Most unexpected thing needed when baby came home?

not wating visitors when the baby arrives at home is understandable seeing that you will be busy trying to get settled and not quite ready physically or mentally for a while lot of visiting. i dont think by requesting that they stick to the hospital visits until a few weeks after the baby gets home is unreasonable. anyone can understand you needing time to adjust, this is where you have to be the mom and put your foot down with people and enforce the boundaries as family members try to push the limits during this time. the borowing money things should be discussed with your husband. without talking about these issues, they are never going to get resolved. you just need to make sure you state how you feel about it and find a compromise somewhere. same with the kising things, most parents usually will ask to steer clear of the face for the fear of getting the infant sick right away so that also should not be an inreasonable request. with the cothing, use or dont, its ultimately your choice but in reality its not going to hurt anything to put them on for a few hours or what not when they are over but do what you feel is best. overall if you can resolve or at least compromise on these issues between you, your husband and them, then maybe you should consider seperating yourself from the in laws for awhile or decreasing how many times they come over. its all about stating your boundaries and if they dont know where they are drawn (via u and your hubby) then they wont know they are crossing the line.

The Vicks vaporizer Jen suggested is a great idea I too didn't think it was necessary but now my baby seems congested every morning and now I need it. Bottled water was the major item I couldn't get enough of I had my boyfriend running to the store all the time for gallons of water because I was drinking like a fish. If your coworkers partner decides to breast feed she'll need water and if she bottle feeds water will come in handy for formula. Wipes are also a necessity that you could never have enough of. Pacifiers are good too, if the baby will take them, my daughter loves her paci we only have 4 and while that may seem like enough it definitely isn't. She's constantly dropping them so about twice a day i'm washing and sterilizing pacifiers.

We had to go out and buy newborn t-shirts (with the snaps in front so you don't have to pull it over their head). This was the best clothing choice until her umbilical stump healed.

However the *most* unexpected thing was coming home with complications from an unplanned c-section. I needed lots of help for a month or so while I healed. Even if all goes well, a few dinners would be appreciated.

Mylicon drops. Oh and if you get clothes, pay attention to what season it will be when the baby will be that many months old. I got a ton of summery 3-6 month old outfits at all my showers (no one bought newborn! the woman who mentioned that hit it right on the head!). Well, my daughter was born on July 30th, when she is 3-6 months it's going to be fall and winter. I have to go out and get her all new clothes in a few months, and she has a closet full of outfits she's never going to be able to wear!

a digital ear thermometer is a great present! - like the ones the docs use that take a reading in 3 seconds - babies fidgit a lot so the under arm ones are useless and parents are always freaking out that they

re getting sick with something so its really reassuring to have one of these to use anytime.

formula and bottles is often another hurriedly bought item if the mother is unexpectedly unable to breastfeed however I would not purchase these myself as its a very personal and baby orientated choice as to what sort you buy

I have to say tho that I didn't have any of those "OMG we really need X" moments as I'm a bit of a planner lol

Some other useful or unusual gifts I would recommend though are....

Subscription to a parenting or baby magazine even if they are not first time parents

Baby view car mirror - this attaches to the back seat so when baby is rearfacing in his car seat you can look into your rearvision mirror to the back seat mirror which allows you to see your baby and be reassured they are ok. They usually incorporate a toy too so it keeps baby amused back there.

http://www.amazon.com/BearView-Infant-Mirror-Monke...

Tubside kneeler - clips onto the edge of the bathtub and converts to a step-stool for when bub is older

http://www.babyzonedirect.com.au/catalogue/c14/c14...

musical night light - for soothing baby and also provides a nice soft light when mum/dad need to go in for night time feeds etc..

http://www.amazon.com/Chicco-CHICCO-00068457000000...

Then you have the usual nappies and wipes but although practical, i think they are a little boring and uninventive when there are so many things new parents would'nt ordinarily buy for themelves such as the things i mentioned

best of luck

Some of the best gifts we received at my baby shower for my oldest child were these...

diapers/wipes.. they always seem to run out at the worst time and they are expensive. It was nice to have a supply of them ahead of time.

infant tylenol, diaper cream, vaseline, bath wash... these are all things you need and for some reason, never remember to get

Vicks vaporizer... we thought it was silly when my aunt got us this but when baby started getting stuffy in the middle of the night, it saved us. Really helped her cold symptoms and we didn't have to go out at 2:00 in the morning to find.

Bottles, milk and steriliser. I am not sure your co-worker would appreciate that - they may already have those, or he and his partner might be offended if they intend to breastfeed.

However - I fully intended to breastfeed, so didn't have any of this in, and my baby seemed to feed okay in hospital. I got home from hospital and that night my milk came through. At 2am, baby woke up and could not get attached to feed, and he was so hungry and desparate my husband had to go to a 24 hour supermarket (thankfully only 5 minute walk from ours) to buy them. I sure wish I had got them in advance!

ours was baby panadol at 1am on the day of the 2month vaccinations, but i don't know if that makes an appropriate gift, maybe a baby grooming set (brush, nail clippers, thermometer etc) this isn't the type of thing usually bought b4 bub comes home or the type of thing regularly givin as gifts.. you can buy some items all together or make up your own.

One thing that I ended up using for both of my babies was a sleep positioner. I had never even heard of this before having my first baby. You can find them just about everywhere that sells baby stuff, and they range from about $15-$60. I had a cheap one that worked great. And I also couldn't live without my baby carriers with my son. But my daughter hated them. And a decent carrier is much pricier.

newborn clothes - I thought everyone would buy newborn sized clothes so we got none then of course baby was born and noone bought any - he looked like a scarecrow in his 0-3 month babygrows in hospital and coming home!!