Making a baby registry

I was completely CLUELESS when it came to what I would need for a baby registry. I was given advice from friends and family on ultimately what I would need. But I found out some of those recommendations I were given were no use to me at all. If I knew now what I knew back then I would have made my baby registry different. So I’ve made a list of things that I found were necessary for me and may be useful to you on your journey to parenthood.

Baby Gear:

• Bassinet or pack and play with changing table
• Infant carrier
• Infant car seat
• Toddler car seat (also known as a convertible car seat)
• Portable chair/highchair for feeding
• Crib
• Stroller
• Changing table
• Portable changing pad
• Baby bath tub
• Baby swing or bouncer
• Baby walker
• Boppy

Notes: The portable changing pad is a game changer when you are in public. Instead of putting your baby on a diaper changing table in a public restroom that everyone uses you can place the portable changing pad on it which is more sterile. Same concept goes for when you need to change your baby if you’re attending a party or at someone else’s house, it’s nice to have something to change your baby on instead of just the floor or a bed.

Health and safety:

• Baby monitor
• Car monitor (with night vision)
• Infant Tylenol
• Mini portable stroller fan
• Baby nail trimmer (electric)
• Simethicone drops (gas relief)
• Thermometer
• Nasal aspirator
• Corner protector guards
• Baby outlet plug covers
• Bath spout cover
• Baby hair brush
• Unscented baby lotion
• Unscented baby wash
• Baby gate
• Bottle brush to clean bottles

Notes:
 Baby nail trimmer: I tried the regular nail trimmers at first but it was a pain in the a**. Honestly their finger are so small and nails are so fragile. Trying to not wake up a baby while they are sleeping feels like almost an impossible task also. Using the baby electric nail trimmer is WAY easier. You can cut their nails while they are awake or sleeping and not have to worry about accidentally cutting their skin.

Nasal aspirator: Babys are not able to clear their nasal passage ways on their own. You can always can a handheld nose picker. I just found that using the battery-operated nasal aspirator was easier to use and suction their boogers/mucous out. Gross, but it’s true.

Simethicone drops: I didn’t know that baby’s have so much gas when they are infants. Gas leads to fussiness and them just being uncomfortable.

Nursery & Décor:


• Crib sheets (2-3)
• Waterproof mattress protector
• Crib mattress (make sure it’s an infant one or infant one side/ toddler one side)
• White noise machine
• Nightlight

Diapering:

• Diaper caddy for home
• Diaper bag
• Size 1 diapers and up (newborn diaper they grow out of fast unless your babies tiny)
• Aquaphor diaper cream (purple)
• A&D diaper cream
• Baby wipes

Feeding & teething

• Bottles (stick with one brand/type)
• Bottle warmer
• Bibs
• Binky
• Snack catchers
• Silicone plates
• Silicone utensils
• Freezer teethers

Notes:
Bottles: I didn’t know that bottles have different nipple sizes. So the nipple for my bottles were too large for my child to drink from so I had to switch those to smaller size nipples. Not sure why that’s something that goes unsaid or nobody tells you, unless I’m just one of the rare cases that had that instance happened to me but I doubt it. Also when choosing bottles think about the cleaning method. I hated cleaning the bottles I originally bought because they were anti-colic. I have nothing against anti-colic bottles but it was SO annoying to clean I couldn’t take it anymore and ended up switching to bottles that had less pieces. Just something to consider when purchasing baby bottles.

Toys:


• Baby play mat with piano
• Maracas
• Black and white books (high contrast)
• Car toys
• Bath toys

Clothes:

• Baby towels (not necessary but they are cute)
• Baby socks
• No scratch mittens
• Swaddles (you can take a few from the hospital also)
• Zipper pajamas (I prefer two way zipper pajamas)
• Sleep sacks
• Onesies (short and long sleeved)

Notes:
Clothing: when the clothing size says 3 month or 6 months. It means UP TO THAT SIZE. I didn’t use a lot of clothes because I thought I had to wait for them to get to that age… lesson learned so don’t make the same mistake I did, lol.

No scratch mittens: no scratch mittens are extremely useful when the baby is still too tiny/young to be able to cut their nails. This helps parents and caretakers not get scratched while handling their baby or is a temporarily replacement until you are able to have a chance to cut their nails for the time being.

Sleep sacks: sleep sacks are just SUPER convenient. While the baby is sleeping in the middle of the night and needs to be changed it is easier to just unzip their sleep sack to change them instead of their onsie but that is just my personal opinion. Also remember a child cannot use a sleep sack until they are able to roll over to avoid suffocation.

Other:

• Pacifier clips (used to hold pacifiers so the baby can’t lose it)