Before I became a mom I really had no idea what to put on my registry. I did some research and I think I came up with a good assortment of items, but until you come home with that baby you have no idea exactly what you’ll need/use. Some of the must have items people raved about online made Hudson yawn and he wanted nothing to do them. Other random items that we just added to our registry became some of his favorite things.

Lately it seems like the entire blog world is pregnant along with a large amount of readers because I’ve been getting many emails asking me what the perfect baby gift is for a first time mom.

Here are some of my favorites:

No. 1: One of the items that have made my day a little easier as a new mom is having a changing station in each level of my house. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but having to change a baby many times a day it’s so much easier to have diapers/wipes/changing pad combo in each floor of my house. No running up and down the stairs to the nursery every time Hudson needs a fresh diaper. This is why I adore this Loop Diaper Caddy.

No. 2: When Jon added a plush animal rug to our registry I thought we would never use it. I agreed to adding it because it was a good price point (only $50) and I wanted to give people of range of items instead of only the expensive stuff like stroller/high chair/crib/etc. Well I was completely wrong about it. Hudson loves his sleep snug rug and he uses it every day for his afternoon nap.

No. 3: I love a gift basket and I think it’s pretty easy to gather up some items for a bath time basket at any baby store. Many of the baby bath towels on the market are really thin and it drives me mad. I never want Hudson exposed to the air conditioning after bath time so a nice plush towel with hood is a good thing. It was so nice to already have bath products in the house when we got home from the hospital. I would add a Mustela set to the basket because it’s for perfect for sensitive skin. I also love using these Dunck bath toys as rinse cups.

No. 4: I never realized how much time I would be spending by the sink hand washing bottles. We have timed it and it takes at least 45 mins to wash all of the bottles, make formula and get all of the bottles filled. I love the Splash bottle drying rack, because it fits all of my bottle accessories and doesn’t take up too much counter space. A dish soap made out of all natural ingredients is also a plus. For bottles I used Dr. Brown, but I’ve had my eye on this Yoomi self warming bottle that warms up in 60 secs!

No. 5: Clothing is an item that many people give at showers. Even if they have purchased something off of your registry a cute outfit or two is always added into a baby shower gift. While many of Hudson’s daily outfits are from Carters I like him to have some more unique/different items that is not everywhere. I really love this sweet striped pj and hat. Hudson has numerous sets of these sneaker socks that are a bit different and everywhere we go he gets compliments on them.

No. 6: At my shower I was gifted a beautiful diaper cake from my sisters.

My favorite part had to be all of the Gaby the elephant toys from giggle.I wasn’t able to find Gaby, but they have a new fella named Lars the lion that would be just as cute on a diaper cake. It was also filled with newborn diapers, cloth burp clothes, bibs, lotion, receiving blankets and an orange tray that is currently holding books in Hudson’s nursery.

No. 7: When I searched for diaper bags I wanted to make sure the one I picked didn’t actually look like a diaper bag. I figured after I used it with Hudson I could get some wear with it as a handbag or small carry on tote. I didn’t end up with this Kate Spade diaper bag, but I love it and think many moms to be would too. Now that Hudson is eating food I love this on the go feeding set. Lastly I would add this mommy hook to the bag in order to clip on toys,extra bags, etc to the stroller.

My last tip for shopping for the perfect shower gift is to pay attention to the small details the soon to be mom used on her invite or a reoccuring theme from the items on her registry. I went with a Celebrate the peanut/Circus like theme and and bold colors on my invites especially showcasing orange. Well my friends and family took note and many of cards/wrapping paper/extra gifts that were not on my registry were elephant related and full of orange accents. It was nice to see how everyone had taken the time to make those teeny details specials and I appreciated it.

What is your go to baby shower gift?

This article is sponsored by Giggle. Giggle is a wonderful store with an online presence as well as store fronts that has everything a soon to be mom or dad would like. Currently they are running a special and offering $15 off a $75 order of giggles better basics layette using the code LINQ12. They are also offering free shipping on orders over $75 with promo code SUMMER12.