You Need to Read This Before Making Your Baby Registry
With pregnancy comes a mountain of information on what you will need for your baby. While some people love looking through all the options and learning about the baby products, others can feel vastly overwhelmed by it. You can have a bit of both excitement and an overwhelming feeling surrounding making a baby registry.
Why Make A Registry?
Baby registries are helpful because they allow parents an opportunity to create an organized list of the items they most want for their baby. The baby registry can then be shared with friends and family. This gives people the chance to help provide the items needed for the parents and baby (or babies). For friends and family this is a great resource to see what is needed. For parents it is a great way to avoid getting duplicate gifts, and to make sure that parents get the items they really need/want.
Baby registries can also be a helpful resource to save money on baby supplies. The bill will quickly start to add up when you are looking at all the things you and the baby will need. One great perk of a baby registry is most companies offer discounts for creating a registry with them. Amazon specifically offers a welcome box, a registry completion discount, and free returns for 1-year on items from your registry. These are great perks for parents to utilize!
How Early Should You Make Your Registry
The quick answer is you can start one as early as you want. Commonly baby showers are held around 4-6 weeks before the due date and registries are made a few weeks before that. However, the best time is going to be when it works best and feels like the best time for the parents. You can always start your registry well before you tell people about it so that you have time to fine tune it. When picking the date for your baby shower here are some things to consider:
- Due date and if you will go early (My Doctor did not want me to go past 38 weeks with the twins)
- What the weather will be like if you plan to have it outside
- What theme you want to have. (You are probably not doing a pumpkin theme in July)
Where To Make Your Registry
There are many great sites and stores to make a baby registry through. When looking through all the options remember there is no rule that says you can only make one registry. If you like multiple sites or stores, then go ahead and make a registry at each. We used Amazon and Babylist to make ours and had a great experience with both.
Amazon
What we like:
- Extended return policy for 1 year on gifts received
- Great welcome gift and discounts
Restriction:
- Can’t add products from other stores
Babylist
What we like:
- Add products from any retailer
- Discount on remaining items you don’t receive
Restriction:
- Sometimes hard for people to navigate
Target
What we like:
- Can go in person to look at and add items
- People can go in person to get gifts
- They give a 15% discount
Restriction:
- Limited to Target products and inventory
MyRegistry
What we like:
- Ability to Sync all registries
- No restrictions on where you add gifts from
Restriction:
- No discounts or freebies
- Charge a fee on cash gifts
What Should Go On Your Registry
Everyone is different and therefore the needs will be different. Here is a list of products we loved, things we wished we had, and our suggestions. We hope this will help make it easier for you to make a baby registry or plan for what you want to get for your little one or ones.
Wearable Milk Collector
- These can collect liquid gold between feedings or pumping
- Easy to collect milk and the plug on top keeps it from spilling
Nursing Bra options
Hands Free Pump
- It is so nice to be able to pump without being hooked to a machine
- You can use the time while pumping to clean the house or use it in the car
- Perfect for on the go pumping and easy to store in a purse or diaper bag
Postpartum Recovery Kit
Don’t Forget These:
Dr. Brown’s Deluxe Baby Bottle Warmer
- Easy to use for quick bottle heating
- Easy to clean
Baby Brezza Formula Pro
- Makes perfect bottels every time
- Controlled through an app on your phone
Nursing Pillow
*We love this for twins! It made our lives mush easier when nursing or bottle feeding.
Highchair
Don’t Forget:
- Bottles
- Drying Rack
- Bottle Dryer and Sterilizer
- Bottle Brush
- Burp Cloths
- Bottle Soap
- Bottle Sterilizer and Dryer
Changing Pad
- Perfect for the top of dressers or on the floor
- Using this with the waterproof liner will save you from washing the cover everyday
Water Wipes
- For babies with sensitive skin or newborns
Diapers
- Find what ones you like the best
- Its ok if both parents like different ones.
- It’s a great idea to incorporate people bringing diapers to your shower so that you are stocked up for baby
Diaper Pail and Refills
- This is helpful especially if you have multiples and early on
- Keeps your room from smelling
- Saves you from going to and from the dumpster many times a day
Don’t Forget:
- Extra changing pad covers
- Changing pad waterproof liners
- Diaper rash cream
- Disposable diaper bags (if you buy the dog ones they are cheaper)
Bamboo Soft Muslin Swaddle Blankets
- Perfect for multiple uses with baby (swaddle, car seat cover, nursing cover, burp rag, towel, etc.)
- Amazingly soft
- I love the colors
Hatch Sound Machine
- Sound machine that you can control from your phone or with touch
- Multiple sound options
- Light is adjustable for brightness and color
Travel Sound Machine
- Great for travel
Baby Monitor
Personally, we tried a lot of portable baby monitors for camping and travel, and we definitely know what ones we won’t be recommending. The baby monitor listed above we do not have but we are very close with a couple that uses one. During our multiple attempts with various monitors, they used this one and it preformed great. I wish we would have started with it instead of wasting time on others.
For an alternative option to baby specific monitors look at options through home security cameras. We recommend WYZE for all monitoring needs. They work great, are reasonably priced, and we love the ability to access the cameras from either of our phones. Start exploring what WYZE has to offer here!
Don’t Forget these items:
- Pacifiers
- Pacifier clips
- Crib
- Crib Mattress
- Mattress Sheets (get multiple)
- Nursery Center
- Co-Sleeper
- Humidifier
Like all baby products everyone will have their own preferences and as parents you will have to do a bit of trial and error to find what not only is best for you but also best for your baby. It’s ok for each parent to have their own way and preferred product. Most likely what worked best last week might not work as well this week. Parenting is always evolving.
Nose Sucker Options
Baby Nail Care
Bedtime Lotion
- This is perfect for bedtime routines
- smells amazing and gets everyone in a calm mindset
- Also comes in bath soap
Don’t Forget these items:
Baby Activity Center Jumper
Baby Delight Alpine Deluxe Portable Bouncer
Newborn Developmental Toys
Car Seat
It is easy to feel overwhelmed when looking at car seats because there are so many. Take your time and find one that you feel best about. If you know people that have one see if you can check it out to get a feel for how it functions.
Stroller
Like car seats there are so many options out for strollers. Make sure to do your research to perfect one to fit your needs. While we have only used twin strollers, we have been able to interact with lots of stroller types. Here are some of our top ones.
Baby Carrier
Baby Wrap
- Keep baby close while being hands free
- pouch like feels helps baby feel secure and comforts them being close to the chest
Pop n Go Playpen
Travel Booster Seat
- Ideal for camping, traveling, restaurants, and visiting family or friends without highchairs
- Easy to put up and down
- convenient storage bag for travel
Rocking Chair or Glider
Car Kit For Baby
- You will be thankful you have this when you are in a bind
- Fill it with diapers, wipes, outfit changes, toys, extra snacks, etc.
- Also not a bad idea to put an extra shirt for mom and dad in this
Final Thoughts
Ultimately this is your registry, and you can put whatever you want on. We hope this list will help to get you thinking and makes it a little less stressful when you are creating your baby registry. Good luck and happy shopping!
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