Friday, May 20, 2016

7QT: What to Give a Grand (or Great Grand) Multipara

It's Friday!!  Linking up with Kelly and Friends to bring you seven gift ideas for moms of many.

When I was in labor with Alexander (baby #5) the nurse and midwife referred to me as a grand multipara, and I was like "Mmmm, what now?"  So for those of you who are as clueless as I was, here's a couple definitions:

grand multipara is a woman who has already delivered five or more infants who have achieved a gestational age of 24 weeks or more, and such women are traditionally considered to be at higher risk than the average in subsequent pregnancies.

A great grand multipara has delivered seven or more infants beyond 24 weeks of gestation.

Crazy that I'm about to become a great grand mutipara.  Nothing makes someone feel old than adding GREAT GRAND in front of their title.  Anyway, this title seems to be given to less moms nowadays (since the average number of children is 2.5) and so I will proudly claim my place in this exclusive club.  We are the moms who have walked this road plenty of times before...we know everything there is to know about mothering (not)...and we don't need any help (opposite)...or any new items for baby's arrival (wrong).  


I've never had a "Sprinkle" for any of my babies, in fact I didn't even know the term until a couple of years ago.  I'm kind of opposed to them though (and not just because I didn't have any!)  My feeling is that people have the opportunity to give a gift when the baby is born and/or Baptized and a sprinkle is a little bit...much?  I can see the value in one when you have kids of one gender and then have your first of the opposite gender.  That makes sense.  


We had a very nice baby shower while John-Paul was in utero and we got pretty much everything we needed to keep a baby alive.  Subsequent babies used his hand-me-downs and knowing my high fertility rate, we haven't gotten rid of our baby items.  That being said, some of those items are in need of replacing and there are some new gadgets (like this gem) out there that I think moms of many could use.

1)

A New Bag



Not quite a purse, not quite a diaper bag...some sort of tote that works for everything.  Phil just gifted me that Brahmin bag above similar to this one for our anniversary.  I lurve it longtime.  I don't like lugging around a baby in a carseat + my bag + a diaper bag.  Give me one less thing to carry and my life just got infinitely easier.



2)



Diapers


Sixth babies need diapers.


Because no matter how many times you have a new baby, you always need new diapers.  Unless you use cloth diapers.  But even then, I think a new baby could mean you need a couple new ones.  For us, we lived, learned, and got Luvs.  We do spoil our babies with Pampers Swaddlers in the beginning, they're just so great for little tushies.  But then they get Luvs once they hit size 2.  



3)



Feeding Stuff



I don't know about you all, but once a few kids have used bibs, burp clothes, sippy cups and baby spoons...they are a mess.  The cups and spoons get all chewed up, the bibs and burp cloths are stained, and it would be nice to have a few fresh items.  I'm not picky about any of these things...function over fashion.



4)



Swaddling Accessories



Breaking out of the swaddle.

I think the swaddling trend comes and goes, but we love to swaddle our babies while they sleep.  To me it just makes sense...they are all squished up and warm in the womb and sleep perfectly fine in there, why not try and replicate it when they make their worldly appearance.  We discovered this swaddler with Declan which we loved, and these blankies make awesome impromptu nursing covers/swaddling cloths/burp cloths.  



5)



Pacifiers and Such



Don't even thinky about taking my binky.

We always push the pacifier on our babies because I'm not available 24/7 to nurse, and though thumb suckers are absolutely adorable, it's a hard and dirty habit to break (ask me how I know).  We only use these pacifiers for our kids and a cute clip to attach it to their clothes or bib is a germy lifesaver.  I've never tried the animal pacifier combos, but they look cute too!



6)



A Gift Just for Mom



Wow I have a lot of kids.

I'm not big on massages, but a haircut or pedicure does wonders for a weary mama's soul.  Give her a gift certificate to get pampered since she probably feels like the Old Woman in the Shoe, with so many kids she doesn't know what to do.  Giving her the gift of "me time" is precious.  And every mom needs a few new items of clothing after the baby is born because NOTHING FITS OR LOOKS GOOD and it's very depressing.  A new pair of jeans in a size bigger than normal can make all the flattering difference in the world.  If you know that mom well, a gift card to her favorite clothing store works well, but if you aren't sure of her preference, a gift card to any store (even amazon or target or the grocery store) will help alleviate any financial worries that may accompany having a new baby to care for.  



7)



Meals, Meals, Meals




I can't even begin to explain the wonderful gift that is meals after a baby arrives.  My two easiest and best recoveries were after babies that I had a bunch of meals delivered by friends.  My friend Michelle arranges the Meal Train for our church, and it's pretty much worth having a baby just to get the meals for two weeks.  Kidding.  Sort of.  The maternity leave from work is a nice plus too :)


Well, my seven are up.  Haha, SevenUp.  What would you add to the list?  Have a sunny and fun-filled weekend everybody!

27 comments:

  1. Hello! Some great ideas there :-)
    I actually wrote a post about something very similar to this on Wednesday: http://accidentalorganist.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/five-favourites-new-baby-gifts.html - and I don't even think we have much overlap! Meals after babies aren't really something we do in the UK (more's the pity), so I do what my mother refers to as "freezer nesting"... it's ALMOST like someone else made the meals. Almost...

