One of my favorite things to do is listen and watch my 3-year old son independently play.
It’s so cute to see the way their minds work and all the imaginative scenarios they act out. The other day he was using his play mat to build a castle and racing his cars through it. He was so proud to show off what he was doing too. It melted my heart. But how did we get there? Let’s explore some key ideas of how to foster independent play for toddlers before we arrive at the best open ended toys.
Lauren Barrett Writes is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about these links in my disclosure policy.
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These magnetic shapes promote mental growth in kids while learning core STEM concepts and developing critical thinking skills. What I like about these tiles is that they are not easy but the end results are satisfying. They build resilience. |
2. Building blocks
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Research has shown that block play supports the development of social skills, abstract thinking, creativity, mathematical thinking, and literacy.
My son can not only learn the ABCs and words that begin with each letter with his blocks, but he can use them to build structures, ramps, and towers. |
3. Toy vehicles
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Toy vehicles enhance cognitive thinking such as basic physics and math. They support motor skills and interactive play.
My son has a bucket full of toy cars, trains, and trucks that get hours of play every day. |
4. Pretend People
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Pretend people (action figures, dolls, magnetic people, wooden people, plastic people) boosts creative play, inclusivity, and storytelling.
We use our pretend people to act out all kinds of real life situations. When buying fake people, it’s important to include a diverse set of races, abilities, and ethnicities, and genders. |
5. Pretend food/kitchen
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Pretend food and kitchens help with language development and motor skills.
My son has used his kitchen and food to play restaurant and call the “cook man” to order take out. |
6. Dress up clothes
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Dressing up is a form of imaginative play. It encourages creative thinking and communication skills.
Have a little box or bin where kids can freely pull out dress up clothes whenever they want. |
7. Kits
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In addition to the dress up clothes, have pretend kits on hands. For example, doctor play kits, tool kits, hair salon kits, etc.
In the same way, play kits encourage creative thinking and communication skills. |
8. Puzzles
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Puzzles are great for hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. They also work on building self-esteem and problem-solving.
We have a few puzzles related to our son’s interests that he enjoys. |
9. Easel or chalkboard
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Every kid needs a large space where they can create. We have a double sided easel/chalkboard and it’s been the canvas for menus for restaurants, tic-tac-toe games, drawings, the letter of the day, and so much more.
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10. Floor mats
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I love floor mats for kids. We have one of a town. It opens the door for imagination. My son has raced cars on it and has used his building blocks to add to the city houses, hospitals, schools, and fire stations.
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11. Stacking cups
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Stacking cups or blocks help develop fine motor skills and explore concepts like early math, geometry, problem-solving, and cause and effect.
The stacking cups and blocks have also been used to build ramps and bridges. They have served as bedrooms and living rooms to houses and a jail to a robber. |
12. Tents, forts, tunnels, houses
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I would spend hours as a kid with my friends building a whole system of houses, tents, tunnels, and forts throughout our basement. We reenacted many different scenarios while playing in those houses, letting our imagination run wild.
These playhouses, tents, tunnels, and forts let your kids foster their curiosity and creativity. |
13. Play dough or kinetic sand
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Okay, these things can be messy, so make sure you have a designated space for your kids to play with these things, or you’ll be digging play dough and sand out of the carpet for days.
Play dough and kinetic sand are such sensory materials for kids and can be quite calming to play with. I like to add to their playtime experience by getting different tools to be used with each. For play dough, I’ve bought cutting and rolling tools to chop, shape, and flatten the play dough. I’ve also bought cookie cutters, so my son can make different animals in the play dough. For the kinetic sand, you can put it in a long, shallow plastic bin. Add trucks, rocks, sand toys, water, shovels, blocks, etc to make it a whole sensory bin. |
14. Bubbles
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Bubbles are great for the brain. Playing with them helps your kids work on oral motor skills, gross motor skills, cognitive development, eye tracking skills, and joint attention. Read more here.
You can get bubbles where your kids have to blow themselves or those machines that create bubbles and your kids can run and pop them. |
There you have it! 14 open-ended toys to promote independent play for little kids.
