BTDT: When did you register?

whitneyf1 · May 2016

For STMs - how many weeks were you when you started your baby registry?

For FTMs - when are you planning on registering?

I'm 12 weeks but it seems early even though I'd love to start looking. I have a good idea of what I would like to register for but there's a couple of things I'd like to see in the store first before making a decision.

aquasocks · May 2016

I think I registered around 18 weeks because we had an early out of town shower around 24 weeks. A lot of people used to wait until they knew the sex, but now you can find that out before 2nd tri. The only thing about registering early is that the stock in stores will change and so you have to stalk your own registry to make sure things don't get pulled off shelves or updated with a newer version. So if you don't mind that, then go for it whenever. Otherwise you can wait until people start asking you or your shower is in the works.

Right now I have a "wish list" which is things I will eventually register for. It's my second but you get a 15% discount most places for the items left on your registry so I'm just making it for myself. #WorkinTheSystem

For my first I registered at Amazon.com, Target, and like 5 things at Pottery Barn Kids. Other great places are Buy Buy Baby, Babies R Us, Land of Nod, Giggle.com, and Diapers.com. Just curious, did you already decide where you want to register?

DunkinDecaf · May 2016

We registered a couple weeks after we found out the sex (22ish weeks?). I didn't register for that much stuff though. I mostly just registered for the big things I could research and comfortably choose, like the stroller, car seat, and crib. I have a big family, and as a FTM I just asked my mom to tell her siblings that I wanted people to get me the things they thought I would need. I'm so glad I did it that way. All my family who were already parents knew what I would need way better than I did.

whitneyf1 · May 2016

@aquasocks thank you! I think we'll register at Buy Buy Baby since there's one locally and I know a lot of people don't like to shop online, although that's all I do! The bedding I'd like is from Restoration Hardware but I think we might get most of that ourselves. I'll still probably create one there for the things we don't get as we also have a RH Baby & Child local. We also have a Giggle store locally and I love it but I know a lot of people like to use coupons at Buy Buy Baby so I think we'll stick to there.

Knottie1458416769 · May 2016

I'm not planning on registering - we were in school when we got married so I was grateful for a large wedding registry and generous friends. Now that DH and I are doing well with real jobs, we will buy most baby items ourselves and I'm telling people to get us cute clothes or toys if they insist. No registry necessary for baby.
Someone else suggested Lucie's list which looks awesome and I plan to get many items they recommend. Also, big ticket items will be from Pottery Barn Kids and most clothes I'm planning on getting from Jack and Janie.

whitneyf1 · May 2016

@knottie1458416769 most of the big ticket items we'll be purchasing ourselves. We have a lot of rewards certificates from Pottery Barn because we recently purchased our couch from there so it should take care of the crib easily and maybe a bit more. We're also planning on buying our stroller (deciding between the Uppababy vista and Nuna ivvi) because I just don't feel right asking people to spend that much on me. I think my mom would be super disappointed if I turned down her offer of a shower though. That's not the only reason why I'd like one, I'd still like to have one too but I know my mom is really looking forward to it as well!

DunkinDecaf · May 2016

@whitneyf1 the uppababy vista is the best ever. I got one for Christmas and I'm in LOVE. I know I'll be able to comfortably shuttle three kids around in it in all kinds of different configurations and I love that. I only have two complaints about it, but they're both kinda significant. 1, it doesn't have a good cup holder solution. This really bugs me. The one they sell attaches to the outside of the frame so if you take it through a standard door at a store it pops right off and your coffee is everywhere. 2, it's pretty bulky. If you only have one kid you might prefer something more compact. I would definitely go to a store and try to load it in your trunk and make sure you'll be able to get groceries etc. in with it too before dropping that kind of cash on it.

(sorry to be a little off topic, but I feel strongly about my stroller!)

edited for grammar

whitneyf1 · May 2016

@SRose109 thank you for the review! I've been looking for reviews for both so I appreciate it! The cup holder thing sounds annoying though so I'll have to think about that! There's one store near me that carries both the Nuna and Uppababy so I may go check them out soon.

aquasocks · May 2016

whitneyf1 said:

@aquasocks thank you! I think we'll register at Buy Buy Baby since there's one locally and I know a lot of people don't like to shop online, although that's all I do! The bedding I'd like is from Restoration Hardware but I think we might get most of that ourselves. I'll still probably create one there for the things we don't get as we also have a RH Baby & Child local. We also have a Giggle store locally and I love it but I know a lot of people like to use coupons at Buy Buy Baby so I think we'll stick to there.

