Overwhelmed with everything that’s changing in your life while prepping for your baby to arrive? We understand, and you’re not alone!
Babies are hard work and it can get stressful worrying about everything you’ll need well before your delivery due date.
While it can be fun and exciting to go through this kind of change in your life, juggling your pregnancy and preparing for your baby’s arrival is difficult.
That’s why we’ve got you covered with the ultimate baby registry checklist that you need!
This guide will help you make sure you got all the baby essentials you need and that you enjoy the experience as well!
What Is A Baby Registry?
Just in case you don’t already know how baby registries work, it’s essentially a list of things that you (as a parent-to-be) would like to receive as gifts from your friends, family, and loved ones. Because getting ready for a baby can be quite a handful for most parents, the registry helps moms and dads get everything they need for their future bundle of joy!
You have some freedom in creating this list, as you can choose an online baby registry or a physical one, and are usually organized by store.
Some registries offer exclusive perks like free returns, price matching, free gifts with purchase, and discounts on baby items. Some stores may also offer a special feature in which there are thank you notes or a gift tracker. These stores will be your best friend throughout this process.
When To Create Your List?
You can most definitely create your baby register whenever you choose, depending on how eager you are. Most mothers-to-be start thinking about their baby registry when they’re about 12 weeks into their pregnancy term.
Of course, this may seem very early on to pick out things for your baby, but planning out everything you need can take some time and a lot of work. Infant care requires a lot of different essentials, so it’s definitely not a bad idea to get a head start!
Some women will choose to wait to find out the baby’s gender before thinking about the stuff their baby will need. In this case, you may want to hold off until you’re about 20 weeks into your pregnancy, which is around the time you can find out the sex of your baby. Your baby’s gender may play a role in the designs and colors you choose to go with.
At the same time, it’s best not to wait too long because you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to do your research and really pinpoint everything you’ll need, and which of these essentials you want to put on your list. There will be some things that will not be influenced by the sex of your baby, so that would be a great place to start!
Plus, your friends and family will want plenty of time to browse your list and decide what they want to pick out as the perfect gift for you and your baby!
You can also plan to share your baby registry list with your family and friends during special events that you host for special occasions. For instance, sending the list to your wedding guests, or even coordinating your baby registry with your baby shower registry list. If you make this a part of your wedding planning process, your wedding guests can also take advantage of the list to think of some wedding gift ideas!
How To Choose A Baby Registry
First comes the struggle of choosing the best baby registry for you! Keep in mind that although they are usually organized by store, some may allow you to combine lists from multiple different retailers.
The good news is that there are many different options for you to choose from, and many websites will offer enticing perks to parents.
Look out for the following perks that will help you choose the best baby registry:
Discounts:
Many baby registries will offer discounts for you to use during the end of your pregnancy. Normally, this discount is used towards registry items that haven’t yet been purchased for you. Some may offer a one-time discount code and some may offer a discount that you can use as many times as you want during a certain time frame.
Extended return policies:
Some websites will offer an extended return period for all the items purchased. This is super important because you can get a refund or store credit for the baby products that you may no longer need.
Free Products:
Some stores will send a free gift-with-purchase in a gift box or a welcome box as a thank you. This is a nice perk that would be greatly appreciated and also very helpful!
Group Gifting:
There are some options that offer “group gifting” so that your family and friends can all contribute to the purchases together. These websites are especially attractive if all the items on your list are a little more on the expensive side, and difficult to purchase individually.
What To Put On Your List
Now comes another tricky part … Deciding what exactly you should list on your baby registry. It’s best to first focus on things you need and then things you may want.
Here are some essentials that you shouldn’t forget:
Bathing
- Baby tub
- Soft bath towels
- Bath toys
- Baby body wash and shampoo
- Body lotion
Bedding
- Crib
- Waterproof mattress protector
- Extra sheets
- Swaddle blanket
- Sleep sack
- Night light
Baby Clothes
- 10 leggings
- 10 pairs of pajamas
- 10 onesies
- 10 pairs of socks
- 10 long sleeve shirts
- 10 short sleeve shirts
- 5 bibs
- 2 sun hats
- 1 bathing suit
- 1 snowsuit
Diapering
- Diaper pail
- Diapers (cloth or disposable)
- Baby wipes
- Diaper wipes
- Diaper cream
- Diaper bag
Feeding
- Breast pump
- Nursing pillow
- Nursing bra
- Baby bottles / sippy cups
- Burp cloth
- Stand mixer
- Dishwasher safe cookware sets
Baby Gear
- Baby carrier
- Infant car seat
- High chairs
- Baby swing or bouncer
These are just some of the essential items to put on a baby registry that you may want other people to help with. Of course, don’t forget about some travel items, baby gear, baby food, baby toys, a sound machine, things you would want for your baby nursery, and medical essentials.
Popular Baby Registries
Thinking about where to start? No need to stress, because when it comes to creating your baby registry, you are exposed to so many different options that are available to you that will make your life easier.
It may be a good idea to first decide on your price range, style, and the type of registry perks that are best for you, to help narrow down your options before setting up a baby registry.
Here are some of the best baby registries:
One of the greatest parts of the Bed Bath & Beyond Baby Registry is that you can take advantage of the in-store experts they have who can help you create the perfect wish list - something that some other online-only registries can’t provide. They also have a completion discount and a price match guarantee, which will definitely be appreciated by your gift-givers!
The Babies “R” Us Registry comes with many benefits, other than being one of the most popular baby spots to shop at! You can get a $25 coupon when you add 25 items and sign-up for emails, as well as 10% off of your registry items. And best of all, you get a free Baby Swag Baby which is loaded with samples, coupons, and trial packs.
The great thing about the Amazon baby registry is that it’s Universal, meaning you can add any item that is listed on the website (even from different companies) to your Amazon Registry. Prime members can also take advantage of a free gift with a purchase of over $25 and a 15% completion discount on the registry items. The trusted service also gives you 365 days to return most of the gifts purchased from your registry, which is a very important perk.
My Registry also offers a Universal registry where you can sync your gift lists from Amazon, Babies “R” Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, Hudson’s Bay, Indigo, and Walmart - it gives you the chance to choose items from multiple different companies! You may also want to check out their inspiration boards that are filled with gift ideas to spark some ideas for yourself, which makes it easy to create the perfect list for you!
When you create a baby registry on Babylist, they give you a 15% completion discount to the whole store. The baby registries also offer personal and meaningful gifts that you can’t buy in stores. They even are giving away a free “Hello Baby Box” which is a box full of goodies for you and your baby that you have the opportunity to win when you create a Babylist registry.