Did you go to Mrs. Gaffer’s baby shower!? We got these and had both of those reactions. One of the most useful gifts we received. It has now become our standard shower gift as well.
You have a party instead.
A breakfast, or brunch, or tea, or “party for mom.” But not technically a “shower.” No one begrudges a celebration and party.
I second the idea of a small basket of medicines. Shoot, skip the $5 basket, because that’s enough for an extra bottle of Tylenol of something. Also, something that we always give as a baby gift, is an ear thermometor. I like to give something practical, that you will get continued use out of. I had never thought of it until someone had purchased one for us.
Another thing I think of, is socks. I swear, the daggone washing machine searches for socks and eats them up! We are ALWAYS having to buy socks for our daughter.
if you want to go a bit impractical, it is the year of the sheep, goat, etc. i’ve been giving out lamb chop stuffed animals. rather cute and a way to remember what year the tyke was born.
Blueberry Buckle, with the socks you should add a small lingere bag. They help keep the socks from being eaten in the wash 
We’ve yet to lose a sock to the washer but the cats like to play with them and hide them on us!
Thank you for the tip tanookie! (hiding head in shame) I’ve never used one before, not even for undergarments, since I usually wash them out in the sink. I’ll have to get one.
It might not be the most practical gift but I usually select a few classic children’s books to start the kid’s library off – Goodnight Moon , I Love You Forever, or a nice Mother Goose are all good choices.
I second the idea that it is a good idea to get a happy for any older kid – it doesn’t have to be anything big.
I would just like to note that you guys have mentioned many things I never would have thought of…medicines, washcloths, gifts for Mommy, seasonal post-3-month clothing…that will come in very handy for future shower gifts. I have a rule about adult gift-giving that it must be something the person would love but would never splurge on for themselves…
But babies are different. You want the practical stuff. takes notes
Great thread!
I like to give books. Here are some of my favorites:
Dogger
For something a little different: Lamb Hot Water Bottle
These are all great suggestions. I think I’ll swing by the bookstore on my way home from work and pick up some sturdy, drool-proof baby books (one for Big Sis, too). The other ideas are good, too, but my heart says that nobody, not even babies, can have too many books.
I used to love shopping for baby showers… cute frilly dresses or little sports outfits with hats and shoes… adorable little picture albums with teddy bears on them… rattles and stuffed toys…bottles and pacifiers… you get the picture!
Then I had a baby myself. And people gave me all that stuff and I thought it was just adorable until I went to use it. I still have a pile of small unused picture albums. (and this does not mean there are no photos of my kid! there’s more pics of her on our web site than exist of me from birth to 18 years old)
My standard baby shower present now is a laundry basket with a pack of diapers, bottle of simethocone, tube of balmex, travel packages of wipes, bibs and changing pads, non disposable changing pads, nighttime bath, vapor bath, a real suction bubble (not the useless ones with the safety tip), tooth brushes, hooded towel, soft blanket (I get the ones my daughter has attached herself to like glue … many of my friends have reported their kids like these blankets best too) a baby faces book, some onesies in 3-6 or 6-9 month sizes, and a ring of baby keys.
Also for anyone with little ones with stuffy noses… Triaminic makes vapor patches that smell like mint or cherry and you stick them to the little one’s chest. They don’t make a mess like traditional vicks rubs and you don’t have to worry about dosages… just try and put new ones in different places on baby’s chest as if she’s sick for an extended period of time and too many patches are on the same place too long it can irritate the skin a bit.
Two books:
The Wonder Weeks (so she doesn’t pull out her hair on the fussy stages)
Siblings without Rivalry (so the big sister doesn’t pull out the baby’s hair)
GET A GIFT RECEIPT!!!
We got many gifts that were duplicates or were just not usable for us (clothing too small for our giant baby). It was so wonderful to be able to easily exchange the items.
Damn you hedra ::shakes fist::
I was going to say that, since it was me that bought the books for a coworker.
Baby Einstein videos.
Maybe something off her registry? Seriously. A lot of people didn’t bother to check what my wife registered for, and we got some truly useless stuff, and some stuff that just has no place in our home. It’s always best to see if you can find out what she actually wants and get some of that.
An unabridged dictionary.