles and materials. Not just good for teething, they also double as fiddle beads to be played with while your baby is feeding. There are some beautiful ones available on apples and pips (which is where my bracelet is from)

Personalised Haynes baby manual.

We were gifted one of these back at the start of the year for Paisley from I Just love it. Based on Haynes’ ‘strip down and rebuild’ car manuals, this Haynes Explains Babies Manual is a tongue-in-cheek guidebook that will provide parents with hours of laughter. Personalised with the Baby’s Name on the cover and featured throughout the book, it will make a terrific present for soon-to-be parents and you can even leave your own advice on parenting in the form of a loving Message on the opening page.

Lap Baby

Easily one of the best ever baby products we’ve had! I’ve written a review of it here but in short, it’s a lap belt for sitting your baby on your lap but allowing you to keep your hands free. It has a toy clip and a removal lap apron and is perfect for keeping your baby close but still enabling you to eat, work or even entertain your other children. We got plenty of use out of ours with Paisley and once Bridget is big enough we will most definitley be using it again. I cannot recommend it enough.

Gratitude Journal

More for the parents than the baby, the Gratitude Journal is a lovely way of finding (or at least looking for) the positive in each day. I’ve started one recently on the day of Bridget’s birth so it will record 100 days of gratitude. With a lot of focus in the media on mental health lately it’s a great mindfulness tool and has helped me in those emotional moments that follow a birth when your hormones are trying to rebalance themselves and everything is a bit crazy.

Little Bird Quilt

I am absolutely in love with the Little Bird range by Jools Oliver and I REALLY want this quilt! With the bright colours you can help but smile when you look at it and the patchwork design is fun and retro. It features some of the classic Little Bird prints so is instantly recognisable and is great for both cot beds and toddler beds. The only thing is, I couldn’t pick a favourite child, so I would need three of them hahaha.

Giveaway

To mark the birth of our baby girl, I am giving away 3 items from this list. All you have to do is enter via the rafflecopter form below to win

• 1 pack of belo and me milestone cards
• 1 pack of coaching cards for new parents
• 1 teething necklace courtesy of apples and pips

a Rafflecopter giveaway