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  2. I happened to notice in my chart the other day that as a pregnant woman at age 41, I'm officially described as "elderly". ELDERLY?!? I'm chasing a toddler and pregnant people, I'm not elderly!!! I got a good laugh out of it. I'm only on baby #2 (late start), but I'm pretty low key with the baby stuff and couldn't agree more with number 7. The first time around I underestimated the value of people dropping off meals. It was awesome!

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    1. They really need to change the age charts for maternity - so many moms are having kids later and later, why are we all still being labelled as ancient?

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  3. AnonymousMay 20, 2016

    I always want new clothes for the baby. I've got kids in each season so those warm clothes won't work for my spring girl and the summer shorts woundn't be good for my winter boy.

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    1. That's true, different seasons need new clothes. Plus, they are fun to buy!

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  4. Do you have the nosefrida? I have it and the Baby Comfy Nose. And I like BCN exponentially better. It works just as well but it easier to use because of the angle. Plus because it opens up it is so much easier to clean. Just my opinion of course. I hear you on the spoons and bibs though. Those things get GROSS.

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    1. I didn't even know there was an option to the Nosefrida! Thanks!

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  5. All good ideas!! My MOPS group does a good job with organizing meal trains for families who need them (usually for moms with newborns) and after I was on the receiving end of one, Joe was joking about telling them that we kept having surgeries/bad injuries so we could keep getting meals. ha!

    Nice work on that bag, Phil!

    P.S. This is a tangent, but do you have any tips on breaking the thumb-sucking habit??

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    1. Ok, I'm no expert. We've had two thumb suckers - the first one went to the dentist at age 3 and the dentist told him he needed to stop because it was ruining his teeth and he stopped cold turkey. It was amazing, because he sucked his thumb ALL the time. The next thumb-sucker really only sucks it at night to fall asleep, and we haven't been able to break him yet, and he's almost five and has incredibly bad teeth :( I think we'll have to buy the gross stuff to paint on his thumb to get him to stop.

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  6. This is a good list. Giftcards to restaurants are my fave. I got a lot of clothes for Rose that I really didn't need. I think people really like buying baby clothes.

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    1. Especially for girls!! And really, who can blame them, they're so adorable :)

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  7. What a great list! Yes, yes! We've swaddled the last three and Mr. Benny was the longest, until at least 6 months. Even now that he's rolling around and no longer swaddled in his crib, he lays still all night. I think he still thinks he's swaddled. lol. The bag!! I need one or something similar. I bought a new diaper bag with Benny and apparently I put too much crap in it because the handles are busting and fraying. Time for a new bag! Yours is quite stylish.

    Happy Weekend!

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    Replies
    1. Declan slept so well while swaddled that Phil thought he would be in one forever!

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  8. I actually really love the Wubbanub animal/paci thing! Felicity still uses hers at almost 10 months :) As a newborn they help hold the paci in which is huge! And now, if she tosses her paci somewhere I can just hand her the animal and she puts it back in herself. You should try one if you ever get a chance! My first was not a paci baby, but thankfully Felicity is, it really helps with getting her back to sleep easily!

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    1. This baby will probably be our first Wubbanub baby :)

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  9. I always appreciated when my mom, grandmother or MIL came and just cleaned my house. Forget the onesies, my bathroom sink is gross. Maybe other moms don't like people coming and cleaning their homes, but deep cleaning always went out the window late in pregnancy and during those early survival weeks.

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    1. Oh man, I would LOVE if someone cleaned my house - no pride here!

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    2. I told my husband that if his mother asked if I needed help with anything, he was to nudge her toward sending her cleaning service my way for a week or two.

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  10. I love the swaddlers and the blankets! I wish I would have pushed a paci on trip! i will do that if we have another one ;). And like the diaper bag/purse!

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    1. Some of our babies just wouldn't take it no matter how hard we tried (ahem, Andrew and Alexander). They were boob men :)

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  11. I had to google "sprinkle." At first I thought it was some sort of name for a "push gift." Nope. Well, I've neither had a sprinkle nor a push gift for any of my kids, but I've got a baby to go before I reach grand multipara status. Thanks for all the new vocab words! :)

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    1. Haha! I know, we need to keep learning just to keep up!

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  12. My parents took our laundry away and brought it back folded after one of my kids ( my dad is the best folder in the world too!) My sister did my laundry for days after my C-section - heaven sent! So doing the laundry could be a great gift in the first week or so for someone you're close to. (Not everyone would be comfortable having someone else handle their clothes. After so many kids, I didn't care!)
    Also, we got a gift card for gas after one of my c-section - we had to drive an hour to visit our little one in the NICU. It's was really thoughtful in a stressful time.

    Mostly though, I don't want gifts - I've got it all. Except I do let my sisters buy cute clothes - they can't resist!
    -from another great -grand multipara

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    1. That gas card idea is so sweet for a NICU momma! And wow, laundry would be huge!!

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  13. I think sprinkles are so fun!! I just see it as another way to celebrate life, as a way of getting excited and showing support for a family that has made the (often difficult) choice to be open to life! Gifts not expected. Also, try the wubbanub! I love that it is MUCH easier to find in a crib in the dark in the middle of the night. I'm usually only half awake when I get up with babies at night. 😊

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    1. It's just my grouchy side comes out when it feels like yet another party and gift to buy for a baby when I'm gonna buy you a baby gift at birth, and again for the Baptism. I need to be more generous and less crotchety :)

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