What was the best gift you received as a new parent?

Be sure to tell us why it was so great. If it’s something you can find online, please include a link.

    10 answers

    • N
      nicholep
      751Top answer

      A visit! I felt lonely in my first mat leave so it was so meaningful when friends and family visited and reminded me I had a community.

      • rachel—I love this idea. It’s easy to forget how isolating it is as a new parent.
      • ritu—+100 I was not prepared for how lonely mat leave was the first time around! And so so repetitive with that continuous 2 hour feed-sleep-diaper loop. Visits from people were amazing!
      • JackieR—Love it, esp those very short and sweet visits. Not lingering too long (lets face it, I was exhausted) but swinging by for 30-60 mins :)
      • moni—It also makes you forget how tired you are!
    • rachel
      8302

      My first were twins and they were preemies, born at 4 lbs 1 oz each. We were not prepared for preemies, and had nothing for them to wear. 🤷‍♀️ A couple days later, a friend dropped off a delicious homemade taquitos meal, with a bunch of fruit and healthy snacks, along with several darling preemie outfits for each of them. I remember closing the door after she dropped it all off and bursting into tears in gratitude at her thoughtfulness. The healthy delicious food and the preemie outfits were exactly what I had needed.

      For those of you with preemies, or with friends who have preemies, a lot of brands have preemie lines that are designed for preemies who are at least 5 lbs or so. But Carters has two lines for preemies, one for those under 5 lbs and one for those 5-6 lbs. We found those were the best for the tiny preemies. https://www.carters.com/carters-preemie-clothes?prefn1=apparelSize&prefv1=Preemie+(Up+to+5+lbs)

      • ale—uf, I can’t imagine how stressful it would be to have twins preemies! Glad to hear that your friends were there to support you!
    • perla
      1702

      Ready made meals for me: home cooked food or food delivery gift cards are critical for those early days when it’s so hard to think about feeding the parents

      • J
        JackieR
        60

        My favorite gift was from my friends Moni & Ale, they got us a ton of delicious frozen empanadas. Super easy to just pop in the oven and ready in 20 minutes, incredibly convenient (zero effort) and delicious.

        • ale—So yummy! If you are in the Bay Area, these guys have the best ones that are sold frozen for you to bake https://pampabbq.com/shop/ols/categories/EMPANADAS
      • jon
        190

        when i found out i was going to be a dad, a coworker gifted me a copy of Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering by Ruth Spiro. it was one of the first “dad” gifts i got. https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Loves-Aerospace-Engineering-Science/dp/1580895417

        i LOVED it. it opened my eyes to what great kids books can be: it’s beautiful, thoughtful, and full of wonder. my daughter and i got lots of early bonding time reading it together, and it makes me smile to think of her staring wide-eyed at the cute little bird in the book. “bird” ended up being her first word! 😊

        i’m now always on the hunt for truly great kids books, and have many favorites, but Aerospace Engineering will always have a special place in my heart. if you have a little one under 2, i highly recommend any of the Baby Loves Science series — Coding and Quarks are also highlights for me. 🤓

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