Top 16 Gifts and Tips for New Parents to Help Reduce Stress

So, I don’t know if you’re like me, but when I was a first-time parent, I totally fell into the pressure of the baby product industry and thought I “needed” everything, like literally everything. I think I thought that if I had all the gadgets and toys then I would be “set” and that would mean we would be the best parents ever (Insert the old sitcom audience laughter here LOL). So, if you haven’t heard my story yet, spoiler alert…. Having all the stuff didn’t matter. I know, shocker, right?! Anyway, I am here to share with you and all your friends and family thinking about getting you gifts, the things I think you actually need. Gifts that can actually decrease the stress new parents feel and improve their mental health. This is from the perspective of a mom of two, a therapist, and a mom who experienced PPD with her first and took steps that I believe helped me not with the second. I believe some of these things were what contributed to this.

Support as a new parent is HUGE. So, when thinking of many of these gifts I thought of what supported me and my husband the most in taking care of our baby easier, stress less, sleep more, and feel happier and more like ourselves.

1. Baby Shusher. This thing is AMAZING. If you haven’t had a baby yet, you may not know yet that you are going to be making the shooshing sound all the time. So much so that you get tired of it. This shooshing machine is amazing because it makes it for you! So instead of bouncing and shooshing your baby as you transition them to sleep you can simply turn it on, set it on a table and place your baby in bed, bounce or rock your baby before laying them down to sleep. Some parents out there say their babies would wake up once it went off, this was not the case for either of my kids, this thing was a life saver!

2. Baby rocker. Otherwise known as a new parent’s personal assistant. Oh my gosh I can’t say enough about this thing. It folds flat for easy storage and travel, it’s easy to wash and light so it’s easy to carry with one hand and move it anywhere in the house where you need to set the baby down safely for a moment to get something else done. Need to cook dinner? Go to the bathroom? Help your other child? Exercise? Baby rocker has your back!

3. Sound machine. These are amazing and super helpful for not only blocking out other sounds, conversations, and hotel noise when traveling but they are also great at training your baby to sleep on cue. I swear you turn this sound on in our house and both of our kids get tired, turn it off and they immediately both wake up. Some may not like this, for our family it’s a lifesaver and allows us to all sleep well and live normally when the baby is asleep earlier than the rest of us. And with sleep being a major contributor to the decline in a new parent’s mental health and increase in couples’ conflict, we are pro anything that helps parents and baby sleep better.

4. Car seat toy/teething ring. Want to stay sane during a long car ride? Having a teething ring and a great toy, you can take in the car, or keep in the car, is great for your baby to stay entertained. Our babies loved anything with tags on them and the teething ring I listed on the above link.

5. Sleep sack. I hated swaddling and so did my kids (PS most babies don’t initially like this), but I could never wrap it in a way that my ninja kids couldn’t get at least one limb out. For all you out there who are good at this I commend you. This is not my strength. So, if it’s not yours either, they make sleep sacks that swaddle your baby as well as sleep sacks that don’t swaddle as your baby gets older. Added perk, this larger sack for older babies prevents my now one year old from successfully crawling out of her crib because her legs can only go so far in the sack so she can’t ninja her way over. Less stress and worry about her getting out of her crib, the swaddle coming undone, her or waking up because she’s cold. Win for me!

6. Baby monitor. Our baby monitor helps us keep our worries down about our baby and her safety. We love this one because it’s mobile or plug in, easy to set up, and has an insane picture quality in the day and night. You can literally zoom in and see their every breath morning or night.

7. Baby rattle. Baby rattles are great for getting your babies attention during tummy time when you are working on them turning one way and then the other. You don’t need a ton, just one you like and that baby can grab onto. These are great for tummy time which is a great time to bond with your baby and improve connection.

8. Help with housekeeping. This is probably the BEST thing you can give a parent. Many companies like this one give you the option of buying a gift card. There is no better gift than not feeling overwhelmed with housework when you are just trying to survive the first few months of parenthood than a clean house that you didn’t have to clean. This can be a huge relief to new parents feeling overwhelmed with the balance of keeping their house clean while taking care of their new baby.

