When someone has a new baby, it's easy for every present to be for the baby. A book of poems, or a notebook in a color the parent likes, can make a little room for the grownup too.
We'd begin with the person you already know. Do they like reading, drawing, writing a few lines, or collecting ideas for things that have nothing to do with family life? A new role doesn't erase those interests, and they give you somewhere personal to start.
Words to read, rather than a page to fill
Smoothed Over with Feeling pairs poems by Vanessa Hope Schneider with drawings by Carissa Potter Carlson. It's about early parenthood, including giving birth, feeding and long car rides in the backseat, with room for the mixed feelings around those ordinary and extraordinary moments.
The authors are new parents themselves. Their book offers poems and images rather than a handbook of instructions. We'd choose it for someone who enjoys that kind of reading, knowing they can open it at their own pace and spend time with whatever catches them.
It also has a perforated back cover that can become a note of thanks for someone who's offered support. That's a small physical detail worth knowing about, whether the recipient uses it right away, much later, or leaves it as part of the book.
A few lines about the day
The Life Happened Journal is approximately 3.5 by 4.625 inches with 365 pages. Its compact size suits the idea of jotting something down when there's something you want to keep.
That could be a phrase someone said, the name of a song, a detail from a walk, or an unfinished thought. It doesn't have to become a complete record of parenthood. If the person already likes keeping notes, the small format gives that habit a place to go without deciding what the entries should be about.
Blank pages for whatever comes next
Goods Gang's Stacking Notebooks come as three blank books joined with a removable metal fastener. Each is 4.75 by 6.75 inches with 16 pages. The color assortment varies because the studio uses leftover materials from other projects.
They can hold drawings, lists or an idea for something the person wants to make. You can keep the books together or separate them. For someone who prefers to decide their own categories, that openness may be the point.
Our journal, notebook and conversation-deck guide compares the amount of structure in other formats if you're still deciding.
The baby can have a card, and the parent can have the book
A Hello, Baby card welcomes the new child. Inside, you can also say why you chose this particular thing for their grownup: the drawings reminded you of something they like, or you thought they'd enjoy a place for sketches.
If you're offering practical help as well, name something you can do. And once you've given the book, let them find their own time for it. You don't need a report on whether they've read it yet.
There are other directions in our gift guide, including knitted scarves and personalized blankets if reading or writing isn't their thing. If you're planning a visit, the San Francisco baby-gift guide can help. Bring your knowledge of the person with you; it will do more for the choice than a generic idea of what a new parent should want.
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