Motherhood is a life-changing and wonderful experience when a child is born, and the new mom and dad will have all sorts of responsibilities on their hands. This is rewarding, to be sure, but it can be a bit overwhelming and stressful, and the new parents might appreciate a little help. Not just from a baby sitter or baby sleep coach; a baby shower is a fine time for the mom’s friends and family to provide her with new parenting tools to make motherhood easier. Gifts for first time mothers can be either practical or sentimental, and new moms may be thankful for some of both. This ranges from cashmere baby blankets to parenting tools such as a baby carrying vest to parenting tools such as a baby supply bag and even a whole crib. A wrap for breastfeeding is also a great example of parenting tools, and Cashmere baby gifts may be very comfortable for the baby and mom alike, and that’s just the start. What other parenting tools or sentimental gifts might be given?
Parenting in the U.S.
Motherhood, as a major milestone, has been celebrated for over 100 years now, and many conventions surround this special day. Meanwhile, population statistics are largely based on births and how many babies each woman in a nation has, and many such statistics are carefully gathered in the United States. What do they show? The number of new moms in the United States has been growing within the past 10 years, in fact. Back in 2006, for example, a single woman had an average of 1.86 children or so, and by 2016, that number had reached 2.07. Often, new moms are in their 20s, but trends show that many women are both marrying later and starting their families later. This is partly due to the trend of having an “extended adolescence” in their 20s. This means that just over 25% of women today who have babies are aged 30 or over.
More moms than ever are also working, and many children today are born to households with two working parents. In 2015, for a recent example, around 70% of mothers with children under age 18 were in the American work force. What is more, in 46% of two-parent households, both parents were working full-time jobs. This means that many employed women are turning to the benefits of maternity leave once they have a child, and parents may also make good use of babysitters and day care centers while they are working.
What about the birth and the baby’s first few months of life? New moms may contend with postpartum depression, which includes feelings of sadness, anxiety, and worry soon after birth, sometimes nicknamed the “baby blues.” This may take place after about 15% of births or so. Fortunately, new moms may turn to support groups and therapy to address this. Four in every thousand pregnant women may in fact give birth to identical twins, meanwhile. Triplets are even more rare, but certainly happen, too.
Ideal Baby Gifts
At some point in her pregnancy, an expecting mother may enjoy her baby shower, a party where her own mother, sisters or cousins, female friends, and others may gather not only to celebrate the upcoming baby/babies but also provide the expecting mom with all the parenting tools she and the baby’s father will need after the birth. As mentioned earlier, this gifts may be sentimental or practical. The practical ones may include sets of disposable diapers, baby clothes, an entire crib, breastfeeding wraps, a tote bag for baby supplies, and more. The mother may greatly appreciate breastfeeding wraps, and both parents may make good use of a chest-mounted baby carrier and a tote bag while out and about.
New parents may also appreciate sentimental gifts to celebrate the baby’s birth and its early milestones. This may include thematic picture frames, as well as colorful blocks whose numbers and letters track the baby’s age in days, weeks, or months. The parents may also receive an ink and paper set, where the baby’s hands or feet are impressed on ink pads and applied to paper. That creates a sort of snapshot of the baby’s early life in black and white.
