New baby flowers delivered in Madrid

Before sending flowers to the hospital, check. Many maternity wards don't allow them in the rooms, especially in neonatal units, and the delivery may end up at reception. Stays are also short: the flowers can easily arrive after the family has gone home.

That's why we usually suggest sending them home, for when they get back. They arrive somewhere calm, the parents enjoy them for longer and you don't have to guess the room number. If you still want them sent to the hospital, check with the family first and add the hospital, floor and room to your order.

Pinks, whites, lilacs and pastels are the classic colours for a birth, and for good reason: they are gentle and cheerful at once. Bouquets with roses, carnations, peonies or lilies all suit. Lilies have a strong scent in a small room; if you're worried about that near the baby, tell us in the notes and we'll take it into account.

A plant is also a good gift: it stays at home for a long time and keeps the first months company without needing attention, which is exactly what's in short supply in those weeks.

They don't have to arrive on the day of the birth. In the first days the family gets lots of visits and messages; flowers that arrive a week later, once they're home and things have calmed down, are just as welcome, if not more. If you want them waiting when they get back from hospital, ask someone close for the date and choose the afternoon slot, when someone is more likely to be in.