The Great Registry Thread

jenotontx · November 2017

This is a place to ask any questions about registry items not including car seats, strollers, and baby carriers. If you have a specific question regarding one of those items please do a search for "The Great Stroller Thread" ect to find the thread that has already been created for that item.

Any items you couldn't live without? Please tell us what they are here!

tooraloorah · November 2017

RNP, Mamaroo (worth it for us), we also just bought a new Dream Glider thing that DH wanted to use as a bassinet and hopefully make a crib transition easier. Wubbanubs!

Also helpful: a PNP with the newborn napper and changing table, don’t register for clothes because you’ll get them anyway. We did minimalistic with DD1 and got everything we needed at our shower.

jenotontx · November 2017

I know babies can be picky about their bottle and people have recommended not buying/registering a ton in the beginning because you never know what they will or won't like... I'm wondering if I should start off with more then one type though just to have at home? I'm planning to register for the Dr. Brown bottle warmer gift set that comes with a few bottles but I'm wondering if I should register for a different type as well just in case? Or should I just start off with the Dr. Brown bottles and see how it goes? I got a free Avent bottle from Motherhood Maternity as well so technically I guess I have that one to try.

stassischroeder · November 2017

@JJMNO1616 good question. I was wondering the same thing - I think I have 3 different types on my registry, but that seems excessive. I'm also assuming that, since I'm hoping to breastfeed and pump, I should make sure to have slow-flow nipples? The whole pumping/breastfeeding/milk storage thing has me freaked out because I know it works (or doesn't work) differently for everyone, and I hate not knowing what to expect!

irenejean · November 2017

@JJMNO1616 We used the Dr. Brown bottles with DS and they work great, BUT they are a total pain to clean because each bottle has 6 parts. We still have all our old bottles, but I'm very tempted to just get new ones. I didn't think the many parts would bug me, but it did. Something to think about.

One item that was gifted to us at our shower and we still get a ton of use out of are the Angel Dear lovies. Not all babies take to lovies, but for DS, they are magic sleeping blankets. He started using them around 2 months, and we now have ~12 of them (he has a collection of several different animals). He still sleeps with several lovies at night.

ladythrice · November 2017

Lucie's list is a great resource in general for pregnant (or new) moms. It has an excellent list of recommendations for things to add to your registry. It's what I used when I created mine for DS.

Things I always recommend people get:

RNP
PNP
Glider
High chair for the home
A second portable clip-on high chair (we find it helpful to have two, and keep this one in the car)
Aden & Anais blankets, lots and lots and lots of them
Summer infant swaddle me swaddles
Gas drops, baby tylenol, baby nail clippers
Nosefrida (and the fart/gas one too if you want it)
Butt cream (a variety, you never know what will work for your kiddo)
Video Monitor (you don't need WIFI enabled or moving cams for a newborn, we do have a moving cam for our 3YO)
Newborn/Baby bathing device
Toys: Play gym, exersaucer/jumper, tummy time toys, car seat toys etc
(Breast)Feeding accessories (for me it was primarily breastfeeding stuff, pump parts, nipple cream, nipple gel pads, bottle warmer, Kindee system etc)

(I did not register for my carseat or stroller. We planned on buying those ourselves and waited until we found good deals. However, if the brands aren't excluded, it might be worth registering in any event because they might qualify for completion discounts!)

ladythrice · November 2017

On the topic of bottles and feeding... It's such a crap shoot. If you plan on breastfeeding, I wouldn't even worry about the bottle game until at least 3-6 weeks post-partum. Have the bottles you get through happenstance: random freebies from gift bags, ones that come with your pump, ones that people randomly buy you, etc. And use those when it comes time. If you're lucky, the bottle brand that matches your pump will work just fine.

For me, with DS, he took Medela bottles (slow flow nipple) until he was 12 months old with no issues. DD on the other hand... we had to do the bottle game where we tried about 5 different brands before we discovered she liked the preemie flow nipple on the Dr. Brown's bottles... she also liked her milk piping hot. And she randomly stopped taking bottles and transitioned (completely on her own...) at 9 months to taking milk in a sippy. Weird kid.

This is to say, if you plan on breastfeeding, I recommend NOT registering for a bunch of brands of bottle sets and NOT registering for multiple sizes of nipples (BF babies generally only need slow or preemie flow until they are done with bottles). If circumstances change and you end up bottle or formula feeding, you'll have the opportunity to go get supplies after baby comes. It's just a huge wasted expense if you end up not using the bottles and nipples you bought (says the lady that registered for bottle systems and all the nipple sizes with DS and never even cracked them open until DD arrived only to have her refuse all the bottle systems we owned and take the brand new one we had to go buy... /sigh).

jenotontx · November 2017

@ladythrice I am planning to BF but I have this fear that my milk won't come in right away or I may have other issues that prevent me from being able to BF. So I want to make sure I have some bottles available if I end up using formula. I guess starting with the bottles from the gift set would work though.