Wow I'm jealous you have those stores! I wish we had Buy Buy Baby, I would have registered there instead of Target. And RH Baby is soooo..... Luxurious? Haha. If you want your bedding from there you should definitely register and get the discount, and if people know you registered there you might get lucky and get gift cards.

I'm being really cheap this time around. I'm putting my due date as Oct. 1 so I don't have to wait until after the baby is born to buy my stuff 15% off.

ETA - just found out that on Amazon.com you can use the completion discount 60 days before your due date!

Roxell · May 2016

Omg you're a genius @aquasocks I never would have thought of that!

talkthewholetime · May 2016

Around 20 weeks. BRU sucks, BUT you get s gift card for 10% of what people spend on your registry. That was worth it for me to register there, plus the 15% off completion coupon (which you get a few weeks after your due date, so lie if you're so inclined)

aquasocks · May 2016

@whitneyf1 I know it's not the Vista but I have the Uppababy G-Luxe and I LOVE it. It's awesome. So I would definitely consider it as an umbrella stroller option for when baby is big enough. I broke up with my huge expensive stroller after about 7 months for it. I still use my big one (Britax B Ready) for walks and the zoo, etc. but the G-Luxe stays in my car for all of our everyday stuff.

talkthewholetime · May 2016

@aquasocks I broke up with my b-ready too. Such a pain in the ass in & out of the car etc. too big, but awesome for a newborn. I'm team CityMini now

hellopartyof5 · May 2016

@whitneyf1 get the britax parent console for the vista if that's what you end up getting. It works great on almost all strollers and it's great.

MrsBigTime · May 2016

The Skip Hop parent console is great too. I have a BOB, but I got rid of my BOB brand one because it wouldn't fit my water bottle and I love my Skip Hop one!

Katemr1146 · May 2016

I agree with @nauticallife the Britax parent console works perfectly with my vista.

I registered around 20 weeks when we knew it was a boy. The book Baby Bargains was a huge huge help when researching what to register for.

PurpleBrunette · May 2016

Looks like I'm the odd mom out here. I started my registry around week 4. (We had to do something to entertain ourselves for the next 7 weeks till my first appointment). It also served the purpose of giving us an idea of what we needed to eventually plan on figuring out and also serves as kind of a shopping list for us.

We did it on Amazon Prime, but kept it hidden until my SIL asked if we started one already. Then we unhid it so she could see. We haven't told anyone else yet it's out there and I doubt they'll go looking for it. Sometime in the next month, I'll probably start one at Target. Originally I was just going to do Amazon until I started thinking about how a lot of people I know are not as avid online shoppers as I am. I'm debating about doing one at BRU just for the benefits for myself.

Edit: changed man to mom because puns...I'm hilarious, ya'll don't even know!

AdmiralKitty · May 2016

I've started one on amazon but it's hidden until I know boy v. girl. I've just started researching the big things on there and haven't put too many specifics. Will probably make it public around 20w.

sugar9277 · May 2016

I did mine mid- second trimester. It did help to already know wed be having a boy. I'll probably make a new registry for this baby mainly for the completion discount on things I'll need to buy.
Even if you don't expect other people to buy anything from it, I'd make a registry for the discount.

MrsMaritime11 · May 2016

I started mine early at BRU, but kept it hidden by switching my first name and last name on the registry. For some unknown reason they don't let you opt to keep it private until you're ready for it to go public (at least two years ago they didn't.)

As someone else mentioned in this thread, the BRU registry is terrible, but they do give you rewards $$ and a 15% completion discount which somewhat makes up for it. Just make sure you check your registry frequently, weekly I had items disappear from stock and I'd have to find comparable replacements. It happened on at least 20 separate items, and they don't notify you when it happens. Not even super specific items but one color of a changing cover, etc.

