One of the reasons we exist is that a lot of the gifting energy surrounding the birth is targeted at the baby. While it’s lovely to receive baby clothes after your little one is born, receiving a gift as the mom – for you and about you – is extra meaningful. It’s a subtle reminder that you are not forgotten, and that people realize you need TLC after the baby is born, too.
So, here is our gift guide for new moms – read below for extra specific examples and ideas. We have a TON of suggestions, which no infographic in the world could contain.
Something Beautiful
Flowers are a great go-to, but don’t feel restrictions to lilies. Feel free to bring in a fern or a succulent, which have an added low-maintenance bonus! Overall, plants make people happy, and freshen up the air in a home.
Postpartum does very little to make someone feel pretty, or even feminine (oh, the irony in that!). Simple jewelry can make her feel fresh again.
- One of our favorite companies is Honor Mama. Jen creates beautiful pieces to honor the breastfeeding journey of a mother.
A photo of the pair of you, if you’re close, can be a quiet yet powerful reminder of your relationship in a time that can be isolating. This would be a wonderful thing to even text her with randomly. “Remember that day?” Good memories are good for the soul.
A beautiful journal is a great way to help a mother stay centered. Postpartum is a blur that’s hard to wrap your head around. Being able to look back on memories – the first time she felt confident breastfeeding, the first time her baby smiled in the quiet of their room, the day she finally realized that she’s a MOM – is a huge blessing.
Something Practical
There’s a huge array of wonderful people who have designed postpartum care kits to make the responsibility of taking care of yourself post-birth much simpler.
- The Forever & Always box is a resourceful box with no stone left unturned – Sarah made sure to add nipple cream, a sitz bath, mesh panties, pillow spritz, and even a few chocolates.
- There’s also Much Love Gifts. Katie has carefully designed a box for mom after birth, a box for going back to work, and a box for older siblings! You can choose a box based on what you know mom will need and appreciate.
- Another favorite of Marabou’s is Laurel & Fig, a box full of feel-good vibes and encouragement for mom. They also have tees that bring to light postpartum and motherhood.
Taking the questions of dinner? away from a family with a newborn is a huge blessing. Try a gift card for takeout, bonus if it’s nutritious and local, like Crisp & Green.
Try offering to entertain older siblings (then and there, when you visit!). Take their adjusting littles to the park down the street, play a board game, or even take them out to ice cream. That is a huge load off of mom and dad’s shoulders, and it’s super fun for kids! Sometimes the best gift of all is extra hands.
Something Yummy
Postpartum snack boxes are the best thing since sliced bread! Most are designed to be nutritious and supportive of mom’s milk supply, and we have yet to try one we don’t like.
- Freshly Moms has boxes designed with Ayurveda (Indian practices of nutritional healing) in mind. They have amazing granolas, lactation powders for smoothies, and hot cereals.
- Majka is another well-designed box, with protein powders and energy bites galore.
A box of Red Raspberry Leaf tea is a simple and thoughtful thing for a new mom. With an herbal blend geared toward the female system, it can aid mom’s recovery. And I’ve even found it at Target!
Bring a home-cooked meal. When you’re postpartum, it may be the best gift of all when a friend cooks you a hearty meal with lots of TLC. Barring any food preferences or dietary restrictions, you honestly cannot go wrong.
OR! Bring her her favorite coffee. From a shop. Awesome.
Something Relaxing
This category can be crucial – it’s difficult but so important as a new mom to keep your nervous system level! Go above and beyond and offer to hold the baby for an hour while mom enjoys your gift. Trust me, you’ll be promoted to best friend or favorite cousin.
Sitz baths are super beneficial – they help a mom relax as she soaks and nurture her perineum. If you’ve ever given birth, you know just how much work that part of the body has done, and how much TLC it needs and deserves! There are plenty of resources for herbal sitz baths: Nourishing Her, Earth Mama, or in a pinch you can even bring a bag of Epsom salts.
If you know mom’s favorite scent, a soy candle would be a nice addition to her postpartum suite. A warm scent at our bedside encourages us to breathe deeper and release tension.
If you meditate, sharing your favorite track with mom might be everything she needs; this is something she can easily do while laying in bed with baby or during a lengthy nursing session.
Bring mom your favorite novel! I have personally been a recipient of a good book, and it was so appreciated! I was able to add to my stack a book that wasn’t on my radar, and I enjoyed the story immensely. Getting lost in a good book can be just the right kind of relaxing.
Something Funny
Just like in labor, it’s important to keep our senses of humor in the trenches of postpartum. And if mom can still laugh when things are funny, you can be reassured that her mental and emotional state are balanced even though she’s going through this major time.
One of my favorite baby shower games invites guests to write funny messages with sharpies on diapers. These are used for middle-of-the-night diaper changes, when mom is extra tuckered. Reading messages from her friends like “Caution! Open at your own risk!” and “Isn’t it Daddy’s turn?” can put a smile on her face at the perfect time.
Bring her your favorite funny movie! When she’s nursing and nursing and nursing, she can enjoy something entertaining and uplifting instead of scrolling Netflix for the 100th time.
A goofy photo. I know my bestie and I have taken a million ridiculous photos over our 19 years of friendship, and they make me chuckle every time.
Most of these are emotional gifts – thoughtful things that let mom know you’re on your mind. Think outside the box, and you may just make mom’s day and change how things are going.
How does Marabou support women?
We live in culture where “bouncing back” is more valued than proper rest. As admirable as it may be for a sports star to get back on the field, the same rules don’t apply to postpartum recovery. The traditional resting period has been stolen from women through pressure to get back to their job or simply through lack of presence.
Grandmas, sisters and best friends who otherwise would have been there to help a woman transition into motherhood often live too far away to be of any help. Household chores and caring for older children inevitably fall on the mom. But she just delivered a new life! She needs rest.
Marabou Services is a unique gift registry which provides services instead of stuff. Most mom’s get too many onesies, too many baby blankets and not enough helping hands. Break out of a destructive cultural norm and start a Marabou registry today.
With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.
Postpartum doulas for a first time mom
House cleanings for moms of multiples
Childcare for moms with older children!
Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.
More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.