But…
We are not finished yet. We still have one more question to ask. Are toys the only thing to use to promote independent play?
No!
What are the best household items used for independent play?
That’s right. Everyday items found around the house work just as well for independent play and often don’t cost a cent.
At first, you can model how you play with these items or give them some ideas if they are struggling.
But really simply setting these items out and letting your kids figure out what to do with them is all you need to do.
I’m going to list 14 of the best items and link some ways to use these items.
At first, you can model how you play with these items or give them some ideas if they are struggling.
But really simply setting these items out and letting your kids figure out what to do with them is all you need to do.
I’m going to list 14 of the best items and link some ways to use these items.
1. Cardboard box
I included activities to do with cardboard boxes but, honestly, you can just set out the cardboard box with some markers and let our kids take the reins.
My son can spend hours doodling all over a broken down box.
2. Markers
3. Mirrors
4. Painters Tape
5. Butcher Paper
6. Kitchen Items
7. Pom Poms
8. Dirt
9. Old Clothes from Your Closet
10. Blankets
11. Toilet Paper Tubes
12. Flashlights
13. Plastic Cups
14. Laundry Baskets
Again, I gave you some activities to do with your kids if that is something you like doing.
But, all you NEED to do is set out these items and give your kids access to them. You DO NOT need to or should even show them how to play with these items every single time.
Remember kids learn best through play when there isn’t an adult guiding them on what to do.
To me that is a big sigh of relief.
Happy playing
For your kids, not you, Mama! You get a break :-)
Check out my parenting guide, Now What?, for more help in promoting independent play.
But, all you NEED to do is set out these items and give your kids access to them. You DO NOT need to or should even show them how to play with these items every single time.
Remember kids learn best through play when there isn’t an adult guiding them on what to do.
To me that is a big sigh of relief.
Happy playing
For your kids, not you, Mama! You get a break :-)
Check out my parenting guide, Now What?, for more help in promoting independent play.
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Lauren Barrett is a multi-passionate mom working to help all parents become their best selves and build positive relationships with their kids through mindful parenting. She has a degree in deaf education and a Master’s in Reading Education. She is a high school teacher of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing by day, a cross country coach by the afternoon, a writer/author by her son's nap times, and a full time mom to an amazing toddler. Lauren is a 2x author of the Add One-A-Day 30 Day Challenge and children's book, Henry's Hiccups, a blogger at Lauren Barrett Writes, and has been published on sites like A Fine Parent, Pregnant Chicken, Pop Sugar, Her View From Home, and Scary Mommy. She loves her faith, running, visiting MLB stadiums with her husband, chocolate, scrapbooking, pretending she would actually do well on the Amazing Race, re-watching The Office, listening to Bobby Bones, and helping out all moms. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, James, and son, Henry. Follow her on Instagram and get her free parenting checklists.
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“What’s the name of that Silician volcano again?”
Silence.
“It’s E-something. Elba? Elna? Etta? No, not Etta. That’s Etta James, and she always shows up in these things. Think.”
Silence.
“Ohhh, I know! It’s Etna. I got it...No thanks to you. You’ve been a lousy help.”
I stare down at my newborn baby peacefully sleeping in his little rocker nestled at the bottom of my feet. It’s early morning. Or maybe it’s late morning. Heck, maybe it’s even the late afternoon.
Either way, I’m still in my pajamas perched on our kitchen table chair hunched over my classic breakfast of oatmeal, peanut butter, and banana with a crossword puzzle on the side.
It had been a while since I had indulged myself in doing a morning crossword puzzle. In college, I would religiously do the puzzles in the paper every day. Friends would come and go into my apartment and every now and then stop to linger over one of my unfinished puzzles, helping me out.
A “sweep” is what I would call it when I would accomplish them all - crossword, sudoku, and all the rest.
Then, I got pregnant. As someone who usually loves everything and is mostly happy, I really didn’t enjoy pregnancy. I spent most of my pregnancy never quite getting rid of that morning sickness which, for me, was all-day sickness and throwing up on occasion. It held on to the bitter end.
