Top 5 Baby Shower Gift Ideas for Mum-to-be

Baby showers are of course all about baby but every so often, amongst the teeny tiny socks, nappy cakes and burp muslins it's a nice treat to find a gift snuck in for mum too. 

After all, she'll be the one needing a bit of TLC and pampering both before and after the 'Big Day'. 

So, here's my round up of the best baby shower gift ideas for mum-to-be

1. Mama Mio Luxury Skin Care

Mama Mio is a brand I knew little about before pregnancy but have come to absolutely LOVE. They're not the cheapest out their either so a Mama Mio skin care goodie would give mum-to-be a touch of luxury as well as looking after. 

Mama Mio's The Tummy Rub Butter retails at around £23.50 for 120g and works wonders both before and after baby arrives. 

If she's been complaining of swelling the Lucky Legs Cooling Energising Gel retails at £19.50 and is a great excuse to force hubby into a foot massage!

2. Memory Keepers 

Gifts like keepsake boxes, baby record books and 'My First Year' picture frames are gorgeous ideas that are more for mum than they'll ever be for baby. If she likes sentimental presents this is a great buy. MotherCare  and Not on the High Street have some beautiful gifts around this theme. 

The My Baby Record Book I bought for a steal - £3 from The Works!

3. Spa and Beauty Treatment Vouchers 

At 31 weeks pregnant I've already decided that I'm going to do some serious pampering before this baby pops! 

I've enjoyed being pregnant and have happily watched my body change with awe aplenty but I still feel like I'm missing a little bit of my old glamorous self - groaning like an old woman every time you stand up and waddling around the place will do that to a girl! 

I'm opting for eyelash extensions, gel mani/pedi and maybe even a spray tan. If you're mum-to-be likes to keep preened she'll definitely appreciate this gift - How about a Champneys beauty treatment at one of their 5 city spas. 

4. Cook Frozen Meals 

OK, so not as glamorous I'll admit but I'm told these are a MUST for any new mum. When baby arrives the last thing she'll want to do is cook. 

Choose Cook online or in store for their staggering number of choices and their quality. You can buy vouchers, book for a selection to arrive or even purchase one of their New Parents Meal Boxes.

5. A Mum and Baby Photo Shoot 

There are photo shoot packages like this aplenty in your local area. Just check out Net Mums for a list as long as your arm - here's East Surrey's photographers. A voucher works best so she can book at a time and day that suits best... and inspire her to get out of those PJs she's been wearing for three days straight!

What's more perfect is they can be tailored exactly to mum-to-be's tastes. A lovely family activity with keepsakes she'll treasure for years and be able to display proudly in her home. 

Love 

LauraClaire

The brands to watch from the Baby & Toddler Show 2018

I was lucky enough to get free tickets to this years Baby & Toddler show at Sandown Racecourse in Esher in September.

The Baby and Toddler show has event all around the country and is supported by Emma's Diary. The next show is in Glasgow in April 2019.

With my mum in tow, I scanned the vast array of stalls for things that stood out most to me as a mum-to-be. 

And here’s my top picks…

Beautiful swaddles and blankets at Milleemooandyou

As you know I love home-grown talent and supporting UK companies and with Milleemooandyou I had the pleasure of meeting Manolee, the founder of Milleemooandyou at the show. 

Her gorgeous collection are all handmade in India, stood out to me for two reasons. Firstly, how soft they were. The combination of Bamboo and organic cotton make them gorgeously silky smooth to touch. Secondly, the unique patterns and designs. We saw a lot of gorgeous but mass-produced items at the show, so these really stood out from the crowd. 

My mum treated me to these two large white pom pom swaddles with super cute pompoms in peach and red. Perfect for baby but also for wearing yourself! I’m all about dual purpose.

Delicious smelling mum and baby products at Harry & Rose

As a first-time mum-to-be I can’t say I’d ever heard of Harry & Rose but with their award-winning line up of beauty and care products you may well have! 

My favourite is the baby soft lotion that retails at £7.50 with its subtle creamy scent. It’s perfect for baby’s skin and even on sensitive skin and it’s thick enough to lather on baby without running all over the place too. 

Another of their products which took my interest was their nappy spray that retails at £5.50. Not at the stage where I could test it yet but the idea of using a protective spray to guard against nappy rash rather than thick Sudocrem or another cream that needed to be rubbed in seemed like a great idea.

The multipurpose nature of Snugglebundl

Both mum and I were pretty won over by this Snugglebundl product which seemed great for new born babies. 

It’s a simple concept that replaces blankets in the day and make transporting baby from arms to cot to car seat seamless.  

The design makes baby feel cocooned and safe and supports their head and neck in a little ‘shopping-bag-style hammock’ if you need to move them around.

Design-led luxury nappy bags from KeriKit

It was a pleasure to meet the designer of KeriKit bags at the event. Having always been a designer she saw a gap in the market for fashion-forward nappy bags made with quality and care whilst struggling to find anything appropriate after the birth of her first. Her designs come in backpack or shoulder bag formats and with all the pockets and secret spaces you could want.

The Joy Stud Black backpack was a favourite for me which I tried on at the event. It’s made of leather so will get better with ages, has every pocket type and zipped compartment you could dream of and, once baby is grown, is stylish enough to use as an every day bag. 

