I think books—either board books for babies and toddlers or hardcover classics with a little inscription make great gifts. Building a good children’s library gets expensive and I’ve found that people gave me great books I never would have gone out and bought myself.

If the baby has already been born/named then a personalized swaddle blanket is a wonderful keepsake. We have ones for each of our kids from here and they are so soft: https://agreatbaby.com/

Anonymous wrote:Nose Frida...not cute but soooo useful.
Someone gave me a Sophie the Giraffe and I had no idea what it was and gave it to my dog. She loved it, months later I found out how expensive they are.

Seriously? You gave it to your stupid dog? It says on the front of the package what it’s for. And considering it was a gift to you when you had a baby, I presume. you would be able to deduce what it’s for.

Nose Frida - I wouldn’t want to suck snot out of my baby’s nose into my mouth! Horrible gift idea!

Food you can eat one-handed. Does not need to be homemade.

Books, food (gift cards to local places or Thrive Market and/or a pantry stock-up), a delayed membership to the local botanical gardens, historical farm, and kids' science museum (it was a bundle, with grandparent passes) so she'd have somewhere nice to walk around and could bring local family.
A beautiful vase that matched the nursery's custom artwork.
A variety of ultra-sensitive diaper creams was the practical winner for the dad because apparently the baby didn't do well with the traditional ones they had lying around.
The mom was in love with the vase and books because she spent a lot of time nursing and enjoyed reading and the flower subscription that I set up in addition to the vase.
The membership begins whenever they want it to.

I like to do books now (but not the most popular like goodnight Moon). If they’re in DC you could sign them up for Books from Birth.

I think clothes are a waste unless you get an older size because people just get so many and babies mostly just wear pjs and onesies. Agree on no diapers and wipes unless you know their preferences, and on the homemade food or something like Gallery where dinner is delivered.

Clothes in bigger sizes (so like some winter clothes in 6-9mo)

Nose Frida...not cute but soooo useful.
Someone gave me a Sophie the Giraffe and I had no idea what it was and gave it to my dog. She loved it, months later I found out how expensive they are.

Agree on the homemade meal. Someone brought us bagels from Costco, a giant tub of cream cheese, and bottles of OJ. That was one of my favorites. If you don’t want to cook, a pizza gift card is great too. One night we got salad and wings for a change with one of the pizza gift cards we received.

I’d skip the wipes and diapers unless you know. I had a friend bring me Huggies wipes and diapers, but we couldn’t use them because DD broke out with Huggies.

The most memorable gift to me has been those friends who showed up with a homecooked meal. It was so warm hearted and greatly appreciated, more so than the gift that was brought along with it.

Sophie the Giraffe, which is an adorable teething toy that squeaks.

I am looking for suggestions on a cute gift for a couple with new baby. Tell me what you received that you really liked and used or that was memorable.