The best gifts for new parents, according to other parents

TBCo makes the snuggliest blankets, crafted from super-soft insulating lambswool, and we adore this unisex harlequin diamond jacquard design in pink and pumpkin orange (it also comes in soft blue and buttermilk yellow.)

You can also personalise this gift with their initials or name, making it one of those special keepsake gifts that will be lovingly kept for years to come.

In the early days, it can be difficult to remember your own name, let alone every adorable first milestone, but that's where this beautiful hardback book comes in.

It's designed to be updated once a year until they're 16, creating a treasured keepsake for both parents and children. Our GH parents felt this was much more manageable than similar books that require weekly check-ins during the topsy-turvy newborn days!

There's space to record things like height, shoe size and their favourite things, as well as room for hand and footprints when their child is little, or for drawings and photos when they're older.

“As a new parent, the phrase ‘The days are long but the years are short’ really resonated”, says Stacey Smith. “I'd spend all day, counting down the hours to bedtime, only to spend the entire evening scrolling through my phone, looking at photos of them.”

The Aura Walden frame is a much more stylish solution. The anti-glare, 15-inch digital picture frame can be wall-mounted or propped on a tabletop, and displays photos and videos of your little love, so you can re-live your favourite moments without a screen.

It makes a truly great present (for both parents and grandparents!), as photos can be uploaded via the app prior to gifting, so it's ready to go, straight out of the box.

Looking for a more festive gift? Wonderbly's personalised book is the perfect way to mark their first Christmas as a family.

You can feature up to three children and two adults on the front cover and throughout the story. The illustrations can be fully personalised to reflect skin tone, hair colour, facial hair, and you can leave a special dedication for the lucky recipients inside. It's a gift the whole family will enjoy.

We also love the When You Were Born and Oh What Parents You'll Be books.

They may have the pushchair sorted, but we'll bet they haven't considered a footmuff to keep their little one as snug as a bug in the colder months.

Like a sleeping bag for the stroller, Finnsøn's Ama footmuff cleverly fits all models, and is made from 100% recycled materials. It features a water-repellent outer layer and a super soft, teddy fleece lining for added warmth and comfort.

We're just sad it doesn't come in our size...

“Someone gave me a ‘baby first aid’ bum bag,” says Yasamin Asari. “It had Calpol, a thermometer, one of those snot suckers (gross, I know), nail clippers, tissues and wet wipes to name a few things.

"She packaged it all in a bum bag so that when the baby wasn’t well, everything was in one place – I then mirrored this and gifted a similar thing to a friend when she had hers, as I found it really useful to have everything in once place and that I could carry around easily."

If you want to create something similar, this first aid kit has many of the essentials they’ll need and you can always add your own to the mix for a genuinely useful gift.

If you'd like to send a thoughtful gift without spending a fortune, this box from Prestige Hampers is a sweet option. It includes a silky soft giraffe blanket for baby, while mama gets a scented candle, Yorkshire Tea, shortbread and bar of chocolate – because sweet treats are essential in those beautiful but intense early days.

It comes comes gift-wrapped with a new-baby postcard, and next-day delivery is available. Excellent stuff.

“After an awkward incident in the novice newborn days, when my father-in-law walked in on me while breastfeeding and I tried to hold a conversation while I grappled with a tiny muslin cloth and the baby wriggled about, a good breastfeeding cover was a revelation,” says Lyndsey Heffernan. “It became a changing-bag essential and totally took the stress out of breastfeeding in public.”

This multipurpose muslin, made from bamboo and cotton, makes a useful breastfeeding cover, as well as a winding cloth, pram cover and lightweight blanket. And it also comes in a range of stylish designs.

Our GHI expert flagged this as a great gift for new parents during testing (perhaps from grandparents or friends clubbing together).

Its USP is an ‘instant unfold’ and, yes, it takes mere seconds, and it’s also lightweight and comes with a carry bag and a zip-in, good-sized bassinet insert for newborns. The mattress is firm and flat with a washable cover, too. This is a great buy for frequent flyers and baby jet-setters.

“I received this zip-up sleepsuit from MORI and have since gifted it to other new parents," says Priyankaa. “It’s super-soft and cosy, and comes in a range of gorgeous prints to suit all tastes. Best of all, the smooth zip makes middle-of-the-night nappy changes feel a little less daunting."

For a bigger gift, MORI’s Welcome to our World Set includes the brand's signature sleepsuit along with a kimono bodysuit, a hat and a blanket to help new parents get started.

Granted, it's not the most glamorous gift, but a nasal aspirator is something many new parents quickly realise they need and this electric option makes life much easier.

It’s lightweight, rechargeable and even includes soothing music and lights to help distract wriggly babies. Practical and relatively affordable, it’s the kind of everyday essential they'll be grateful to have on hand when their little one has a blocked nose.

New parents are often given plenty of cute outfits, so a practical bedtime essential can make a welcome change. Sweet Dreamers’ sleep/swaddle bag gives them two options in one: it starts as a swaddle and converts to an arms-out sleeping bag with poppers.

The organic cotton material is supremely soft and stretchy, while the two-way zip system is a godsend for nighttime nappy changes (you don't have to take the bag off). The starry print is lovely, too.

It may not seem like the most glamorous gift, but it does come in very handy, as mum Yasamin Asrari explains. “The amount of emergency same-day/next day orders I put in during the midnight feeds was scary!” she says.

Alternatively, she suggests a voucher to for someone to come and collect their washing/ironing or do the cleaning for a week, which can be a lifesaver. Companies such as Molly Maid and Wecasa offer vouchers and one-off cleaning services.

There can be a lot of walking in those early years, because it can sometimes be the only way to get them to sleep. So why not upgrade their trips out with a National Trust membership, giving them a whole host of new walks to explore together with their little one?

For parents planning on breastfeeding, the Elvie Stride 2 is a seriously thoughtful gift. This wearable, hands-free breast pump, which is GHI Approved. sits discreetly inside the bra, so mum can express milk while getting on with their day.

It’s impressively quiet and lightweight, with hospital-grade suction and a handy app that lets them control the pump and track sessions from their phone. It is on the pricier side, but the convenience it offers makes it a worthwhile buy.

We all know how vital sleep is during those early months, so anything that can help tired parents relax and nod off more easily will be appreciated. That’s why we’ve included this GHI Approved eye mask and massager from Bob and Brad. It uses heat therapy and compression massage to help relieve tension headaches and melt away stress at any time of the day.

Our testers said they felt calm and refreshed after using it. In fact, one of our experts didn’t want to give it back after the trial period!

Sophie is a classic for a reason. Wonderfully soft and chewy, she continues to get babies and parents through that tricky teething period.

This set, which contains an additional teething aid with handy chewable rings for babies to hold on to, makes a genuinely useful and relatively inexpensive present for new parent friends.

“This bath is shaped to support the baby,” says Emily Hawkins-Longley. “I had a C-section, so holding my son at bathtime was difficult, but having a baby bath that supported him really helped.”

It’s designed with a water level indicator for safety and sturdy sides, along with a central angle area for the baby made from a soft fabric that warms to the water temperature and cradles them, making them feel cosy and safe as you wash them.