Dumbgurl04 · November 2017

We had maybe 2 different types of bottles on our registry. Dr Brown (which agree all the parts is a pain) and Tommee Tippee. DD liked the Dr Brown ones the most through pretty much the first year, tommee tippees she only liked after she turned one. Then we also ended up buying some generic Gerber ones that she seemed to like as well, so it could be hit or miss. One thing to get if you do use bottles and you have a dish washer is the little baskets that you can put the accessories in, and not just one 2-3 depending on how much you will bottle feed. That saved us so much time when it came to washing bottles.

Also I great thing we ended up buying if you happen to formula feed is Dr. Brown pitcher.

Image: https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/11198321?wid=520&hei=520&fmt=pjpeg

It was great for having to make bottles in the morning for daycare. I could make enough for all the bottles DD would need for the day. Even if you are a stay at home mom it is great cause you can make enough for the day and store it in the fridge and just fill the bottles as you need them. We ended up buying a second one cause it was pretty great.

bchalm · November 2017

@JJMNO1616 I used the bottles that I got from various stores or magazine subscriptions, like you already Have. I'm glad cause my daughter didn't like the ones I was going to register for. BF did not go as planned, so I'm glad I had some bottles at the house. But just make sure the nipples on those gifted bottles are slow flow, if not then i would just register for those. Bottles are so tricky.

I feel like I totally forgot about everything I needed. I haven't worried at all about getting stuff this time, now I'm thinking baby is going to come and I'm totes not going to be ready.

ladythrice · November 2017

JJMNO1616 said:

@ladythrice I am planning to BF but I have this fear that my milk won't come in right away or I may have other issues that prevent me from being able to BF. So I want to make sure I have some bottles available if I end up using formula. I guess starting with the bottles from the gift set would work though.

@JJMNO1616 I get it, I had the same fear with my first. Then I ended up with a C/S, my milk didn't come in, DS lost a lot of weight in the hospital, and we had to supplement. However, even in that situation, we supplemented using a syringe and tube at the breast instead of a bottle. Most LCs will recommend this method so that your breasts still get the signal demand to make milk while ensuring the baby gets nutrients. We supplemented (with my pumped milk and formula) for the first several months but never needed bottles until he was 8 weeks old. When it came time for us to use bottles I used the bottle system that came with my pump (the medela bottles) and we got lucky that DS liked those ones well enough!

This all being said, if having a variety of bottles on hand makes you feel more comfortable and prepared, go for it! I'm all for anything that helps reduce stress on (future) moms!

mountainsmama · November 2017

FWIW, I started with Dr. Brown's and agree that the number of parts is annoying. Plus the glass ones are pretty heavy, once your baby wants to hold the bottle him/herself. But they were fine for us.

We switched almost entirely to Comotomo bottles a couple months in, and that's all I'm going to get this time around. They apparently mimic the shape of a boob/nipple the best. I don't know, but I love those bottles, they are easy to clean, and customer service is great (sent me free extra caps when I lost a couple).

mispanda · November 2017

@JJMNO1616 If you sign up for things you will be surprised how many free bottles you get. I BF but I ended up making sure I had a few 4oz bottles off the registry for the same reasons you have mentioned. After trying 10 bottles (we gave our DD expressed milk once a day) she finally liked the Dr. Brown Wide Neck bottles. We went to formula at 11 months and Dr. Brown bottles are a pain in the ass with all the parts but that's what she liked. I think we might try the comotomo bottle this time. I do recommend you go to Enfamil and Similac websites and sign up. They will send out free samples and it's nice to have on hand if you need to supplement or just find out you would rather formula feed. Then you don't have to run out and grab formula.
Oh and the bottle warmers can be a real pain in the ass. I bought one near the end of my BFing journey and had to figure out the right amount of water to make the bottle perfect. But in the beginning I just microwaved water in a mug and then placed a bottle in the hot water to warm it up.

lindsye · November 2017

@JJMNO1616 if you end up needing to supplement (I did with my first because she had jaundice and my milk took longer to come in), the hospital will likely send you home with a nice stash too. They sent me home with tons of ready feed bottles made for newborns (where you just unscrew the lid and screw on a new, disposable nipple) and formula. I don't think we had to buy any additional formula (for occasional supplementation) for at least a month.

appleblossom8317 · November 2017

Here's a question: Which Pack 'n Play do I get? There are so many to choose from at a range of prices, so what's worth the money and what's not? Which features should I make sure it has?

tooraloorah · November 2017

@kmc8217 we got one with a newborn napper and a changing table. We found it beneficial in the early days of changing diapers in the middle of the night. This is probably the closest to the one we have!

appleblossom8317 · November 2017

@tooraloorah Thank you! That's the one I was thinking about!

kmalls · November 2017

@kmc8217 I agree with @tooraloorah - one with both a changing table and a separate newborn napper is great! We used it until it basically fell apart!

julzy · November 2017

mountainsmama said:

FWIW, I started with Dr. Brown's and agree that the number of parts is annoying. Plus the glass ones are pretty heavy, once your baby wants to hold the bottle him/herself. But they were fine for us.

