Parents - Useful baby gifts?

[FantasticFirefly]

More and more of my friends are having babies..... I have a thing about giving truly useful gifts if a person doesn't have an outright obsession I can feed. Like Me with ponies- useless but I love them. Other stuff I can't stand clutter in my house..... I just hate having things I can't use. A thread about clutter made me think about this.  I am good at buying for other people, thinking of something super useful ones tailored to that person. But with infants I am lost. I don't know what's actually TRULY useful beyond diapers and onsies because parents must go through piles of laundry and boxes of diapers yet it's also something everyone else brings.

So, those who had babies what was your most useful present? What are things you really need to select yourself? Did you get something that you didn't think of and came in super handy. and for fun, what is the most ridiculous and useless "why is this even made" baby product you ever got?

[CasseminaPie]

I'm not sure if you can get these in the US but I found this super handy - http://gro.co.uk/grolight the Gro-light

Teething toys and bath toys are also good!

Oh just remembered my boon drying grass rack thingie - SO HANDY and still use it everyday (bub is 15 months old now)

[Vertefae]

Diapers are always useful! We got enough at our shower to not have to buy them for almost six months! Buy a pack in a larger size than newborn. They'll thank you for it!

We got a seat that the baby can sit in and when they wiggle it bounces. Our son ended up sleeping in it for the first month and a half. It wasn't expensive either. Awesomest non-diaper gift ever! Also, a coupon for one home cooked meal after the baby arrives. There's just no time to cook that first week.

[kaoskat]

I don't have kids but my mom has always said diapers.

[teacher316]

Burp cloths! These get dirty quickly so you need lots of them!

[Princess Lala]

I don't have children, but I have been told over and over by friends with kids when I ask  there is no such thing as too many wipes and diapers. Diapers are expensive too! $24-$50+ a box omg. Food is apparently easy (don't qoute me because friends also tell me this) because a lot of our leftovers as well as fruits and veggies can be blended finely into baby food. I'm also told the moms breast milk is always better over cow milk-made formula mix! Blankets are always nice, Walmart has rolled up and COZY fleece blankets for $1 on clearance, if you know the gender there are pinks, blue with sports, and camo plus tons of other colors- that would be a nice and cheap gift! Aveeno baby lotion/wash is a good idea- I use it for myself because of my ultra sensitive skin!

[Leave a Whisper]

Diapers and wipes you Cannot have enough
clothes
burp cloths
diaper bags
bottles if they choose not to breast feed
blankets
teething rings

[CoonhoundBetty]

Diapers and wipes! Or, gift cards for diapers and wipes, since some babies do better in different brands (my DD did best in Target brand, and worst in Huggies/Luvs)

DD is 6 now, so let me think back....
Burp cloths are always in demand, you can never have too many!
Teether toys (although DD preferred a spatula LOL)
I loved getting books that people had written a special message in the front cover for my daughter
My most used baby item was the Moby wrap; DD didn't sleep unless she was being worn or held.

And when baby is born, bring a meal in a container that the parents can just throw away (no time for dishes!), or come over and hold the baby for an hour so Mom can have a breather

[Tak]

Baby legs legwarmers. It's so much easier to change a diaper when you don't have to undo or take off pants. They're also so versatile for warmth. They'll stay on arms. If it's cool in the morning then warms up they're easy to take off. They come in so many cute choices, too. My sister's due in July and I bought her five pairs. They were having a get five free and just pay shipping promotion. Most of those are in mommy magazines or mommy websites/groups.

[Skeen]

Diapers, diapers, diapers.  Diapers.  Did I say diapers?  Because diapers. 

And burp cloths.

But also diapers. 

[jsmarx]

It seems babies get a lot of toys and clothes, which is okay, but they grow out of clothes so fast, and they may not like some of the toys.  What I found to be most useful in getting and giving baby gifts, is the everyday stuff.  Like diapers!  But also wipes, you go thru so many baby wipes!!  Also diaper rash cream, baby lotion, shampoo, baby soap, towels and wash clothes, bottle liners, formula.  For burp cloths, I always used small flannel blankets, since they absorb A LOT!!  Some other things that are nice are baby pain medicine, tummy drops, Vicks vaporub, things like that you don't think of until they are needed!  And gift cards are awesome, since you can get stuff that you might have not gotten as gifts, or you can save them for later when you need to replenish baby supplies. I even like giving and getting things that you will need later when the baby is bigger, like bigger size diapers, sippy cups, baby food, etc.  Hope this helps!

[melodys_angel]

Diapers, hands down.

Everyone thinks about newborn size but doesn't realize how fast they are going ot need the next few sizes.

Same with onesies.  If going for an outfit think about getting something in the 6-9month range

[buddyboymama]

Diapers
Wipes
Plain onesies
Sleep n plays
Large swaddling blankets
Wearable blankets
Crib sheets
Crib mattress protectors
Dreft stain remover
Fisher Price rock n play sleeper

If you know the gender of the baby, I would NOT recommend getting outfits. At the baby showers I've been to where the gender of the baby was known, they got a mountain of cutesy clothes. Like more than the baby will ever wear. My babies pretty much lived in onesies and sleep n plays.

[FantasticFirefly]

Thanks everyone! Some of the other ideas are great. Yes, bought cloths in the past too. Infant medicines is also a fantastic idea, save someone a midnight trip to a pharmacy. and love the legwarmer idea. makes perfect sense! and crib fitted sheets and stain remover. brilliant. another thing that would likely need many changes in a week.
 
I do feel better about always bringing diapers (I buy them a touch bigger as everyone else takes care of the newborn size)! Costly, and consumable. I have only heard one person complain about getting too many diapers and well, she was a coworker who would find the negative in anything.

If you know the gender of the baby, I would NOT recommend getting outfits. At the baby showers I've been to where the gender of the baby was known, they got a mountain of cutesy clothes. Like more than the baby will ever wear. My babies pretty much lived in onesies and sleep n plays.

yeah, I don't buy useless clothes. My mother said the same as you. she got a few onsies for me which she said are useful but mountains of ruffly dresses I didn't like being in, and would puke all over anyway that were difficult to clean- her vote was useless. I figure the parents would have more fun choosing the "dress wear" in their taste for photo ops anyway.  looking through pictures of us at home as babies we were always in onsies which my mom said "easy to change and wash"

[Mkia]

I got my sister a Boppy pillow when she was having her baby and she said its her most used gift. At first it helped her to breastfeed and even dad can use it to bottle feed. And now she sits baby in it to prop her up or give her tummy time!