overwhelmed at babies r us- need help

brooklyngirl18 · May 2014

dh and i stopped at babies r us this weekend to pick up a gift for a family party and it was our first time there since bfp. dh doesnt have much interest in registering so i'll be doing that with my mom but we are very different. my mom loves inspecting every item and seeing every option before choosing and i just don't have the patience and want to choose and item and move on. that being said- holy fucking shit!! dh went off in the store and i went to the newborn section and just glazed over. i was terrified and overwhelmed and scared. i have no idea where to start or what i'll really need and want a game plan before tackling this with my mom. i know stores give you and outline but i know you guys will give it to me straight. any ideas or advice?

hiketheworld · May 2014

I felt the exact same way. I bought the book baby bargains and looked at the Lucie's list website. These are helpful but I plan on doing a lot of research before registering and probably will register online for a lot of things.

mb314 · May 2014

I found Lucie's List to be really helpful when registering. If you sign up for her weekly emails (which I did find to be helpful), you also get a rundown of major baby items and reviews for them. It is overwhelming! I would research some of the bigger items (stroller, car seat, furniture, swing, breast pump etc) ahead of time before going to the store. Also, if you have friends who have small children, ask them about what they liked/didn't like about major baby items.

And when registering for bottles, don't register for just one type. Some babies like certain bottles better than others, so it is helpful to register for 1 or 2 bottles of 3 or 4 types.

carcrashheart · May 2014

google lucie's list. she has a registry guide that is pretty thorough and awesome. i used that when we registered in store. after that, i added things as i thought of them online. lucie's list is something you have to sign up for but it's totally worth it. she'll send you things about what to expect post partum as well, which was a real eye opener and good to be prepared for. her registry list was really great. she takes you through the basics and will give you options for each by way of which brand is good, better, best. also, pick up a copy of baby bargains. it's a great reference guide.

RedBirdFly · May 2014

Do some research on different big ticket items before you go, so you already have an idea of what to register for!

momtojad · May 2014

Sign up for Lucie's list. It is a great registry guide.

AnnieRoo13 · May 2014

Oh my God Lucie's List is amazing.

mander82 · May 2014

I have never heard of Lucies List, but I don't even plan on going to Babies R Us. I heard that is is overwhelming and that they do carry alot of the stuff you really don't need. I think I will stick to Target, Wal mart, and maybe Amazon. Most likely just Target and Wal mart though. I will be lucky if I can fit the essentials in my house. I don't need anything I won't be using.

mussalynn · May 2014

I know that feeling you're describing - once when I was pregnant with DS I went into a Buy Buy Baby to browse around, and came upon an entire wall of pacifiers... I just started crying!!!

When I was preparing for DS, I did a lot of googling - there are a lot of useful lists on the internet about what you need and what you don't. Take them with a grain of salt as well, there are a lot of things you don't "need" but are "nice to have". Also, if you have friends who have already had little ones, ask their advice. I was struggling with compiling my list, and my BFF was like "here I have a spreadsheet of what I bought when I had my baby"... amazing!!!

mb314 · May 2014

mander82 said:

I have never heard of Lucies List, but I don't even plan on going to Babies R Us. I heard that is is overwhelming and that they do carry alot of the stuff you really don't need. I think I will stick to Target, Wal mart, and maybe Amazon. Most likely just Target and Wal mart though. I will be lucky if I can fit the essentials in my house. I don't need anything I won't be using.

FYI - Target doesn't carry that much in their stores, so if you want to look and see big items like strollers and car seats, Babies R Us or Buy Buy Baby are other options. Also, my family is not big on internet shopping, so they got frustrated at my Target registry because so much is available "online only."

mander82 · May 2014

@mb314 Our Target actually has nice selection of big items. Car seats, pack n plays. A few cribs.

I figured I would probably register there for the big ticket items because I think their quality is better than WalMarts. My family lives an hour away from me though and their town does not have a Target, so I figure I can register for alot of other items there so they have somewhere to shop at too. We don't have a Buy Buy baby, and the one Babies R Us we do have is pretty far out there. Maybe thats why our Target has a nice selection though.

I thought about doing Amazon for my relatives that prefer online shopping, but there aren't many of them, so I might skip that to make it easier on myself

mockingjay1 · May 2014

@brooklyngirl18 - I feel the exact same way you do. It is so overwhelming!

