Someone in the group chat is having a baby, the shower is in two weeks, and the registry has already been picked clean of everything that isn't a crib. We have this exact conversation at the counter most weeks, so here is the honest version.
Skip the bottles
This is the first thing we say, every time. Mums choose their own bottles and soothers, usually after trying two or three brands they never planned on. A boxed feeding set is a kind thought and it almost always ends up in the back of a closet. Same with anything that has to fit one specific stroller or car seat — you don't know which one she's getting, and neither does she yet.
Buy the size nobody else buys
Everyone buys newborn. It's the smallest, it's the cutest on the hanger, and it's the easiest to picture. Then the baby actually arrives, grows out of it in about three weeks, and somebody is ordering sleepers at eleven at night on their phone.
Buy 12-18 months instead. A Kyte Baby zippered footie in 12-18M ($45.99) sits in the drawer for a bit and then becomes the one she reaches for every single night for a whole season. It is the least exciting gift to hand over and far and away the most used one in the pile.
One soft thing, for the baby to choose
Babies pick their own comfort object and nobody else gets a vote. You can't make it happen, but you can put a good one in the room. The Jellycat Luxe Bunny Rosa blankie ($140) is the one that tends to get picked here — a plush bunny head on a small square blanket, light enough for little hands to drag around the house.
It's also the piece in the box that gets the loudest reaction at the shower, which is a nice bonus for you.
One for the wall
This is our favourite thing to add and the one people don't think of. The Petit Artichaut olive tree puzzle frame ($45.99) is a little wooden keepsake for the nursery wall. Clothes get outgrown and plush gets washed to within an inch of its life, but the thing on the wall is still on the wall when that baby is starting kindergarten.
And one for the photos
The Lulujo Hello World milestone blanket ($39.99) is the one you lay the baby on for the monthly photo. Practical, and it quietly gives her a year of pictures she doesn't have to think up herself.
Putting it together
Those four come to $277, and we'll box them up for you in the shop. Add a card and you're done — we keep a wall of them, including a few that are specifically for new parents rather than for the baby, which is usually the right instinct anyway.
If you'd rather go smaller, the footie and the milestone blanket together are a complete gift on their own. If you're buying with a group, the blankie is the piece to put the pooled money toward.
Come in and we'll help you pick. We're at 5112 Mullen Road, open Monday to Friday 10-6 and weekends 10-4:30, and everything is online at princesspea.ca with free shipping across Canada on orders over $149.
