The new parents

The new parents have been awake at three in the morning lately and hold it against nobody. Everything they need was bought in the weeks before; what you can give is what turns out to be useful after the first month.

A 4K baby monitor has a camera and a screen of its own, with no app and no Wi-Fi to set up. It simply works, at three in the morning too, and the first evening the baby sleeps upstairs alone is the evening it earns its place. More baby monitors.

An ergonomic baby carrier goes on the front or the back and lasts from newborn to toddler. Hands free, and a carried baby sleeps, which is the whole argument. More baby carriers.

A foam play mat is thick, odourless and wipeable. The floor becomes somewhere to be rather than somewhere to fall, and it folds away when the grandparents come. More play mats.

A walker that turns into an activity board is pushed along at first and played with for a year after. It is the toy that outlasts the stage it was bought for. More walkers.

And an insulated bottle bag, which keeps a bottle warm or cold on the way to the grandparents. The smallest thing here, and the one that saves the trip. More bottle bags.

A simple monitor for the grandparents' house is a second camera and screen for the house the baby also sleeps in. The bag gets one thing lighter, and the grandparents get a screen. More baby monitors.

A folding crawling mat is a metre and a half square, with leaves and animals on it, and it folds into a bag for the car. The park becomes somewhere to be. More yoga mats.

And a book of the first hundred words: press the picture, hear the word. It is the book that gets read two hundred times, and then, one day, read back. More learning toys.