Do you know anyone having a baby? They are going to need some help! I'd be first in line to hold a baby but truly what new moms really need...is help with other things. I've made list here of various ways people helped me when we had newborns along with some things I've done for other new moms.
Half of the ideas don't actually cost anything! You can encourage a new mom without spending a dime. The free ideas are listed in red. And though my kids are older now, if anyone wants to make a "Mom to Teens & Tweens" care packages and drop it off at my door? I wouldn't object.
1. Drop by and visit at the hospital--just don't stay long! 5 minutes maybe?
2. Take Mom a Hospital Snack Bag--hospital food is ick. Package up some granola bars, muffins, or anything you think she may like.
3. Stop by with a meal-drop it off, don't stay.
4. Bring Breakfast-in-a-Bag and drop it off for the new parents (choose a few breakfast items such as orang juice, bagels/cream cheese, homemade muffins or iced coffee. Put them in a gift bag and drop it off!)
5. See a great price on baby wipes? Buy a package and give them to the new mom.
6. Offer to come over and do her dishes.
7. Bring her plastic forks and paper plates so SHE doesn't have to do as many dishes.
8. Tell her how good she looks. ;)
9. Schedule an e-card or funny email to be delivered to her email account at 3am: let her know you are thinking of her. Odds are she will get the e-card/email when she is up feeding the baby in the wee hours.
10. Offer her clothes that your children have outgrown.
11. Offer to loan her your baby gear: exersaucer, high chair, etc.
12. Surprise her with a gift card to the mall and tell her she has to buy something for HERSELF
13. If a holiday is coming up, offer to come help her decorate. If it just passed (like she has a baby after Christmas), offer to come box all the decorations up.
14. Save baby coupons for her. If you don't need the diaper/wipe/formula coupons, I'm sure there is a new mother who does!
15. Tell her what a good job she's doing.
16. Hold back on telling her your pieces of advice...unless she asks.
17. If the weather is extreme (hot or cold!), call her up before you head to the grocery and ask if she wants you to grab her a few things so she doesn't have to get the baby out.
18. Does she have other children? Offer to take them for an hour.
19. Or send a new dvd or package of coloring books and sticker books to occupy the older ones.
20. Stalk her Pinterest boards to find something she's been wanting, surprise her by buying it for her.
21. Have a fruit basket delivered.
22. Going to Starbucks? Order her favorite drink too and drop it off for her.
23. Gift her with a reservation for a massage. (This can be pricey, maybe some other friends could pitch in for it with you.)
24. Invite her over for a girl's movie night.
25. Wash her car.
26. Wash her windows!
27. Give her a freezer meal---that way she can pop it in the oven on a night she isn't up to cooking.
28. Mail a card and $5 Walgreens gift card so she can print off some pictures of the new little one.
29. Pick up or make a pretty journal for her.
30. Sit and listen to her birth horror story/fears/excitement/lackofsleep complaints.
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Even with a list of 30 things, I'm sure I am missing some. What are ways YOU have helped or been encouraged as a new mom?
This is a great list! I love it! I'm sure this will help some on what to give a new mom!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to stop by and visit, Jill!
DeleteFantastic ideas! I love the plastic cutlery and plates :-)
ReplyDeleteI know it isn't very eco-friendly but they are so dang convenient, especially in those lack-of-sleep days!
DeleteThis is a great post. Really considerate ideas. I love the one about visiting for five minutes.
ReplyDeleteThanks Heather! I know when my kids were babies I loved having extra adult interactions but sometimes it was time for a nap and I still had guests. Mama needs sleep. :)
DeleteA new mom...buy her a handheld vacuum so that she can use it to pick up all of those Floorios. :)
ReplyDeleteFloorios--hahaha that is hilarous, and true!
DeleteI love this list! I'm going to pin it. :) The only thing I can think of to add would be maybe some bath items. Bath salts, a new lotion, a candle and some chocolate. Then sit and cuddle that new little baby while momma gets a chance to chill.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pinning! Bath items could be a great gift! Anything to make the new mommy feel pampered.
DeleteI would have loved someone if they did half the stuff on this list when I was preggers! Man o' MAN! It would have made my life so much easier. This is a wonderful list! Very helpful!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alicia! Any one (or all! ha) of these can bring some joy to a new mom. Hopefully you'll find one that suits you the next time someone you know has a baby.
DeleteThanks again for coming by and commenting!
I think you got them all--my mom was close and she washed my kitchen floor and vacuumed and threw some laundries in for me the first couple of weeks when you weren't supposed to be lifting alot. Pinning!
ReplyDeleteIt is great when Moms are nearby to help! Thanks for coming and for pinning. :)
DeleteI really liked these idea you suggested. I have 2 friends that are expecting this year and I plan to do some pay-it-forwards from your list! Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, I am glad you found some ideas to do for your friends!
DeleteGreat ideas. Would be super for someone to mail this list out when baby showers come along or mom pamper parties along with invites. Maybe an extra would be take siblings out to play (if there are other kids) ? It's been so long since I've had a baby in our life.. my youngest grandson is almost 9 but I know the gift of a nap or time is priceless.. great tips about not staying long or offering unsolicited advice.. just a loving ear and your time :)
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea about offering to take the older sibling out for awhile. My mother in law took our oldest son out when our youngest was a few weeks old. I know he enjoyed the time out with Grandma!
DeleteGreat ideas! I don't like have visitors in the hospital. :-) I completely agree on hospital food being nasty. A super nice friend make up banana bread, awesome salads, potato casserole, and yummy cookies and had my husband pick it up one of the times he was out.
ReplyDeleteYour friend sounds great! Having some home cooked food while you're in the hospital is certainly always a good thing. :)
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ReplyDeleteWell, at our church people are always having babies... one just had a second on Dec 21, and another had twins on earlier this month (making them her 4th, and her twin sister is due later this month making it her 3rd or 4th. Albeit, I have not reached out to those women except when I see them at church. I am sure a meal or something would be nice to provide for them. Got to get out of my shy shell!
ReplyDeleteChurch babies seem to come in cycles. We've been without for a little bit and now I think it is starting back up (not me!).
DeleteIf you are really shy, you could always just mail a card to the new mom, encouraging her, send a funny comic, or even a $5 giftcard if you can afford it.
Thanks for coming by to visit, Zan!
These are AMAZING!!!! I will be sharing these for sure! People think that new mothers will ask for help if they want/need it but most will not. Most for fear of looking like a bad mother and also because sometimes you are so sleep deprived, it is hard to think, "I should ask so-in-so to come by and ...." Complete thoughts are hard to come by!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comments Carli. Yes, it is hard to ask for help but if it is offered people will often accept. So glad you stopped by!
DeleteThese are such tangible and thoughtful ways to bless a new mom! It's so wonderful if you can have people around you that can do something to help out! Those sleep deprived days and nights can seem very long! =)
ReplyDeleteYes those days and nights are long! I remember all that people did for us to help us through. Simple things like a container of muffins can be such a help to a new mom! Thanks for coming by to visit. :)
DeleteGreat list! The advice to stay no more than 5 minutes is right on - more people need to know that. Pinning it from the pinning party!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great list. Since I was away from my family and friends I had no one to do any of these things for me. BTW my hospital food was pretty good. I really loved that one about taking her other kids for an hour or two.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely list, I'd of appreciated any of these things (esp the food!) Thanks for joining in the parenting pin it party.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great list! All 30 are thoughtful, sweet and would offer so much encouragement!
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop this week. We hope to see you drop by our neck of the woods next week!