I went to a baby shower for the first time in a verrrry long time (my youngest nieces are 17 and most of my friends are done having their babies). Things have changed so much! The couple got a pretty nifty car seat / stroller / baby carrier thingie. There is a piece that fits just in the car (for car seat), then you set the handled baby carrier into that and buckle it or you can take it out and carry the baby in just that. Or you can set the carrier in the stroller frame and away you go. WOW!

I went in with a bunch of friends to give them another car seat - but a one-piece system that stays in the car, not that whole stroller-baby carrier-car seat system - so they would have one for each car. That way they wouldn't be moving the car seat around or constantly switching cars. We had money left over so we bought them a box of new-born diapers, just in case the baby arrives early. She also got Burt's Bees and Bath and Body Works baby lotions and potions.

I have a former co-worker whose granddaughter was allergic to something in baby formula, so she had a constant napkin rash. They swore by Boudreaux Butt Paste when it was at its worst. And another former co-worker went to garage sales and flea markets looking for a used Peg Pérego stroller, so as to have a separate stroller at grandma's house - and she found one. When my nieces were little my mom and dad bought a baby monitor to keep at their house.