We switched almost entirely to Comotomo bottles a couple months in, and that's all I'm going to get this time around. They apparently mimic the shape of a boob/nipple the best. I don't know, but I love those bottles, they are easy to clean, and customer service is great (sent me free extra caps when I lost a couple).

After a lot of trial and error we ended up with Comotomo bottles as well for pumped milk.

ngolimento · November 2017

Lol @ladythrice It shows what a crapshoot baby feeding can be because my experience was 100% the opposite. I was glad to have bottles right away because my baby needed to supplement right away until my milk came in. I also was grateful to have multiple flows because my kiddo got SO frustrated with slow flow bottles. It was probably because she was used to basically drinking from a firehose with my letdown. She was all "this is a serious kegger bro! Stop this prissy level one flow shiz!"

whatabout2ndbreakfast · November 2017

@kmc8217 At least one with a bassinet and that has the two levels so you don't have to bend all the way down when they're little

jwhokie · November 2017

I agree with @peppersmith22 & @tooraloorah get one that has a bassinet and changing table. We got a Graco PNP with DD#1 and used it with DD#2 as well. It's at least 8 years old and we've gotten so much use out of it. We would take it on trips everywhere even when they were toddlers. I even "washed" it in the bathtub by soaking it in water with detergent and it came very clean. We plan to use it with #3 as well.

We also used Dr. Browns bottles with both of our girls. They are extremely annoying to clean, but we liked ours very much. Prevents baby from getting too gassy.

ekendall09 · November 2017

irenejean said:

@JJMNO1616 We used the Dr. Brown bottles with DS and they work great, BUT they are a total pain to clean because each bottle has 6 parts. We still have all our old bottles, but I'm very tempted to just get new ones. I didn't think the many parts would bug me, but it did. Something to think about.

One item that was gifted to us at our shower and we still get a ton of use out of are the Angel Dear lovies. Not all babies take to lovies, but for DS, they are magic sleeping blankets. He started using them around 2 months, and we now have ~12 of them (he has a collection of several different animals). He still sleeps with several lovies at night.

we might legitimately have 75-100+ of these. Like multiples of animals and pretty much everyone they make. We also LOVE the nap sized versions of them and the pillow ones too. i'm planning to try and find a new alternative for this LO if I can but I can't imagine not having them last time, they have been sad fixers!

ekendall09 · November 2017

Anyone planning to try and use their uppababy vista bassinet for sleeping?

hedgepig · November 2017

I have a couple of PnPs that have been handed down to me.... does anyone know if I can buy the newborn napper/changing tables separately?

nessa1632 · November 2017

Hi everyone. FTM here and wanting to keep things as simple and minimal as possible. We are not finding out the sex so need to register for gender neutral. I’d like to add some clothes but want to heed the advice to not go overboard. What would y’all suggest in terms of clothing to register for? Like how many of what pieces sizes etc? Totally clueless

rmmorris · November 2017

@Knottie1440282887 with my daughter we used a lot of the plain white side snap shirts in the newborn phase—she spit up a lot so we were always changing her. the shirts vs onesies meant quicker diaper changes. Also in the event of a blowout, it is a lot less messy to take off a side snap shirt. During the newborn stage I just wasn’t dressing her up as much as I thought I would (it was summer in Houston). She got the most use out of 6-9 month clothes. Also we waited to buy any shoes until she was standing.

kmalls · November 2017

@Knottie1440282887 honestly I wouldn’t even bother registering for clothes. Clothing you see in the store rarely stays in stock very long, so it’s hard for people to buy the exact items you even want. Additionally, everyone will just buy you what they think it’s cute, regardless of what you ask for. If there are certain basics you know you want, I’d just buy them yourself and let everyone else give you the frilly/fussy stuff your kid will probably never wear.

nessa1632 · November 2017

@kmalls Ya my issue I think is that because we aren’t finding out the sex people won’t buy clothes bc they have to stick to gender neutral which are less fun to buy... but maybe it’s in my head.

rklinge0 · November 2017

I was team green with our 1st, we got a few things of clothing. I did request my work shower be mainly clothes and they were pretty obliging. We got a bunch of clothes after she was born, so it really isn't a big deal. Because of being team green we had enough diapers to last the first year, so that's always a plus.

kmalls · November 2017

Knottie1440282887 said:

@kmalls Ya my issue I think is that because we aren’t finding out the sex people won’t buy clothes bc they have to stick to gender neutral which are less fun to buy... but maybe it’s in my head.

