When are you registering for baby? All of my baby apps are saying to start one now, but I just feel like it is way too early just yet. I would think we need to wait until we know the sex of the baby, but I am a FTM so what do I know?
I haven't registered yet, but I did start a secret Pinterest board so I can tag all the items I see that I like/want to buy. Especially baby furniture and ideas for the nursery.
I'm PGAL and already have a registry from before that I tweak for fun but certainly won't tell people about unless they ask further down the line. That being said, there is a LOT of information out there to wade through and I think now is a really good time to start research on the big items. No, don't register for cute onesies and pacifiers but look breast pumps if you're going that route and whether your insurance covers different models, and research carseats and cribs for safety issues so you can start getting ideas now.
I didn't register until I was about 5 or 6 months. That was purely based on the fact that I was so overwhelmed when I stepped into a babies r us. I am also a researcher so I spent a lot of time reading reviews of major baby items like strollers etc. A great resource is a book called Baby Bargains. It breaks down baby items by category, reviews and price. It was a lifesaver. I would say the only things you need to register for/order early are furniture pieces.
Me (35) & DH (35)
Married: August 2009 DD #1 born 6/12/14 DD #2 born 10/31/16
H and I were just talking about this last night, actually. We are announcing this weekend (I will be 12 weeks), and I think we will start a registry not long after, mostly to start saving all the things we have been looking at in one place. Then we can add gender-specific items later on, once we find out. I'm guessing by registering, I will also start getting sale and coupon emails from Babies-R-us, which will be helpful when trying to plan when to buy the big (furniture) items.
I have already started mine, although I only have a couple big items on it. Stuff I needed to research before choosing. Hubby and I will most likely not have a shower so we'll be buying almost everything ourselves. So we need to get organized and space out our purchases.
Do your research now on the big baby items and start adding them to a registry. Diapers and wipes are great stuff to ask for or gift cards to combine and help towards big items. I like amazons baby registry. We got a bunch of Amazon gc and some big items from the grandparents. Everyone else just bought us stuff we didn't want. Hopefully those that were nice enough to get you something will include a gift receipt too. You really don't need a bunch of stuff for baby. I have fallen for some really dumb baby gimmick products. I was weary about shopping/buying used baby gear with my first. I guess I thought it would be germy? Baby swings and pack and plays are great to pick up at consignment shops. Our local shops are very picky with what they take and the prices are 50% discounted or more. It was a real wakeup call to try to resell my $200 pack n play and only get $35 for it at the consignment shop. I have also picked up floor model items from babies r us at a discount. Many consignment shops have gift cards too. I'm asking for gc to our favorite local consignment shops this time around.
I don't think there's any harm in starting a registry early so that you can keep track of what you need and the research you've done. Just remember if you haven't told people yet to set it to "private" so that someone you know doesn't stumble across it accidentally and spill the beans.
DH and I: Early/mid 30s Married 7/15
TTC #1 as of 8/15
BFP 11/21/15 -- MC confirmed 12/1/15 BFP #2 2/18/16
I would start adding things to your registry now and then edit as you learn about new things/change your mind. Also, if there are big ticket items that you intend to purchase yourself but want to use a completion discount, I would create a registry but fudge the due date by a month or two. Some registries do not let you use the completion discount until your shower/due date has passed (I think Amazon?).
We started a registry just because we are buying double of some items. It's more for our benefit (we haven't told anyone, even if they have asked) so we can get the registry rewards. BRU also lets you combine the registry completion and multiples coupon so we plan on using that for big items. We set our DD two months ahead so we can get the coupon sooner.
I started an Amazon wish list and registry but both are private but like to add ideas to the wish list to go back to later and started adding needs to the registry.
Last time, we registered when I was about 5 months. I put it off early on because of some other family loss and I just couldn't deal. In the end, that worked out just fine.
I do highly recommend signing up for Lucy's List and Pregnant Chicken emails. Both give very helpful registry info. More so Lucy's List. Pregnant Chicken is just funny
I haven't started a registry yet, but have started a wishlist on Amazon that's set to private. Once I've refined all the things we need/want, I'll just transfer them over to Amazon's Registry.
