How do you know what to put on your baby registry? We all want the best for our babies, and there are just so many products to choose from! When I made my first baby registry for Jack, I had the time to deep-dive almost every product choice on the market. The best resource I found was other moms and seeing what worked for them! Having had two newborns, I got pretty opinionated on what items I felt were worthwhile and what to skip! These products are my baby registry must-haves!
This post includes affiliate links, and I may receive compensation from their usage. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases on Amazon. This does not sway my opinion in the least. I appreciate your support!
Bassinet:
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends having Baby sleep in your room with you for the first six months. We ended up having both kids in our bedroom for about seven months, even though they each slept 11-12 hours a night after the first few months. Our kids are still stellar sleepers, and I give a lot of the credit to the Snoo. If you’ve never heard of it, hear me out before you balk at the price tag. The Snoo bassinet gently rocks your baby while making white noise. If Baby fusses or cries, it rocks a little more and makes a little more white noise. This helps them learn to connect their sleep cycles, thus sleeping through the night! One of my favorite features is that the Snoo has it’s own swaddle sacks that clip into the frame, keeping Baby in place. No more worrying about rolling over or wiggling too close to the side! This gave me incredible peace of mind. Definitely worth top billing on a list of baby registry must-haves!
Sleepers:
For this one I’m not brand specific, but just trust me on this: cotton. Double-zipper. Footies. These are from Carter’s but they are available from almost all retailers. Just get the double zipper. Skip the expensive magnet ones, they’ll just get poop on them anyways.
Swaddles:
Yes, the Snoo has its own swaddles, but my kids are freaking Houdinis and would always get their hands up anyways and wake themselves up. These swaddles are super simple to secure with Velcro, even when you’re half asleep! We have them in all the sizes and color combos.
Diapers and wipes:
Don’t overthink it. Register for a box of newborn size, two size ones, and two size twos. The hospital will send you home with a pack of Pampers Swaddlers, I can almost guarantee it. After that, you can put your kid in whatever brand you like. But I’m here to tell you not to overbuy before they’re here– and if you do, make sure they’re from a store that will exchange them, like Target. Every kid is different in every brand of diapers. I don’t know how, but they are! We like Costco’s Kirkland brand the best. I’ve heard they’re the same as Huggies, but I don’t like Huggies as much!
As for wipes, we have always gotten the sensitive, “water” option (we use these) but a wipe is a wipe.
It might seem obvious, but diapers and wipes are often overlooked and are definitely a baby registry must-have!
Baby-wearing
We have a few different options for baby-wearing and each has its own function and window when its best used.
For newborn baby-wearing, I had a Baby K’Tan with Jack and a Solly Baby wrap with Grace. The K’Tan had less stretch and fit my husband better, while the Solly Baby was more forgiving, size-wise. I loved wearing them as squishy newborns, and they loved being close to me! Baby-wearing with a newborn and a toddler is an absolute MUST.
Although technically safe to use from the start, I use the Tula Free-to-Grow once our kids are two or three months old. Both kids were born small and I preferred a wrap until they were a little more “robust” LOL.
Once they can sit independently and have solid trunk control, we use an Osprey backpack for our family walks. They love being able to see and it’s surprisingly comfortable! I have no issues wearing Grace on my back while keeping up with Jack and Tinker. I like that it has a built-in, retractable sun shade!
Stroller:
I spent forever researching strollers. Seriously, I did. We ended up with an Uppababy Vista because I loved that it could be a single stroller or a double. As it turns out, it’s a great single stroller, but not so great as a double. I have a whole post about why I feel that way and what stroller we use now. If I had it to do over again, I’d probably get the Uppababy Cruz as a single stroller. It’s essentially the same as the Vista but doesn’t convert to a double, and therefore has a more reasonable price tag. If you’re an active mama, I’d lean towards the Bumbleride Indie. It’s a great marriage of jogging and everyday strollers.
I’d still get the same double stroller.
Bottle feeding must-haves:
Even if you plan on exclusively nursing, it’s a good idea to have some bottles on-hand just in case. Jack never latched, despite all our efforts! He loved these Dr. Brown’s bottles. I also love this idea: a box of one each of five popular bottles! (They also make one for pacifiers!)
We also lived by our bottle sterilizer! I even brought it to the hospital while Jack was in the NICU, LOL! I love that this one also has a setting that just dries bottles as well.
If you plan on formula feeding you’ll want some at home, but if you’re crazy enough to exclusively pump like I did, you’ll need a workhorse of a breast pump! I used this one and got it through my insurance. I also had this hands-free pump that was such a blessing!
Nursing must-haves:
If nursing is something you want to try, a good nipple cream is something you should have for the early days! Also, I end up wearing nursing pads every day (and night) until weaning, and these are the only one that contain the leaks.
First aid and safety items:
Another often-overlooked addition to a baby registry are first aid and safety items! It’s easy to think that you can collect these items as needed, but I am here to tell you that strategy will be a pain the butt LOL. Have a few things on-hand. Your future Mom Self will thank you!
- FridaBaby rectal thermometer: the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children’s temperatures be taken rectally through age 1, but ideally until age 3. If you ever have to call your pediatrician’s nurse line, the first question they ask is what their temp is. You want a good thermometer on-hand! We like this one because it is straight forward and easy to use, and it’s design prevents inserting too far.
- Infant’s Tylenol: Pretty self-explanatory, but infants under 6 months can only use Tylenol for pain and fever relief. We get the dye-free version. I’ve also heard good things about this option, which is even cleaner!
- FridaBaby nail clippers: the best baby nail clippers we’ve used! I like that there’s a little hole for seeing what you’re doing! So crucial LOL
- OCCObaby snot sucker: I know people love the NoseFrida nasal aspirator but sucking their snots out with my mouth always got me sick too. This is much more sanitary!
- Saline spray: to loosen the snot before sucking it out LOL
- Oogie Bear: for getting the boogers. Who knew having a baby was so gross!
- Diaper rash cream: this is more of a personal preference item, but we use this one recommended by our pediatrician.
Hygiene must-haves:
- Burp cloths. There are all kinds of cutesy ones, but these were our favorite.
- Baby bath tub: this one depends on how and where you’re planning on bathing your baby, but we have this one and used it with Jack up until Grace was born!
- Wash cloths: useful for bathing, but also good for freezing and teething!
- Gentle baby wash and shampoo: I will bathe my children in this until they go to college, the smell is intoxicating!
What isn’t a registry must-have:
For us, we skipped the Owlet. I even asked Jack’s NICU care team if we should have one for when he came home and every one of them told us that if he wasn’t setting off alarms in the hospital, he wouldn’t set off alarms at home. Some parents swear by having one and say it helps their anxieties, but I know myself and I would be checking that thing every five minutes to make sure they’re breathing. To each their own, but for us, it was a pass.
We were gifted both a Boppy pillow and a My Breast Friend, but ended up not using either. I just used a spare bed pillow when needed and was fine.
Skip registering for complicated outfits, or really, any specific outfits. I’ve found that people love to buy baby clothes and will gift you outfits they find cute. It is what it is!
As far as the actual registry, I liked the baby registry on Amazon. Pretty much everything we needed was on Amazon, and I could add items from any website to it as well!
If you found this helpful, be sure to pin it to your Pinterest and leave a comment telling me what you found most useful!
This post includes affiliate links, and I may receive compensation from their usage. This does not sway my opinion in the least. I appreciate your support!
[…] I’ve mentioned, a must-have for babyhood in this house is the Solly Baby wrap. Both kids loved being worn in a […]