Baby Registry Tips for First Time Parents
Start with Lucie’s List, this was THE most helpful place to begin!! I just didn’t trust the Amazon or Babylist “must haves” list because it didn’t feel like it was actually things people bought.
Your first kid is totally trial and error in a lot of ways, starting with the registry. Don’t register for a million things that worked for you best friend. They may not work for you or your kid! Register for variety (especially when it comes to swaddles, bottles and pacifiers). The only things that are pretty reliable, recommendation wise, are strollers and car seats.
Register somewhere that’s easy to return. Buy Buy Baby is awesome…but if it’s a 30 min drive…maybe not worth it to you. We did BabyList the first time and Amazon registry this time!
Look for things that can be as portable as possible. A travel sound machine, a battery night light, etc. It’s good to have routine at home but if you need to relocate or be out and about, it’s nice to be able to have your favorite things with you.
Don’t underestimate just how often you will have to wipe things up. Spit up, milk, snot, miscellaneous liquids. You just have to wipe things up a lot. So be sure to register for lots of absorbent things so you won’t have
Figure out what you’re picky about. For me, it’s clothes, for my friends it’s bottles, diapers (cloth), baby soap, etc. I really never registered for clothes, yes you’ll get them anyway but very quickly you’ll figure out the brands you like and what fits your kid best and it may not be what everyone else is using (Gerber and Cat and Jack NEVER worked for us). I bought most of Archer’s clothes on my own because of this.
Think about your husband. I registered for a bunch of swaddling blankets, but guess who never really got the hang of a tight swaddle? My husband. So we got the Swaddle Up and he knew exactly what to do, just zip it up! Get bottles that are simple to clean and assemble unless you want to be the only one who knows how to do things and find all the parts (You don’t. I promise. You want help). Adding onto this, think about what your husband loves and delegate the research to him! Robert is really into tech so I let him completely figure out the baby monitor situation, he did all the research and I only chimed in a little bit. If your husband is a runner, let him find a running stroller he likes. Those sorts of things.
Think about when the baby gets bigger (I know, they’ll be a baby forever, but just think about IF they grow up, you know, hypothetically). I’m not just talking about what they’ll need but also where you’re going to store the baby stuff. The Fisher Price Swing was Archer’s favorite, but that thing is a PAIN to store disassembled. We also loved the Skip Hop play mat but again, there are a lot of parts and the “rainbow” parts that hang over it are very long when it’s not in use and hard to find a place for.
Also – think ahead but not TOO far ahead. You can register for a high chair but probably not the convertible car seat that you won’t need until they’re 1 year old most likely. Do you really want to store another, bigger car seat in your house for a year? Nope, you don’t. If you really want to get gifts of big items now, I personally would return the item and write on the gift card what you’re saving it for and then repurchase it when you need it.
Think about yourself. I felt weird registering for breastfeeding stuff but then I didn’t have anything I needed to make nursing easier. I had a whole lot of things on the registry that I heard were great but just didn’t mesh with my style. It’s still your baby and your life – don’t lose that in trying to get all the things that are “top rated must haves”
Have a lot of places to put your baby down. Yes, people will want to hold them whenever they are over. But when it’s just you? You want to put the baby down. I promise you will. Bouncers, Dock a Tot, Boppy Lounger, Swing. Not necessarily to sleep since most of those aren’t technically sleep approved but just to give your arms a break.
At the end of the day, they send you home from the hospital with almost everything you need. Just get yourself a good carseat and a place for the baby to sleep at home and you’ll be just fine.
I also love chatting baby gear so if you want to chat or have me look over your registry – I would LOVE that! Just shoot me an email kailey at thehapazardhousewife.com or send me a message on Instagram.