Sweet Baby Gifts

Hello - I am looking for "UNIQUE" southern baby names… for both boys and girls. Please don’t include the usual, mainstream names. A winner will be chosen for best answer!
girls
Aletta, Annabelle, Azalia, Coral, Darlene, Dollie, Dixie, Joley, Jana, Janelle, Liliana, Lulu, Lula, Lacey, Laurel, Mae, Mazie, Kacie, Kelsey, Naomi, Poppy, Patsy, Ruby, Rayne, Rayna, Riley, Rae, Raeanne, Roseabelle, Shelby, Shelley, Sherie, Sally, Tammy, Mitidla(Tillie), Talaulah(Tallie), Avery, Ansley, Carley

Boys
Finley, Wesley, Weston, Amos, Austin, Bo, Beau, Colton, carter, clint, Darryl, Dale, Gage, Grant, Glenn, Elton, Alton, Everett, Forrest, Harrison, Jackson, Jesse, Jasper, Jed, Levi, Landon, Lee, Memphis, Marshall, Mitchell, Nash, Rhett, Randy, Russell(Rusty), Royce, Woodward(Woody), Wyatt, Shane

A co-worker of mine is having a baby, and her husband is a huge Metallica fan. Does anyone know where I might be able to find something really cool for the baby- preferably in black?

http://store.metallica.com/store/store.asp?OpenA=866&nProductTypeID=866

Gonna make a cd with those type of songs on it….but need more songs,..any ideas?

Wild Thing - Tone Loc
Push It - Salt N’ Pepa
Walk This Way - Run DMC/Aerosmith
It’s Tricky - Run DMC
Informer - Snow
Jump - Kris Kross
O.P.P. - Naughty by Nature
Jump Around - House of Pain
Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J

A great friend of mine’s son is having his first birthday party Saturday. My friend doesn’t care if I bring a gift or not - he’s the first grandchild on both sides, so he’s getting a TON of stuff - but I feel I should. What could be a good gift for me to give him/the parents? I’m hoping to spend less than $30.

I love giving classic books that mom and dad can read at bedtime for years to come. It’s easy, thoughtful, and you can write a nice inscription inside the cover that will be there forever. However, chances are this is also a very common gift so be sure to check with the mom about which books they have and which they’d like. Also picking out these books is usually a nice trip down memory lane.

Some possible options include:
Good Night Moon
Runaway Bunny
Dr. Seuss
Where the Wild Things Are
The Giving Tree
Velveteen Rabbit
etc.

My nephew is already born, but I am clueless about gift I should get for him and also for my sister. Any idea is appreciated. Just to know, they are living in Europe and I have to mail gifts for them.

a great gift could be a special baby book for the new mom to keep up with all things that happen.

well a diaper raffle is when you bring diapers to a baby shower in exchange for a chance to win a prize. so i was thinking for every item bought on my baby registry, one raffle ticket will be given for every $10 the gift is worth. I was thinking there should be a maximum amount of tickets given to each person so people who bought big $200 gifts wont end up with 20 tickets and to round up gifts worth like $5 gifts will be consider $10 and $15 as $20 and so on. that way people are more likely to buy what i requested, have the gift receipt, and not buy multiples of the same item. the prize would probably be a gift card to the mall or a gift basket. my sister had a baby registry and no one but me and my grandmother bought from it. my sis ended up with thirty blankets. 2 playmats, 2 carriers, lots of preemie clothes (the baby was born 8 lbs) and no receipts.

would you consider doing something like this yourself? are you most likely to play? anything you like to add or suggest i should not do in the game?

Sounds rude to me. You are trying to control what your guests are buying. Registries are not a demand. They are a suggestion as to what the couple would like. If your demands are so unbending, have a diaper shower and buy your own stuff.

I am sympathetic, but duplicates still don’t put you out. They are GIFTS. Although, I must say, I find it odd that folks bought preemie clothing. Sounds like your sister had some really dumb guests who didn’t look at labels.

I usually wait until about 7 1/2 months b/c I’m always afraid that if I do it any earlier that I’m getting too excited…..

My husband and I had the nursery completely set up before we were even pregnant. Walls painted and all. I asked for the crib and changing table for my birthday. And the end tables and amour for Christmas. Saved a lot all around. I personally don’t think it’s ever too early. Why be scared of something you can’t control. Stress causes miscarriages anyways. So just spend your pregnancy as if your baby is already here is my mato.

our friends are dedicating their twin sin church and i just want to know what do people buy as a gift…

Maybe a baby blanket with the family name on it???

I would like to know of the best organic baby toiletries available specially if they are formaldehyde free

I was just looking into this myself.. I have been using Aveeno and found the study on formaldehyde (well my husband did) so we’re switching. I found a brand called Earth Mama that is on Amazon.. and they seem VERY natural! Also, Burt’s Bee makes a line called Baby Bee… which also is good!!!

How involved should the steps be in having the baby shower?

if you are close to them, then treat them like family. if you aren’t close to them, then at least invite them and be polite because it’s the nice thing to do and it will reduce family drama. you don’t throw a shower for yourself, so whoever is hosting your shower will decide who is doing the helping.

if you are asking how involved they should be in hosting the shower, that’s completely up to them. nobody is entitled to a shower and if a friend or family member decides to throw a shower, you should be thankful. some people just aren’t into that sort of thing and it has nothing to do with you.