Let’s talk baby showers for a minute. Most people either really love them, or really dread them. Even with a registry, it’s hard to buy a gift that you feel is meaningful but still useful. Babies grow so quickly that it’s hard to predict how many clothes they’ll need and at what ages. Not every baby likes every bottle. Some diapers cause rashes to some babies over others. Here’s a list of my five favorite non-traditional baby shower gift ideas.
Childbirth Classes
Childbirth classes make a great baby shower gift! Not only is it invaluable to have the knowledge and preparation that comes with taking a class, but it’s also a gift they’ll be able to use over and over again and will never grow out of. Typical childbirth classes range from about $150-$350, and while that may be on the pricey side for the average baby shower gift, it would be easy for a few people to split the cost, or for the shower attendees to each contribute a small amount. Studies show that women who took a childbirth class were 25% more likely to have a vaginal birth, and women who had a birth plan were twice as likely to avoid a Cesarean. Aside from those amazing benefits, couples feel more prepared and confident going into their birth, and have a lot of fun learning and practicing relaxation techniques together. Take a look at your local instructors here!
Birth Doula Services
Of all the non-traditional gift ideas on this list, doula services are the most expensive, but with good reason! (If you’re not familiar with what a doula is, what a doula does, or the evidence on why doulas are so amazing, here’s a great article from Evidence Based Birth about just those things.) Doula prices vary significantly, especially from location to location, but you can expect to pay $500-$1000 for a well-trained doula. Studies consistently show better outcomes when doulas are a part of the birth team, including a reduction of Cesarean rates by 50%, reduction in length of labor by 25%, and reduction in the use of Pitocin by 40%. Studies also show that mom’s perception of her labor is also drastically improved with a trained doula present. While we love and support nurses, they’re just not able to be a constant source of support during labor, and a doula’s sole purpose is to be there for you 100%. Meet your local doulas here!
Postpartum Doula Services
Did you know there was such a thing as a postpartum doula? A postpartum doula works differently than a birth doula in that they’re there to support you after birth rather than during the birth. A postpartum doula will come to your home and could help you with any number of things, like making meals, cleaning house, doing laundry, watching the baby so mom can nap, shower, or eat, helping families create a plan for when she’s no longer serving them, or even helping with baby-related things like guidance with breastfeeding. Not all postpartum doulas do all of these things, so it’s important to meet with different ones until you find the right match for you. The average cost of a postpartum doula is about $30-45 an hour.
Belly Binding
Bengkung belly binding is used around the world in many different cultures during the postpartum period to aid in a quicker and easier recovery after birth. The postpartum mom is wrapped snugly with a 100% cotton fabric wrap that will support her body as it returns to it’s pre-pregnant state. The benefits of belly binding include: healing of diastasis recti and bringing separated abdominal muscles together, improves posture and alignment after birth, reduces water retention, provides lower back support and may alleviate back pain, helps organs, especially the uterus, return to the pre-pregnant state, supports loosened ligaments, may reduce postpartum bleeding time, and, it just feels great! Belly binding can range from $150-$500 depending on how many days they come to wrap you, but you will also learn how to wrap yourself properly so you can continue receiving the benefits of binding.
Door Dash/Uber Eats/Grubhub Gift Cards
Let’s be real, nobody wants to cook after having a baby, and some people don’t ever want to cook period. One of the greatest gifts you can give to a postpartum mom is help with food. If you’re not the make-a-freezer-meal-and-drop-it-off kind of person, get her some gifts cards to food delivery services instead. It’s easy for new moms to forget to feed themselves while keeping up with the demands of keeping a new baby alive and happy, and food delivery is a great way to combat that! She can order food while she’s sitting down feeding the baby and have it dropped on her door ready to eat as soon as she picks it up. I remember when I was pregnant with my first couple of kids (before food delivery like this was around) wishing someone would invent this service to deliver ice cream to me.
Obviously this is not a comprehensive list, but hopefully it gives you some good ideas to get you thinking. What other things would you add to this list?
Wasatch Mountain Birth Boot Camp 
Having a baby can come with several extra to-do tasks. As a Maternity warden, a large part of our job is to take care of these laborious tasks for expecting parents. This can be an actually exciting way to pile up on things that wouldn’t else be on your baby record. The piling of the nursery party is all about the “small things” that new parents will require, but wouldn’t consider to buy for themselves. You might also think of gifting a gift certificate for postpartum support for example an overnight care so the new parents can get hold of some quality sleep. More frequently than not, they go along the similar pattern: Women arrive at the home of the entertainer. They have finger food or have a brunch. They have cake, maybe shaped like a baby, or in a layer of cupcakes. Then everyone plays games and goes back to home with a cupcake or candle. It’s absolutely delightful, but perhaps it doesn’t suit every mom-to-be. But there are plenty of different ways to celebrate the forthcoming birth of a new human being.
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