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What to put on your baby registry
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Registry 101: How to make a baby registry & what you really need to register for
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Hey mamas! Creating a baby registry is overwhelming. I’m sure you’ve probably googled “What should I put on my baby registry?” If this is your first baby, you probably don’t know what you’ll need, how many of each item, etc. I know I sure didn’t! I’m here to help and share my best tips!
Below I’ll share where I registered, what I registered for, and some things I learned. There is no “right” way to do it – this is just what I did. I have also added items I DIDN’T need or suggest not putting on your registry. If I saw something on a good sale during my pregnancy, I went ahead and bought it. Especially the Nordstorm anniversary sale & Amazon Prime Days!
Just for you, I made a sample registry on my Amazon Storefront. Use this as inspiration of ideas of what kind of things to add. You don’t need to add the exact brands/colors of the products I put on there, but I did put my personal favorites or things I wish I had registered for!
Where to Register
First, choose where you want to register. Popular places are Babylist, Target, Amazon, Pottery Barn Kids, and Buy Buy Baby.
I chose to register through Babylist because it lets you select items from anywhere on the internet, even if that store doesn’t have a registry. It’s kind of like Pinterest but for your registry! I will say though, that the majority of people (everyone except maybe 2 people) purchased items that were from Amazon or Target, even though I had items from a bunch of other stores on there, including Etsy. Be sure to check out my post on how you can take advantage of registry freebies & completion discounts.
What to register for
You can put anything and everything on your registry! If people don’t buy everything, that’s ok. I more-so used it as my list of what I wanted to buy, to keep everything in one place. Some items that didn’t get purchased I didn’t bother buying, but some I did. It’s a good idea to put things of varying price points. Like I said earlier, the majority of people purchased items from Amazon & Target. People tend to buy the things at the top of your registry first, so sort accordingly 🙂
Here’s some ideas of what to register for:
(I’ve tried to link the exact products we have)
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Gift cards (Target or Amazon are great)
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Baby carrier (babybjorn, ergobaby, wrap – I’d get 1 sturdy one and 1 wrap kind – I like the Solly Baby wraps)
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Lounger / something to set your baby in (Snuggleme, dockatot)
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White noise machine – We have & love the Hatch Rest Plus
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Portable white noise machine – Jett loves the Rohm. We bring it everywhere we go. He didn’t like the Shusher, but some people swear by it. Every baby is different.
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Play yard / pack ‘n play. This is the one we have. If I had to do it over again, I would get the Guava.
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Pack ‘n play sheets (2)
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Something for baby to sleep in initially (our baby slept in the bassinet that came with our stroller first, then the pack ‘n play in our room. He hasn’t graduated to his crib just yet, because it’s upstairs) They make nice ones like this that slide right up to your bed, which is great when you’re up every 2 hours in the night.
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Burp cloths – you will need LOTS of these – like 12+! These are my favorite. Next time I would get all the same kind – I didn’t like having so many different kinds to fold, but it’s personal preference.
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Changing pad – We got the Keekaroo – it’s wipeable! If you get a traditional one, you will also need to buy covers.
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Convenient diaper changing for on the go (skiphop is great for travel or bumco)
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Crib sheets (2+)
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Crib mattress pad (unless you get the Newton, which we have, it does not need a pad)
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Baby monitor we have the Infant Optics and to be honest, it works fine, but I don’t love it. I have heard good things about the Nanit & Lollipop.
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Baby bathtub (0-6 months)
- Baby bathtub (6-12 months)
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Bath towels (4)
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Baby wash/shampoo
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Toys
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Books
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Swaddles (2+)
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Sleep suit (transition between swaddle & sleep sack)
- Travel stroller
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Stroller bunting bag if you live somewhere where it gets cold in the winter months
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Stroller cup holder (if yours doesn’t come built in)
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Car seat & base – Will you have one main vehicle, or will you both need to drive baby? A lot of people get 2 bases for the car seat to install in both cars. Thankfully, my husband & I both work from home and we mainly use my car, so we didn’t buy a second base. But something to think about if you will be using both of your cars. You don’t want to install & uninstall a base every time. It’s a hassle. You do not need 2 infant carriers though, just the extra base. Whatever car seat you buy should come with one base. Read my review of our car seat (Nuna Pipa) here.
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Bottles – don’t go too crazy because you don’t know what your baby will like/take. I would recommend getting the freebies from the welcome kits & seeing what you & baby like best, or buying 1 pack of a brand. Babies only drink a couple oz to begin with. They have the 4 oz baby bottles and 8 oz. Jett used the 4 oz bottles for the first 2 months and just graduated to the larger sized bottles at 3 months.
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Pacifiers – you don’t know what your baby will like until he/she is here. I wouldn’t buy too many of one brand. Our baby likes the MAM brand best that we got free in the registry welcome bags so I bought 4 more of those. He also has the Bibs pacifiers but won’t take the Ryan & Rose brand.