Also, Lucies list is an awesome resource. They have a registry cheat sheet that you can download with their top 3 picks for each recommended item along with costs and reasons why.

whitneyf1 · May 2016

@aquasocks thanks for the recommendation! We live 30 minutes outside of NYC so we have a lot of stores around here. It's a good thing and a bad thing!

@katemr1146 I have that book and love it. It's part of the reason I have a good idea of what I want!

Thanks for all the recommendations and advice! I would've never thought to get a parent console - I didn't even know they existed!

Thewizardofrhythm · May 2016

I would start your registry either close to your shower or, if you're like me and wait till after birth, right before your due date.
I'll give you the best advice I got for registries. People like to give certain kinds of gifts at certain price points like $30, $50, $100. Everyone wants to get that cute hooded towel, the Aa blankets, a rock and play, etc. No one wants to get you pacifiers and bottles and swaddles, aka the stuff you actually need. So here is what you do. Register at a store you can easily return to like BBB or Target and then only put the gifts people want to get on your reg. For example, but 3 or 4 rock and plays, a bunch of towels and cute clothing a sets and some expensive stuff like 2 swings and 2 high chairs. This seems weird but it really is best because what ends up happening is that once the hot items are gone, people start looking for gifts that they want to buy you, not what you want. they will buy from local stores that you will not have the time or energy to run around to for returns. you'll end up with 6 hooded towels, 10 personalized picture frames and baby blankets of plenty. After you get all you need you just return he duplicates and use your gift card credit to buy what you really need as you learn what you need.

Katemr1146 · May 2016

I don't recommend registering for duplicates. That makes the gift givers feel really awkward at your shower when you open three of the same thing in a row

Little+Tiny · May 2016

@Thewizardofrhythm holy crap that's smart.

I also registered around week 5 as I was bored and I'm practically addicted to online browsing. Didn't really think about making it public or not since most everyone knew I was pregnant by week 6. I'm using BabyList right now and I love it.

Thewizardofrhythm · May 2016

Katemr1146 said:

I don't recommend registering for duplicates. That makes the gift givers feel really awkward at your shower when you open three of the same thing in a row

This is a good point. We don't do showers so this is not an issue. All the gifts come to the home.

whitneyf1 · May 2016

@Little+Tiny I love the idea of Baby List but a lot of my mom's and mother in law's friends don't like to shop online and if you register at a store like BBB and they shop in store it won't reflect on your registry, which is kind of a pain.

aquasocks · May 2016

Yeah I only registered for exactly what I wanted. We were team green and almost everyone bought off of our registry. Some people bought the practical stuff, some bought the cute blankets, we got a huge gift card from all my coworkers, and some of my parents' friends really surprised me and bought big ticket items that I just put on there for the discount. Almost every single thing I registered for was gifted to us. Even things I thought people wouldn't want to buy like a bottle cleaning brush and drying rack. I got a few things not on there but they ended up being things I didn't know I wanted, like a sound machine and a diaper genie. And yes we got some picture frames, random stuffed animals, and things from random places, but I love almost all of it! I am super grateful it worked out and that our people are so generous.

hellopartyof5 · May 2016

I don't recommend registering at an online only place. This is one of the only times people want to shop in store. Register at a place that is easily accessible to everyone (usually BRU or BBB) I had an Amazon registry and people had trouble finding it.

comealongponds · May 2016

@whitneyf1 you can register in BRU or BBB and link those registries to your BabyList registry. That way people can shop in store off that registry, but you can still register for stuff from Amazon or other online stores...best of both worlds!

I actually started a BabyList Wish List/Registry during my first pregnancy and I just go back and edit and change things as I come across things I prefer. It was secret until we revealed the pregnancy (since DH's aunt bought stuff off my in-progress registry for the wedding because she searched and found it), now it's searchable since we've told family.