Right...but clothes are super easy to buy yourself. If you don’t get a lot, just run out and purchase them on your own. I wouldn’t expect everyone to buy you EVERYTHING you need. I’m sure you’ll be gifted tons of other much-needed items.

ngolimento · November 2017

What @kmalls said. Most items are actually inherently gender neutral unless you aggressively go out if your way to get otherwise. I mean, a diaper changing table isn't going to be "feminine" unless you slather it in pink and cover it in sequins and glitter. Teddy bears are just teddy bears unless you jam lipstick and a tiara on it.

And even if you did aggressively gender all your items, I would secretly laugh at you because unless you just have one kid ever, you just wasted a ton of your money and will have to likely start over again for the next kid.

petethecat · November 2017

hedgepig said:

I have a couple of PnPs that have been handed down to me.... does anyone know if I can buy the newborn napper/changing tables separately?

As far as I know, you can't. We have a regular PnP from DD that didn't have a napper or changing table. Though I don't think we would do a napper this time (we had other arrangements for her naps that worked great) I did really want a changing table attachment for this baby. I had a vaginal brith before but, for the first two weeks home, my back hurt so bad and my midsection just felt like it would fall apart-- bending over to change a diaper on the PnP newborn insert or even our bed hurt a lot. That's why I wanted the changer insert this time. I looked on Amazon, but wasn't able to find them separately so, I'm leaning towards just buying a new PnP with a changer insert. DD kind of still uses hers for playing while I shower, so it wouldn't be a total waste. I found a new one that we'll probably get for around $70. Since you already have a couple of PnPs though, it would sure be great if you could just buy the attachment and use those. Let me know if you happen to find them anywhere!

Dumbgurl04 · November 2017

@Knottie1440282887 agree with all the other's, really with clothing just have a few basics i'm sure grandparents will go crazy with clothing buying once LO is here. Plus now stores are starting to have a better variety of gender neutral, of course it's mixed in with the boy stuff and girl stuff. When I registered for my DD I put maybe one or two outfits that I really liked just to give people an idea but of course I got so many clothes. So clothes are sort of the bottom of needs when it comes to other items you will need because once they are here you will have people offering to give you stuff.

@ngolimento My MIL thought we were crazy for getting a car seat and stroller that was gender neutral because she thought no one would know our DD was a girl. Which was a major eye roll but now the only thing we really have to buy for DS is clothes. Because all our big ticket items are gender neutral, even some of DD's infant and baby toys are gender neutral

nessa1632 · November 2017

Thanks all! I might just shop the BF sales for some initial clothing because I definitely don’t expect anything—not even sure if we are having a shower! The list is more for myself to know what we should be buying and researching. Luckily we are repurposing a lot of existing furniture for changing table etc although now I’m intrigued if a sequiny one actually exists....

downhilldiva · November 2017

Any thoughts on: Diapers of every size on the registry? And necessary stroller accessories? The stroller accessory options at buy buy baby were insane lol

jerylkoma · November 2017

Wait till the baby is born

It is advisable to wait till the baby is born so that you know his weight. You might just need few packs of newborn size initially before you move to the next size.

Get your fit right

Make sure that the diaper fits well around your baby’s leg. If you’re experiencing a lot of leakage, you might need to go up or down a diaper size or just change the brand.

Never ignore the specifications

Each diaper pack has three important specifications you must look for: The size, the weight and the number of diapers. Most newborn diapers work for babies upto 5 kg, but the sizing between two brands sometimes differs. Therefore, settle for the one which fits better.

Here is a useful article: https://www.mothersandmore.org/diapering/diapers/

julzy · November 2017

@downhilldiva I’d wait. Different brands sometimes work better for different babies depending on the fit. It took a little trial and error to find the diaper we ended up liking the most with the least leaks.

whatabout2ndbreakfast · November 2017

@downhilldiva We ask for only size 1 and up. The good thing is most diapers are super easy to return for a bigger size! I wouldn't discourage people from buying them but I don't really think you need to register for them because most people will get them for you either way.

kmalls · November 2017

Just keep in mind, boxes of diapers are BULKY and hard to store. Personally I don’t stockpile them as 1) I’m not wasting storage space on them, and 2) you won’t know which size you need (and how much) until your kid gets here. In the early months my kids went through sizes FAST before staying at size 3 for a long time, so stockpiling newborn through size 2 would have been a waste.

ladythrice · November 2017

kmalls said:

Just keep in mind, boxes of diapers are BULKY and hard to store. Personally I don’t stockpile them as 1) I’m not wasting storage space on them, and 2) you won’t know which size you need (and how much) until your kid gets here. In the early months my kids went through sizes FAST before staying at size 3 for a long time, so stockpiling newborn through size 2 would have been a waste.

Ditto

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