I recently announced on Instagram that I had one of my best friends, Sydney, join the Snapshots by Ailee Petrovic team (now officially a team, since there are two of us!). Sydney has been helping me with getting contracts setup, social media management, organizing my photography course and editing the material, working on a newborn photography guide, and lots of other incredibly helpful tasks! Today, Sydney is publishing her first blog post – something near and dear to both of us, since we both have little ones under 1 – what to send/gift to a mom with a new baby. She has the best ideas and explains why a new mom would need each item! I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did. To celebrate Sydney’s first post, we’re doing a Pinterest giveaway with a $100 Amazon gift card prize! All you have to do is pin the graphic above and follow me (Snapshots & My Thoughts) on Pinterest! Enter below! Good luck and happy reading.
1 Slippers // 2 Face Masks // 3 Candle // 4 Eye Masks // 5 Robe // 6 Hat // 7 Water Bottle // 8 Mini-Wine Bottles // 9 Dry Shampoo // 10 Hand Sanitizer // 11 Lotion // 12 Amazon Gift Card and/or Starbucks Gift Card // 13 Pacifier Clips // 14 Sanitizing Bags // 15 10-Ft Charging Cable // 16 Mom’s One Line a Day // 17 Philosophy Bubble Bath // 18 Bringing Up Bebe // 19 KIND Bars
On June 17th, I became a mom to my precious baby boy, Camden, and I can tell you, it is the greatest joy I have ever felt. He is the biggest blessing in our lives and every time he smiles, I just melt.
As a new mom myself, I certainly know how hard those first few days and weeks (and let’s be honest, months) can be for new Mommas. I couldn’t have done it without my family and friends supporting me and Philip, my amazing husband, throughout the entire process. I can’t say thank you enough for every late night that my mom stayed up with Cam while I took a quick “nap” (ie – laid in bed and looked at pictures of him), for every text and phone call with my girlfriends who are already moms who shared their guidance and experiences with me to make me feel more normal, and for every meal that our friends and family brought over so I didn’t have to think about cooking… I could go on and on, but I have felt so loved!
Ailee shared some ideas on things you can do for new moms here, but today I’m going to share some ideas that you can give to a new mom. Let’s just be honest, those babies get all of the toys and fun stuff, and Momma needs a little love too! So these are gifts to shower and spoil the new mom in your life. I received several of these items as gifts right after Camden was born and I loved them all!
It’s not always easy when your friends are having babies and they live in another city, but there are several gifts you can mail to them, even if you aren’t nearby, to make them feel loved! The first idea is an Amazon Gift Card. Amazon Prime has been my lifeline over the past few months (ordering diapers when I see we’re about to run out) and 1-click shopping is dangerous, in the best way, for a tired Mom (of course he needs another pair of footed pajamas!). Another great idea to mail is a 10 ft. iPhone charging cord. I was on my phone all the time during those first weeks, mostly filling up my phone storage taking of pictures of my baby sleeping, but it’s annoying when you need to charge it and can’t have it nearby. A long charging cord is a lifesaver and we have them in different rooms throughout our house! A few other ideas that I loved are InstaCart Gift Card (or a gift card to a local restaurant), Tired Under Eye Pads (because dark circles!), and Peter Thomas Roth Masks. I cherished the rare occasion of getting to take a bath to relax. I would light a candle, pour a glass of champagne and put on a facial mask. Even just a few minutes to myself helped me to feel recharged. And my favorite bubble bath? Philosophy’s ‘Amazing Grace.’ It smells fresh and clean and is the perfect scent to help you relax.
Also, when you first bring your baby home from the hospital and you are running on minimal sleep, it is hard to stay awake during feedings, especially in the middle of the night. One way I found helpful to stay awake was by reading Bringing Up Bebe. It’s an adorable book about an American woman who was raising her daughter in Paris. It is a fun read and made me think about what type of parent I wanted to be. This can be ordered and shipped to a friend through Amazon, or taken in-person if you live nearby!
If you are lucky enough to have mom friends in the same city as you, here are a few ideas you can put together in a basket and drop by their house. I might be basic, but candles are my love language. My best friend brought me this candle and I have it by my bedside table and it is so yummy! Also, if your friend is breastfeeding, she will be drinking a TON of water! A cute water bottle is a great idea so she can always have water nearby! She will want to make sure to have snacks handy as well! These Kind Bars were my go-to while I was breastfeeding because I was constantly hungry and they were easy to grab. In addition to being hungry, I was always tired, and a Starbucks gift card is always appreciated by any new mom!
Another great idea is a cute baseball cap because there were several times that a day (or two) would go by, and I genuinely couldn’t remember the last time I washed my hair. This cute hat will go with anything! Alternatively, dry shampoo is also a great idea for disguising dirty hair. This lovely dry shampoo is completely free of dyes, sulfates, parabens, and gluten and comes in three colors for blondes, brunettes, and redheads! And it smells great too!
The first couple of weeks, I was a crazy person about washing my hands so they were always dry! This Honest Co. lotion and hand sanitizer is a must! The lavender scent is my absolute favorite and I keep these mini bottles in my diaper bag and throughout the house, so I always have them on hand. Also, something that made my life so much easier was sanitizing bags! This is an easy way to sanitize pacifiers that get dropped on the ground ALL the time, without running the dishwasher! Also, if you want to save the pacis from constantly falling on the floor, these are the best paci clips! Durable, easy to use, and easy wash!
Side note, when I said that there were several days I would go without washing my hair, I should have mentioned that there were also days I also stayed in my robe and slippers all day long as well. This robe is so soft, lightweight, and it has pockets which I didn’t realize would be my favorite thing about it until after Camden was here. My breast pump is portable, so I could throw it in the robe pocket and go about my business instead of having to hold it or stay in one place for 20 minutes. I took this robe with me to the hospital and have worn it almost everyday since we’ve been home.
I saved my two favorite items for last – The Mom’s One Line A Day book and mini wine bottles! I’m very sentimental, but my memory is not always the best/babies change every single day. This Line A Day book is a daily journal that only has space for a couple of sentences about your day, so it is easy to keep up with. And you do it for 5 years! I started it October 1, 2016, just 4 days before we found out we were pregnant, and I love reading about what I was doing on that day last year while I write about the fun things Camden and I did together on the current day. Also, after 9 months of only taking a sip here and there of vino, I was SO ready to have all the wine! However, because I am breastfeeding, I hate to open a whole bottle because I could only have one glass in between feedings. You should pick out your friends’ favorite, but a couple of my favorite champs (at different price points) can be found here, here, and here!
Thank you for reading my first post! Hopefully you found it helpful and it sparks some ideas for how you can spoil the new moms in your life! If you have any other recommendations, I would love to hear them! – Sydney
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Courtney