I had never heard of “push presents” before getting pregnant, but it has come to my attention that it is another heated debate among moms (as if we don’t have enough to disagree on already!).

A “push present” (also known as  a “push gift” or “baby bauble”) is a present a new father gives a new mother when she gives birth to their child. Most push presents come in the form of jewelry, whether it be a charm bracelet holding items of significance to the new family (initials, birthstones, etc), or full-on bling adorned with diamonds. However, in most recent years, push presents have started to come in all shapes and sizes, from spa certificates to DSLRs, and even new cars!

A typical push present (source)

So what exactly makes the topic of push presents so debatable?

The issue at hand is not the type of push present a new mother may receive, but whether a push present should be expected at all. Those who disapprove of push presents ask, “Isn’t the baby enough?”

I personally say to each their own. I certainly don’t expect a push present, but a gift would be nice. I wouldn’t be mad if J didn’t get me anything, because he’s been anything but super-supportive (if not spoiling me) this entire pregnancy and I feel like I should be just as thankful to him.

A few weeks ago, J asked me if I wanted a new MacBook Pro as my push present. My current MacBook Pro has been struggling in the past few months and I had been b*tching to him about it regularly (so perhaps a new laptop would serve him well too, because he wouldn’t need to hear me complaining so much). In addition, J knows that I never wear jewelry aside from my wedding set, and is well aware that new gadgets are my favorite types of gifts.

However, I refused.

As much as I would love a new MacBook Pro, I have seen firsthand what babies can do to expensive things, especially electronics. So I would rather continue to complain over my current dinky laptop than cry over a new, ruined laptop.

I asked him to pay for a new steam perm instead. Because as you can see from my weekly pregnancy updates, I am in dire need of a new perm and those suckers are expensive! (And to those who might chime in to say that getting perms while pregnant may be a waste of money because pregnant hair does not always “hold” perms, I have spoken to my stylist about this and he says he has pregnant women come in for steam perms all the time. I’ve gotten a steam perm with my previous pregnancy and it came out just fine.)

What is your stance on push presents? Do you think that a new mother deserves a gift — on top of the baby — for carrying him/her to term and successfully delivering him/her?