I still plan on going into BBB & BRU to do registries, just because I know some people will prefer to go to the actual store (and I want completion discounts!) but I'll probably wait to do that until about 20 weeks (our shower will probably be earlier than most since we're expecting twins and I'd like to make it to my own shower! I'll probably print and bring my BabyList with me and scan some of the items I have saved on it to my BBB/BRU registries and remove them from the BL one (it somewhat exists so I don't forget things I want).

whitneyf1 · May 2016

@comealongponds I might do that as well to remember what I want! My friend emailed them and they said what they recommended was to create in store registries at BBB or BRU and then link them to Baby List but don't put it online and in store. It seems a little confusing to me but I'll check it out. For our wedding we registered at Williams Sonoma, PB and Bed Bath and most people went to Bed Bath, even when I had almost nothing left on there, because the other two stores were at a mall where you have to pay for parking so I'm hesitant to register at a less mainstream store even though I'd love to register at a store like Giggle which is about 10 minutes from my house.

Also, here is her response:

comealongponds · May 2016

@whitneyf1 I'm pretty sure they just mean not to have a stroller (for example) on your BL, and then also register for the same one at BBB/BRU. Because if someone buys it at BRU, it'll be taken off that regisrptry but not the BL one (and vice versa, if someone buys it on Amazon and marks it as purchased on your BL, it would still show up on you BRU registry). Basically just don't duplicate things on your bricks & mortar registry and your virtual registry unless you want more than one of it!

whitneyf1 · May 2016

@comealongponds Ohh ok! So I guess I could make all of them in store and then on an invitation or whatever link the babylist? Just so they're all in one place? That makes sense!

comealongponds · May 2016

Yeah I have some stuff from Etsy sellers and online/American companies (I'm in Canada) that'll be on my BabyList but most other stuff will be on a registry from BBB or BRU, which will be linked on the BL registry.

Eta: just make sure if you do this that you select to "Link" the registries, not "Import".

Elev429 · May 2016

Great idea to give an earlier due date when registering. Really only planning on picking up a few things.

shevaCC · May 2016

I registered on Amazon in early 2nd tri, then BRU and Target. Family mostly ordered off Amazon since no one lives local to us. They were very generous then we either got the remainder 2nd hand (Craigslist) or bought stuff for ourselves.

I registered the 2nd time for the completion coupon but we really didn't need anything so I never ended up using it. This time I won't bother to register at all.

BlondeSunnyDays · May 2016

Hi everyone! I don't participate much but wanted to say that I registered at Diapers.com (owned by Amazon for those not familiar with the website) with my first and it was awesome. Completion coupons, rewards, free shipping/free returns/coupons for you and for everyone shopping on your registry and excellent customer service. I would highly recommend it for those looking at online registries. I also did one at Amazon but never ended up adding much to it. Also many items from Diapers.com were delivered the day after I ordered and I found that to be a lifesaver with a newborn when I needed emergency items (I just added them to my registry and then ordered them).

aquasocks · May 2016

I just discovered this (I think it's new) and wanted to let everyone know that if you register on Amazon.com, you can use your completion discount 60 days before your due date! And if you have prime, you get some perks like a welcome box with samples.

thatlauragirl · May 2016

I think last time we did it right at 20 weeks. This time I wasn't going to do it but reading this has changed my mind because I'd forgotten about the completion discount - thanks for the reminder!!

Adcrabtree · May 2016

First timer! I started my register already but it's private so I can add slowly over time... I'm 10 weeks today. Part of the reason I started it so soon is there is another pregnant lady at work who's 4 months and she says she doesn't want to anymore she wanted to her first but now just doesn't feel like it. So I thought I'd get ahead of the game....

Oakleypoozles · May 2016

I started a registry just as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Since I have another child I have a pretty clear understanding of what I will actually need and want and what I don't. I mostly use my registry as a shopping list. For the most part at this point I've bought everything. I'm not sure if I will share my registry with anyone or not. We are going to throw a cute little "Sprinkle" celebration but I don't usually like gift oriented parties so I probably won't even include my registry.

I registered Amazon... because it's easy.

I've been DYING to tell someone about the awesome deal I got by the way. I LOVE the Arm's Reach cosleepers. I stopped at Baby's R Us with a friend and found that they had one on sale for $100.00 which was a great deal on it's own. They only had the floor model left though. I ended up talking the store owner down to $45.00 on it

One happy mama. $140+ item to $45.00 yes best deal I've EVER gotten.

I will have to wait to find out boy or girl before adding my nursery theme and clothes though!

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