- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Cincinnati Babies
Registry
My family's pushing me to start a registry, which makes me want to break out in hives! I am so nervous to have people actually out buying stuff for us and then something happen and I have a million baby items to stare at. But, I guess I do need to get over that and think positive! So, since I obviously can't go to the store I have to do it all online. It's very hard for me because I want to be there and touch the stuff and see it in person. I need the help of the pros here. Give me a list of your must haves and if you have a preference, the brand.
Also, I expect the baby to sleep in our room for a while. I plan to get a rock n play for sleeping. Do you ladies think a pack n play is necessary? We have a tiny house so for naps I plan to use either crib or rock n play. We don't travel much where we would need the pack n play t take along with us. I just don't really have tons of extra room for it and am having a hard time even thinking why I would use it. Thoughts?
6/28/10: Lost our sweet baby Addyston at 18wk 1day to pPROM
7/24/11: Michael William born at 24wk 2d due to IC after an emergent cerclage at 18wks, 4wk home BR and 2 weeks hospital BR. Grow strong our little Miracle!
9/17/11: Michael joined his sister in heaven after 8 amazing weeks with us on earth. He fought a very hard fight but NEC was too much for him in the end.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Registry
Do you have the Baby Bargains book? If I were you, I'd start by reading that, and maybe also subscribe to the Consumer Reports website. I used those a lot when choosing items for our registry.
This is what I told my cousin when she requested registry help:
We couldn't have lived without a good baby carrier (first the Bjorn, then the Ergo). Some other things I loved at various points were our shopping cart/high chair cover, the tiny diner placemat, snacktraps, and the Munchkin duck bathtub, which is great for when they outgrow the baby tub but are still wobbly sitting up. Ellie also love, love, loved her playmat and I would highly recommend a Fisher-Price mobile or something similar that's entertaining.
As for the Pack N Play, we didn't use ours much. I think it's something you can hold off on and buy cheap if you need it for travel at some point.
Photo by Melissa Nicole Photography
I have heard really great things about the rock and play. We never bought one but I know several people who did and swear by it. I wouldn't think you would need a pnp also.
My biggest recommendation for early on is to have a moby wrap. My LO wanted to be held 24/7 and would only sleep while being held, so the moby was a lifesaver for me. It also came in handy when going shopping and out with friends.
We also live in small quarters (a condo) so I didn't register for a pack n play for the same reason you discussed and I never missed it. However, I did end up having to buy one for the sitter's. We've managed just fine between the bassinet and crib!
As for your "must haves" aside from bedding, bottles, etc., mine were:
1. Swaddle Me's - I had the Summer brand (mine were fleece because Maddie was born in December)
2. Bottle drying rack and brush
3. Sophie the Giraffe
4. Pacifier clip
5. Swing (this is non-negotiable IMO, but I don't have a recommendation because we got ours for free and it's an older Fisher Price model that they don't sell anymore. However, get one that plugs in!!! Those things eat batteries like crazy. I probably could have purchased a new swing for the amount that spent on D batteries)
6. Activity Mat - worth it's weight in gold.
7. Again, because of the space issue, I registered for a Fisher Price Space Saver highchair and love it.
Hope this helps! I've been following your story/progress and my heart goes out to you. You are being so strong and that is so admirable considering everything you have gone through. I wish you nothing but the best throughout the rest of you pregnancy and when your little man arrives :-)
I totally agree with this. I couldn't register in the store because it was too overwhelming for me and this book is how I chose things. I can't believe I forgot about that....
I couldn't have lived without our swing- we have the fisher price cradle swing and it's great. Very comfortable.
Baby bjorn and ergo baby carrier.
Diaper genie and also register for the refills because they are expensive.
For a highchair, we ended up with the Chicco 360, similar to the space saver (size-wise) but it just hooks to your table so it really saves a ton of space.
As far as the pack and play, we use ours downstairs as a changing station. We keep everything stored in it- diapers, extra clothes, lotion, etc. It's nice to have a place to put random things, our house is also small so it's kind of like a central location for baby items so they aren't all over our downstairs/living room.
Video monitor- brand is summer infant slim and secure
For us, we hadn't registered for a convertible carseat but I wish we had. We had the 22lb pumpkin seat and DS outgrew it in 5 months. I'd go with either the 30lb seat or a convertible, or just register for both. Pumpkin seat brand- chicco, convertible brand- britax.
Things I wouldn't register for- receiving blankets, baby towels, diapers/wipes, clothes- these are all things that we ended up with tons and tons and we didn't register for any of them. Nice to have, but I'm sure people will end up getting you these things so they aren't necessary to register for. Clothes especially.
I also would not get a travel system. While convenient, the stroller is so heavy and bulky. If I could do it over again, I would register for the city mini stroller (extremely light weight and easy to fold) with the carseat adaptor.
PnP is definitely not necessary, especially if you don't really travel. We got one with #1 and used it mostly for the changing area. He never napped in it at home, we have used it to travel a few times. But for how little you might travel, you could definitely find a cheap one if needed. With #2 we got it out, and haven't used it...even for changing him. It's in our dining room and holds blankets!
We also got the rock n play for #2 and it was great. He has reflux and it was the only place we could get him to sleep for the first 2 months. He's sleeps at night in his crib now, but I still keep it in my room for when I need to shower.
Other must have's:
Swing - We have a Graco and it's fine, but we wish we had one that plugs in.