A lot of my passions I stopped doing. Running, reading, writing, and even the crossword puzzle had been slowly fading from my daily routine. Its demise imminent.
Instead my days were spent lying on my bed for hours not moving or not sleeping. Just staring consumed with negative thoughts. I can’t be a mother. I don’t even know how to hold a baby. The nurses will surely take my baby away from me as soon as they see that. They will say I am unfit. They have never seen anyone as bad a mom as I am.
And on top of my own negative thoughts was the unsolicited advice from the naysayers who love to tell pregnant moms “enjoy it while you can because once the baby comes you won’t have time anymore.”
“Haha. Thanks.” I would reply back in mock humor and gratitude at their duplicitous attempt to be helpful.
These interactions would usually lead me to go home and quite mellow dramatically throw a “ceremonial burning” of all my printed out crosswords and books as my husband watched in horror.
“Well, Sally Stranger said I won’t have time for this anymore. In the trash you go. Goodbye crosswords. Nice knowing you.”
Then, January 31, 2019 I gave birth to my son. I can’t quite describe the feeling I felt, but it was one of elation. Every single negative thought I had prior to his birth was swept away in a tidal wave of happiness. I knew the moment I held him that I was meant to be a mom.
In the days that followed my new motherhood status, I also had another revelation. I was a mom now and true to all those strangers words my life had changed forever. They were right. I was, in fact, more tired and in those early days I got less sleep.
But, in another way, they were wrong. I was still myself. Lauren. And all of my passions were still mine. I wanted my son to see me still nurturing and growing what I love to do. I wanted him to see that I didn’t just hand over everything that made me me in order to be his mom. I didn’t want to lose myself in the process.
I didn’t want to give up reading, running, and my beloved morning crossword puzzles.
So in the simplicity of maternity leave, where I didn’t have to worry about work emails, lesson plans, and grading papers, I broke out the crossword puzzle again. This time with a sidekick planted next to me.
Yes, my eyes were a little tired, my brain a little foggy, and my recall a little slower, but I finished it. And I finished it the next day too. Each day, reclaiming a little bit of me that I thought I had lost in pregnancy.
Two and half years later….
“Living room seating. Starts with ‘s’. Aha! Sofa.”
“Sofa,” a little voice repeats back.
“The next clue is fish eggs. Now, Henry, some advice. The answer is roe, and it is a very common answer in a crossword puzzle. Roe.”
“Roe. roe. roe…” Henry mimics followed by fits of giggles.
“Row, row, row your boat.” I sing back.
More laughter.
A lot has changed in 2 and a half years. My son has grown. He is walking and talking and developing his own little, silly personality.
We still do the crossword puzzle albeit not daily. It’s more reserved for the quiet, peaceful mornings of the weekend. He has become somewhat of a better partner in that time. Although his attention span is lacking. Dump Trucks and race cars are huge distractions and often are more fun than completing the last two-thirds of the puzzle.
It’s okay though. I release him from his crossword duties to go play, and I stay in my chair to finish it on my own. Afterall, it’s my thing. Not his. He’ll discover his own thing soon enough, and I’ll be sure to nurture and encourage that. In the meantime, I make sure to fit in some time for me.
Silence.
“It’s E-something. Elba? Elna? Etta? No, not Etta. That’s Etta James, and she always shows up in these things. Think.”
Silence.
“Ohhh, I know! It’s Etna. I got it...No thanks to you. You’ve been a lousy help.”
I stare down at my newborn baby peacefully sleeping in his little rocker nestled at the bottom of my feet. It’s early morning. Or maybe it’s late morning. Heck, maybe it’s even the late afternoon.
Either way, I’m still in my pajamas perched on our kitchen table chair hunched over my classic breakfast of oatmeal, peanut butter, and banana with a crossword puzzle on the side.
It had been a while since I had indulged myself in doing a morning crossword puzzle. In college, I would religiously do the puzzles in the paper every day. Friends would come and go into my apartment and every now and then stop to linger over one of my unfinished puzzles, helping me out.
A “sweep” is what I would call it when I would accomplish them all - crossword, sudoku, and all the rest.
