But I had some new moms (none pictured above) that were kind enough to email me over lists of their favorite baby items. Their lists helped me so much, I decided to include them on my blog in hopes of helping any other registry strugglers with their quest. "Live long and prosper" as the Trekkies would say...
The Urban Chic Mom: this mom has fabulous taste within her home and baby picks, she is updated on the latest styles and always looks amazing around town.
1) Diaper Bag- A backpack. I know it sounds dorky. But it helps so much when you have two arms/hands free. Getting baby out of the car etc. My favorite is Petunia Pickle Bottom Boxy Backpack. They are expensive, but worth every penny. They also have a changing pad that folds out from the front which is awesome. I would get one with the slick waterproof fabric (not the silk) http://www.petunia.com/ They have these at lots of places around town. Pottery Barn Kids, Ladybugs and Lizards, and Room to Dream, etc.
2) Adan + Anais swaddle blankets. They are made of muslin or bamboo. So soft. And they are breathable if it gets up around baby's face.
3) Don't get a bumper. I took mine out within two weeks. Waste of money. Experts are advising against them bc of SIDS.
4) Fisher Price Swing. It is MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC. I've had friends try other swings with no luck. Everyone I know with this swing swears by it. I would get the one with that you can plug in. There's only one and you can only get it online. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4360510
5) I think girls are different. But my son loved his exersaucer and his play gym.
6) Bumbo - must for feeding and a place to put baby down
7) Bouncy chair - you don't realize but you will have no where to put baby down until they can sit up. bouncy chair is a must
8) Monitor- I would read some reviews. I think you can get one for your iphone now. We have a Summer one.
9) Baby bath tub-makes it a lot easier to keep baby from slipping in the sink or tub.
10) Breast pump - I have a medela that works well, although they are expensive.
11) Bottles tend to be up to baby. Some babies are very particular about which nipples they will eat from. Especially if they breastfeed.
12) Boppy - good place to sit up baby and good for feeding
13) Chicco has the highest safety record for car seats.
14) I have an Uppa Baby Vista stroller. Expensive, but I love it. It's big.
15) Wipie Warmer - I didn't get one with with my first baby, but I think it would help with diaper changes.
16) Thermometer - I've heard the exergen thermometer is the best. I'm getting one for my second son.
17) High Chair - You don't need this right away, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE our high chair. It's by Boon. There are no cracks or crevices for food to get caught. Easy to wipe down, and you can put the trays in the dishwasher. It's expensive but worth it.
18) Sophie the Giraffe - lots of babies love sophie for teething.
19) Lots of books! We love books!
The Green Mom: This mom has been researching some eco friendly items for her little one. Organic, non-toxic and environmentally stable registries can definitely be beneficial for baby and Mother Earth.
1. For a crib (and really anything else thats gonna be close to baby) I heard that there are numerouse toxins emitted by most furniture and bedding. There is a website that we got for our son's crib called fawnandforest.com. They have a good selection of eco-friendly cribs and they tell you exactly what makes them eco-friendly too. A lot of them are also tax free and free shipping. And, what's even better is they give you a free gift card for your purchase. Check them out!
2. You'll want a humidifier or a cool mist humidifier. I had mine within the kids' reach and thought that the steam ones work better.
3. I love rocking the babies also!! But rockers can emit toxins, so it 's a good thing to research.
4. I agree, had bumpers before and am not getting one this time.
5. We bought a restaurant style highchair with our second child and I loved it. Easy to clean, cheap, and saves space. You can get them at Target for around $50.
6. If you're doing cloth diapers, I've read that coconut oil is a really good diaper rash salve for cloth, but suppose it'd work for disposables too.
7. Get some lansinoh and the soothies for breastfeeding.
8. The Fisher Price cradle swing - my second child loved it.
9. I think the Jenny Lynn or Lind line of furniture is also pretty eco-friendly as far as the finishes go. And it is totally back from the 80's, love it!!
10. I didn't bottle feed either of my kiddos at all, so that will be new territory to me this time!! I'll keep you posted.
11. A baby bath, my friend got me this really cool super simple easy to clean little tub thing made in France. She has four kids and swears by it. It's called the Daphne adjustable bath seat.