I just signed up for Lucie's List - Thanks everyone!

strasbjl · May 2014

I agree with signing up for Lucie's List or getting the book Baby Bargains (I loved that book). Also, ask any friends that have kids for help. My bff is expecting and asked me to put together a list of must haves and has been asking me lots of questions about how my footie pjs, sleep sacks, etc. she will need. Friends are good resources. If you don't know anyone with a baby then just post questions here when you have them. I am sure all the STMs will be more than willing to answer them. I was totally overwhelmed the first time around too.

lizgrace03 · May 2014

mussalynn said:

I know that feeling you're describing - once when I was pregnant with DS I went into a Buy Buy Baby to browse around, and came upon an entire wall of pacifiers... I just started crying!!!

When I was preparing for DS, I did a lot of googling - there are a lot of useful lists on the internet about what you need and what you don't. Take them with a grain of salt as well, there are a lot of things you don't "need" but are "nice to have". Also, if you have friends who have already had little ones, ask their advice. I was struggling with compiling my list, and my BFF was like "here I have a spreadsheet of what I bought when I had my baby"... amazing!!!

OMG, I literally had the EXACT same experience in Buy Buy Baby yesterday with the pacifiers! Too funny! Thanks all for the tips on Lucie's List, I plan to sign up as well.

ccam · May 2014

I did research before registering and pretty much knew the specific big items that we'd want. I then made a pretty lengthy list of other smaller things that I wanted to add and picked those out in store. I tried to stick to the list as much as possible. I went with my mom who had a few suggestions too. I found the list the store gave me contained too much stuff. Even with the list and research, we were still there for a few hours. I can't even imagine doing it without a list in mind - its completely overwhelming.

I also had my friend look over my list and let me know what she thought after I was done. I didn't want to actually go with her bc she can be too opinionated though.

sunflwra · May 2014

Do some of your research online up front and then just do some basics in the store. It's easy to go a little crazy with the scanning gun but if you are undecided, scan both things and then just edit away at home online. You are pretty much guaranteed to end up with some stuff that you never use (all babies are different) and other things you can't believe you forgot. There's a reason that you see mom's with teeny tiny babies shopping at BRU

You can always go pick something up and you may have to try 6 types of bottles before you find one that works for your baby- lots of trial and error but it will be fine

CountryMama1114 · May 2014

I didn't read all of the responses so sorry if this is a repeat.. But deff do a lot online if you don't want to be overwhelmed at the store. You can take your time and go back multiple times to redo, add it delete items. And your DH may help more if you ask go. Specific questions (like do you like this bouncer, or this one?) as opposed to "pick something from THAT aisle"

melissajam · May 2014

Like PPs I did my research on the big items and I thought Lucie's list was a helpful resource.I had a registry at time both BRU and Target. I definitely had a better experience with BRU. I thought that their set-up was easier to use (online and in-store) and I liked that I could get rewards points in addition to the completion discount.

brooklyngirl18 · May 2014

thanks so much i appreciate all the advice! i will def check out lucies list and do some more online research

justjinny · May 2014

We did ALL our shopping for DS#1 in one weekend since we had little notice before he was due. You'll be fine & have plenty of time to register and make choices. Just don't over analyze the small stuff! I would have taken a million times longer to shop if I had had the time, but honestly, it was best on some things (like pacifiers) to just pick one and toss it in the cart!

The options at BRU are overwhelming but also good for large items like strollers & car seats. We got a car seat that could click into a base + an extra base for MH car. The seat also clicked into our jogger stroller which was nice. I don't jog but the jogger is nice for rougher walking surfaces.

I found myself doing more shopping on maternity leave than normal. It was nice to get out of the house with LO and something to do in the winter. You'll have time to pick things up once baby is here a know better what to get.

TXSparky · May 2014

Registering can be really overwhelming! I did the gun thing in the store but did a lot at home later. If you are unsure in the store just scan the options you like (multiple) and delete things later. It's more fun that way and it helps you remember things you like when you go back to clean it up. Also I definitely recommend that things like car seats, strollers and carriers you check out in person in addition to any other research you do. You want them to be easy to use which can be hard to gauge from words on a page.

mamatohne · May 2014

If you have a close friend or family member who has had a baby in the last few years ask them to tag along. No matter how many lists you make there will be things you never knew you even needed until the baby is here! I was lucky enough to be the last of my friends to have a baby and I asked them their "must haves" I got a wonderful list. But my sister went with me to register and she was a god send!

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