Then, I got pregnant. As someone who usually loves everything and is mostly happy, I really didn’t enjoy pregnancy. I spent most of my pregnancy never quite getting rid of that morning sickness which, for me, was all-day sickness and throwing up on occasion. It held on to the bitter end.
A lot of my passions I stopped doing. Running, reading, writing, and even the crossword puzzle had been slowly fading from my daily routine. Its demise imminent.
Instead my days were spent lying on my bed for hours not moving or not sleeping. Just staring consumed with negative thoughts. I can’t be a mother. I don’t even know how to hold a baby. The nurses will surely take my baby away from me as soon as they see that. They will say I am unfit. They have never seen anyone as bad a mom as I am.
And on top of my own negative thoughts was the unsolicited advice from the naysayers who love to tell pregnant moms “enjoy it while you can because once the baby comes you won’t have time anymore.”
“Haha. Thanks.” I would reply back in mock humor and gratitude at their duplicitous attempt to be helpful.
These interactions would usually lead me to go home and quite mellow dramatically throw a “ceremonial burning” of all my printed out crosswords and books as my husband watched in horror.
“Well, Sally Stranger said I won’t have time for this anymore. In the trash you go. Goodbye crosswords. Nice knowing you.”
Then, January 31, 2019 I gave birth to my son. I can’t quite describe the feeling I felt, but it was one of elation. Every single negative thought I had prior to his birth was swept away in a tidal wave of happiness. I knew the moment I held him that I was meant to be a mom.
In the days that followed my new motherhood status, I also had another revelation. I was a mom now and true to all those strangers words my life had changed forever. They were right. I was, in fact, more tired and in those early days I got less sleep.
But, in another way, they were wrong. I was still myself. Lauren. And all of my passions were still mine. I wanted my son to see me still nurturing and growing what I love to do. I wanted him to see that I didn’t just hand over everything that made me me in order to be his mom. I didn’t want to lose myself in the process.
I didn’t want to give up reading, running, and my beloved morning crossword puzzles.
So in the simplicity of maternity leave, where I didn’t have to worry about work emails, lesson plans, and grading papers, I broke out the crossword puzzle again. This time with a sidekick planted next to me.
Yes, my eyes were a little tired, my brain a little foggy, and my recall a little slower, but I finished it. And I finished it the next day too. Each day, reclaiming a little bit of me that I thought I had lost in pregnancy.
Two and half years later….
“Living room seating. Starts with ‘s’. Aha! Sofa.”
“Sofa,” a little voice repeats back.
“The next clue is fish eggs. Now, Henry, some advice. The answer is roe, and it is a very common answer in a crossword puzzle. Roe.”
“Roe. roe. roe…” Henry mimics followed by fits of giggles.
“Row, row, row your boat.” I sing back.
More laughter.
A lot has changed in 2 and a half years. My son has grown. He is walking and talking and developing his own little, silly personality.
We still do the crossword puzzle albeit not daily. It’s more reserved for the quiet, peaceful mornings of the weekend. He has become somewhat of a better partner in that time. Although his attention span is lacking. Dump Trucks and race cars are huge distractions and often are more fun than completing the last two-thirds of the puzzle.
It’s okay though. I release him from his crossword duties to go play, and I stay in my chair to finish it on my own. Afterall, it’s my thing. Not his. He’ll discover his own thing soon enough, and I’ll be sure to nurture and encourage that. In the meantime, I make sure to fit in some time for me.
| | Lauren Barrett is a multi-passionate mom working to help all parents become their best selves and build positive relationships with their kids through mindful parenting. She has a degree in deaf education and a Master’s in Reading Education. She is a high school teacher of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing by day, a cross country coach by the afternoon, a writer/author by her son's nap times, and a full time mom to an amazing toddler. Lauren is a 2x author of the Add One-A-Day 30 Day Challenge and children's book, Henry's Hiccups, a blogger at Lauren Barrett Writes, and has been published on sites like A Fine Parent, Pregnant Chicken, Pop Sugar, Her View From Home, and Scary Mommy. She loves her faith, running, visiting MLB stadiums with her husband, chocolate, scrapbooking, pretending she would actually do well on the Amazing Race, re-watching The Office, listening to Bobby Bones, and helping out all moms. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, James, and son, Henry. Follow her on Instagram and get her free parenting checklists. |
21 Thoughtful Gifts to Get for A New Mom After She's Had a Baby to Fill Up Her Emotional Registry
5/8/2022
After a new mom has a baby, sometimes the baby becomes the center of attention and gets all the gifts. The mom can get forgotten. But if you are wondering how to fill up a new mom’s emotional registry, I have some of the best gifts for a new mom.
