Gift for a New Mom and Dad

Hi S.! You are so thoughtfull! My first thought was a gift certificate for a restaurant so they could have a date night.
Also, have you seen the new daddy tool belts? I've seen them online and they are kind of cute. They have "supplies" for Daddy's doing diaper changes like tongs for changing diapers, goggles, ear plugs and a mask for the smell. You could make your own instead of ordering. You can see examples at www.babydepot.com
Also, if they are coffee drinkers you could get them a pound of nice beans and a couple of mugs. Some caffine to help dad after those sleepless nights:)

In addition to diapers and wipes, my cousin gave me a bottle of wine to celebrate w/ my husband. I received a bottle of champagne when my first baby was born too. I thought that was nice because it was not just for me but my husband as well.

Amen to all the other ideas.

Do they have other children? When I give a gift and there are other kids I give a goodie bag to each child. colors , color book, maybe a video . Things they can do on their own when mom and dads attention is needed with the baby.

makes the kids feel remembered.

another great idea- some people would be offended but no one I know-- clean her house while your there- scrub tub, toilets , mop floors, dust--- stuff she wont be getting around to for a bit and he is busy working then wanting to spend time with her and baby.

No one appriciates a clean house like a tired mom! and dad!

Get them gift certificates to restaurants in their area that "deliver". If you live in Minnesota, even consider giving them a gift certificate to Simon Delivers (home delivery grocery service). I know we would have loved that! We were so bogged down the first weeks we had our babies that it was a real struggle to get shopping done for the basics, let alone cook for ourselves. It seems people only bring meals the first couple of nights your home, and thats it...you're on your own.

One really cool thing my FIL did before our first arrived was he hired a maid service to clean our house before we got home with the new baby. That was fantastic! The house was spic and span from the start, and that truly did make life bearable, since my dh is not into cleaning. We stretched that cleaning for weeks and it really went a long way.

gift card for a restaurant that has take out!! it is hard to go out to eat with an unpredictable new born and new parents are too busy to cook a lot of decent meals.

I gave my brother a humorous book about how to be a new dad. Sorry I can't remember the title of it. I found it in the new parent section at Barnes and Noble. It covered everything from how to change a diaper to when is it OK to approach the new mom for sex. We didn't get it, but I would have appreciated a "coupon" or an offer to babysit for an hour so my husband and I could go out for a quick dinner just the two of us.

The most unique gift we got was concert tickets to go on a date and have a night away from baby.

I'd say something like that or a gift cert. to a cool trendy restaurant and a prehaps add you'll babysit on that night no charge.

A couple of ideas:
-Offer or create a voucher for free babysitting. They might appreciate having a capable adult looking after their baby rather than "hired help." I know for us we were much more comfortable leaving our babies with another adult instead of a teenager.
-In addition to the meal (great idea, BTW) it might be nice to bring some healthy snack options for the mom. I have found that when the dad goes back to work, the mom is often struggling to shower and get in a quick meal. I remember when I was having trouble nursing, I lived on granola bars for a day because I never got a chance to make myself anything else! Costco has these great turkey roll sandwiches, or even pita/hummas, pre-cut veggies or fruit. You know, stuff that she can grab with her one free hand, and will support a healthy post-partum diet.
-I don't know where you live, but Wild Rumpus Bookstore in Mpls has these awesome gifts called "nappy sacks." They take a cloth diaper, and decoratively wrap it around a selection of books and gift card. Very affordable--I think they're around $25 or so. And creative...what new baby can't use a few books?

Kudos for taking care of your new-parent friends!!