Registry Help

ChiccoBeanz

I know that the bump administration will discuss this to an extent, but I wanted to get some input from STMs and MTMs, what are you ladies putting on your registry, what have you learned isn't really necessary, what couldn't you survive without and why?

Hopefully this will help some of us first timers and it will give us a new and positive thread to participate in. Looking forward to your answers. Enjoy.

Btw: I did not search function this. So def oops and sorry if someone tried this or did this prior to my post. Wasn't trying to be rude, just trying to start a new convo.

spottedginger

A good friend just sent me this link last night:
https://benditlikebecker.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/the-minimalists-field-guide-to-baby-crap/
I also found pregnant chicken and Lucies list to have great registry input. I hope this helps!

Aasha516

I second the Lucie's List recommendation!

Daphneh28

Thank you for the thread. I'm also lost in baby crap land. We live In a two bedroom condo which is perfect for us two (and our revolving door of guests which we love) but suddenly going to be small when Bebe moves in. So I'm definetly a minimalist. All I've registered for are breastfeeding bags and bottles lol

ChiccoBeanz

@Daphneh28 yeah, I am making my registry next week with my mom and DH. I legit don't know what to put on it. I keep looking things up and talking to other moms on here, and I am just overwhelmed.

Mizuiro007

I would say focus on the essentials first- where baby will sleep, how baby will eat (whether you need breastfeeding supplies, bottle supplies and formula, or both), diapers, bathing.

As a minimalist there are some great options. We continue to get a ton of use out of our pack n play, bath sponges are less expensive and take less space than an infant tub, put diapering supplies together in a box or tote or whatever and you can change baby anywhere. After the basics everything becomes more for fun or convenience.

amc1884

Babies 'R' Us has a registry checklist and I've found it really helpful! You can print it out and check things off as you go. There is a lot of stuff on there that you don't need but you can pick and choose what works for you. It also has two columns...."must haves" and "good to haves". I personally like lists, they make me feel organized and like I didn't miss anything

breezypip

^ the Target registry app has a checklist also that was helpful. I can't recommend anything else about that app though because it is slow, crashes and is generally annoying to use. It pains me to say since I love Target so much.

docandyaffa

There are some checklists on this website. I am a FTM and am finding them really helpful to narrow down what I am adding on my registry.

maiatene

Start from one of the suggested lists and edit from there. Baby needs somewhere to sleep, a way to travel, a way to eat, a way to get clean and the things that go along with them (sheets, blankets, bibs, boppy, towels, washcloths, wipes warmer, grooming kits). Then depending on how big your home is you can get a swing, activity seat, pack n play or jumper for daytime activities but not all four. I would leave off the clothes, onesies and diapers because people will either buy only that and you'll end up with a million outfits you won't use or they'll pick out something they think is cute that you won't use lol! Unnecessary things (IMO) are bottle warmers and diaper genies because the stovetop works fine and the thought of letting dirty diapers sit around is just gross to me. Don't stress about getting everything on the list because a btdt mom will tell you to add it. I was so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of crap to choose from my best friend did my registry for me and I just went back and edited. Worst case you can add whatever you missed to your registry and get the completion discount or when baby is here you can just log-on to Amazon, BRU, Target and have it either delivered or hubby can pick it up within 3 hours. Good luck and try not to get stressed!

LMJL

I started with baby bargains book, which helped me realize I don't need a stroller for a while, (yay, 1 less big, expensive thing.) I went to BRU with SIL upon the recommendation from baby bargains to take someone with you who's done this recently. Then I started a babyli.st registry online for things like my lillebaby carrier which isn't carried in store & a few cute stay items. I also looked at the lists on babyli.st & went through Lucie's list & made sure I had everything I saw that I thought I might need. THEN I made an Amazon registry & a pottery barn one for the completion discount!

ChiccoBeanz

Another registry question: 

     I've been advised to use more than one store, because some stores aren't accessible to all guests and the variation of inventories and what not. What do you ladies think about this? Completely overwhelming, or a smart strategy? Please keep in mind, when this was suggested, it was also suggested that I monitor the registries and remove things and what not.

lablover920

I used the Babylist registry. It allows you to add items from any store. Under each item you are registered for it will list out what stores people can find the item at and gives the price too. That way if someone loves Amazon or Target they have the option as opposed to only Target if you were registered at Target. I haven't had my shower yet but my mom hasn't had anyone calling her confused or annoyed with the registry so far. The registry is also monitored so they update any price changes or if an item goes out of stock they give you an email. If you have already registered somewhere they can also import that registry to their site. You can set up a link so say you register at Target, Amazon & Buy Buy Baby they all can be viewed on the store site or babylist but I am not sure if you have to manually update when someone buys something? I didn't do the links so I am not much help there but have loved using Babylist! 

violetigerlily

As cool as it is, I actually avoided Babylist because a lot of my older family members aren't internet savvy. If I used it I'd have to give them each individually lists of the stores that are on my babylist which kind of defeats the purpose to me. I'm sure it's great though, especially if most of your family can handle looking it up online.

I made two registries to give me flexibility but keep it simple: BRU (for people who wanted to buy in person) and Amazon (for people who like the internet/free shipping to our house).  I've had one of my two planned showers and it seemed to work out pretty well. My dad's internet savvy side of the family all bought from amazon and my mom's (totally no computers) from BRU or off registry.

