Shopping for mommies.

The CRUNCH:
Shopping for mommies.

CRUNCH deets:
Your coworker/sister/BFF’s about to pop, so you’re super excited. You’re also super stressed. Her bridal shower’s coming up and you’re at a loss. You don’t mind splurging a little, but don’t want to waste your money and, well, ever heard of Baby Tock? Someone, somewhere is working on a prototype right now and you just know he’s banking on someone like you.

The Fix:
The wish list.

Fix deets:
We were recently asked for gift suggestions for a baby shower and we’ve got a brand new niece/nephew on his/her way any second now (yay!!), so gift ideas are a-flying. Woot! Anyone else think that baby-prez shopping is the most enjoyable way to hand over your credit card? There’s a reason for that: it doesn’t involve changerooms.

Without further adieu, here’s our wish list for new mamas/papas/babies:

• A FreeHand Mei Tai. What new parent doesn’t need a free hand? This is my number one fave baby carrier because it lasts from newborn through to at least age three (seriously – been there), has different positions for different ages/needs, NEVER hurts my back, and folds up easily to fit in a backpack/diaper bag (no buckles… sweet). We’ve also rocked the forward-facing front-carry many a grocery shopping trip –it’s not technically kosher, but I did get it doc-approved. It takes a minute to wrap baba up, but it’s worth it and really doesn’t take a heckuva lot of practice. Really.
• A Hotslings pouch. I’m not into buying a different baby carrier for every day of the week, but this one does serve a different purpose. It’s not as handy as the FreeHand (sorry) for a sleepy babe or for extended baby-wearing (no mama needs backpain – one among many reasons to avoid a Bjorn) but is awesome for nursing (nailed it) and any time you need a quick hip carry for your older babe (dinner prep/laundry/dishes… basically ninety percent of a mom’s day). At sixteen months, Lola still likes to hang out in there any time she needs an extra cuddle and I’ve got my hands full.
• Diapers. Let the parents-to-be figure out their own answer to the great cloth debate and spring for a pack of newborn disposables. We bummi-wrapped our non-newbies most of the time, but there’s enough to figure out in the first few days and awkward/bulky baby bums are one extra complication. Plus, the umbilical cord cut-out and pee-sensing lining in disposables… genius.
• Olive oil for the meconium/cradle-cap and extra-strength Zincofax for the diaper rash. Forty percent zinc oxide. Nuff said.
• A tube of Lansinoh. She’ll thank you later.
• Books, books, and more books. My go-to baby info book is Baby 411, but our sleep Bible is Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems. The first board books my babies loved were interactive (think holes/texture/puppets) and colourful (Todd Parr/the Canada books). Our fave classic is Goodnight Moon – we’ve read it every day for over seven years now. Love. Runners-up are The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Guess How Much I Love You, and Love You Forever. If you feel like buying for the future, pick up a copy of Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom, Chopsticks, Pinkalicious, or Howard B. Wigglebottom. My book list is long… you’ve already figured out I’m a nerd bookworm, right? I snap pics of our faves and post them on Twitter and Facebook, so check out the photo section here or book section here if you ever want a recco.
• A SupperWorks/SupperSolved gift card is incredibly valuable, even if she has no idea what it is. She will.
• A bonding/socializing class like one of the awesome ones offered by Mommy Connections. I didn’t know about MC when I had my babies, but I really wish I had! Fun and informative – it’s truly a gift that’ll keep on giving when all those adorable newborn onesies no longer fit and the diaper bag is covered in spit-up or… worse.
• Cleaning services. She won’t shed a tear when she unwraps it, but it’ll save her from weeping about the state of her house one day not too far away.
• Her fave coffee and/or tea. LOTS of it.

Remember this:
Don’t blow it out of proportion – there’s no need to stress. Whatever you gift her will be treasured if you give it with your heart. Happy shopping!

Leave a comment if there’s something we forgot that you couldn’t live without when you had your baby. And email us if you’d like a gift certificate for consultation services – no expiry so she can use it months after she’s forgotten she ever received it… make that years. Milk brain.