Care Package for a Mama-to-be

I love putting together little care packages and ‘thinking of you’ surprises to send friends and family in the mail. And what could be more exciting than a new baby on its way! Anyone who is a mother themselves can probably relate to the fact that, once baby arrives, it all stops being about you. I remember only to well myself, my little ones being showered with gifts and thinking “hey, I just grew a baby, where are *my* gifts?” (that may sound a little materialistic, but who doesn’t like receiving gifts, and also, you know, hormones talking…) Which is why, when I give gifts for new arrivals, I always try to include ‘one for baby, one for mama’, and why I decided to put together a little parcel for a special mama-to-be, *all* about her – a little something to pamper her while she waits for the big day. So, if you know a mama-to-be, which not put a wee parcel together for her, whether it’s in the early stages, the half way mark, or close to the finish line. I can guarantee you she will be pleased. You may not be able to find exactly the same things as I’ve chosen, but hopefully it will give you some good ideas. Clockwise from left:

• Hand cream – a friend of mine at work gave me some luxurious hand cream when I was expecting my first. As a mother herself, she knew *exactly* what she was talking about – never have my poor hands taken such a beating since I started on the path to motherhood, even before he was born I suddenly found myself constantly washing and cleaning. Add to that the fact that, no matter how much water I drank during pregnancy, I always felt dehydrated. You can imagine what my hands looked like. For this care package, I chose Hydrating Hand Cream from Dr Hauschka, but you can also find some other suggestions in my previous post about favourite hand creams.
• Pregnancy book – some people like to document their growing bump in photographs, others like to keep a diary. This beautifully hand illustrated and hand bound pregnancy book by Berlin-based label Greta’s Schwester allows you space for both. And it’s available to order online. For the non German speakers, there are similar books available out there.
• Lip balm – similar to my hands (see above), my lips were always dried out during pregnancy, so carrying around a good lip balm with me at all times was a must. Here I chose one from natural cosmetics range Martina Gebhardt, because I knew it was a favourite range of the mama-to-be in question.
• Chocolate – you can’t have a care package without chocolate, right? The Original Beans Cru Virunga chocolate has 70% cocoa and is both gluten free and vegan – perfect for any mama-to-be with special dietary requirements.
• Tea – and, finally, I included some of my favourite tea that I drank a lot during my second pregnancy. During my first, I didn’t suffer from any morning sickness at all, but the second time round, oh my! I loved this tea because it contains actual ginger root rather than just ginger flavouring, and it always made me feel a little better.