Bouncy Seat
Play mat - we have this Baby Einstein one. It has a part that lights up and plays music that he loves. You can also attach it to a crib if you wanted to.
Boppy - Even if you don't BF it's a great place to sit the baby, or let them nap there in the early days (supervised of course)
Swaddle blankets- We used the swaddlemes for 5+ months with #1. We had to get the Miracle blanket for #2. I've liked them both.
You got some good recommendations above. The things I use daily are the Boppy (I actually have two so I have one on each level of our house), and the Moby. Both of my babies really like(d) being worn, and I got the Moby to use this time. I really like it with a small baby, especially when they like being held early on. I have my hands free to get things done and she conks out almost instantly.
Something I didn't really think about was a changing pad for the top of the dresser, which I use daily.
We didn't register for a pack n play, because we didn't think we'd use one. We ended up buying a cheap one to have at my mom's house when she babysits, and we've brought it with us on trips, although we don't travel often. If you have any extra space to store it, it might not be a bad idea to register for a cheap one, but if you don't, then it's always something you could buy later.
We just have a small travel swing, which has been fine for our needs, and we use it daily. It's small enough to store when necessary, and it doesn't take up much space when it's set up.
Someone recommended registering for things I'd need when the baby was a little older, like snack traps, plastic bibs for eating, toys for older babies, etc. I think that's a good idea, since you get so many things for the early days.
Good luck! I know registering can actually be kind of stressful, but it can be fun too. I totally understand your hesitation, but try to enjoy yourself!
Ditto getting a copy of Baby Bargains. I found it very helpful!
Things I liked having...
"old" cloth diapers for a plethora of things (a "block" for diaper changes, burp cloths, etc...)
Swing that plugs in. We had the Fisher Price Rainforest Swing. https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Rainforest-Open-Top-Cradle-Swing/dp/B000I2WAY4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309147408&sr=8-1 I liked it because it went both directions (side to side or front to back) and plugged in. For us, this was probably the most used item the first 3 months.
I am personally a fan of the travel system- we still use that stroller and the carseat that fits in it. I liked having an infant seat, and the stroller is very roomy for stuff. Yes, the stroller takes up space in the trunk, but honestly that's where it stays. My groceries fit around it, and I drive a camry. We had a Graco set.
Munchkin dishwasher basket. https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Deluxe-Dishwasher-Basket-Assorted/dp/B000RI8Y30/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1309147564&sr=1-1. We still use it today for B's cups. We actually have 2, but once we ditched the bottles we haven't needed the second one.
I wouldn't register for clothes, blankets, sleepers, diapers, wipes, etc... but those swaddle me blankets are nice so I might put those on.
If you don't think you'll travel anywhere or need one for the sitter, you could skip the PNP. Ours held our clean clothes for months. However, if I had a baby now, I'd probably get the rock n play for sleeping in our room.
Bath stuff. Get a good tub. We had this one: https://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Infant-Toddler-Sling/dp/B000067EH7/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1309147745&sr=1-1. When he outgrew it, we went and bought a gator grip on Ebay for the bottom of our tub... so no duck tub here. You also probably want a guard for the faucet of the tub. You could register for some wash cloths/towels, but you might get them even if you don't ask for them.
Boppy if you intend to breastfeed. Medela PISA if you're going to need to pump regularly. As for bottles, I like Dr. Brown's, but all babies are different. Bottles were by far the most overwhelming for me.
In lieu of a bumbo, I loved this... https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-3-Stage-Super-Seat/dp/B000YZAG7I/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1309147938&sr=1-2. We used it as our portable high chair, sit up seat for play time ~3-4 mos, and a booster seat until about a year ago. I like that it came with straps for the chair and had a play tray. It's pretty compact.
It's been a long time, but those are the things that stand out as being well used. Skip the wipes warmer, bottle warmer, etc.. They really aren't necessary (you can warm a bottle under warm water from the tap/in a cup of hot water)
I did most of my registering online through BRU. You could use them, Buy Buy Baby, or Amazon. I find Target a little limiting in terms of selection. If I was doing it all online, I'd probably use Amazon primarily.. I've heard really good things abou their registries!
ETA: I forgot about the monitor. We have the Sony BabyCall. I like this monitor!
things we loved i dont see on the list
the graco swing you can snap the carseat into. it is GREAT if the baby is sleeping when you bring them in the house. just snap in the seat and turn it on.
a good manual pump. i got the medela one. it has a large swivel handle. super easy to us and great suction. also very reasonably priced
multiple bottle/nipple wash cage thingys.
not sure what to call them. the plastic cages you can put in the dishwasher for bottle parts. get several and get some that do not have the level for nipples. these are great for larger things like small toys that need to be washed. dont laugh. it will happen.
several formula containers. again not sure what to call them. they are spilt into several sections and you swing the opening around to open just that section. even if you dont formula feed they are awesome to transport cereal and baby snacks.
a TON of socks in all different sizes.
toy links. those link thingys that you can snap toys on. get a ton of those as they are very useful. always keep some in your bag so you can snap baby toys onto carseats, highchairs, etc.
bumbo. we LOVED ours and used it to feed the babies until they got too big.
things that we thought were a waste
pack and play, wipe warmer, crib soothers, diaper pail
wait on bottles until you know if you will need them and what kind the baby will like. we started with just one and then bought more when we realized she liked them.