Well she was born yesterday, cute as hell too. She must take after my side of the family. Its too late to order anything online so I’d have to get something from a store. I think a scrapbook sounds like a good idea. I assume the parents already have a child rearing book so they won’t need another.
Diapers are too practical, the parents can just go out and buy diapers. It should be more along the lines of something to show you were present and involved with the birth I think.
Congratulations, Uncle! Size? Weight? (not yours, the baby’s)
My sister has had a wonderful time being an Aunt - I hope that you have lots of opportunities to bond with this new little life!
Since you mentioned scrapbooking, that made me think of something – for us, the first months were such a total blur, I was really grateful to relatives who took pictures for us. My sister even set up & maintained a web page via BabiesOnline.com. Honestly, a new Mom barely has time to eat & bathe. So anything you could do to help commemorate would probably be appreciated.
Congratulations, Uncle Wes!
Why don’t you do a search for the various “what do you really need for a baby” threads. You’ll find a variety of suggestions of the “this was the best thing ever!” type.
I absolutely love CCL’s suggestion of the handmade fleece play mat/blanket. It sounds easy enough to make, even if you aren’t “crafty.” Babies will enjoy playing with the knots on the edges. It will mean a lot that you bothered to make something. A thick blanket/mat is really really handy, and fleece washes very easily. And it will be useful for the kid from birth up to any age. I’d suggest making it a little bigger than 36x36 if you can. My son received something similar that’s about 36x48, which is great, because he’s now outgrown most typical “baby blankets.”
Knowing that anything we gave to a new niece or nephew wouldn’t really be appreciated by them for a year or 2, my SO and I went this route.
We opened an educational IRA for each of them. We yearly contribute to it. Be sure to check with parents before doing this, as each child can only have 1, and someone else may be planning this too. Multiple people can contribute, but there is an limit on the total amount that can be put into them annually.
Something for the parents. Their life has just majorly changed. On her first Christmas, our niece got a VCR player, with a note to share it with her parents. The son of friends got a radio/CD player for his room. Way to fancy for an infant, but it sure made mom’s time rocking him nicer.
Practical items for the baby. We figured (and were right) that lots of people would be giving stuffed animals and fancy blankets. But burp rags, hats for outside, mittens and cloths for 6 months from now, those are much rarer.
In the scrapbooky vein, but appropriate for even a very young baby, is a Baby’s Photo Album. lots of companies make them, including sassy. Basically, it’s a plastic-covered soft foam album that holds about eight pictures or so. Usually it has “Baby’s First Photo Album” on the front, and the price is typically under $15. I may have purchased mine at Target, but you can get them online too.
Even quite small babies adore it. They can look and see Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, you, etc. It works almost from the start because babies love faces so much.
My youngest got one as an infant and, though she’s now five, she still won’t part with it.
Mrs. Furthur.
An electric train set.
It will keep your brother busy, while your sister-in-law takes care of the baby. Men should be kept as far away from babies as possible. 