12. Stroller/carseat, the Snugride 35 is awesome! I wouldn't get a travel system. The strollers are so bulky and hard to move around. We got the one that is just a frame that the carseat can hook on to and another stroller for when he gets older.
13. The mommy hook!! It's a giant hook that you put on your stroller to hold all your bags or purse. (Often when shopping somehow bags end up in the stroller and baby in your arms.)
14. We decided to get the baby bullet and try making our own baby food. It comes with everything to get going and a little cookbook.
The Practical Practice Mom: This mom is on-the-go with her full time job as a mom & part-time job in the medical field. Her laid-back approach has helped her narrow down some no-frill items that she has found useful for her baby.
- Bumbo
- Boppy (we actually had two, one that was like a disk shape and one was a "U" shape. Everyone I know loves the U shape for nursing, I just didn't end up using it, but my son slept in the disk shaped one alot.)
- Sophie the Giraffe
- A Play Mat (square mat with toys and mirror dangling over the top, babies love this!)
- Adan & Anais swaddle blankets (by far the cutest, I didn't hardly use any others)
- Swing (although my son didn't use it, every other baby on the planet loves them)
- Baby bathtub (I had one that was foam for in the sink and used when he was really little and then a plastic one for the next few months)
- Thermometer (but if you have one of those forehead measuring ones already, I'd use that)
- Breast Pump
- Bottles typically come with the breast pump, I'd try those first.
- Monitor...we were fine with the sound only one. Quite honestly, you can hear throughout our house anyway. Some like video, which are a little more expensive.
- Diaper Bags - Maybe figure out how many and what size of bags you'll be carrying (big purse, little clutch, just a wallet?) and see what would be most efficient for consolidating. A cute bag that would double as diaper bag and you could throw in your purse essentials easily, would be nice. or if you have a small purse you can just throw into the diaper bag. It's nice to have one bag that is good for travel, that can hold enough stuff for the weekend if you go to your parents, but you may not want to carry that every day. I ended up with a weekend bag and a diaperbag/purse.
Some Things not Mentioned yet:
- You'll also want nursing bras and Lanolin, but you may not want to register for that :)
- Teething rings; these small net things you fill with fruit and baby can suck on them; lightweight rattles/toys for when baby is little (most are heavy plastic and they can't lift them)
- Some sort of large outdoor blanket for laying in the grass with baby (big enough you can both fit on it)
- Some sort of sidecar, bassinet, if baby is going to sleep in your room initially. Bassinets on wheels are nice so you could move it around to wherever you are during the daytime.
- Baby bedding - I wanted one after my baby got older just for cuteness...safety is mainly an issue when baby is newborn and can't move the head. My son didn't even sleep in his crib the first few months so it didn't matter. You'll also want several bed sheets.
- Pack-n-play: I'd get the Graco with as few frills as possible. All you use this for is travel, no need for lights and hanging toys etc. Ours is a chico and it is heavier, more expensive, and has unneccessary frills (My husband bought it obviously.)
- A tabletop changer and cover, this can go on top of any piece of furniture, doesn't have to be a "changing table", per say.
- As far as strollers, if I could re-do this: I would either get a basic frame for the first 5 months, this is just a lightweight frame that the carrier pops into and then once baby can sit up, I'd decide to either get a umbrella stroller (cheap & easy, but not for working out), or I would buy one like I have now for my second baby...Britax from the beginning that works for both carrier and sitting up baby. You can either register for one, or find on criagslist, which is what I did. The main thing is you want lightweight, easy to open/close. I'd sacrifice storage etc for less to carry around. I would not get the whole "Chico System". Bulky and not the easiest to move around. I had one passed down to me and I never liked it.
- Extra base for carseat, so that you have one for you and one for the husband.
Things I would avoid:
- Any unneccessary thing that is just a specialized version of stuff you already have (like a special brush just for cleaning bottles or a special thermometer for baby, if you already have dish brushes and thermometers it is just more junk to store somewhere.)
- Random things like thermometers for measuring bathwater....your hand works fine :)
- Too much older baby stuff bc you'll kind of find out what you like/don't like as you jump into the parenting role and so it may end up being stuff you just store and then don't use. (Baby food makers are good, but you also may want to just use your blender.)
- I'd also wait on the high chair. You may want just a seat that attaches to a chair.
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