Creating a baby registry…so fun, so stressful, so exciting, and SO overwhelming! I watched countless YouTube videos, read endless blogs and talked to every friend I could who was recently pregnant about the must-haves on their Baby Registry and any general baby registry tips!

 Of course every baby is different as far as what they like, don’t like etc. but there are absolutely some things that MOST babies enjoy and some universal baby registry creation tips. Mama, keep reading to find out how to curate your PERFECT baby registry!

How to pick where to register for baby gifts:

• First think about what where you actually like to shop because if you end up getting duplicates, you will have to return them for store credit.
• Next, look at what you get if you sign for a registry with a specific company. Most companies have some kind of incentive set up such as a discount on items not purchased on your registry, a welcome box of sample baby items or a discount on diapers.
  • For example, at Target you get a discount on not purchased items and a helpful little Welcome Baby bag. You get a specified amount of times in store and online to make those final purchases from your registry and the great thing is that you can keep adding to your registry until you make your final discounted purchase. This is great because you can wait and see what you get at your baby shower and put other items you didn’t think of on your registry and get them yourself at a discount!
  • Amazon on the other hand, puts you through a couple more hoops but as long as enough items are purchased and you register for a certain number of items, you can get a discount on diapers, your registry and their Welcome Baby box is banging!

What NOT to put on your registry:

• Bottles! Yes, you will need bottles but every baby prefers a different type of bottle and you won’t know which one they prefer until he/she arrives. Luckily most baby Welcome Boxes/Bags include a little 4 oz bottle so you can try a couple different kinds. If one of those work, that’s great, then you know exactly which ones to add to your registry. If they don’t work, then you can cross those off the list and start scouring Amazon for other commonly liked bottles.
  • My two cents is if you can get your baby to NOT prefer Dr. Brown bottles you will be much happier. Dr.Brown bottles are a pain in the you-know-what to clean!
  • Our baby’s (and OUR) favorite were the Philips Avent Natural Bottles.
• Clothes. Yes, of course your baby will need clothes and I promise you will get some especially if you tell people the gender. Clothes are people’s favorite gifts to buy so parents are inundated with clothes that their baby likely won’t wear or won’t need.
• Pacifiers. I very much recommend you get some but get packs of 1 or 2 and try out a few brands to see which ones your baby likes! Weston happened to really like these Avent Air ones.
• Blankets. Yes, your baby will need blankets but someone will get you one or two or 5 anyways.
• Cloth bibs like these or these. Some babies drool all the time and pretty much live in bibs and other babies hardly ever drool. So before you buy a bunch of bibs, wait to see if you need them. Weston hardly ever drooled so we never bought bibs.

FINALLY, what to register for:

• A Pack and Play if you plan to stay overnight anywhere with your baby or have your baby somewhere during their naptime.

• The Nose Frida is a MUST. It’s on everyone’s list and for good reason. There is no easier way to get goobers out of your baby’s nose. Your baby will hate it and scream but appreciate the clean nose after. 😊

• Infant car seat and stroller set. Yes you will be buying more car seats this way because they only last about a year in these BUT the extra money is worth it to be able to transport a sleeping infant in a car seat in and out of a stroller, and in and out of the car without unstrapping them. We liked this Graco one because it’s easy to use and affordable but I’m sure there are other ones out there!

• The Leachco Podster. We brought this to friends houses and could set this anywhere in the house and Weston passed right out. It hugged him and made him feel safe so he fell asleep easier.

• A bassinet! We didn’t have this exact one but this would be the perfect one with the drop-down part next to the bed. This is a great way to make the transition to the crib easier as they lay flat on their back and don’t get used to music, vibrations, etc. to fall asleep at night.

• This swing is the most magical sleeping device ever created. We didn’t know we needed one until we needed one. There was a phase where he would ONLY sleep in this during the day.

• We tried a few different swaddles and these Swaddle Me ones were by far the easiest to put on and to stay put. He didn’t wear swaddles for long but these were magnificent in helping him sleep when he did. I HIGHLY recommend you bring these to the hospital because swaddling with a regular blanket that the hospital provides is a hard skill to learn on zero sleep.