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Clothes – you can add clothes from any store on the internet. I added a ton of clothes but none were purchased from our registry. I think people like to pick out their own. Put the sizes you want on the clothes in the notes section. Don’t buy too much NB – wait to see how big your baby is. I love the 3 packs of the Cloud Island onesies from Target. Some days Jett will go through 4+ outfits because of spit up & drool. I’d say 6+ onesies of each size should be good plus a few cuter outfits for going out/occasions.
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Not a registry item, but stock up on paper plates, disposable silverware & make/buy frozen meals ahead of time. You’re probably not going to want to do a ton of dishes right after giving birth 🙂
Things you probably DON’T need on your registry or at all:
Diapers –
I would consider a diaper fund rather than registering for diapers. Or if you do, just 1 box of NB or size 1. The hospital should give you newborn size. Babies grow so fast, so it’s easier to buy as you need them or you will have so many extras on your hands. Jett outgrew size 1 already (at 2 months) and we went through maybe 1.5 Costco boxes of the size 1 Kirklands brand (same as Huggies). He was in NB for probably a month? Your baby could also be allergic to some brands, and you don’t want to be stuck with a ton of boxes! I would try out a few brands and see what you like best & what your baby’s skin tolerates before buying a bunch. You can also score some free on neighborhood FB pages if you’re lucky!
Pacifiers/bottles –
I would recommend trying all the FREE 4 oz bottles that come with the registry welcome kits and see what you & baby like best first, before buying a bunch. Or you could possibly return them if they don’t work out. We liked the Phillips Avent bottles the best & the MAM pacifiers. Here’s how to get the free bottles from the registry kits.
Also see if you are going to breastfeed/bottle feed. Read here why I decided not to breastfeed. We did 100% bottles from the start, so we go through a TON – like 8-10/day. You may not need as many. We got Dr Browns, MAM, Nuk, & Phillips Avent free in the welcome kits and used those for about 2 months (still use the Phillips Avent & MAM). We liked the Phillips Avent best, so I bought more of the 9 oz bottles of that brand. I also have the Boon and Comotomo large bottles but ended up selling them/giving them away so we just have one brand to wash. You can buy the 4 oz version of both if you want to try them out (they don’t come in the registry kits, though). You don’t know what baby or you will like until after he/she is here!
Wipe warmer –
Your baby will likely cry/scream regardless when getting their diaper changed.
Bottle warmer –
This is personal preference. Our baby drinks room temperature bottles. If we happen to need to refrigerate a bottle, we’ll just heat up water in a bowl the microwave & put the bottle in for a couple minutes. I don’t think the bottle warmer is necessary.
Sterilizer –
We wash everything in the dishwasher, it has a sterilizer function.
Convertible car seat –
Unless you get one like the Nuna Rava that you can use from birth, I would just purchase the infant car seat to begin with, then buy a convertible seat later. Babies (on average) use the infant car seats for about a year before they’re ready for the convertible kind, so it will just be sitting in storage until your baby is big enough. We have the Nuna Pipa infant car seat. Read my review of it here!
Changing table –
You don’t need to get a traditional changing table if you don’t want to. A dresser with a changing pad on top works just fine! And when your baby outgrows the changing pad, you can still use the dresser.
Rocking chair/glider –
I went back & forth (no pun intended) on whether or not we needed a glider for Jett’s nursery. They are SO expensive and we did not end up buying one. I don’t think I would have used it if we did have one in his room since his nursery is upstairs, but we just feed him on the couch and it works just fine. If our house was laid out differently or on the same level, I would have enjoyed a rocker. But we had him downstairs with us most of the time when he was a newborn.
Breastfeeding stuff –
If you are breastfeeding you might need a breast pump, milk storage bags, nursing pillow, nursing cover, nursing pads, nipple cream, and nursing tops. We did 100% bottles from the beginning, so I didn’t need any of this stuff. Personally, I wouldn’t put these items on your registry because I can’t imagine people want to buy you nipple cream as a gift, but maybe a nursing pillow or cover would be ok to put on there. You should be able to get a breast pump for free with most insurances. Again, personal preference!
Dreft laundry detergent –
We use our regular detergent and Jett is totally fine. My theory is, if you give your baby all the sensitive stuff from the beginning, that’s all they’ll learn to tolerate. Obviously if your baby is allergic to your usual detergent, switch to something else, but I would give your usual a try before buying a different one just for your baby.
Hats & mittens –
Jett wore a baby beanie in the hospital, and that is about it. If your baby is born in a winter month, maybe you’ll use these more, but we had maybe 10 baby beanies that never got used. As for mittens – they fall off, so in the hospital we put socks over his hands, and we bought the onesies that have mittens built in like these that fold over their hands.
Another tip: Keep an eye on Amazon prime day & the Nordstrom Anniversary sales for some of your registry items & snag them if you see them for a good deal!
Registry Freebies & Completion Discounts
This is my favorite tip! A lot of retailers offer free welcome bags and registry completion discounts to expecting moms when making their registry. See my post here on how to claim your freebies & discounts! And make sure to check out my sample registry on my Amazon Storefront!
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