Today’s Hint: 4 Good Baby Gift Ideas for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th….Baby

Ever looked for a baby registry for parents who just had a second (or third or fourth. . .) baby? Odds are you didn’t find one (or at least, I never have).

As I start to ponder having a second child, I’m betting experienced parents skip registering since they already have the baby gear they need, or more likely, they don’t have the time to obsess over gear and gifts the way soon-to-be parents do.

Still, it would be nice if the gifts they received honoring additional children are useful. So today’s hint is to consider these four good gift ideas for the second baby when you’re pondering what to get a been-there, done-that parent. And these also would be great gifts if you’re invited to a baby “sprinkle” for these additional kids, a relatively new trend according to The New York Times, What to Expect.com & Babble.com.

1.) A gift personalized for the second child that has staying power. I like the idea of personalizing the gift so it’s clearly something that was meant to honor the second child, and so the first child isn’t the only one with a closet full of personalized gear. I recently bought a second child a personalized beach towel from Pottery Barn Kids. I opted for a beach towel because babies quickly grow out of hooded towels and stroller blankets. In contrast, a beach towel can be useful for years. Another similar gift idea is a personalized beach bag.

2.) A gift card to a superstore like Amazon.com, Diapers.com, Target (or fill in your favorite superstore name here). For second children, my go-to gift before I came up with the personalized towel idea was a gift certificate to Amazon.com. I figure there’s so much available at stores like these so experienced parents can use my gift to buy what they really need (like diapers). As one mom on theBump.com says when recommending gift cards as gifts, “I can’t think of a better or more useful item that can be used on just about anything they may need.”

3.) Help. As BabyCenter.com says, “the best present you can give parents celebrating the birth of their second baby is an extra set of hands.” So offer up babysitting or a certificate for a cleaning service (like Babble.com suggests).

4.) Items Parents Probably Don’t Want to Reuse. There are certain items parents tend to replace when another baby comes around. This category includes pacifiers, burp clothes, white baby onesies as well as, assuming you know the type the parent wants, bottles, bottle nipples and pumping supplies. As Thinker Mommy writes in a post on this subject, she “definitely wouldn’t reuse old pacifiers even if we had kept them.”

What are your go-to best gifts for second babies (and third, fourth, etc. ones) and why?