Baby registry: What's necessary and what's not?

SpankylovesSparky · February 2012

Hello all,

I'm only beginning to plan my baby registry for a shower around the first week of March, but I am having a little trouble knowing what to register for. I have a few things already such as: crib, mattress, swing, stroller, plenty of outfits and blankets etc. I know I'm going to need some other essentials such as diapers and we really would like a nice convertible car seat...but what about some of the other things? How do you know what's really necessary and what could we do better simply buying for ourselves? I plan on breastfeeding, so do I add things like nursing pads & cream to a registry? Or is that considered tacky? Obviously, I'm a FTM, so I would really appreciate any advice? What did you register for?

lilmisssunshine84 · February 2012

I registered for:

bassinet itself (sheets for it and playard)

bottles (bottle liners, brush, milk storage kit, drying rack, dish washer basket etc)

spoons, bowls, sippy cups

pacifiers

infant bath tub

stroller

toys

changing pad and covers

bumbo

diapers

wipes

motion detector

gift sets with baby shampoo, lotion etc.

bath time things (kneeling mat, faucet protector, water thermometer, toys etc)

extra little things like window shades for the car, mirror so I can see her from the rear view mirror

breast pump (which I will buy with giftcards, I don't expect anyone to buy it)

**As for the nips cream and BF pads I would buy those myself, although I didn't have the cream on my registry and I received a different brand than I already bought along with a bunch of stuff anyways. Also since i am registered at Amazon I can see what the bestsellers were, what other moms put on their registry, I talked to people about what they like and didn't like etc. I am a FTM as well.

poobear2015 · February 2012

We registered for basically the same things you listed. I have now 30!!! blankets!!! I really don't think I need that many - but didn't anticipate people buying them on their own without consulting the registry - so just be prepared that it is a possibility!

I bought my own cream and pads - they are REALLY inexpensive and I felt awkward enough receiving a breast pump from my grandmother (although I did need it and she asked what I wanted. Still awkward to say to her though haha!)

I skipped the bumbo (we have a boppy and a bouncer so I thought it was a waste for the amount of time its used. If anything - I might get it at a consignment store real cheap). I also skipped a wipe warmer. I read that they are really unnecessary - just nice to have for night time changes. They also sometimes dry out the wipes.

I also really wanted an activity gym, lots of burp cloths, a bath tub with all the essentials, a carrier for daddy, a shopping cart cover (NOT a necessity though!), a car seat cover (like a sleeping bag for her - again, not necessary!) HTH!

elizxu · February 2012

I wouldn't put many clothes or blankets on the registry...unless you have specific ones you want. I received a ton of both and didn't have any on mine. People like to give those (they must be easy gifts) and you'll probably get a ton!

ktroutm2 · February 2012

You put stuff on what you think you will need/use/want. People will get you stuff not on your registry. We had put a mobile on that matches the theme that were doing and a family member of mine got us one that wasnt on the registry and a couple coworkers of mine got us the one that was on our registry. As for putting diapers on the registry we only put one pack of newborns on and a couple 1 and 2 because we didn't want to waste the newborn diapers if LO didn't fit into them. We didn't do the diaper pal thing or the wipes warmer.

ktroutm2 · February 2012

Oh and don't be afraid to put stuff on there that you won't use right away like spoons and cups for when your LO is older.

Apples&Bananas · February 2012

I'm like you with the breastfeeding. I put nursing pads and cream. I even registered for maxi pads. lol! I have a girlfriend that really had everything she needed for the baby so I bought her delivery essentials. I even bought her a magazine, snack slippers. She was glad I did that because she hadn't made that trip for those things and I knocked off one extra thing from her list.

Larger sizes for baby outfits are good to request if you have enough newborn things. They grow so quickly ;-) Have fun registering.

p.s. on the expensive stuff you need, you never know you may have several friends go in on something together.

Apples&Bananas · February 2012

THat was suppose to say Snack and slippers. lol! NOt snack slippers ; P

babyrichsmama · February 2012

We didn't register for blankets or clothes with DD and I'm glad we didn't...we got so many already, people love to buy baby clothes. Wipe warmer is pointless. We also skipped the diaper genie, IMO it's gross to have a whole lot of poopy diapers in there...every person I have known with one has hated them and you have to spend a lot of the special bags. We use a small trashcan and Walmart bags (which we have a million of all the time and they are free) and we just take it out immediately when it's a poopy one.

lucisparents · February 2012

Are you planning to pump BM? I found that I could pump in 20 minutes while DH bottle fed DS in the same amount of time vs one 40+ minute nursing session. This was so great in the middle of the night. Also BFing doesn't always work out like we want it to, so having bottles (which can get expensive) could come in handy.

I didn't register for high ticket items like my breast pump but added them after my shower bc Target gave me 10% off the remaining items that I didn't receive.

raynes · February 2012

I built our registry based on the list from Lucie's List. Where she had a few different things recommended I cross referenced with Baby Bargains for which one to register for.

Melanie.Brown · February 2012

I don't think you need to register for clothes. People love buying baby clothes and they are going to buy what they think is cute. You should definitely add nursing necessities like a nursing cover/bra/tanks, nursing pads, nipple cream, a breast pump, milk storage bags, a nursing pillow, nipple cream, etc. Also, if you're a FTM and have nothing to start with you want to think about all the bathing items, bottles (even if you're BFing so DH can help with feeds once BFing is established), a monitor, humidifier, and some sort of carrier like a baby bjorn, moby or sling.

All things to think about, and what is necessary for some people may not be necessary for others.

With my first I registered for everything I planned on buying (except clothes) and then whatever wasn't purchased I was able to use the completion discount, which most stores offer, to buy the rest.

This time around I registered for nursing tanks/bras, bottles, pack n' play, aiden & anis swaddlers, and accessories I need to cloth diaper. We didn't cloth diaper DD so we're starting from scratch there.

JaiMacreiberts · February 2012

I registered for EVERYTHING but mostly because 1. I need to keep up with things I think I need, 2. I know when things I want go on sale and 3. some places will offer you a discount on items on your registry that you don't receive. So while I doubt anyone actually buys my pump or supplies, I can watch for sales and (hopefully) get at least 10% off if I need to buy it later!

texandbluejay · February 2012

The best advice I've gotten so far is to registary for ANYTHING your heart desires even if you don't think anyone will get it for you. Then, when the baby is here and the registry is closed, you usually get a 10-15% discount to "finish" your regestry from the store. Plus, you can take back 20 of those bottles of powder or extra clothes you don't want and use that to buy what's left, plus the discount. Always leave the tags on things until you know for sure you are going to put them on baby, because you may end up returning it later and using it for other essentials (diapers,etc.)

Natali25 · February 2012

I have a friend who has a 9mth old and she said register for everything. People will want to know exactly what you want, if you need to return something it's super easy being on the registry and you get the completion discount at the end. Her and her DH didn't have to buy anything for almost the first 3mths because they got so much stuff.

I personally registered for everything because we are FT parents and don't have a thing. I registered for all the big items family wanted to buy, all sizes of clothes so I'll have a variety, bath time stuff, 1-2 blankets, a few bottles (hoping to BF), sizes NB and 1-2 in diapers and little things like orajel and rash cream. I did not register for the BF items because that's more personal and I'm going to wait until after my BF class to buy any of those items.

sparkplug06 · February 2012

I love your sweater!

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