THE LEAST WE COULD DO
I thought I’d share a little idea for any parents that are looking to return to work in the near future, and are wanting to do something special for the person taking care of your precious babe.
Chris and I are super fortunate to have my parents asking to take Lou part-time. They did it with my niece and nephew, and really enjoy the opportunity to bond and build memories with their grandchildren. To us (nervous, pandemic stressed) new parents, it feels like we won the lottery! Once Lou was born and I got a taste of how many things a baby needs, I got the idea to put together a bit of a “gift basket” for them of a few necessities. Just diapers and things, to avoid them having to worry about it. As usual with me and gift giving, things escalated pretty quickly and before I knew it I had quite the little collection. I picked up things here and there throughout my maternity leave; things that served a function, cute things, things that were special to Lou or favourites of hers. Pro tip: there’s nothing sweeter than a good collected gift, and it doesn’t just work for baby stuff. I once gave my mom a gift of little treats from my sister’s bachelorette weekend in Prince Edward County. Jams, fresh lavender, wine; just little treats to let her know we’d been thinking of her! But this time was all about baby Lou. We tried to keep many of the things somewhat gender neutral, just incase our next baby isn’t as into pink, and since my parents plan to watch my sister’s future babies.
A few things were included specifically with my parents in mind. My mom recently painted her guest room white, making it that much more difficult to get it dark enough for a baby to nap in, in the middle of the day. She notoriously uses her hair clips to pin up a blanket as a makeshift curtain, and it’s a bit of a disaster. Especially if she has to do it twice a day! So I got the measurements to the window, bought a blackout curtain and took it to a seamstress to hem and add velcro to the border. A few pieces of velcro tape to the window frame and... voila! One entirely blackout window, that can be converted back to its original, aesthetically pleasing self in seconds. I got the idea from a company in the US that makes them, but shipping was crazy expensive and delayed due to Covid.
In the end it was important for us to provide my parents with a few things to make their time caring for Lou a little easier, and it was fun to add in little treats we felt would make their time together that much more special. One item that tugged on the emotional heart strings, was the book In My Heart by Mackenzie Porter. It’s a children’s story about a mommy returning to work, and telling their child how much they will miss them all day. Okay, I may have added this to the gift because I couldn’t emotionally handle reading it to Lou myself.
In the end, it was a curated collection of Lou’s favourite things. Oddly enough, it ended up providing me a little comfort knowing she was going to spend her days using familiar things. Maybe this was the emotional side of my OCD, subconsciously trying to micromanage the situation? Either way, it turned out beautiful and gifting it to my parents was special. They are giving us such a gift by taking care of Lou, that it was really just a small way for us to show our immense gratitude.
The complete list of everything included in this collected gift is below, along with links to where you can get each item. Happy shopping!
little something for nap
A few things to make nap time familiar, hopefully making it a smoother transition for Lou and a smoother process for my parents! Lou’s a great sleeper, (see Sorry My Baby Sleeps) but she does rely on a few things as part of her sleep routine. This first thing is, darkness! We did a DIY version of these Blackout EZ window coverings to make it easy for my parents to have up or have away. They are from the US, and typically are available on Amazon.ca but they haven’t been since Covid. My parents already have the same sound machine by Marpac that we have in her nursery, so that was amazing! We also ended up giving them a Kodak Cherish baby monitor, we’d originally bought it for ourselves and we had no complaints. We ended up getting the Nanit to get more features (like the breathe smart technology, and Nanit insights), but the Kodak was perfect for Grandma and Grandpas!
2. little something for lunch
My parents have the same Ikea Antilop high chair that we have, so we decided to customize it a bit just like we did ours. There is this amazing family-owned company called Yeah Baby Goods based out of the US. They make accessories designed specifically for the Ikea high chair, and the options are stunningly endless. Not only do they give the high chair a custom look, they offer a lot of great supports to make this affordable chair that much more functional. We have cushion covers for multiple occasions (disclaimer: their shop is addicting), the placemat for easy clean-up, and the footrest for stability. We love them all, so I was thrilled to have an excuse to buy a few extra for my parents. We also use Bumkins serveware, and bought my parents a neutral marble set. We added a 360 Sippy Cup and the world’s cutest bib from Snuggle Hunny Kids (seriously, take a look for yourself).
3. little something for care
These items were much more out of necessity, and even though we could easily send her with what she’ll need each day, it can be exhausting living out of a diaper bag! So we bought them a good supply of Lou’s Pampers Pure diapers and wipes, and added in a tub of her Earth Mama Diaper Cream. I don’t want to jinx it, but Lou has yet to react to or have any sort of blemish with any of these products, and they are all available on Amazon.ca. Hello doorstep delivery. Lou is also notorious at having a sneaky pee; the second you leave her mid-change without a diaper and on goes the babbling brook. We were gifted a Gathre change mat and it’s been a lifesaver many times, so it was a must!
4. little something for play
To set them up for play time we threw in a classic toy, that my Mom had mentioned at one point. Mom: Remember those alphabet blocks? I used to love playing with those with you girls! Me: Add to cart. To go along with the Alphabet Blocks, we got a few books. The Go Grandpa Go and Go Grandma Go books were for fun, and as previously mentioned the In My Heart was a little something sentimental. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
5. little something to wear
My Mom always likes to have an extra outfit or pyjama on hand, just in case. So I treated her to a few gender neutrals ones. We are big fans of Roots, and their baby clothes scream “let’s snuggle”. So we got them an original Cooper Beaver Romper to have on hand for impromptu sleigh rides when the weather gets blustery. And if you’ve ever cared for a baby before, you know you can never have enough pyjamas, so we added in a cozy organic onesie from The Gap.
6. an extra special something
And last, but certainly never possibly least, was Bunny. Lou was given two of these Bashful Bunnies by Jellycat when she was born, and one from Daddy, and she’s loved them since the very first day she could hold them. Chris even bought The Magic Bunny book that goes along with it! So to avoid the pressure of sending her beloved Bunny out into the world, and making sure to never leave it behind, we thought it was a sweet gesture to get her very own Bunny that stays at her Grandma and Grandpa’s house.
