A very good friend of mine once told me that she has a policy for buying gifts for pregnant mothers. For those women who give birth to their first child, she gets the baby a gift. Then for any child after that, she gets the gift for the mother. She figures, after the first baby, she's had enough clothes and blankets and toys to last, but she'll need something to calm those rattled nerves.

I adopted that policy because I think it's quite wise. I have two small children and for my first child, I received enough blankets to line the first floor of our house and still have some to spare. How many blankets could one small baby need? Yes, quite a few, I know, and yet still, aren't there any other gifts that could be suitable for new mothers?

For my second child, my friend gave me a gift set of moisturizers and scented bath lotion. I loved it since I'm not one to buy a lot for myself. To me this is considered a luxury item. And it made me think of what I else new mothers do without, so they can afford to buy diapers for their infants.

A manicure or pedicure would be nice. That's a luxury some of us have never even experienced. Or better yet, how about a wonderful massage. That would cure those frazzled nerves. A friend of mine said she'd like to go to a tanning salon or a get a makeover, something fresh to start life over with a new baby. If you have the money, how about paying for a boob job for the new mom. You can't give a more personal gift than that.

Other, more practical gift ideas might be a basket of scented candles or a bottle of wine (this depending on if she's breastfeeding or not). Or how about some picture frames so that she can display all of the photos that she'll be taking of the baby. There are some I have seen that can be personalized with the baby's name.

If you really want to give a gift to a new mother that she'll really appreciate is a nice meal. New mothers don't have a lot of time, or energy, to cook a meal after coming home from the hospital, especially those with other children. Cook up something, or even get take-out for her, so that so she can just relax and enjoy.

Other gift ideas might include a babysitter for the near future so that she can spend a night alone with her husband, or even just a day for herself so that she can go shopping or do something that she normally wouldn't have time to do. My personal favorite is time spent in a bookstore where I can relax and browse alone and with no one to pester me with Are you done yet?'

I hope these suggestions help those who are looking for a unique gift idea for a new mom.

Learn more about this author, Tricia Schneider.
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