Oh, joy! Congratulations Susan! It's difficult to give much advice as to what things would be advisable (or not) to make for the little one, because everyone's tastes and needs are different. And I only have boy grandbabies, so no experience with girlie things. But I do have one thing to suggest. These days more often than not, both Mommy and Daddy work, so the little one is off to day care. I have found that having a blankie or two that is a little bigger than what one would consider "baby" size has really come in handy. I made a couple for my latest grandson (2 now) that were a wool blend - able to really keep him warm and still machine washable - that my daughter can wrap him up snugly, covering his head as well, and transport him to the car without the wind affecting him at all.

All the best to you and I just know you are going to be tickled to knit or crochet for the new baby!

Thanks Donna. Now that I know, I don't know where to start - actually should finish a few things such as the second pillow I am making for my father-in-law :-)

Yes, childcare will be in the future. My DIL is taking the summer off and then her mother who is retired will watch the baby for a few months. They are hoping to delay any form of non-family childcare for six months. They live in northern Virginia so that means the winter and some warmer blankets, etc. I thought the cocoon would be good - here's one I made using the tulip hat pattern - the mother loves it for the car seat. So many ideas, so little time!

Congratulations!! You might want to start by doing some small receiving blankets

Congratulations, Susan. Hope you live close enough for frequent visits.

I have adapted a darling, free ABC crocheted blanket pattern from Bernat, I think. It is not hard to make at all. But after I made the ABC version for DD and was in the midst of making one for the cousin born the same week, it occurred to me in a Doh Homer Simpson moment that I should be crocheting their names. I decided to make a smaller name blanket for use with the car seats, cradle, and stroller. However, I do plan to make all three full names one eventually too.

For my grandson, I did 3 rows of 4 letters each for his first name, middle initial, last name. For his cousin, I did his full first name and last name in 4 rows of 4 letters each. You could fill in a blank space with a heart quite easily too.

So do give that pattern consideration. It uses popcorn or cluster stitches to make the letters and borders. Worsted yarn with an F or G hook in single crochet. Look it up online and think about it. I also made the basic blanket in a solid color and then did the border around the whole blanket in a variegated yarn that picked up the solid color of the blanket. Looks great that way or all solid color.

Oops, it is a Caron International pattern, not Bernat.

Unfortunately they live about 300 miles away but I am hoping to be on sabbatical next year so will be able to see them more often. I'm about an hour north of NYC, my son is in Arlington and my daughter in San Diego. They don't make it easy!

Thanks for the ideas. I like the receiving blanket idea and remember the discussion about the fleece blanket a month or so ago. I like the ABC afghan and have made one years ago. They haven't decided on a first name yet - our last name is ten letters long so I would need adjustments there. I also like the old vintage patterns such as Aunt Jen's and Emily Pineapple sweaters. I also have an old Doreen Baby Gems book from 1950 with the ripple pattern. I need to be realistic since she will be born in May so sweaters are not going to be that useful until the fall.

Plan to finish up my WIP then start. Bought some Bernat Baby Soft in peach yesterday - they told me not to go overboard with pink and may actually try to stick to the others = peach, lavender, yellow, etc. I'll update as I go.

Well, the ABC blanket has 26 letters and some empty squares too, so a 10 letter last name is no problem to accommodate. I fiddled around with using the full formal name, or the shortened version (Alex for the cousin) in order to fill up the squares. for my grandson who has a short last name, I had one extra square, and so I used his middle initial to fill all the squares for the size I was making.