An emotional registry is a list of gifts for moms who just had a baby that helps them meet their emotional needs and fill up their cup.
These registry items can include gifts that provide self-care, attention, help, friendship, and a sense of identity to the new mom.
I highly advise you to just give a gift to a new mom instead of asking if she needs anything.
A lot of items on this list aren’t tangible and aren’t for the baby.
In my opinion, the most thoughtful and best gifts to give a mom after she gives birth, are the ones that focus on making her feel like a person again and remind her that she isn’t alone in this thing called motherhood. She has a support time and she has a sense of identity that can be (if she wants) more than mom.
Lauren Barrett Writes is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about these links in my disclosure policy.
An emotional registry is a list of gifts for moms who just had a baby that helps them meet their emotional needs and fill up their cup.
These registry items can include gifts that provide self-care, attention, help, friendship, and a sense of identity to the new mom.
I highly advise you to just give a gift to a new mom instead of asking if she needs anything.
A lot of items on this list aren’t tangible and aren’t for the baby.
In my opinion, the most thoughtful and best gifts to give a mom after she gives birth, are the ones that focus on making her feel like a person again and remind her that she isn’t alone in this thing called motherhood. She has a support time and she has a sense of identity that can be (if she wants) more than mom.
Lauren Barrett Writes is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about these links in my disclosure policy.
21 Thoughtful Things to Get for A New Mom After She's Had a Baby to Fill Up Her Emotional Registry
HELPING GIFTS
1. Gift Cards to Restaurants
Cooking and eating aren’t a top priority for new parents. While feeding the baby never goes forgotten, a mom feeding herself often does.
Giving birth, breastfeeding, caring for a newborn, and recovering are a lot of work, and a new mom needs fuel and energy to recover.
Gift cards to restaurants are great because chances are she has enough freezer and home cooked meals sitting at home waiting to be eaten. That was the case in my situation.
And while those meals were certainly welcomed and necessary, they can go bad after a while and eventually run out.
Having restaurant gift cards can save new moms (and dads) when they are in a pinch and are too tired to cook or figure out a meal.
1. Gift Cards to Restaurants
Cooking and eating aren’t a top priority for new parents. While feeding the baby never goes forgotten, a mom feeding herself often does.
Giving birth, breastfeeding, caring for a newborn, and recovering are a lot of work, and a new mom needs fuel and energy to recover.
Gift cards to restaurants are great because chances are she has enough freezer and home cooked meals sitting at home waiting to be eaten. That was the case in my situation.
And while those meals were certainly welcomed and necessary, they can go bad after a while and eventually run out.
Having restaurant gift cards can save new moms (and dads) when they are in a pinch and are too tired to cook or figure out a meal.
2. Food Delivery Services
Likewise, food delivery services, such as Uber Eats, DoorDash,or GrubHub, can come in handy too for new parents when they look into the fridge and realize they have nothing to eat after a long day.
Just make sure that the new parents live in a place that accepts food delivery services.
Likewise, food delivery services, such as Uber Eats, DoorDash,or GrubHub, can come in handy too for new parents when they look into the fridge and realize they have nothing to eat after a long day.
Just make sure that the new parents live in a place that accepts food delivery services.
3. Grocery Pickup
My mother-in-law got this for us after I gave birth to our son, and it was so helpful. She paid for a year of grocery pickup from Harris Teeter.
This gift saves sleep-deprived parents from dragging their little one to the store to shop for groceries. And while getting out to a grocery store is enjoyable every now and then, it’s nice to have the option to do pickup.
