Dec 9, 20124 min read

Grandma Gift Guide for Parents to be

Time is the greatest gift. Time to sleep. Time to be able to leave the house for a simple errand or just to leave the house. Time for the parents to be alone and rekindle intimacy is the greatest gift to give your grandchild at any age

My first gift suggestion is to make a homemade coupon book with coupons that are geared to the parents to be or new parents that they can redeem during the year. Be specific. You can have more than one of one type. Some examples include

One hour of free time for you (or two hours, etc.)
Babysitting for one evening
Babysitting and $___toward a movie and dinner
A home cooked meal delivered to your house and babysitting while you enjoy it in peace
Drop the baby off at our house for __ hours
Give me your grocery list and I will shop for you
A load of laundry, washed, dried and folded for you
24 hours to yourselves; leave the baby with me at your home or mine

New parents are overwhelmed with the time commitment. Who knew babies required care 24/7

Whenever and however a grandparent can reduce the burden and relieve some of the 24/7 will be greatly appreciated.

As far as purchased gifts, I always love www.toyportfolio.com and www.onestepahead.com.

There is one indispensible gift that many people do not know about: the snuggle nest. This is the product description:

Product Description The Snuggle Nest by Baby Delight is a portable infant sleeper that is designed to offer a more open sleeping area for newborns in the adult bed. Sturdy walls, a firm pad with envelope sheet, and a New Comfort Mesh Liner, help provide a comfortable night’s sleep for baby next to parents. Other features include a soft nightlight and soothing music and womb sounds by Pediasleep.com.

The Baby Delight Snuggle Nest features:

Age Range: 0-4 months or until infant begins to push up or roll over. Not for use in cribs
Great for newborns. Convenient for C-Section moms. Handy for travel
5 level volume control, with automatic shutoff. Requires 2 AA batteries, not included
All parts removable and washable

However, the snuggle nest is a great travel changing table, even for toddlers, and for use at grandma’s house. We rarely used it as a sleeping aid, but if the baby has a cold, you can elevate the back. It is washable and has sheets to fit it. We always put a pad over the sheet when changing the baby as it is easy to remove a dirty pad for washing.

INFANT TOYS

There are several 2012 award winners that are improvements over previous years’ great infant toys. Always go for Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum toys—grandchildren go for these first and often!

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2012 Award

Sassy Developmental Play Mat (Sassy $39.99 Score:)

Compared to many, this new reasonably priced playmat is a good buy for short term use. It has tons of patterns, high contrast as well as bright primary colors. There are peek-a-boo patterns under lift up polka dots. There are wonderful dangly toys for gazing at and reaching out to touch or kick. It has a safety mirror, a tummy time pillow and a small and forgettable electronic sounding musical add-on. With the 3-armed set-up it is also easier to lift baby off. Available only at Target. 3 months & up

Age: Infants. Award Year: 2012.

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2012 Awards

Wimmer-Ferguson Learn and Play Ball (Manhattan Toy $20 Score:)

Amazing play value has been rolled into one fabric ball. For newborns, the high contrast images printed on the fabric ball will be interesting to gaze at. They have used faces, targets, and patterns that will attract the visual attention of infants. The panels of the ball are piped with bright satin with lots of colorful ribbon taggies. Give it a shake to hear the jingling bell. This is one of those wonderful fabric toys that plays to all the senses and invites you to play early socializing games with your sitting up baby. A terrific gift for a baby shower or first visits. Marked for 6 months but this will be good as visual stimulation long before baby can reach out and touch.

Age: Infants, Toddlers. Award Year: 2012.

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2012 Award

Tiny Love Soothe n Groove Mobile (Tiny Love $54 Score:)

A fairly gender free mobile that will fit in the nursery of boys or girls. The three fabric animals do look down on baby as they move about. They have dangly legs and big eyes. The mobile plays 18 tunes and will run for as long as 40 minutes. Of course, the mobile animals and armature need to be removed by five months but the music box, with electronic sounds, can remain on the crib side for baby to activate. It can also be removed and carried about as baby grows into toddlerhood. So, this is a piece of equipment with a long life. Newborn-24 months.

Age: Infants. Award Year: 2012.

Review Year: 2012

2012 Award

Sassy Go-Go Bugs (Sassy $9.99 Score:)

A set of three little fabric bugs, with big embroidered eyes and smiling mouths, that easily attach to an infant seat. They have bright colors, licks of black and white, and a wonderful chime sound as they dangle in view. You can easily reposition these from time to time, to give them new interest. These are ideal for newborns to stimulate hearing and gazing. Newborns & up.

Age: Infants. Award Year: 2012.