10 Thoughtful Gift Cards For Families With Newborns — From The Start, Postpartum Doula

They registered for a carseat and a pack-n-play and a rock-n-play and a dock-a-tot and a blah-a-blah. Some of them they will use, I promise you. Some of these things they will use every day. Some of these things they will feel obligated to use at least once because, well, they asked for it (because someone told them to) and you, a dear friend, bought it for them (because they asked for it). So, they’ll remove the tags, work for 10 minutes to make their sweet little baby a cute face so they can get a picture to send you as a “Thank you” for getting said item, then immediately post it on the exchange pages or return it to the back of the closet where it’s been languishing since they received it at the baby shower (because the thought of a return line at a brick-and-mortar store gives parents have newborn heebees- geebies!). Then another family visits the swap page or event and buys that “link-new” baby item for about a third of the retail price and zero wear. Ugh!

And that sometimes leads to the good idea fairy tales that appear when we compile our baby registries.

There are so many “Top 10” baby registry lists and “What You Really Need” blog posts out there that I wanted to present a few different ideas for you. I know, I know the idea of ​​giving someone a gift card because their actual present sounds unappealing. I mean, that’s what a prepubescent high school freshman would gift. I got. Trust me. I love giving big gifts. You might find it difficult to give these gift cards as gifts because you won’t actually need to wrap them in one of those HUGE, HUGE baby shower gift bags (although you can!). But trust me, these small but mighty gift cards will be appreciated. Plus, you can always wrap a box-within-a-box, inside a box, inside a box, inside a box, inside a BIG, BIG baby shower bag!

However, I’ve also been an advocate of giving thoughtful and practical gifts. As a military family that continues to downsize despite growing a family, I can fully attest that more is not better. Stuff takes up space so getting more stuff when you get a new person isn’t always good. Thoughtfully giving one of the gift cards listed below, especially when given an explanation and purpose, can be more thoughtful than just getting another NB-sized onsie that baby will still grow inside of an hour.

Let’s go to the list. Here are my Top 10 thoughtful gift cards to gift to a family with (or expecting) a newborn:

1. The obvious considering who wrote this list…gift certificate for one postpartum doula and/or lactation consultant. We offer such a range of support for the whole family that receiving a postpartum doula as a baby shower gift will be a blessing for everyone! The only thing I would caution here is, this may not be a good “surprise” gift. I highly recommend discussing this with the mama-to-be before purchasing a large package with a postpartum doula. The family/postpartum doula relationship is so intimate that families do not want anyone providing support during this time. So, the gifted has several different options on how to do this. First, you can talk to the mom-to-be about your idea before the baby shower then encourage her to interview a few different postpartum doulas. This will allow the family to first determine the best person to support their family. Then, once a doula or doula agency is identified, you can work with the doula agency to find a way to provide doula support (I do, so if you’re local to me – SAN PEDRO, PALOS VERDES , SOUTH BAY, and LONG BEACH in SoCal, get in touch and let’s chat!). Or, the second thing you can do, is present the idea as a baby shower gift. If you do this, do your own research first and then show the expectant parent a selection of 3 or 4 doulas or doula agencies that you think would be a good fit for the family. Then work to schedule interviews and let the prospective family know how much you can charge for services.

2. Costco (or BJs o Sams Club) Membership: The key here is to find out if the recipient has a favorite product. For example, my wife and I are convinced that Charmin Ultra Strong is hands-down the best toilet paper ever. Well, not all of these warehouse stores have that brand. But, if your friend and her family are willing to try new things, I can’t speak highly enough of Costco and their Kirkland store brand. My poor husband’s entire wardrobe is from Costco or Eddie Bauer or LL Bean. I love Costco! I will probably do a whole blog article on the reasons why I love Costco for parents of newborns!

3. Door Dash, UberEats, Omaha Steak, or something similar in your area: Parents with new babies don’t want to cook every night. They also don’t want to think hard about what to eat or get it (God-forbid they have to put their new baby in the carseat, lug the carseat into the restaurant, then figure out how to manage and carry it all). So, getting a gift certificate for a place that offers many different dining and delivery options gives them the best of all options.

4. Local grocery store o Target. It’s not glamorous, but there will definitely be an emergency grocery run even after the pregnancy is over. Diapers, wipes, coconut oil, laundry detergent, stain remover, food for the forgotten family pet (no judgment here…I speak from experience dude!), or just plain ole dinner (see also suggested gift above !). If you live near a Wegmans, consider yourself so-freaking-lucky!! You might also consider a gift card to a grocery delivery service like Instacart o Amazon Fresh. This way the family can decide exactly what they need and have it delivered to them instead of hitting the grocery store with a newborn. Just make sure their family lives in a service area for these services.

5. Amazon Prime Membership. I think most people are Amazon Prime members by now, but if this family isn’t, please gift it to them. They deserve it. Pantry. Wardrobe. Videos. Music. Audio books. 2-day delivery. All of these are very handy for families with newborns. Do them a favor and bring them into the 21st Century. They will thank you in about 4 months.

6. Barnes and Noble gift card. While there will be a lot of hustle and bustle with a newborn, there will also be down time and, at times, it can be very lonely and boring, if not prepared. If the parents are serious readers, maybe they’ll enjoy a trip to Barnes and Noble or finding books on the Nook to help fight that boredom. Or if they are Amazon Kindle users, consider an Amazon gift card given with the intention of them loading up on books (Audible is an Amazon company so Amazon gift cards are also available for Audible rental). The alternative is to help them by getting them a library card at their local library and showing them free library apps like Overdrive or Libby.

7. Shutterfly o Minted o Other stationary gift certificate. You know you expect to get a baby announcement! You might even know where it goes in the fridge. But, did you know those things aren’t cheap!? Why not give a gift certificate for a photo card printing company like Shutterfly or even a post-card making app like this one ink? Or, the recipient can also use the card to create custom stationary on behalf of the baby and then use those as thank you cards in the future. Sidenote – Costco also offers good quality cards, so if you’re doing the Costco card thing, keep this in mind!

8. Newborn Photographer AND/OR gift certificate good for purchase of prints. If the family has expressed a desire for a newborn photographer (or even a maternity photo shoot), this can be a great gift. Contact the photographer to make sure he or she is available in the window the family will need them before the gift certificate is available! Also, side note on this – make sure the family is interested in it. I know that, personally, this is not something I would want on any of my children. That said, I was just going to use the gift certificate at a family photo session a few months later (as long as the gift certificate doesn’t expire!).

9. Magazine subscription. Perhaps one of the parents enjoys decorating the house. Perhaps the other parent enjoys traveling or walking. Or, maybe you know one of the parents has a People Magazine fettish! Getting the gift of a magazine subscription will give them something to look forward to in the first weeks and months of the postpartum period PLUS it will give them some low-stress entertainment for a while. Parents can even read (some of) these magazines to their newborn.

10. House cleaning. Give the gift of a clean house. Whether you pay enough for a one-time, pre-baby deep cleaning or you offer to cover the cost of a series of services, a clean house can do wonders for a parent’s sanity and overall well-being. .