My mother-in-law got this for us after I gave birth to our son, and it was so helpful. She paid for a year of grocery pickup from Harris Teeter.
This gift saves sleep-deprived parents from dragging their little one to the store to shop for groceries. And while getting out to a grocery store is enjoyable every now and then, it’s nice to have the option to do pickup.
4. Meal Delivery Kits
Following in the same category of food, a meal service is a thoughtful gift for new moms after she has had a baby.
Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, EMeals, and many more are all affordable options to gift new parents in order to make their meal prepping quick and easy because taking care of a newborn can be a fulltime job.
Following in the same category of food, a meal service is a thoughtful gift for new moms after she has had a baby.
Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, EMeals, and many more are all affordable options to gift new parents in order to make their meal prepping quick and easy because taking care of a newborn can be a fulltime job.
5. House Cleaning Service
Keeping a tidy house quickly falls by the wayside for new parents. And if you are like me, a cluttered house means a cluttered mind. A messy house triggered my mental load, and I could quickly spiral if things weren’t neat.
So whether you gift a new mom, a one-time deep cleaning or a few month’s supply, this is a very thoughtful gift to let new parents not to have to worry about always keeping a clean house.
Keeping a tidy house quickly falls by the wayside for new parents. And if you are like me, a cluttered house means a cluttered mind. A messy house triggered my mental load, and I could quickly spiral if things weren’t neat.
So whether you gift a new mom, a one-time deep cleaning or a few month’s supply, this is a very thoughtful gift to let new parents not to have to worry about always keeping a clean house.
6. Organizer
With a new baby comes a whole lot of new stuff. It’s overwhelming. And if a system isn’t developed, it’s easy for a new mom to get stressed out by it all.
Hire her an organizer to come over and straighten it all out and develop a system that works for her.
While I doubt you can land the Home Edit, many cities have organizers that do a pretty good job.
With a new baby comes a whole lot of new stuff. It’s overwhelming. And if a system isn’t developed, it’s easy for a new mom to get stressed out by it all.
Hire her an organizer to come over and straighten it all out and develop a system that works for her.
While I doubt you can land the Home Edit, many cities have organizers that do a pretty good job.
7. Parenting Class
Parenting comes with a lot of new challenges. There is sleep, feeding, discipline, and breastfeeding to name a few.
Give a new mom the gift of a parenting class to navigate through those hard times during parenting.
Search Instagram for a few of my favorites:
Parenting comes with a lot of new challenges. There is sleep, feeding, discipline, and breastfeeding to name a few.
Give a new mom the gift of a parenting class to navigate through those hard times during parenting.
Search Instagram for a few of my favorites:
- TakingCaraBabies
- BigLittleFeelings
- Kids.Eat.In.Color
- FeedingLittles
- SafeInTheSeat
- BusyToddler
- DaysofGrey
- DrBeckyAtGoodInside
- TheMomPsychologist
8. General Gift Cards
General gift cards to stores like Target, WalMart, or grocery stores are nice to have as a new mom, so she can easily go out and purchase whatever and whenever she needs it.
Visa gift cards work as well!
General gift cards to stores like Target, WalMart, or grocery stores are nice to have as a new mom, so she can easily go out and purchase whatever and whenever she needs it.
Visa gift cards work as well!
9. Babysitting
Offer babysitting services to a new mom. Whether she just needs an hour to run to Target unencumbered or wants to have a date night with her husband, babysitting services won’t go unneeded.
Give her a coupon saying that you will babysit and then let her cash in for when she needs you.
Offer babysitting services to a new mom. Whether she just needs an hour to run to Target unencumbered or wants to have a date night with her husband, babysitting services won’t go unneeded.
Give her a coupon saying that you will babysit and then let her cash in for when she needs you.
SELF-CARE GIFTS
1. Spa Gift Cards
New moms deserve to be pampered after giving birth. Their bodies just spent over 9 months making a baby and then they had to go through labor and delivery.
They need a massage. Or facial. Or both. Get them a spa gift card.
1. Spa Gift Cards
New moms deserve to be pampered after giving birth. Their bodies just spent over 9 months making a baby and then they had to go through labor and delivery.
