Motherhood Mondays: Baby Shower/New Mum Gift Guide

Here's a requested post I've been meaning to do for a long while, so I've finally got round to doing it and it's of course a gift guide for new mums/baby showers. Now the question at baby showers is: do you get the mum baby stuff or mummy stuff?
I'll be honest I take baby showers as an opportunity to treat the MUM, seeing as when baby comes along that's when it will be showered with its own gifts?
Anyway, I've included some baby gifts too just in case you wanted some more ideas, but mostly think it's nice for a pregnant mum to have some pampering gifts as it'll be the last time she'll be able to have time to herself in a loooong while!  
The baby gifts I've included in this post can also make good gifts when the baby is actually born so I guess this is kind of a baby gift guide too in a way.. read on for more info!

First Row: Baby Shower Props

I absolutely love balloons (more so than flowers) and there's just something so overwhelming about them that no baby shower should be without. Props for photobooths are the norm now in baby showers so I've included a link to those too.

If you want to go the extra mile for a special pregnant lady, get the confetti filled balloons by Bubblegum Balloons; these are no ordinary balloons and will make whoever receiving it feel extra special. N.B: these balloons are sure to put a smile on a new mums face too after delivery!

Second Row: Thoughtful Mummy Gifts

If you're like me and you love putting thoughts into your gifts to show how much you care/know the person you're gifting, you'll want to probably go for one of these.

Nursery Bag

First up is a personalised Nursery bag from My 1st Years (I LOVE this site!). 

Could be handy as a gift for the hospital or for the baby afterwards as it's made from waterproof material and of course personalised with initials. My 1st Years do a whole range of personalised products and they all come in tiffany coloured gift boxes free of charge so you don't have to worry about wrapping either.

Clarins Mum-to-be massage

Every mum needs at least one of these in her pregnancy as the strains of carrying a baby are enough of an excuse to get one of these. I myself took advantage of one of these in my pregnancy and after and it did me wonders!

Mama Mio Packages

Mama Mio is a brand I first came across in my retail working days on bath and body and I remember bottles of the "Boob Tube" flying out because some celebrity or other was using this for her boobs (Jessica Alba I think?)

Anyway, there's usually some truth to why a product is so popular and I asked customers if it actually worked and they were adamant it made their boobs firmer.. something all mums need during pregnancy and after.

Since then Mama Mio have brought out a whole host of pregnancy safe products that actually help improve the skin, from stretch marks to tummy rubs and so on, so it would be a great gift if you got the full size products from the Mio website, or of course this Essentials Kit that I found cheapest on Feel Unique.

Third Row: Pamper At Home Gifts

I've included a couple of home pamper gift sets with different price ranges; always make sure that if you do gift spa type products, they have to be pregnancy safe as some can contain essential oils that could be harmful.

Love Boo products are also free of parabens, sulphates and petrochemicals. You could choose to treat the mummy to the Luxury Spa Kit or the Happy Baby Shower kit has something for mummy and baby included too.

The Cussons Mum and Me range can be a nice gift too as it contains two bath/shower products and a stretch mark cream as well as a lotion.

Final Row: Baby Gifts

If you know what your pregnant friend wants or they have a gift list, go ahead and get them that but if they don't then here's some cute little gifts I personally loved/would have loved for my little one:

Trumpette socks

Trumpette socks were on my wishlist in my pregnancy but I didn't know what I was having so I just stared longingly at these cute little socks until I was gifted two boxes after the birth of my son!
If they know what they're having, this would be a cute little gift; otherwise maybe save it for after the delivery.

Little Maldod Personalised Gift Set

I didn't receive this (it probably wasn't even available at the time!) but I sure would gift this to someone as a mummy to another.

The Personalised New Baby Pear Set includes a personalised vest in cute blogger style lettering, a crocheted rattle, a muslin (you need millions of these) and a Sophie La Giraffe which I was gifted for my own bubs and who loved it to bits when he was teething.

This would probably also be ideal to give after birth if you don't know the gender/name in pregnancy, so I would recommend the Little Maldod Sensory Box as an alternative baby shower gift - all things in this box will come in handy too - the black and white book, the original Sophie La Giraffe, a rattle and a cute egg cup for when they start weaning/are older. 

Dr Brown's Deluxe Newborn Feeding Gift Set

Finally, depending on whether the mum has thought about bottles or not, this gift set is a great set to give as I've heard great things about it and it supposedly reduces colic/wind.

I personally used my Haberman bottles (see breastfeeding post and review of it here) and found they worked well but I would have loved a set of the bottles like this for ease of use and uniformity as well as the included microwave steriliser!

Can be used for breastmilk or formula so it's a great baby shower gift if the mum hasn't decided.

So there you have it, these are just my picks I would love to have received/would love to gift new mums now, knowing from my own experience what's useful and what's not!

Any mums want to add to this list of gifts they would have loved to receive, or any others I've missed that you'd recommend? Feel free to comment below!