Gift Basket for a Nursing Mom

Here's a cute gift for a nursing mom, a basket of goodies related to nursing or that will make nursing easier. Below is a list of suggestions for that basket. You don't have to put all these things in it, it's just a list to choose from, and there may be other items you think of to include. I've collected these ideas from various different mothers, and I'm sure other mothers have good ideas, too. It's just an initial suggestion to spark your creativity:

Nursing shirt- or, if that's too expensive, make up a set of homemade nursing shirts. I bought spaghetti sleeve shirts from a thrift shop, cut vertical slits in two strategic locations, and wore these under other shirts and blouses for easy, comfortable, modest nursing. Leave the tank top down, lift the top of the other shirt- no skin, no drafts, no embarrassment for us modest matrons.

~A good book on breastfeeding

~some olive oil in a pretty bottle (I like olive oil for skin care better than any lotions on the market)

~A nursing pillow- shaped like a horseshoe, these help prevent backaches by supporting the baby with you- but they won't fit in a basket. Depending on the size of the basket you can wrap this around the basket.

~Mother's Milk tea by Traditional Medicinals

~Bubble Bath

~A good water bottle (nursing moms need to keep up their fluid intake)- maybe with a strap for convenience in holding and carrying.

~A list of phone numbers for your local LLL- if you know the local leaders are good people to call for questions.

~Some easy snacks

~Breastpads

~Two or three pretty dish towels or cloth diapers for spit-up cloths (I've seen some cloth diapers with a pretty rainbow colored edging)

~A small book of poetry

~A book, music or poetry on tape to listen to

~A gift certificate for a nursing bra

~A certificate for a meal in the freezer or some free babysitting if there are older children.

Accompany it with a poem such as Lullabye for a Fifth Child by Ruth Hurlbut Hamilton.

Just a few of these things will show your support for a breastfeeding mother and make it easier for her.