I had my registry filled (but kept secret) within the first week after we found out! I'm a control freak and had already looked at what I might like when we started TTC three years prior. I just made it public now that we announced, but I doubt anybody is looking for it yet.
I have 2 registries pretty much done, I get excited lol but they are still secret. As soon as we tell the family in a few weeks I'll change the setting to public. But it's a great place to save everything, I mean, I spent hours Researching bottles, I need to remember my favorites!
We started a registry just because we are buying double of some items. It's more for our benefit (we haven't told anyone, even if they have asked) so we can get the registry rewards. BRU also lets you combine the registry completion and multiples coupon so we plan on using that for big items. We set our DD two months ahead so we can get the coupon sooner.
May I suggest when you do register, to do it EVERYWHERE. Seriously. Make only the ones you want people shop off of public but make a registry at all the stores. I'm talking Target, Buy Buy Baby, Babies R Us, Pottery Barn, Amazon. When you're 60 (or 30) days out from your registered due date you'll start getting a ton of coupons which are usually good for a couple months after your due date. Definitely worth the hassle.
Married to DH for 6 years (together for 16) DS born 12.13.14 DD born 10.15.16 BFP 1.24.18, MC 3.13.18 BFP 4.25.19, EDD 12.31.19
Amazon is the best especially if you have Prime. Sign up for Amazon Mom (it's free with prime) and your registry discount is more! It's a one time use code but you can use it on anything in your registry. Well almost... Doesn't work on cameras lol. It needs to be baby related.
Married to DH for 6 years (together for 16) DS born 12.13.14 DD born 10.15.16 BFP 1.24.18, MC 3.13.18 BFP 4.25.19, EDD 12.31.19
I had registries started from my last pregnancy but when I reactivated them I put fake names so it couldn't be linked to us yet (I think it's the BRU registry that doesn't let you set to private). Certain places let you add stuff that's not directly baby-related (yoga pants, sleepwear, etc) too so anything you regularly stock up on at those stores is a good idea to add later on (after shower/other people are done buying things). I'll probably make them visible/correct the names once we edit them, definitely not til after we tell everyone
I'm also PGAL, so I had one already that we are tweaking as we go. Everything is very neutral and it's more just to collect everything we want and want to research and then go through and weed through it all. For me, it's something fun to focus on rather than the scary stuff. I like to think of it as window shopping, since no one knows yet.
I'm not "registering" but I do have a wishlist on Amazon. We need a few big ticket items this go around (new car seat, stroller, swing plus a bunch of little things) I don't plan on sharing it with anyone though as this is our fourth kid. But I want the Amazon discount.
It's nice to add things to it throughout the pregnancy instead of waiting for a day to sit down and do it because I guarantee you will forget half the stuff you want to put on it! :P
@samkins I was just going to do baby list too, but then I realized that the other sites (target, babies r us, etc) offer a discount to finish buying whatever is still on your registry before baby is due so I'm going to go that route instead for the discounts.
Re: When to Register?
DD #1 born 6/12/14
DD #2 born 10/31/16
O16 April Siggy
Married 7/15
BFP #2 2/18/16
Me: 28 DH: 27
I do highly recommend signing up for Lucy's List and Pregnant Chicken emails. Both give very helpful registry info. More so Lucy's List. Pregnant Chicken is just funny
A great site for comparing big items is Lucie's List!
Baby GIRL born 9/16/201
BFP! EDD 8/1/2019 CP 4w2d
Married to DH for 6 years (together for 16)
DS born 12.13.14
DD born 10.15.16
BFP 1.24.18, MC 3.13.18
BFP 4.25.19, EDD 12.31.19
Married to DH for 6 years (together for 16)
DS born 12.13.14
DD born 10.15.16
BFP 1.24.18, MC 3.13.18
BFP 4.25.19, EDD 12.31.19
BFP #1: 7/15/15, SB: 11/14/15
Rainbow baby DS born 9/29/16!!
BFP #3 3/26/18 | Due 12/3/18
It's nice to add things to it throughout the pregnancy instead of waiting for a day to sit down and do it because I guarantee you will forget half the stuff you want to put on it! :P
E born 6/2014