Love 

LauraClaire

10 items to get you through the 1st Trimester

The 10 items I realised I desperately couldn't live with out to get me through the horrid 1st Trimester as a new mum-to-be...

Pregnancy Apps

Top of the list of course, has got to be pregnancy apps. There are about a billion out there but the three I skip between are Bounty, Ovia Pregnancy and Baby Centre. 

Ovia Pregnancy is great for regular little updates about baby, and size comparisons between fruit, pastries, toys and lots more! 

The Baby Centre seems best for articles on questions you might be having, and Bounty is good for freebies and a more realistic view of what baby might look like at each week.

Pregnancy multi-vitamins

A few friends I spoke to said that taking pregnancy vitamins made their nausea a lot worse. I didn’t experience that. When I had nausea, nothing seemed to make it better or worse really. It was simply…. nauseating. 

I've been using Pregnacare Original Vitamins. 

Although, like most vitamin supplements I can’t say I particularly ‘felt’ their effects but, with my distaste for food and my ability to only eat Chicken Chow Mein, having a pill that made sure I was still getting some nutrients was great for peace of mind.

I read one article where a woman claimed her pregnancy craving was salad. I hate that woman.

Bath tub thermometer

This really depends on how much you love a bath but, for me, it was a big deal. I love a bath and not just any bath, a skin-boilingly hot bath! If I’ve not come out feeling faint and bright red, it’s not a good bath in my books. Great for me, but not so great for baby…. Unfortunately.

Baby-friendly bath and room thermometers are a great buy if you’re like me. And of course, you can use them when baby comes too. Guidance online states that bath water temperature should sit around or below 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius. 

I bought this little super cute Hippo for my Tub.. works a treat!

That being said, I took this guidance with a pinch of salt after reading this Telegraph article which says that pregnant women can enjoy hot baths and even saunas without risk for a short period of time.

Here are some of my favourites from Amazon... 

(they're clickable)

Body oil

I’ve always been fairly dedicated to a post-bath moisturise so swapping my normal moisturiser for Johnson's baby oil was simple. I was also gifted a Boots Stretch Mark oil spray (you can find it on Ebay now) which I used on my bump, chest and thighs. It’s important to keep this area soft and supple right from the start.

 
Snack pot Tupperware

I found that an empty stomach can quickly bring on nausea. On a visit to the spa in week 7 it was mum to the rescue with Tupperware pots of nuts and fruit which kept me going through till afternoon tea. Mum's always know best!

Tupperware Ideal Little Bowl Set of 3 in Green, Red, Blue

Sparkling water

Unfortunately, I only found out about this absolute win in week 12. A friend of mine told me that she glugged down litres of the stuff. Sparkling water is indeed your pregnancy friend.

A re-usable water bottle

Multiple re-usable bottles to dot around your home as you’ll start to drink like its going out of fashion (and unfortunately, I don’t mean gin and tonics!). A handy tip; keep a full water bottle in your bathroom each night. I was getting up to pee A LOT and it helped me stay hydrated at the same time which helped me feel a little less light headed in the morning.

I'm a big fan of the water bottles with timer markers to prompt you to drink through the day... we all need a little nudge am I right!

Comfort food in the cupboards

Toward the end of week 8 I was really starting to feel the dreaded symptoms the maternity articles warn you about. Week by week they grew in intensity and it shocked me how much I struggled with all day nausea, headaches and feeling exhausted. I went off pretty much all food at that time, and dreaded mealtimes… and trust me… I NEVER go off food!

I leaned on comfort food and meals from my childhood to get me through. Chicken chow Mein, chicken nuggets, egg and soldiers and Semolina puddings. If there are a few childhood dishes that spring to your mind now’s the time to stock the fridge. 

Maternity jeans and leggings

By week 10 I was sneakily undoing my jeans post-lunch. They’d fit fine in the morning but by the afternoon I was dying to come home from work and get my PJs on for some relief! A quick run to Mothercare for a pair of skinny black maternity jeans and a 3 pack of maternity leggings turned into a god send. My advice, ignore the forum mums that tell you that you shouldn’t be showing until week 15 and you should need maternity gear – if you want it, get it!

A spare pillow

In weeks 11 and 12, my bump was pretty plump and whether it was baby or bloating I started to get a little uncomfortable lying on my side in bed. At this stage a maternity pillow is a bit over-kill, but a spare pillow works a charm. 

Do you agree? What have a missed? 

Love 
LauraClaire

Ed Sheeran was right… We’re having a baby!

Ed Sheeran was right… We’re having a baby!

View this post on Instagram

Thank you so much #edsheeran you are incredible! My cackle in this video is proof enough of what an epic surprise this was. I watched this clip on our wedding morning and it made our first dance to your song Thinking Out Loud even more magical! Love Laura & Jason xxx

A post shared by Beauty & Lifestyle Blogger (@laura_claire88) on Jan 4, 2018 at 3:42pm PST

So, we have big news! Almost exactly 6 months after our Wedding Ed Sheeran’s fateful wish for us came true… We’re pregnant!

We’re going to welcoming a new first addition to our family on the 13^th of March 2019. 

Love

LauraClaire.... & Hubby