9. Doordash/grubhub/food prep. Eating healthy and taking care of yourself can take a backseat those first few weeks especially. Food and grocery delivery gift cards can be a great gift for new parents so they are able to take care of their nutritional needs without having to spend time at the store or cooking when they just need rest. Eating healthy can help give you the energy you need to be there for your baby.

10. Daycare. Offering to watch the baby so mom or dad can get stuff done around the house, get out for an errand or a date, or even just get some shut eye can be an amazing gift. Funds towards baby sitting can also be a great option if they already have a sitter they prefer or if you aren’t able to offer your childcare services.

11. The Snoo. These are pricey but if you can do it I have seen overnight changes in babies that were not sleeping. If you have the funds, or you’ve tried everything and just need sleep, you may want to look into the Snoo. These have such great resale value that I have heard of parents buying them used and able to sell them for the same price they bought them for. They also offer them for rent online. Again, sleep is INVALUABLE in the first few months. If this is an option for you financially, I would recommend looking into the Snoo.

12. Haakaa. Oh my gosh this thing was amazing! I actually would get just as much milk in my Haakaa as I would pumping. You attach it to the opposite breast that you are pumping or feeding your baby and as your breast lets down the milk, the Haakaa collects it… quietly and pain free. This is important because it can reduce the amount of time you spend pumping which can be mentally taxing for new moms. Love this product!

13. A good quality breast pump. There is nothing worse than a product that makes something that already feels dehumanizing to also make you feel frustrated and disappointed when you can’t extract much milk. For all you new parents out there deciding to pump, you probably can relate to breast milk being liquid gold. I will never forget the memories I have of dropping and spilling freshly pumped breast milk. My heart sank, immediate anger and tears all flooded in. All that work… It's awful. So you want a pump that is strong enough to get as much milk as possible, which by the way is not always the same as how much your baby is capable of extracting which can be incredibly frustrating. With that being said a good pump like the Spectra can really help maximize the milk you are able to extract and reduce some of the stress of long or unsuccessful pumping sessions that come with some of the weaker pumps. The Freemie pump is a great option for moms that need to pump while they work. You can barely hear it and it fits in your bra! This product really helped me not feel strapped to my pump because I was mobile again which when pumping is a HUGE plus since you may be doing it often. Make sure to check in with your OBGYN to see if your insurance covers your pump and if their office takes care of ordering this for you.

14. Thrive After Baby Online Courses. Our courses were developed with the intention to either prepare you or get your life back on track after baby. The unique thing about our course is that it’s not about learning about your baby, although we teach some of that too, it’s about teaching you specific tools and strategies to reduce the impact that the challenges of a new baby can have on relationship, your sense of self, and your ability to manage stress, so you can be the best parents for your new baby. The last two are tips…

15. Don’t buy a bunch of stuff! Learn from my mistakes. I found with my first, that all the extra stuff we had actually caused more stress because our house easily became messy because there was nowhere for everything to go. Less is more. Remember you can always add more stuff, but overbuying just wastes your money or the money others spend on you. If you run out of gift options, more gift cards for food and house cleaning or diapers will never grow old. If people say, “but I want to buy you something cute for the baby”, feel free to tell them… “happy parents are the cutest and best thing you can buy for our baby, and a gift card for cleaning or food will help with that, thank you so much!”

16. For friends and family: Hold back on criticism during the early months, but please help with kindness, remember their new at this and may be a little sensitive. Support, kindness, and grace are some of the best gifts you can give a new parent. If you can't resist your feedback, ask permission before sharing. For example, “can I share a thought/idea with you that might help?” If they say no, please respect this. They will be more likely to receive the feedback when you ask permission to share it instead of just assuming they want it.

I hope these new parent gifts and tips are helpful, check out our program Preparing 4 Baby for specific tools and a step-by-step plan for preparing and strengthening your relationship, sense of self and ability to manage stress after baby.

Author: Sasha McPherson, LMFT and mom of two ❤