• This sound machine is easy to transport places and I feel like it helps. At the very least it signals to him that it is nap or bedtime.

• If you are looking for space saving tips, this one is phenomenal for holding all of the millions of blankets, burp cloths, swaddles, washcloths, towels, bed sheets, and whatever else you can think of! Use an over the door shoe organizer with mesh pockets for extra stretch.

• A monitor is a must now a days but the big debate is video or no video and wifi or no wifi. We opted with a video so we can keep the volume down but still see what’s going on and no wifi in case we are in a place that does not get great service our monitor won’t be affected. Overall we really like this one because the video quality is great and we can speak into it. There are many times that Weston won’t nap or wakes up before he wants to and we can tell him through the monitor to “grab his bunny and lay down” and he does!

• A wipeable changing pad cover is a lifesaver in the early days, especially if you have a boy! Yes you should change the pad every time it gets dirty but when you are using it 15 times a day that is just not realistic so the middle is a fabric that is easily wiped down with a wipe and lessens the days you have to launder it!

• And also a changing pad 😊

• This travel changing mat and organizer is absolutely perfect for the diaper bag and I can’t count the number of times I’ve used it!

• Muslin swaddle blankets. I know I said don’t register for blankets, these are the only exception because people typically get the fuzzy blankets that come with stuffed animals not these blankets which are highly practical and we used them ALL the time for everything.

• Burp cloths!! We didn’t have these right away and they were a first week out of the hospital purchase because puked up milk is nasty! Our favorites were these because they were thick enough to absorb the liquid…

• Weston lived on this Kick n’Play Piano Gym, practiced rolling over on this mat, and still plays with the keyboard part of it!

• I personally think baby shoes, while cute, are a waste of money, mostly. The exception is if you live somewhere cold, you gotta have something warm for their footsies while in the car seat or stroller. These little booties fit perfectly and never fell off (which daycare loved).

• I didn’t believe the hype about Sophie the Giraffe but man did my little LOVE Sophie. Squeaking it, chewing on it, throwing it, all fun things that kept him entertained.

• If your baby uses a pacifier, you NEED a pacifier leash so that when your baby inevitably drops or spits out his pacifier, it doesn’t fall onto the ground. This or carry 20 pacifiers! Lol

• Bottle dishwashing basket. It’s nice to have to keep all of your baby parts contained and not get lost in the dishwasher.

• A Jumperoo! Weston loved this thing! Keep an eye out for used ones though as they are pretty expensive brand new.

• Baby tub. I don’t think you need anything crazy fancy, this is the one we used and it was great especially during the very early stages when we had to use the mesh part.

• Some kind of baby carrier or wrap. Weston was not a huge fan of carriers but I’ve heard others babies that could live in them so I would look for used ones to save money and just see if your baby will like them! You will get so much more done if they do…

• Feeding stuff like these straw cups, 360 no spill cups and spoons.

• Bibs. We like these because we found that the all silicone ones irritated Weston’s neck but these are soft around the neck but silicone at the bottom so all the food he drops is caught!

• Aquaphor or some kind of butt cream. Weston’s butt likes Aquaphor best and it was less messy because it wasn’t a heavy wet paste.

• Gripe Water and/or Gas Drops. Gas Drops cure gas…Gripe Water cures everything that you can’t guess is wrong with the baby. It’s basically like liquid gold and tastes pretty good!

• A high chair. Honestly, I don’t love ours because it is a pain in the butt to clean. If I could have picked another one I’d pick something simple like this and have heard other moms wholeheartedly agree about this one!

• Mirror so you can see your baby in their car seat. 😊

• Winter car seat cover!

• Lastly, DIAPERS, DIAPERS, DIAPERS of all sizes!!! You can NEVER have too many diapers. We love Pampers and Kirkland (from Costco).

Lastly I recommend you look at my list of Breastfeeding and Post-Partum Helpers on Amazon and see if you feel comfortable putting any of that on your registry. Otherwise, you will just need to buy it all anyways…