Clothes in six to twelve months
The size everyone forgets. Simple, washable, front-opening, and in a fabric that survives a machine at sixty degrees.
New baby gifts
Some links on this page go to Amazon. If you buy through one we earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend or the order we put things in. Photographs here are illustrations of the kind of thing described, not pictures of a particular product.
For the baby, but chosen properly
Things that get used past the first month.
A muslin or blanket in a fabric worth keeping
Large, plain, and good enough that it becomes the one. The specific blanket a child attaches to is not predictable, but quality raises the odds.
Board books rather than picture books
Cardboard survives being chewed and thrown; paper does not. Buy the ones with high contrast pages for the first months.
A carrier or sling, if they have not got one
Check first, because it is a real expense and duplicates are awkward. A good one is the difference between a parent having two hands and having none.
A sleep bag in the next size up
They have newborn sizes and nothing beyond. A bag in six to twelve months arrives exactly when the drawer runs out.
A hooded towel worth keeping
Thick cotton rather than the thin novelty kind. Used twice a day for two years, then kept.
For the parents, who nobody buys for
The half of this category people forget entirely.
A proper night light
Dim, warm and switchable with one hand in the dark. Overhead lights end any chance of everyone going back to sleep.
A large insulated mug with a lid
Cold coffee is the defining experience of a new baby. A lidded mug keeps a drink warm through an unexpected forty minutes.
Snacks that can be eaten one-handed
Unromantic and remembered. A box of decent bars, nuts and fruit beside the feeding chair is a genuine kindness.
Gifts for the older sibling
Frequently the most useful thing you can bring and almost always forgotten.
A small something for the two-year-old
Bringing a present for the baby and nothing for the displaced older child is a mistake you only make once. It need not be much, it needs to exist.
A soft cloth book for small hands
The book a baby can chew, drop and wash, which no board book survives. It is also the one that travels in the bag.
A playmat that folds away
Somewhere safe to put the baby down that does not become furniture. Foldable matters in a flat.
A keepsake box for the first year
Hospital band, first hat, the tag. It gets filled without anyone planning to, and it is the thing looked at in twenty years.
For the first year, not the first week
Arrives when the newborn gifts have run out.
A high chair mat or a splash mat
Weaning starts sooner than anyone expects.
A bath thermometer and a rinse cup
Small, cheap, and used every single evening.
Gifts for the parents, which is what they actually need
The first fortnight is the hardest and it is when almost nobody gives anything useful.
-
Food that arrives cooked
A delivered meal, a stack of frozen dinners, or a standing order somewhere local. Ask before doing this only if you must, arranging it without a discussion is part of the gift.
-
A cleaner for a few weeks
The gift people are shy about giving and enormously relieved to receive. Frame it as a fortnight of help rather than as a comment on the state of the house.
-
A very good water bottle with a straw
Feeding makes you unbelievably thirsty and you generally have one hand. This is a small object with a specific, constant use in the first months.
-
Coffee, tea, or whatever gets them through
Good stuff, ground for however they make it, in enough quantity to last. Consumable, low-stakes, and reliably used.
Gifts for the older sibling, continued
-
An afternoon out with the older one
Taking the sibling to the park for three hours is worth more to those parents than any object, and the child gets undivided attention on a day when it is scarce.
Gift countdown and order-by dates
Put in the date and see how long you have, and the last sensible day to order each kind of gift.
Save the birthday
Save the birth date and we'll remind you about a month before it comes around, every year from now on.
How to choose
Most new baby gifts are bought for the baby and used by nobody. The ones that work are either for the parents, who are the people actually having a hard week, or they are keepsakes tied to the birth date, which the baby grows into rather than out of.
It helps to know what they already have. First babies arrive with an enormous quantity of newborn clothing and almost no food in the house. Second babies arrive with all the equipment already in the loft and parents who are considerably more tired.
One practical note on sizing: if you are giving clothes, buy for six to twelve months rather than newborn. Everyone buys newborn, the baby is in it for a fortnight, and the useful sizes are the ones nobody thinks of.
Questions
Good to know
When should I send a new baby gift?
Any time in the first few months. There is a strong case for waiting three or four weeks: the first fortnight brings a flood of gifts and visitors, and something arriving in the quiet stretch afterwards tends to be more welcome.
What size clothes should I buy?
Six to twelve months. Newborn sizing is bought by everyone and worn for about a fortnight, so the larger sizes are consistently the more useful gift.
Is it strange to give a gift to the parents instead of the baby?
No, and it is usually the better gift. The baby has no opinion for some months; the parents are exhausted for all of them.
What about a gift for a baby who has arrived early or is in hospital?
Keep it small and practical and aim it at the parents, food, parking money, a decent bag. Avoid anything with a birth weight or a date printed on it until things are settled.
