When choosing gifts for a newborn baby you really have to look at what the new parents may actually be needing. There are all sorts of wonderful things out there for babies these days and some are costly!
Of course a baby will need a crib with mattress and sheets and blankets. And of course a baby will need bottles, diapers, Chest of Drawers, clothes, playthings and many other things.
But now that I am a Grandmother I have a new responsibility. And I take it very serious!
When my new grandson was born on Christmas Day 2001, I was so very happy and yet so very sad, for my oldest baby was having a baby and was now a mama! I was on my way to Mississippi that wonderful Christmas Day night, and I hadn’t even got to Tallahassee Florida when my son in law called me to tell me that my grandson was born.
I got to hear his very first cry over my cell phone. Thank the Good Lord for those things! I had to pull over for tears were blinding me. It was the most wonderful sound that I had heard in such a long time.
Now in the back of my mind I was going through the list that my daughter had given me that she still needed. And I knew that we were going to be sending out birth announcements so I was not too concerned with those things. What I was concerned about was what was I going to buy him first!
After seeing my grandson for the first time way in the early morning hours the next day, and after some much needed rest and a shower I went off to the local Wal Mart there where my daughter lived on a mission of finding the perfect gift for my new grandson.
Boy, things have changed over the years! Did you know that they now make clothing to fit a newborn! So, his first gift was just that! Well, he had to have something that he could wear! Everything else was just too big for him! And his first pictures were taken in that outfit and I see him everyday in it, right here on top of my computer screen. Cute little guy!
The next thing I got him, well me, was a little photo album for Grandmother’s only. And here is where all his pictures will be.
Of course his new Uncle and Aunt had to buy something too! And who was I to say “no!” His new Uncle bought him a soft plush bear just for boys! And his Aunt bought him a blanket. And of course I bought him some receiving blankets that he needed, couldn’t have the little thing all cold.
Now since his mother had done is room in “Winnie The Pooh” that narrowed the choices down a lot! And since his father was a “Navy” man, that meant the little Sailor shoes that I found would be great!
I also bought something for his mother, to thank her for the wonderful gift of love that she had just given me. I started out with a card, then something just for her.
When you buy for a baby, you must choose things that will be needed first, and then the things you want it to have. But, as a grandparent, you can do what ever you want to do! And you don’t even have to ask!
I will order things online for just his age now and send them to him in the mail. For Easter he got “Clifford, The big Red Dog”, forget the Easter Bunny, his parents can buy that for him. I have this great refrigerator picture of the two of them, my grandson is laughing/grinning at Clifford® and so serious too, as if they have this secret just between the two.
I recently sent him his first phone that he got mad at because it stopped and he couldn’t figure it out! But after his mother showed him, he was okay and laughing on the phone with me again.
I made sure that she had baby bottles, blankets, teething rings, shoes, shirts, walker, swing, and all those things. I made sure she had things just for herself, if you know what I mean! And I included that son in law of mine.
See that’s the thing, you have to include the whole new family. Buy something for each one of them, but of course the baby more. And think of things that can be used later down the road as well. They do grow you know and become teenagers!
I made my new grandson his very own photo album. His mother picked out the material she wanted and I put it all together for them. This is a gift that will always last!
You can also look at investing in a Bond or a CD for the little one. You have to think of their future now too! And as a parent and now grandparent, I want to make sure that they all have something when I am gone. Instead of spending all cash, take some and put in the bank for the little ones. Fix it so that when you are gone and they reach a certain age, they can have it. This will help them to have a down payment on a house or car or to use for college even!
Think of ways to be creative, you don’t always have to spend money. Use your resources at home. You will be surprised what you can do with your hands. Make something for them to play with when they come to visit. Make those memories where they will last a lifetime!
Be smart and use your common sense. Buy medicines that the mother will need for the child, buy baby milk, diapers, baby wash, baby pins, lotions and things like that. Give the parents money and let them pick out what they would like their child to have. And if the parents to be have made a baby registry at a store, by all means look there first! They did that for a reason you know. Buy plug covers, bottle scrubbers and baby wipes too! The Dollar Stores are great to find these types of things and the cost is cheap! $1.00!
You don’t have to go overboard! Do what you can do and let it end at that. And as you can, do some more. Don’t go broke buying for the little ones. And remember, if you are going to have other children, hold on to the first ones things, they will certainly come in handy again.
Don’t forget to send that first Mother’s Day Card to your son or daughter. Let them know you still love them too! And husbands don’t you dare forget the first Mother’s Day!
Love them with all you’ve got. Teach them well and they will not part from it!
I hope that this has helped in some kind of way.
God Bless!
© LKD 2002