Family: Mother's Day: 5 Gift Ideas Guaranteed to Make Any New Mom Happy

Mother's Day: 5 Gift Ideas Guaranteed to Make Any New Mom Happy

Written by Stephanie Gallagher

Sure, you can call it a Hallmark holiday. But don’t be fooled: Mother’s Day is serious business. A big deal. Especially for new moms.

How do I know? Because I make my living surveying moms for my books. I ask them everything from which diaper bag they like best to how they handle meddling in-laws. And let me tell you, every new mom lives for Mother’s Day.

Why? Because it’s her one chance to feel cherished and appreciated for all she’s done for her family.

Now, I’m about to reveal a secret so simple and so basic, you may not recognize how powerful it is. Don’t be fooled. If you follow this advice, you are guaranteed to make any new mom happy on Mother’s Day. All you have to do is give her something that makes her life easier or makes her feel cherished.

Here are my top five picks:

1. A good night’s sleep.

To a new mom, eight uninterrupted hours of sleep are worth more than anything that could come in a box from Tiffany. Give her coupons for ten good nights of sleep (they don’t have to be used consecutively), and she’ll be forever grateful.

If she’s nursing, make sure she pumps breast milk in advance, so you can handle repparttar nighttime feedings. And do whatever you can to ensure she has quiet surroundings. You may even suggest she move to another room if she finds it hard to sleep through nighttime crying.

2. New mom jewelry.

New moms love jewelry that features baby charms, baby shoes, moms holding babies, etc. I recommend Lucy Ann products (http://www.lucyann.com) because they’re adorable, they can be personalized, and they’re reasonably priced.

Long Distance Care for Your Aging Parent Living Alone

Written by Denise DeGuzman

In 1987, 8.5 million elderly lived alone; by 2020, 13.3 million elderly will live alone. These elderly may suffer if they don’t have face-to-face interaction with others or if they don’t have measures in place to handle emergencies. As a child or caring relative or friend who lives too far away to care for your loved one in person, there are steps you can take to help from afar (and give you peace of mind).

Develop a support network of people living close to your loved one. Discuss this with your loved one in order to compile a list of neighbors, friends, and other relatives living in repparttar area. Contact those people to request their support. Ask them to keep in contact with repparttar 110147 person not only via phone but also by sharing meals, visiting, taking them out of repparttar 110148 house, etc. Provide those in repparttar 110149 network with your contact information and ask that they get in touch with you if any concerns (you can offer to have them call you collect) – let them know that you may contact them occasionally to see how they feel your loved one is doing. Suggest to your loved one that they give a copy of their house key to a close friend or neighbor in case he needs assistance and can’t open repparttar 110150 door. Ask a member of your support group to monitor repparttar 110151 smoke detector(s) and carbon monoxide detector(s) changing repparttar 110152 batteries twice a year (and have them check to confirm your loved one is able to hear repparttar 110153 alarms); have them also keep repparttar 110154 fire extinguisher current and accessible. In addition to a support network, various agencies offer services for repparttar 110155 elderly such as chore services, visitor services, etc. (the agencies and amount of support can vary by location). Agency information can be found at http://www.eldercare.gov/Eldercare/Public/Home.asp or by calling 1-800-677-1116.

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