Care Packages For First-Time Moms

Becoming a mom for the first time is one of the most difficult things we can do. Of course it is rewarding, but the physical and mental pressures placed on new mothers make it important to look out for those who have just given birth.

But for those who have just gone through the process, mixed feelings of emotion, exhaustion, joy and anxiety can make the early days and weeks a difficult time for families to adjust to this new way of life. As a mom yourself, you know how difficult it can be to find your feet after giving birth.

Particularly during the physical and mental recovery phases, knowing that someone out there is thinking of you can make a big difference to helping get you and your family off the ground.

Sending a care package to a new mom can be a simple, low-cost way of showing how much you care about their well-being. Alongside gifts for the new baby, it’s important not to forget the mother and her needs during these early stages. A care package is a great, non-invasive way to help out during what is a busy, hectic but joy-filled time for any new family.

Why You Should Send A Care Package

Giving birth is a stressful time for the body and the mind. The physical demands before, during and after the birth are among the most challenging you will encounter in your life, and it requires stamina and a relentless drive to get back on your feet with your new baby.

When the baby is born, it is understandably all about wanting to meet and spend time with the new arrival. Family and friends may flock from far and wide to see the baby for the first time, and even this can be a mentally tiring process for mothers that have just given birth.

At this happiest of moments, mothers can often be forgotten about. Yet it is the mother that is in the process of recovering from the birth. Similar to recovering from a major operation, this takes time and care.

Care packages should provide mothers with thoughtful gifts, products and objects that can help with their recovery process. From medical and personal supplies through to flowers, food, medicines and even gifts for the baby, a care package can be a very personal way of reaching out and touching the life of a new mother. A small gesture in many ways, but care packages let a mother know someone out there is thinking of her as she recovers to full fitness post-pregnancy.

Making Up Your Care Package

As an idea for those with new mothers in their lives, care packages are a thoughtful and genuinely kind idea that can really brighten someone’s day. There are no rights and wrongs when it comes to compiling the care package, and you know the mother best. However, there are a few standards, and a few ideas for more creative items that can be included within your care package.

Shampoo, soaps and personal products: new mothers in hospital often find themselves in need of a refresh, and luxury personal care products can make a real difference to any new mom. Products that make her feel beautiful will never go amiss, and most mothers will appreciate the care and thought that goes into this.

Snacks and quick foods: we all know what they say about hospital food. Quick snacks like chips, fruit, popcorn and other handheld edibles are great for helping stave off hunger between meals – or even just for passing the time. Set up meals delivered to your home as well to bring over!

Magazines and books: absolutely essential. For new moms there’s a lot of waiting around, and it can get boring sitting it out in hospital for days on end. Magazines and books can easily fill this time, and a selection of reading materials is one of the best things you can provide to relieve the monotony of a long stint in hospital.

Towels, pajamas and gowns: simple things like new towels and gowns can make a stay in hospital much more comfortable, particularly warm and fluffy stuff that will make it less awkward to hang around in hospital. Feeling fresh and new in the clothing you are wearing is important to making the stay in hospital as bearable as possible.

Photo gift card: a little on the quirkier side, a photography gift card is a novel suggestion but one that is often well-received. This can be redeemed for professional photographs of the baby in a couple of weeks time, and mothers will appreciate this forward thinking gesture as part of their care package.

Supplies for the baby: while it’s important that the care package caters to the needs of the mother specifically, it’s also a good idea to throw in some diapers, toys and other bits and pieces that will help the baby when they get out of hospital.

Getting Your Package To The New Mom

When it comes to getting the package out there to the new mom, it’s not always possible to drop off the goods in person. Distribution companies can be useful here, helping to transport even fragile care packages directly to the home or hospital bed of the mother concerned.

If you are sending the package to a mother in hospital, the best call is often to have the care package delivered to her partner, or a friend nearby who can drop it off to her. Sending directly to the hospital is possible in some cases, although it is much more common for packages to get lost at the hospital side where this does happen.

By mailing out the care package to someone you know can deliver it for you, even those who are wishing well across continents can show how much they care for and support the new mother and child.

Double Oscar-winning actress Jessica Lange said that becoming a mother is all about shifting your life focus to your kids. “The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children.”

She was right. A mother who gives birth for the first time will never be just an individual again. By sending out a care package of your own, you can let the mother know that you still think of her, and help make the recovery period that little bit more comfortable as you welcome the new baby to the world.