Your Beginner Guide to a Successful Baby Registry

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Hi friend,

I get SO excited when friends ask for my advice for their baby registries! We were pretty much the first ones out of our friends to have a baby, so I had no idea where to start and limited options to go to for advice. I put off making our registry for the longest time because I was so overwhelmed by aaallllllll the options. Do we really need ten million options for baby carriers?? We ended up being the ones to do all the trial and error – for our friends and now for you too. You’re welcome. 😉

Obviously everyone’s baby and family situations are different, so this baby registry guide isn’t going to be a one size fits all. It will at least give you some stepping stones to build off of. I won’t hit on every single baby item in this post, but more so the ones that I feel strongly about. If there’s anything that I skipped that you want an opinion on, shoot me a message or leave a comment. I’d love to help!

Baby shower gift displaying diapers, wipes, a book, a brush, a comb, a nasal aspirator, a pacifier clip, and a card.

Don’t go for the silicone food ware items!

Learn from my mistakes – we went all in with silicone, and ended up having to swap out pretty much everything once my daughter started eating. The food ware worked great for a while, but then one day I noticed that she wasn’t drinking her water much, and it progressed to her refusing to at all. After some detective work, I tried drinking from her cup myself and got a mouthful of what tasted like straight-up soap. Come to find out, all of her plates were making her food have a soapy taste to them too. No thank you, I don’t blame her for starting a protest! Even after trying to bake the food ware and exclusively handwashing the items, we still had an issue. The best solution that I found were these heat detecting spoons & stainless steel suction plates. You won’t have to worry about your kid tasting soap, and still get the luxury of not having to clean up an entire plate of food that got thrown on the floor!

Get a mixture of bib styles

Don’t waste your time on the classic cloth bibs that belong in the 90’s – unless you’re fighting drool, then they’re great for that. Get a mixture of full-sleeved bibs and silicone bibs (yes, I know I just told you to avoid silicone, but your kiddo won’t be eating all of their food off of this. If they choose to eat some leftovers from the pocket, that’s their choice lol). Each style is good for a different occasion. The full-sleeved ones are perfect for those extra messy meals or on days when your little one is wearing an outfit you’re trying your very best not to ruin. The silicone bibs, on the other hand, are great for everyday use because they’re quick to throw on and even easier to clean.

Choose an easy to clean high chair

I don’t care what high chair you get, but make sure you get one that’s easy to clean because you will be doing that multiple times every. single. day. Avoid one that has lots of cushioned parts that can’t be easily wiped off, and make sure there aren’t a ton of cracks and crevices that food can hide out in. We got the Stokke Clikk high chair and have been happy with it! It’s extremely easy to clean and has grown well with her. There’s a removable insert that we used when she was smaller to allow her to fit better, and we have removed it now that she’s older. You could still use it at 18 months, but it’s one less thing that we have to clean after a meal (even though yes, it wipes down easily and is washable).

I only have two complaints about our high chair, but they wouldn’t sway me from getting it again. First, it can take up some space since it’s not foldable – but it’s cute and matches the rest of our dining room chairs pretty well. Second, the footrest isn’t adjustable which doesn’t support the safest eating posture for a child. We just added a yoga block when our daughter was too short, and it provided an easy fix for more support!

Find a carrier that’s comfortable for everyone

A carrier was something that took me forever to decide on. After some research, I ended up registering for two different styles and would recommend doing the same. I used a wrap style when my daughter was smaller, and was initially worried about it not providing enough support but we had no issues! As long as it was put on correctly, it held her to me nice and snug.

Along with that style, I would also register for one that’s more structured. I originally got this one from Ergobaby, but should have gone with a style like Mabe from the get go. The Ergobaby just didn’t fit comfortably for any of us, and it didn’t breathe as much as I thought it would. I ended up purchasing this Mabe dupe and it has held up great through SO much use. We have used it for naps on the go, hiking, afternoon walks, you name it. It’s easy to get on independently and has been a comfy wear for both me and my husband.

Kait walking outside with her baby in a carrier

Splurge on a top tier snot sucker

This is my must have item that I tell every single person about! It’s not something that most people run across. Skip the NoseFrida and add this handy dandy little machine to your registry instead. Happy Breathing Suction is nice and compact, easy to clean, you don’t have to put your mouth on it, and it has hospital grade suction! My experience as a nurse in the children’s hospital has helped me realize just how important clearing mucus build up can be when your child is sick, so this was something that I didn’t want to skimp on for my registry. My husband and I truly love this little contraption so much and have used it plenty over the past year and a half! A little pro tip – use some saline mist with this to help loosen up any stubborn mucus.
*use code KAIT at checkout for 10% off!

Get the electric nail file

I thought that I would be just fine with a traditional nail file and clippers – I was proved wrong on the very first attempt. This electric nail file makes trimming nails so much quicker and easier. We’re still using it a year and a half later!

Add a second car seat base

If you plan to use more than one vehicle with your baby and are able to get a second base for your infant car seat, do it! It will make your life a lot easier. You’re able to just pop the car seat into the base and not have to reinstall it every time you swap cars. That appointment you’re already running late for with a newborn? Let’s not add the additional stress of making sure your base is in correctly. If you can get a second convertible car seat, I would do that for the same reason too!

Skip the bottle warmer

This was one thing that I ended up returning from my registry. I thought I would use it all the time, but I found that warming up milk with hot water was less hassle. Bonus points for not having another thing that takes up counter space!

Get the expensive rocking chair. Get the expensive rocking chair. Get the expensive rocking chair.

Don’t be like me and end up having to buy an expensive electric rocking chair (that doesn’t match your nursery) one year later because you just can’t do it anymore. I thought we would be just fine squeaking by with a (cute!) cheap rocking chair from Amazon. Wrong! I way underestimated the amount of time that I would be spending in that chair. I thought we would just rock our baby in it for a little bit before laying her down to sleep. Try something more like: nap time, bed time, feeding time, snuggle time, story time, and the very long nights where we sat with her for hours and hours when she was sick and couldn’t sleep laying down.

We finally caved after one particular illness & found a Babyletto Kiwi chair on Facebook marketplace. It cleaned up really well with the help of my Bissell Little Green machine. I don’t know how we lasted as long as we did without it! It’s like sitting on a cloud in comparison to our old one. Not to mention, being able to recline back and actually keep the chair reclined without any sort of man power involved was a game changer.

Babyletto Kiwi electronic swivel glider and power recliner

If you’re planning to breastfeed, get a milk collector

When you’re feeding baby on one side, you’re likely to leak from the other side, so why let all of that hard earned liquid gold go to waste? This one never got in my way or felt too bulky. I would just tuck it in my bra, and ta-da! Some milk to add to my stash. It’s up to you on how you want to use it, but my daughter usually ate from both sides so I wouldn’t use the suction on the collector and would still have the fully supply there for her when it was time to swap sides.

A couple of extra tidbits before I finish up here.

Make sure you utilize your insurance for your breast pump! There are multiple sites that work fine, but I personally used Aeroflow and it was easy to get a pump, replacement parts, and milk storage bags through it. You can do this before baby is born so you’re ready to go once they’re here.
Depending on when your baby is born, register for things for when they’re older and not just a newborn! If you have a winter baby like I did, it will be another year or so before those big gift-giving occasions like Christmas and their birthday.

I hope this baby registry guide helps you in your planning for baby and makes all the choices a little less overwhelming! This will serve as my go to quick-view guide for friends that are wanting some guidance without going too in depth into every item baby may need.