15 thoughtful gifts for new moms that they'll actually use

1/15

Cookiie pie baby carrier, ₹4,750

Whether for a walk around the building or the house, the soft structured carrier came highly recommended from the Tweak family — its padded arm straps support the baby without cutting into the shoulders of the poor mom.

Available in a variety of patterns, it’s lined with foam, and features a comfortable 100% cotton shell. The best part is that it comes with a Minifyer (adjustment to shorten the seat width) to wear babies from 5 kg onwards and an optional Cookiie pillow insert to hold 3.5kg newborns more snugly. So it can easily support the baby through a few early stages and save the new mom the headache of finding a new larger carrier.

2/15

Mothercare Multi-Purpose Pregnancy Pillow, ₹1,424

This multi-purpose full body pillow will come in handy during pregnancy and postpartum — either as adequate back support or placed between the knees to take some pressure off the spine and hip joints when your friend is baby bumpin’.

Body pillows can relieve tension off of pressure points, especially if your friend is a side sleeper, to prevent any morning aches and pains. Their bodies are going through enough, why not ease the stress even just a bit?

3/15

Babyhug Electric Breast Pump, ₹2,397

Breast pumps are extremely useful for new moms to pump milk and store it especially if they work or the child’s sleep schedule is erratic.

This method helps release discomfort from the breasts when breast milk builds up and can be useful for women who struggle with getting their babies to breastfeed directly.

Both electronic and manual breast pumps are available, and the mums we spoke to believe that it comes down to a personal preference — so best to speak to your gift receiver beforehand.

4/15

Tweak Candle — Joy Gold, ₹850

With the soothing scent of mogra, the Joy Gold candle makes a great de-stressing companion for new moms after a long day of feeding, diaper changing and cleaning spit-up from their shoulder.

The pleasant, warm aroma can also help calm morning sickness induced by a sensory overload of mum making gondh ke ladoos in the kitchen while the wafting smells of the city seep in from the window.

5/15

Baby Hearts – Dry Feel Nursing Pads, ₹198

Among the wondrous things that happen to the body after childbirth, your breasts leaking is probably the most awkward. Especially when it happens in public.

One mother we spoke to laughed about having to stuff tissue paper in her bra at a restaurant to stop it from staining her shirt. She hailed nursing pads as a must-have among your gifts for new moms.

These cute ones from Super Bottoms are made of five layers of organic cotton for comfort and absorption, and feature waterproof lining on the outside as reinforcement to prevent leakage.

6/15

Visual Echoes Sleeping Eye Mask With Cooling Gel Inserts, ₹349

Every new and expecting mum deserves some RnR. A cooling sleeping eye mask can help with migraines, ease night sweats and insomnia and is even great for a midday nap.

It’s made of soft cotton that won’t irritate sensitive skin which many women develop during pregnancy. It comes with a gel insert which you just pop into the fridge and slide into the eye mask.

We have to warn you though, after reading the description you might just want to keep this one for yourself.

7/15

Heated Foot Massager, ₹32,850

Whether from pregnancy hormones or from carrying around a littler critter in their bellies — a lot of pregnant women get swollen and painful ankles.

A foot massager can ease some of the aches as it combines heat therapy, kneading and rollers to hit all the right spots.

There is a chance you might instigate a fight in the house over who gets to go next in the foot massager, but for the mama-to-be, it might be worth it. Not to mention for new moms who can feed their babies while getting a calming massage, themselves.

8/15

Mi Dulce An’ya Baby Essentials box, ₹3,350

Baby clothes can be quite expensive given that the little one outgrows them faster than you did your new hair-new me haircut.

If you’re not sure what to go with, then we suggest this box of baby essentials by Mi Dulce An’ya. In this they’d get a baby blanket, a onesie, a part of booties and mittens, all made using organic cotton.

9/15

Tucked In Cotton Weighted Blanket, ₹4,499

There are a lot of anxieties that plague a new mom related to their newborn, their postpartum body and connection with the baby — leading to sleepless nights. A weighted blanket can do some of the heavy lifting to give them the uninterrupted REM sleep they need by operating on “pressure therapy”.

According to Martin L Levinson, physician at Penn Sleep Centre, “The pressure of weighted blankets puts your autonomic nervous system into “rest” mode, reducing some of the symptoms of anxiety, such as a quickened heart rate or breathing. This can provide an overall sense of calm.”

While this isn’t a complete cure, it can definitely aid in their recovery.

10/15

Forest Essentials Mother’s Stretch Mark Oil Nalpamarathy Keram, ₹1,225

Stretch marks are the bin bulaye mehman that accompany pregnancy. Our skin is stretched to a point where the collagen (which gives skin its elasticity) can’t keep up with the body’s requirements.

If the new mom in your life has embraced her tiger stripes as a testament to what her body has achieved, then let her shine on. But the degree of stretch marks can be prevented and visibly reduced, if that’s what she wants to do.

This oil from Forest Essentials, MadeSafe-certified for use during pregnancy, is great for pre- and post-natal skin massages. Combining coconut oil, sweet almond oil, liquorice and a blend of Ayurvedic herbs, it can help lighten discolouration and smooth out texture while gradually healing stretch marks.

11/15

Urban Company At-home Spa Day, ₹500 – ₹5,000

A deep massage to undo all the stress knots she has popping up in her back from the strain and tension over the baby, a relaxing pedicure and a hot oil head massage for some blood circulation – spa days will be highly appreciated as gifts for new moms.

Given the current situation, most will opt out of heading to the salon, but you can still pamper them with a gift card from Urban Company (that operates across 14 cities in India) where they can pick and choose the treatments they want at home.

12/15

The Moms Co. Natural Anti-hair Fall Kit, ₹1,409

For some women, pregnancy hormones mean glowing skin and beautiful hair. For others, it means shedding hair all over the house like snowfall — and often expectant and new mums struggle with finding items that really seem to work.

The Moms Co. was set up with a focus on mom and baby care — keeping in mind the skin conditions and ingredient limitations that pregnant women grapple with. They’ve put together a kit of products targeting hair fall with protein shampoos and conditioners, a root-strengthening hair serum and oil with hair-loving ingredients like amla, bhringraj, Moroccan argan oil and more.

13/15

Photo credit: Bargain Moose

The Big Fat Activity Book for Pregnant People, ₹1,342

Give your bed-bound bumping buddy a break from screens with this hilarious activity book.

Put together by parenting bloggers Jordan Reid and Erin Williams, it’s part-diary, colouring book and collection of brutally honest but equally hilarious advice and activities.

With a ‘Make it from your desk to the bathroom without throwing up’ maze, ‘A kitten for you to colour while you sit around constipated’– this book is a must-have in your gifts for expecting mothers which will make them laugh, cry and force them to take a break.

14/15

H&M MAMA Maternity/nursing pyjamas, ₹2,299

There are bound to be people dropping by to meet the new mama and her little bundle. As much as we understand wanting to live in a kaftaan sans pants, sometimes pants are a requirement.

This set is comfortable and put together enough for unannounced guests. The bottoms are made of soft jersey material and the wrapover front can be hiked up for when they need to breastfeed.

15/15

Pregnancy Notes: Before, During & After by Rujuta Diwekar, ₹299

Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar has many best-selling books to her name but the one for pregnancy in particular, is going to be the handy guide you want to add to your list of gifts for new moms. It’s a compilation of recipes, useful knowledge and exercises.

Aimed at pregnant women, new moms and even those trying to get pregnant, she shares healing foods, helpful exercises that are practical, realistic and accessible, heritage recipes from across the country and more.