Yay! Congrats on the little bundle of joy cooking away in your belly!
Now that you’re adjusting to the fact you are going to be a parent (or adding a sibling to your growing family) you’re gonna want to start creating your registry. When you first dive in to creating your registry, whether it be for your shower or just a to-buy list for yourself, it can be daunting. I remember staring at my computer screen clueless on where to start and what in the world to add. Sure I’ve been a nanny, but when it comes to being familiar with baby items I wanted personally for baby H, I had no freakin’ clue what items to put on our baby registry.
I’m a total lover for lists, there’s so much satisfaction in checking an item off (am I right? or am I right?). So I decided to put together a printable baby checklist for you, so you have a solid starting point. This list breaks down items by category (nursery, feeding, clothing, etc) – don’t feel you need to register for everything in each category. Pick and choose which items will be the most useful to you.
Ok, but first things first…
Where To Create Your Baby Registry
The awesome thing about creating a baby registry is that almost all companies will offer you a completion discount for items not purchased by friends and family. We created registries at Target and Amazon and then compiled everything into one big registry over at BabyList.
BabyList allowed us to add links to our Target and Amazon registries as well as add items from any store with a website. This feature came in handy when adding products from Casp Baby, a local boutique, and stores like Pottery Barn Baby and Anthropologie where I only had my eyes set on one or two items.
What To Add To Your Registry
Now it’s on to the fun part – picking items to add to your registry! 99% of our registry items were added to our list based on recommendations and internet research, we only physically looked at strollers and car seats in store. Word of caution – Buy Buy Baby is awesome, but can completely overwhelm you at first cause there are so many options to choose from when it comes to strollers. In the end I was so happy that we looked at them in person though, it gave us the opportunity to test drive each stroller to find one we liked best.
And if you haven’t checked out Lucie’s List, you need to! It was incredibly helpful when it came to narrowing down options to research and reading reviews.
Don’t try to tackle the entire baby registry list at once, you will get burnt out mama. Instead tackle it in chunks. It took me a couple of weeks to go through the complete list – some sections were easier than others and I’d do it here and there. And don’t forget to ask fellow mama’s, they are an awesome resource when it comes to telling you real life opinions on which items their baby loved and items that you either don’t need or that their baby didn’t like.
Here’s a few of my favorites:
N U R S E R Y
A Few Last Things To Keep In Mind…
- Add more to your registry – basically for you to use the completion discount when you buy.
- Don’t be afraid to add big items such as your stroller and crib.
- Think of items you might not need right away, but will within the first year – such as a convertible car seat, high chair, toddler utensils and a food processor (if you plan on making your own baby food).
- Pick clothes in a range of sizes – you’ll most likely get a lot of clothes in newborn and 0-3 month sizes, so make sure to add clothes in the 6 month+ range.
- Most definitely create a registry! This helps people know what colors and style of items you like and makes it so easy for someone to pick a gift they know you’ll love.
I sincerely hope this helps you overcome the overwhelm when it comes to creating your baby registry.
What are your must have baby items? Share them in the comments below!
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