I essentially made my BRU registry in store, scanning the full list of everything we'd need, so I could see products in person.I then made my Amazon registry online, deleting duplicate items from the BRU registry online as  I went.  It actually worked well as the crib and stroller were much cheaper on Amazon.  I made sure to have a good spread of cheaper and big ticket items on each list, which sounds complicated but was pretty easy to do from my computer.    Good luck!

violetigerlily

Also @chiccobeanz the Amazon registry does a great job of updating itself.  It actually has a section (you can avoid looking at it if you want things to be a surprise) where you can see the names and addresses of people alongside images and links to what they bought you for writing thank you notes. 

I've had zero need to manage it because I didn't do duplicates on the two registries, aside from things you might need duplicates of like cloth diapers for burp cloths. 

I was worried about having enough on each registry due to splitting it between two stores, but I basically made 1/3 of my Amazon registry kids books and made sure that I had a ton of lower priced items (burp cloths, pacifiers, some toys etc) on the BRU registry that they both should have enough for people to choose from without direct overlap. 

LMJL

I will second babyli.st! I did a BRU one for the "in store" crowd with most of my items & added it to my babyli.st registry. I didn't sync the BRU registry, so it's just a link that takes you to BRU but I have a few great items that are on there & much cheaper than BRU. Plus, they send you the cutest insert card for free to put in your invites! My mom was a bit confused by babylist, so I told her, just go to BRU then. I also figure, I wanted to be able to return stuff to a physical store if I need to & I'll probably be spending $ there, so it was easiest.

maiatene

I had one at BRU and one for Target for two reasons - some of my guests disn't trust online shopping so it gave them the option to go in-store to pick out their gifts, and because it allowed me to compare prices of the things I wanted and pick the store w the best deal. For example all of my gear (stroller, swing, breast pump) came from BRU because they always had sales and coupons for those things. At Target I registered for crib sheets, towels, products, etc because I liked their selection better and those things were always on sale. I didn't duplicate items on the lists bc it seemed unnecessary and a lot of work updating the respective lists. Sites such as BabyList that are good but from my experience they aren't the best solution because everyone isn't an Internet shopper and feel a way about not being able to physically pick out the gift.

MrsBwIVF

maiatene said:

I had one at BRU and one for Target for two reasons - some of my guests disn't trust online shopping so it gave them the option to go in-store to pick out their gifts, and because it allowed me to compare prices of the things I wanted and pick the store w the best deal. For example all of my gear (stroller, swing, breast pump) came from BRU because they always had sales and coupons for those things. At Target I registered for crib sheets, towels, products, etc because I liked their selection better and those things were always on sale. I didn't duplicate items on the lists bc it seemed unnecessary and a lot of work updating the respective lists. Sites such as BabyList that are good but from my experience they aren't the best solution because everyone isn't an Internet shopper and feel a way about not being able to physically pick out the gift.

This is what we did but with Target and Buy, Buy Baby. A lot of our guests are older and like to go and see the gift and physically purchase it. Also, I liked comparing the two price wise and having more of a variety myself to choose from.

ColoradoHiker

LMJL said:

I will second babyli.st! I did a BRU one for the "in store" crowd with most of my items & added it to my babyli.st registry. I didn't sync the BRU registry, so it's just a link that takes you to BRU but I have a few great items that are on there & much cheaper than BRU. Plus, they send you the cutest insert card for free to put in your invites! My mom was a bit confused by babylist, so I told her, just go to BRU then. I also figure, I wanted to be able to return stuff to a physical store if I need to & I'll probably be spending $ there, so it was easiest.

This is exactly what I did. I have a Babylist registry, but it also directly links to my BRU registry. That way the store buyers have an option, and so do those who prefer internet shopping. Several people purchased from Babylist (all older) and no one complained about it being difficult.

redfallon

We did Target and Amazon last time. Target was the closest store available for family to get things from (without it being Walmart). A lot of our larger items I ended up putting on Amazon and got on sale and the discount.

ChiccoBeanz

Thank you for all of your help ladies. I will re-read through this thread and make some decisions on how to go about this. I really appreciate the help.

yankeebabeme

I made registries at a few stores and posted all on baby list so it was a central location but did not post a million items separately.

Salemkitty13

redfallon said:

We did Target and Amazon last time. Target was the closest store available for family to get things from (without it being Walmart). A lot of our larger items I ended up putting on Amazon and got on sale and the discount.

+1

ChiccoBeanz

yankeebabeme said:

I made registries at a few stores and posted all on baby list so it was a central location but did not post a million items separately.

For clarity, how did you do that? I mean link the registries to babyl.ist. I'm a bit confused. Do you make the registries and then on babyl.ist there's an option or something? Please give details. This sounds brilliant. 

yankeebabeme

Yes I made various registries and linked it on babylist. There are maybe 3-4 items that I posted separately. I did : land of nod (the babylist team manually had to add it), target, Amazon , buy buy baby and a boutique baby store
No one in my family having problems! Just my husbands side lol

yankeebabeme

I found if easier to manage my registry and various items by keeping things separate but together in one place . Let me know any other questions!

yankeebabeme

I found it easier to link registry on my laptop vs phone. I was able to upload url to babylist which synced with my registry

ChiccoBeanz

yankeebabeme said:

I found it easier to link registry on my laptop vs phone. I was able to upload url to babylist which synced with my registry

I'm going to try this. Thank you!

TomekiaB

@ChiccoBeanz if your family and friends are in one community or have the same regional chains I don't think you need more than one registry. If you want 2-3 for other reasons feel free. I wouldn't just register once though for somewhere more expensive and less common like land of nod or pottery barn unless your attendees have one close and regularly shop there.
I used target for my wedding and found that their stock turnover was really fast for a registry (my entire wedding was planned in 3 months). I also think targets website is unpredictable and customer service is a little difficult for registries. So if you choose target keep an eye on it because things change pretty quickly.