They need a massage. Or facial. Or both. Get them a spa gift card.
2. At Home Spa
Likewise, you can get new moms at home spa kits complete with nail polish, face masks, bath bombs, aromas, lotions, and foot scrubs.
They can pamper themselves whenever they want without ever having to leave the house.
Likewise, you can get new moms at home spa kits complete with nail polish, face masks, bath bombs, aromas, lotions, and foot scrubs.
They can pamper themselves whenever they want without ever having to leave the house.
3. A Nap or Shower
Gifts for new moms don’t have to be elaborate and expensive. Simply, volunteer to come over and give her a break to shower or nap.
Show up to her house (invited of course) and tell her you got the baby and to go do whatever she needs.
Gifts for new moms don’t have to be elaborate and expensive. Simply, volunteer to come over and give her a break to shower or nap.
Show up to her house (invited of course) and tell her you got the baby and to go do whatever she needs.
4. Baby Yoga Class
I did this with my son when he was a baby, and I loved it. It got me out of the house. It got me moving, breathing, relaxing, and connecting with other moms.
Everyone had a baby who cried at some point, so there was no shame or judgment.
This is a good self-care activity for a new mom after she gives birth.
I did this with my son when he was a baby, and I loved it. It got me out of the house. It got me moving, breathing, relaxing, and connecting with other moms.
Everyone had a baby who cried at some point, so there was no shame or judgment.
This is a good self-care activity for a new mom after she gives birth.
5. Staycation
A mom who just had a baby will crave a night or two alone at some point in the baby’s first years or years to come.
Book her a hotel that is close by, so she doesn’t feel anxious about being far away from the baby if needed. Arrange for babysitting too if her partner can’t do it.
A mom who just had a baby will crave a night or two alone at some point in the baby’s first years or years to come.
Book her a hotel that is close by, so she doesn’t feel anxious about being far away from the baby if needed. Arrange for babysitting too if her partner can’t do it.
6. Streaming Service
A new mom might be home a lot. And while newborns are cute, they don’t provide much of a companion, and they sleep a lot.
A streaming service would be helpful during those times. Offer to pay for one for a couple months, so she can binge her favorite ones.
A new mom might be home a lot. And while newborns are cute, they don’t provide much of a companion, and they sleep a lot.
A streaming service would be helpful during those times. Offer to pay for one for a couple months, so she can binge her favorite ones.
7. Books
In the same vein, I had a lot of time to read after I became a new mom. I really enjoyed it. Gift a new mom after she’s had a baby with books - whether that be a paperback or hardcover book from a book store, a book of the month, a supply from the library, a subscription to Audible, or if she has a kindle, a gift card to Amazon.
In the same vein, I had a lot of time to read after I became a new mom. I really enjoyed it. Gift a new mom after she’s had a baby with books - whether that be a paperback or hardcover book from a book store, a book of the month, a supply from the library, a subscription to Audible, or if she has a kindle, a gift card to Amazon.
FRIENDSHIP GIFTS
1. Sitting With Her
Motherhood can be terribly lonely in this day and age. We don’t live in such close proximity to family and friends as we used to. People are more isolated indoors.
Just coming over to sit and chat with a new mother is a very low-stress, pressure free gift that is priceless.
She will be thankful for the companionship and the adult conversation.
2. Take Her Out to Lunch
Likewise, you can take a new mother out to lunch, so she can have the companionship and adult conversation while getting out of the house to get some fresh air with an extra set of hands to help her with the baby.
Take her lunch at a lowkey, casual establishment in case the baby gets fussy.
Likewise, you can take a new mother out to lunch, so she can have the companionship and adult conversation while getting out of the house to get some fresh air with an extra set of hands to help her with the baby.
Take her lunch at a lowkey, casual establishment in case the baby gets fussy.
3. Mom Groups/Baby and Me Classes
Sign her up for a Mom’s Support Group or a Baby and Me class where she can connect and chat with other mothers.
After I had my son, I did a Baby and Me fitness class and went to breastfeeding support groups. It’s nice to be able to ask questions and meet other moms who are going through what you’re going through too.
