Give the Gift of a Medical Notebook

I know what you’re thinking—a notebook? There is this cute little bundle in my friend/sister-in-law/coworker’s womb practically pleading for a rubber duckie, a soft velour blanket covered in Pooh Bear print and gobs and gobs of stuffed animals—and you want me to give her a notebook?

Well, yes! I remember when I was a new mother and I received more stuffed animals and blankies than I’d ever need; many of them were quickly donated. Plus, though I wasn’t very fond of pink, I ended up with over forty pink outfits for my daughter. Her closet was one sea of Pepto Bismol, folks. Not that I’m ungrateful—on the contrary, all of that help was much-appreciated!—but people usually have all of the fluffy things that they need.

If you really want to help out a new mom, get her a medical notebook. This is a place where she can keep all of her baby’s medical information, from shot records to growth charts, medications taken or needed, hospital stays or treatments, doctor visits, you name it.

There are plenty of commercial medical books on the market. The Life and Times Record Book, for example, while on the expensive side, offers plenty of space to record everything and to personalize the book for the baby. The My Precious Kid Health Records Book is a more affordable, though less aesthetically-pleasing, version for medical information. The Medical & Dental Records Book comes with plenty of sheets for recording allergy information, radiology visits, dental treatments, medical conditions, special medications and general sicknesses. A quick search is sure to yield dozens of results; pick the one that you feel suits Mama and Baby best.

You can even create the medical notebook yourself—and how cool would that be? There’s nothing better than a 100% unique gift that no other mother is going to have. If you scrapbook or create art journals you could really make something unique and amazing that she would never forget. You could ask someone close to Mama for a copy of the ultrasound or other little mementos and make copies to add in the book. If you add calendars for recording dates, you can also add in some extra months; many books don’t do this, though with so many premature babies born, lots of mothers need a bit of extra space for lots of extra doctor visits and procedures.