Great (and not so great) newborn gifts

I hope you've had a marvellous Christmas and a bit of a break somewhere in there. We've just arrived home from time spent with family, which was lovely but glad now to be back home. We have another week and a half before we're back to work so looking forward to some "just us" family time.

Since we've just got home I'm catching up on my life admin, and I seem to know lots of people with babies due in the next few months, which is awesome but has got me thinking (now that I've been on the receiving end) about the best gifts to give someone with a newborn.

Like many elements of babyland (and other kinds of gift-giving), baby gift concepts are often overtaken by convincing advertising and completely overlook actual benefit. So I thought I'd list out what I think some of the better options for baby gifts are, and some of the things I will henceforth be avoiding giving with my newfound mumtelligence.

Great gifts

• Woolly hats, cotton beanies and sunhats - it's nice to have a few of each so they can be stashed in convenient places. 
• Knitted cardigans and vests - lovely to have some cute woollies! We loved everything that was knitted for us. But do think about size and season - preferably avoid newborn as they won't go out much and will usually be bundled in a blanket when they do. :-) 
• Tasty things for Mum & Dad - definitely nice as a new parent to know you haven't been forgotten, and it's great to have some treats on hand for the endless feeds in the early days. Up the ante and bake some lactation cookies if you're feeling inspired. 
• Lamington socks - the best socks! And since they're kinda pricey but completely adorable a pair of these is a great small gift, or couple with a hat or something for Mum & Dad to round it out. 
• Your favourite cloth nappy - obviously I don't mean your actual favourite one, but a new one of your favourite kind... Or, even better if you can swing it, a voucher for a nappy retailer and a loan of some of your stash so the recipient can try before they buy. 

  

  My favourite cloth nappy -
  Thirsties One Size All In One

• Cloth wipes - even if not using cloth nappies these can be used for any number of purposes, and if you're handy with a sewing machine you can make these very cheaply and easily. 
• Cloth breast pads - might depend on your relationship to the recipient as this might be weird with someone not so close, but I was given some of these, they're great, and I wouldn't have thought of getting them myself as disposable is the default. As above, very easy to DIY too. 
• Time - cliche but true. Anything that helps is awesome, whether it's giving a hand conquering Mt Laundry or delivering a pre-cooked meal. Maybe hold off on babysitting offers for a while though - mileage may vary but maternal hormones usually make new Mums want to stick close to their little people. 

Things to think twice about 

(I'm not saying these should never be given, just that perhaps a little more consideration should be applied before you purchase)

• Newborn clothing - most babies grow out of this very quickly and some never fit the newborn size at all. Larger sizes are great - 0-3 months will fit most babies pretty quickly and sizes from 6 months up last much longer as the pace of growth slows dramatically. 
• Booties - super popular as a gift, but (honestly) not that practical. We were given heaps and didn't get much wear out of them - Young Sir tended to kick them off within seconds, so we mostly used his Lamington socks, which stay firmly put. There are exceptions - some clever designs solve for fallingoffitis but in general I'd steer clear. The same goes for baby shoes (but some people are willing to put up with the hassle for the cute factor). 
• Baby jeans. Super cute (and I gave these to quite a few people in my pre-baby life, sorry friends with older babies than mine!) but very impractical. I bought a pair for Young Sir and he wore them once - they were so annoying to put on and take off. Next time perhaps we'll go with baby jeggings instead! 
• Stuffed toys - cute but that's about it. Cool teething toys are a much better bet if you want to go with something to play with - but as with jeans, some people do like stuffed toys so know your audience (and we got one that was super cool and meaningful so again, not a solid rule!).

So those are my thoughts... What do you think? Anything you'd add to or remove from either list?