The best Baby Gifts – That Are actually Affordable!
You get a baby shower invite, your friend has a baby, or you know a new mom – all of these situations present a problem: You want to get her a good gift. You don’t want to spend a fortune on it, but you want it to be good.
Do you get me? I’ve been in that exact situation a thousand times. I mean, it’s just nice to get something for a new mom – even if there’s no baby shower involved.
And yet, if you got even a moderately priced gift for every new mom you know, you’d quickly go broke – or maybe I have an uncommon number of friends with an uncommon number of babies.
Either way, I’m no Michelle Duggar, but between my two children, my numerous nephews and nieces, the friends mentioned earlier with large families, and my deal-seeking ways, I’ve come up with a list that I think you and your mom friend will really like.
I’ve written before about preparing for a baby on a budget, but that was focused on preparing for your baby. This is for someone else.
And by the way, it’s perfectly okay to get a few of these things for yourself, too. 😉
Let’s start with one for the mom-to-be, shall we?
Belly Band
You moms know how heavy a belly can get when you’re pregnant. A belly band is a fantastic way to get some relief! I haven’t used them myself, but several of my friends love them!
Seven Slings
Who knew a baby carrier would be on a list of affordable baby gifts right?!
I can’t say enough good things about these slings! When I first saw them, I thought the site seemed a little spammy because you get the sling for free and only pay shipping if you have a coupon code. But the shipping you pay more than covers the actual shipping cost, so it’s not *really* free. And it’s a GOOD sling. I looked at several conflicting reviews before deciding it was cheap enough to gamble on. Both it and the slings my friends got are very sturdy, and we’ve used them from when our babies were tiny infants all the way up to toddlers.
It’s a fantastic sling!
Lightweight and easy to fold up to stow in your purse or diaper bag.
Securely holds the baby in a variety of positions.
Comfortable for mom!
My only complaint about this sling – and pocket slings in general – is that it doesn’t support a tiny baby’s head very well.
I know a lot of moms who don’t want to be baby wearers, and I totally respect that, but once the baby comes, they might be surprised at how happy they are to baby wear when they need an extra hand to put dinner on the table, or groceries in their cart. This sling is inexpensive enough to keep on hand, just in case!
I promise I won’t be as wordy about the rest of this list. 😉
Carseat Canopy
You know the drill. You’ve gotta get your baby to the car, but it’s super cold or windy, or she is asleep, and the sun between the house and car will wake her up.
Yeah, it’s not cool. That’s what makes this carseat canopy so great – it protects against gusts of cold and sunshine and makes your baby more comfortable!
Nursing Pillow
In all honesty, a nursing pillow just wasn’t for me. I wish it were – a pillow would have made things easier – but I’m so long-waisted, it would have taken two of them to do me any good. 😛
That said, a nursing pillow is an excellent gift for moms who plan to nurse, and most of my friends and even my sisters love them!
Breast Pads
You may want to save these for moms you know really well because they’re a bit of a personal gift, but man, are breast pads a must for new nursing moms!
Diapers
All mothers appreciate the gift of diapers. Let me repeat: ALL MOTHERS!
Paper diapers are always an affordable gift, but If your momma friend plans to use cloth diapers, she knows how expensive they are! One of the more affordable brands, and incidentally, my favorite, are Smarti Pants. They’re pocket diapers with microsuede liner that wicks moisture and keeps baby’s bum dry. The pocket also has a double opening to eliminate the need to shake out dirty inserts. You can read about my favorite pocket diapers here.
Quick Tip: SmartiPants sells “seconds,” which are about half the price, making them even more affordable! Buying seconds may be somewhat risky, and you don’t get to pick the colors, but my experience has been really good – the only defects have been slightly skewed stitching.
Nursing Tanks
I am so thankful to the person who suggested nursing tanks to me! After both of my babies were born, I practically lived in them for at least the first few weeks.
When you and your baby are new to nursing, you need a little extra coverage when you’re out, and when you’re home in private, the tank gives you the freedom to nurse unhindered.
My favorite tanks are Motherhood, and one from Target that appears to have been discontinued. Boo!
