Congratulations! You’re expecting a baby…and now your brain is full of baby-related STUFF! You probably have a long list of things you want to complete before your bundle of joy arrives. One of my favorite things to do when we were expecting our first baby was planning, researching, and completing our baby registry. It was exciting to imagine our life with a baby and what we would need. We are on a tight budget and I wanted to make the most of our baby registry. I learned a lot during the process and I want to share it with you.
You can make the most of your baby registry.
Completing our wedding registry was easy because we had a good idea of what items to include. When it comes to a wedding registry you know what you need based on your home and lifestyle. When it comes to your baby registry you’re having to make decisions based on what you think you’re going to need with little to no experience. Stepping into a baby store or trying to choose items online for your registry can be overwhelming. I had friends that didn’t enjoy the process and left the store confused and in tears because they didn’t know where to start.
I want to help you make the most of your baby registry so it can be a fun and exciting process. There is enough about expecting your first baby that can be overwhelming let’s not make creating your baby registry one of them!
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Where to Register to Make the Most of Your Baby Registry
There are tons of options out there for you to create your registry. There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing where you’d like to register. Where are your family and friends most likely to shop? Do you want to register at multiple locations? What rewards or perks does the company offer? How easy is the registration process?
We chose to do an online-only registry with Amazon Baby Registry and a more traditional registry at Babies R’ Us as well. It fit what we wanted and what our families were comfortable with. Originally, I wanted to register at another store, but when we went to register it didn’t have what we were looking for. We ended up deleting the first registry and registering again at Babies R’ Us. Oops…Lesson Learned! To make the most of your registry I would suggest visiting a couple of different stores and peruse their online store. This way you can see which registry will best fit your needs before going through the process of registering. (Want to read more about Amazon Baby Registry check out this post).
Each registry has a list of must-have items that they believe you should include to have a complete registry. While this is a great tool to start with you don’t need to feel like you need to get everything on the list.
Visualize Your Life with Your New Baby to Make the Most of Your Baby Registry
Baby stuff is adorable and it can be tempting to want to buy everything! I know as soon as we found out we were pregnant I was drawn to all things baby. I also would catch myself feeling pressure to get EVERYTHING that others had included on lists of must-have items. Here’s the thing everyone’s list was a little different and looking back we would have ended up with a lot of things we didn’t need. (We still ended up with things we didn’t need…thank goodness for returns!)
This is the part where you get to imagine your life with your sweet little one. Think about your day with the baby and what you’ll need throughout the day. What will help make your days easier? What is your life like now? It might sound great to get a jogging stroller, but if you’re not an avid jogger right now it might not need to be your top priority.
Our daughter Cordelia was born at the end of December we realized we didn’t need a stroller that went with her car seat because we wouldn’t be using a stroller in Michigan in the middle of winter. We did take a trip to Florida in February, so we registered for some “summer” stuff that we could also use when she was older and warm weather finally made it to Michigan.
It is important to include your partner when you’re picturing what your life will be like in a few months. At the beginning of planning our registry, I had it in my head that I really wanted to use cloth diapers. My husband wasn’t sure. If I had pushed for it I know he would have let me jump headfirst in with cloth diapering, but I realized that this was going to be a huge transition for both of us and I wanted to meet him where he was comfortable. I found natural/sensitive diapers that didn’t have as many chemicals and he was ok with spending a little extra on them. We’ve faced this huge transition as a team and it’s made it a lot easier.
Do Your Research, so You Make the Most of Your Baby Registry
I love researching and trying to find the best product for what I need, don’t you? I love weighing the pros and the cons, reading different opinions, watching video reviews of the product in action, etc. My husband would tell you that I spent my first trimester (ok maybe all three trimesters and a little before we were pregnant) doing in-depth research on any and all baby products. It sounds silly, but it was my way to relax and to feel in control.
Amazon reviews are my favorite things. I found that is best to always take their reviews with a grain of salt. Some reviewers received the item for free and others just won’t be happy no matter how great the item is. One item had quite a few poor reviews because the packaging was exciting for kids. Yep, people were rating the item one star, because the packaging you would be throwing out wasn’t engaging for kids. Read multiple reviews before you dismiss or choose an item.
I also found it useful to read the questions that other customers had posted. It was especially helpful if the seller was the one answering the questions. In my opinion that showed me that the seller cared about customer services.
I also found that I could use the reviews and questions as a jumping-off point. Customers often review other similar products and share which they found to work best. This is how I found our stroller that I love!
Another resource I used was BabyGearLab. Oh my gosh, I can spend hours on this site reading their reviews of the different baby products. They do very thorough research and testing of products. I also found how they displayed the information easy to understand, so I could easily compare different products. It would be awesome to have the time to try out multiple car seats or strollers before registering or buying one, but who has the time. BabyGearLab does it for you!
Quick Tips to Make the Most of Your Baby Registry
Find items that will serve dual purposes. One of my goals during this process was to find items that could be used in multiple ways to help limit the number of items we had to store. We got a dresser that included a changing table topper, an activity gym that converted to an activity saucer, and a high chair that grows with the child.
Ask your friends that recently had babies for the items they couldn’t do without and the items they got but never used. While your friends can be an awesome resource their lives are also different than yours, so do not feel pressure to get the items they say are must-haves or feel like you can’t get items they said they never used. One of my friends said her wipe warmer was a lifesaver for her son while another friend said it was an item she got but never used. I did learn from a cousin that there are booties and mittens with Velcro straps to help them stay on baby. I had never heard about them and they have been one of our favorite items.
Don’t forget about items for you! I included breastfeeding items on my registry. Even if not many people purchased these items I was able to save money when I purchased them with my registry discount. My nursing nightgowns have made nighttime feedings easy! Baby needs you comfortable and happy, so make sure you’re ready for your new role.
Wait to open items, because you may find that once your baby arrives you don’t need them. We had registered for and received accessories for our car seat including a cover to keep baby warm, mirrors, and seat covers to protect from messes. Once we took the car seat class at the hospital we learned those accessories are not safe. The instructor explained that the companies can sell them, but they’re not crash-safe. We were able to return everything and get other items that we found we needed instead.
If you’ve stuck with me up to this point you’ve taken in a lot of information and you may feel a little overwhelmed. Take a deep breath, take it step by step, save this post and come back to it later. Have fun with your registry and enjoy imagining your life with your new baby. You have 9 months to be prepared for baby, visualize what you want your life to be like, talk with your partner about their expectations. If you take time before you start registering to ask yourselves a few questions. Do a little research and you will be able to make the most out of your baby registry. Then you can relish your time preparing for your new arrival and feel more confident that you’re ready for your new stage in life.