Sign her up for a Mom’s Support Group or a Baby and Me class where she can connect and chat with other mothers.
After I had my son, I did a Baby and Me fitness class and went to breastfeeding support groups. It’s nice to be able to ask questions and meet other moms who are going through what you’re going through too.
SENSE OF IDENTITY GIFTS
1. Journal
A nice journal will help a new mom write down her thoughts and feelings along with what she did each day with the baby.
It will be nice to have that memory looking back.
1. Journal
A nice journal will help a new mom write down her thoughts and feelings along with what she did each day with the baby.
It will be nice to have that memory looking back.
2. Fair Play
Fair Play is a book written by Eve Rodsky. The book also inspired a card game to play with your partner
Taken straight from Fair Play’s website:
Tired of being the “she-fault” parent responsible for all aspects of her busy household, Eve Rodsky counted up all the unpaid, invisible work she was doing for her family—and then sent that list to her husband, asking for things to change. His response was . . . underwhelming. Rodsky realized that simply identifying the issue of unequal labor on the home front wasn’t enough: She needed a solution to this universal problem. Her sanity, identity, career, and marriage depended on it.
The result is Fair Play: a time-and anxiety-saving system that offers couples a completely new way to divvy up domestic responsibilities. Rodsky interviewed more than five hundred men and women from all walks of life to figure out what the invisible work in a family actually entails and how to get it all done efficiently. With four easy-to-follow rules, 100 household tasks, and a figurative card game you play with your partner, Fair Play helps you prioritize what’s important to your family and who should take the lead on every chore from laundry to homework to dinner.
Fair Play can help new moms find their unicorn space and divide the mental load with their partners, so they aren’t so burnt out.
Fair Play is a book written by Eve Rodsky. The book also inspired a card game to play with your partner
Taken straight from Fair Play’s website:
Tired of being the “she-fault” parent responsible for all aspects of her busy household, Eve Rodsky counted up all the unpaid, invisible work she was doing for her family—and then sent that list to her husband, asking for things to change. His response was . . . underwhelming. Rodsky realized that simply identifying the issue of unequal labor on the home front wasn’t enough: She needed a solution to this universal problem. Her sanity, identity, career, and marriage depended on it.
The result is Fair Play: a time-and anxiety-saving system that offers couples a completely new way to divvy up domestic responsibilities. Rodsky interviewed more than five hundred men and women from all walks of life to figure out what the invisible work in a family actually entails and how to get it all done efficiently. With four easy-to-follow rules, 100 household tasks, and a figurative card game you play with your partner, Fair Play helps you prioritize what’s important to your family and who should take the lead on every chore from laundry to homework to dinner.
Fair Play can help new moms find their unicorn space and divide the mental load with their partners, so they aren’t so burnt out.
These gifts will help a new mom after she gives birth fill up her emotional registry.
Remember that these gifts can be spread out over a couple months instead of her getting flooded with gifts in the first two weeks and then she has to flounder alone the rest of her baby's first year.
New moms need love and support.
Remember that these gifts can be spread out over a couple months instead of her getting flooded with gifts in the first two weeks and then she has to flounder alone the rest of her baby's first year.
New moms need love and support.
| | Lauren Barrett is a multi-passionate mom working to help all parents become their best selves and build positive relationships with their kids through mindful parenting. She has a degree in deaf education and a Master’s in Reading Education. She is a high school teacher of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing by day, a cross country coach by the afternoon, a writer/author by her son's nap times, and a full time mom to an amazing toddler. Lauren is a 2x author of the Add One-A-Day 30 Day Challenge and children's book, Henry's Hiccups, a blogger at Lauren Barrett Writes, and has been published on sites like A Fine Parent, Pregnant Chicken, Pop Sugar, Her View From Home, and Scary Mommy. She loves her faith, running, visiting MLB stadiums with her husband, chocolate, scrapbooking, pretending she would actually do well on the Amazing Race, re-watching The Office, listening to Bobby Bones, and helping out all moms. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, James, and son, Henry. Follow her on Instagram and get her free parenting checklists. |
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