Present This Travel Bag to the Parents-to-Be
New parenting is an isolating experience. You are not just adding a new piece to the puzzle of your life – instead, it feels like this tiny man has shaken up all the existing pieces that you have put together for decades, and now you have to start from scratch. You are tired, lost and smell a little scared. It’s hard to remember that others were there too.
This is why I shed a tear when my friend Joy shared this photo with a tote bag (next to her adorable daughter Drew). It’s not just a tote – it’s a beginner tote, packed with everything you need for those beautiful, cruel and absurd first months of living with your newborn. Since 2013, the bag has gone through 12 houses.
The New Parent’s Way Travel Tote Bag works: When it arrives, receivers add their baby’s name and date of birth (or do so as soon as the baby is born) and then get to use what’s inside, this bag contains items such as What to Expect Book , a pair of leather baby moccasins, a hospital gown, and a notebook filled with brooding new mom’s notes. (Her bag was meant for Mom, but no idea is required.) Some items stay in the bag forever, but when the parents are ready to hand them over to the next family, they may include even more items that they found useful. “I added a bottle of Purell, Dermabond spray, Korean face masks and thank you cards,” says Joy. “The bag is awesome and really helps you feel supported.”
I love this idea – it really helps create the village that young parents dream of. Necessary things I would add myself include this nipple cream (which is much better than what you get for free at the hospital), a hair tie (when I was breastfeeding in the middle of the night, I always wanted a soft rubber for hair.) and a small stack of cards of my favorite wisdom for young parents (for example, “You don’t have to enjoy every moment”, “It’s okay to whisper” What the fuck? “32 times a day” and “If you have overalls with buttons “from head to toe”, immediately burn them “).
What would you add?