Useful presents for a new mum and newborn

I am a new, first time mum with a 4 week old baby. The last 4 weeks have been a blur and I'm only just now getting my head above water. We've been very fortunate to have received a lot of well wishes from family and friends and along with those well wishes lots of presents. Having struggled in the past with what to get friends who have just had babies, based on my experience now these are the things I'd suggest.

Presents for a new mum:

• Food - There's so much going on the first four weeks. Having meals cooked for you just takes the load off. Meals that can be easily reheated for dinner - pasta, curries, soups, bangers and mash. It doesn't even have to be something that you've cooked specifically, when you're cooking your own dinner just do a double batch.
  Also foods that can be eaten with one hand for lunch - pre-made rolls/sandwiches, pasties, sushi.
• Grocery shopping - This is another one of those things that helps take the load off. If you're coming over for a visit perhaps just ask if there's anything that you can pick up before you head over.
• Household chores - Offers to clean the bathroom, do the vacuuming, dusting or any other household chore helps so mum can focus on sleep and/or the baby. Alternatively organise to have a cleaner come in for a couple of hours every week/fortnight for a few months (a great group gift).
• A hamper containing the foods that she gave up whilst pregnant - soft cheese, wine, sushi, deli meats and antipasti were mine.
• Offer to babysit - Yes it's early on, yes it can be hard for mum to leave her baby for the first time, but it's worth offering. And for those new mums I'd recommend, if you can, accepting those offers even if it's only for 1/2hr. If you're breastfeeding then having some expressed milk on hand helps take your mind off the "what if my baby wakes for a feed whilst I'm away".

Presents for a newborn:

My baby is a bit of a spitter/vomiter and I'm finding I can never had enough of the following:

• Wraps (flannel, fleece, cotton) - I thought we had stacks of these but am finding that you can never have enough. Great for putting on a cold change table, using on top of the cot sheet for easy cleaning of vomit, wrapping baby in.
• Burp cloths
• Cloth wipes (especially if you're doing cloth nappies - you can never have enough!)
• Onesies - despite all the lovely little outfits that we've been given, our baby has lived in onesies. They're just so easy to put on and take off, not need to get things over heads or legs in holes. Lots of the onesies have fold over cuffs so you don't need gloves which is great. Fleecy onesies (polar fleece type material) are great for keeping bub dry if they out wee their nappies.
• Gloves - we don't really go through these but they're handy for those outfits that don't have fold over cuffs babies' nails are really hard to cut and/or file.
• Books - especially board books, they are the ones with cardboard pages as they are great for little ones because they don't tear and can withstand a fair amount of drool and chewing.