Useful Baby Shower Gifts

Baby showers... you either dread them, or get excited about picking out tiny outfits the newborn is sure to wear only once, if that. I received so many great gifts, so I am not complaining. However, there was so much that didn't get used or was only worn once.

From now on I recommend getting these future moms some real presents that they don't even have a clue they will need. Here are my top 5 recommendations:

1. Cover-up, bronzer, foundation, oh my! I only used lipstick and eye makeup before having kids. Now I need to cover those dark circles under my eyes, bronze up the pasty winter-white skin on my face, and slap a layer of foundation over everything to cover up all those other spots I can't seem to scrub away.

2. Take out menus. This gift can be given to the husband who will inevitably ask "What's for dinner?" while new-mom is totally sleep deprived and probably hasn't eaten in 2 days. If she's nice, she may grit her teeth and say "Whatever you are making." If she isn't, this sentence will probably lead to divorce. So for a lasting marriage... take out menus.

3. Disposable kitchenware. I am talking about paper cups, plates, forks, spoons, and knives. Even if you have a dish washer, loading and unloading requires work. Not to mention the scatter brain of a new parent might end in disastrous results.  After I had Kenzie, I was going to wash up some bottles and pump items. I turned on the hot water, plugged the sink, walked away to grab something... and 3 hours later Dan came home and yelled "WHAT THE HELL!", the sink was still going and had flooded... (THANKFULLY!!!) into the other side of the sink. There was no hot water for the rest of the day. This could have ended with a flooded kitchen and ruined hardwood floors. Lesson learned: after baby, no dishes.

4. Yoga pants and a big pack of V-neck T-shirts. The uniform of a new mom. No the yoga pants aren't for working out! How dare you?! They are comfy and not as gross as sweat pants with paint on them. The T-shirts are for easy feeding access for the new baby, and big enough to forget that with the birth of the baby, all the weight didn't miraculously come off too. It takes at least as long as you carried that kid for it to come off. No one tells you that. Your welcome.

5. A break. I am not talking about watching the new baby, although that might be helpful, I am talking about giving the new parent some slack. Text messages won't get returned, phone calls will go unanswered, and emails will probably be returned with an "inbox is full" message. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with sleep deprivation, hormones, and tending to a little person that can't do a thing for himself. It took me, on average, 2 weeks to return a message of any sort. Your friend will be back to her old self in a few months, so hang in there and don't take it personally.

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