Babies.com

Searching for a unique baby shower gift? Think beyond pink and blue. Rather than opting for traditional baby gifts, consider giving these five quirky gifts that the parents (and baby) will cherish for years!

Stock Shares

Your little one doesn't have to be the next Warren Buffet to appreciate the unique baby shower gift of a well-valued stock! With companies like Give a Share, you can make the new baby a shareholder at birth by buying just one share of stock from popular companies like Disney (about $72). The little guy or gal will be entitled to declared dividends, annual reports, and any other shareholder perks from any of the 100 stocks available to choose from. Now that's saving for their future!

The majority of all baby showers celebrate the mother-to-be, leaving the father-to-be out in the cold. While coed baby showers are becoming more popular and can be a great way to include dad in all of the fun, consider throwing a just-for-dad baby shower party. Especially for the father-to-be, this sort of shower will make him feel appreciated and just as honored as the mom-to-be.

When brainstorming for baby shower ideas for dads, keep in mind that "the simpler, the better" is the best route to go for most men. Usually hosted by the dad-to-be's best friend or favorite co-worker, a dad baby shower can be men only, or you can throw a couples shower. If you decide to go men only, the first thing you'll need to do is compile the guest list. Include his single and childless married friends along with the veteran dad friends, including his dad and father-in-law. Invitations should be kept simple with the important details like date, time, and place. In his article "Dad's Side: A Father's Baby Shower" in Parenting, Geoff Williams says all you need is an email that says, "FREE BEER. My house. Saturday. 7 p.m. FREE BEER. Bring some diapers or a baby toy. OR NO FREE BEER."

Baby nursery toys make a fantastic baby gift for any friend or family member who has recently been blessed with a newborn. It's exciting to think you're contributing to the infants' nursery decor with an entertaining and developmentally beneficial present. Plus, let's face it, as baby gifts go, nursery toys are much more fun to shop for than diapers or baby formula.

We're going to look at some fun baby nursery toys in just a second, but first let's go over some important safety guidelines to help keep the child safe. Baby gifts must always be evaluated very carefully for potential hazards. The first step is to check the recommended ages of use on the toy's package, and combine their suggestion with your own common sense.

Whether you formula feed your baby from birth or make the switch at some point, you want to make sure to do it properly. Bottle feeding is safe, but that doesn't mean you can let prepared formula sit in the refrigerator for a week before feeding it to your baby. At the same time, it's also not usually necessary to spend hours sterilizing every bottle feeding utensil every day.

Bottle Safety

Polycarbonate plastic bottles contain bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that, while it can help prevent bacterial contamination of foods, is considered potentially harmful when used for bottle feeding. While research on the effects of BPA on humans is ongoing and not yet conclusive, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that parents choose baby bottles that are free of BPA; some plastic baby bottles are labeled as certified BPA-free. Opaque plastic baby bottles do not contain BPA. Glass bottles are also BPA-free, but the potential benefits of using glass are offset by the risk of injury if the bottle breaks. To ensure bottle safety if you do use polycarbonate bottles, which are a hard, clear plastic, do not heat them -- that includes putting them in the dishwasher.

Nipple Safety

Clear silicone nipples are generally preferred over latex nipples for bottle feeding, because they are less likely to cause allergic reactions and deteriorate less quickly. Nipples should be sterilized in boiling water before the first use, but after that, washing in hot water or running through the dishwasher is considered safe. Replace nipples when they show signs of wearing out, such as an enlarged hole that allows the formula to gush out, cracking, discoloration or stickiness.

Formula Safety

When bottle feeding, it's important to mix baby formula properly, as the wrong proportion of mix to water will deliver the wrong amount of nutrients to your baby. The easiest way to avoid mixing issues is to buy ready-to-feed liquid formulas, but they are expensive. If you choose the more economical liquid concentrate or powder options, always follow the mixing instructions carefully, using filtered or bottled water. Although most municipal water is very safe (and more rigorously tested than bottled water), it often contains fluoride as a supplement. After six months, fluoride supplementation in drinking water/formula is recommended by the AAP, but for those first months, it should be avoided. Sterilizing fluoride-supplemented tap water by boiling will not remove it, and may concentrate it. For formula safety, if you plan to bottle feed exclusively, you may want to invest in a fluoride water filter. As a formula safety rule, any mixed unused portion should be refrigerated and consumed within 24 (for a powder mix) to 48 hours.

To Heat, or Not to Heat?

Generations of bottle feeding parents have faithfully heated baby formula. This is not a formula safety requirement; while some babies do prefer warmed formula, your baby may prefer cool or even cold formula, and it's fine to skip the heating step. If you do heat formula, a bottle warmer is a good option that's easier than heating the bottle over a double boiler, with more even heating than using a microwave -- a method that is generally not recommended.

Baby shower decorating doesn't have to be expensive, time-consuming or in anyway terrifying in order for you and your guests to all have a wonderful time. With some advance notice and the simple steps below, you can set up a budget baby shower that creates the right mood to help create great memories that the mother-to-be will treasure for a lifetime.

Let's start with location. Have the party at your house, or the most centrally located, properly sized home of one of your co-hosts. You don't need a fancy banquet hall or restaurant. Here's a refrain we're going to repeat a lot: the most important items on your baby shower decorating list are the beloved friends and family of the expectant (or new) mother.