Registering at the baby stores is probably the most fun - and most overwhelming - task of pregnancy. It’s your first pregnancy. Your friends and relatives and co-workers all want to host baby showers. And face it – you need everything! Right? Wrong.
My first piece of advice on registering is to bring along a friend or relative who already has a baby or young child. Listen to the experiences of others. Otherwise, the task at hand is almost insurmountable. You’ve never had a baby before! How do you know what they need? Do you know who you shouldn’t trust to tell you what you need? The stores trying to pry every last dollar out of your swollen little fingers.
The baby stores with registries – Babies R Us, Baby Depot, Target, WalMart and others – all put together long checklists of “necessities.” In fairness, the lists are really pretty good. Everyone has their own opinion as to baby necessities and a lot of it is going to be trial and error for you (which is why gift cards are a wonderful shower gift!). If I could go back and re-register with the benefit of hindsight, there are a few less obvious items that I wouldn’t miss.
- A second base for the infant car seat if you have more than one vehicle – We actually bought a third to leave with the babysitter.
- Baby Einstein DVDs – Okay, I’ll admit it. I put my babies in front of the TV. They seem to be turning out okay. And I really needed to make dinner at the time.
- Cloth diapers to use as burp cloths – I’m still using these, even for my kindergartener. They come out during cold and allergy season to wipe runny noses. After seven years of laundering, they’re much softer than tissues. And they wash up better than all of the cutesy burp cloths out there.
- Lap pads – These little flannel pads saved me many times from having to change sheets or changing pad covers after a big diaper blowout. And you can use them as changing pads for in your diaper bag.
- Diaper disposal sacks – We ditched the Diaper Genie pretty early on. There are a few brands of these out there – they’re small, thin plastic bags (usually blue, for some reason) with handles that tie and they have a lovely, powdery scent. Dirty diapers go in, the handles tie and the whole thing goes into the big trash can in the garage. They are also perfect for disposing of dirty diapers on the go.
- Sheet savers – I had a few of these terry-cloth pads which stretch across the crib and save the sheets from mid-sleep spit-up. Once you’ve had to change crib sheets in the middle of the night, you’ll try anything…
- Humidifier/vaporizer – Babies don’t get antihistamines and decongestants. At the first sign of a stuffy nose, you’re going to need a humidifier. I’m partial to the warm mist kind with menthol-eucalyptus oil, just make sure you keep it a safe distance away from the crib and keep it away from your baby once he becomes mobile.
- Some sort of bedtime security (blanket, stuffed animal) – Sometimes the choice of a security item is totally organic and the baby just finds something that soothes her. My youngest decided on a particular blanket. Other times, you can help them along. We bought the first two babies each a “lovie” and purposely introduced them early on. I’m convinced that this helped them become really good sleepers. Lambie and Puppy are still often tucked under their arms at night, five and six years later.
- Noisemaker – We’ve used several noise-making soothers for our kids. As newborns, they seemed to like the stuffed bear that mimics a mother’s heartbeat and the white noise/nature sounds machine from Sharper Image. After a while, we transitioned to CD players playing soft lullabies at bedtime. It is their biggest bedtime cue. And my older kids still fall asleep to music as well – except now it’s more apt to be Hannah Montana or High School Musical.
- Boppy (or other nursing pillow) – Love, love, love the Boppy. In fact, I have two. One for upstairs and one for downstairs. I used the heck out of it while nursing, of course. And I even used it as a “donut” pillow while my episiotomy stitches healed. After the babies got a little older, I let them lie on/in the Boppy while drinking bottles. They even used them to learn to sit up. I still find my older children lying in them, watching TV.
- Bigger than newborn clothes – You’ll wake up one day and realize that your baby doesn’t fit into any of the darling, teensy clothes you got at your showers. How wonderful would it be to open the drawers and find that you already have a few things in a larger size.
I also have a few tips about some items on the store registry checklists or in the stores that I think are completely pointless:
- Bottle warmers or sterilizers – Some moms must really use these because there are a lot of them. I warmed bottles in a large Pyrex measuring cup full of hot water. Or I made the formula with already warm water. Also? Babies drink room temperature bottles just fine. I really don’t know anything about the sterilizers. My bottles and nipples got washed in pretty hot water in the sink. And all four of my kids survived.
- Bath robe – The bath routine should pretty much go like this: bathe, swaddle in towel, dry, dress. Not much time for lounging in a robe when you’re a baby.
- Baby mittens – Now, I totally agree that baby fingernails grow like weeds and are as sharp as talons. Baby mittens just seemed like way too much trouble. Every once in a while, she is going to cut her darling, little face with one of those razor-sharp nails. And it’s all going to be okay.
- Wipe warmer – Cold wipe on butt can seem pretty mean. But when you’ve got a newborn, the last thing you need is one more piece of equipment that needs batteries, a spot in the outlet or space on the changing table. And balling the wipe up in your hands for a few seconds to warm it up works pretty well.
- Diaper pail – Some parents swear by their diaper disposal system (God forbid we just call it a diaper pail). I’ll admit that we got rid of ours shortly after our second child was born. I’m sure that new technology has made these a heck of a lot better (i.e. less stinky). We just found that diaper disposal sacks and a big trash can with a lid in the garage worked better for us.
- Weeblock penis cover – Oh. My. God. Have you seen these? They look like mini-athletic cups and come in many different colors and styles. You are supposed to place the cup over your baby boy’s penis while changing his diaper so that he won’t pee on you without warning. Here’s a hot tip: a washcloth works too.
- Baby undershirts – I’m a big fan of the bodysuit or onesie as undershirt. The regular baby undershirts are completely pointless, unless seeing your baby’s adorable belly all day long is your point. The belly causes the undershirt to ride up constantly. So under any style of clothing, it becomes worthless.
One final note: Whoever starts retail marketing the exact blankets they wrap your babies in at the hospital is going to make a fortune. I don’t know anyone who didn’t help themselves to a hospital blanket or two on the way out (I’m not condoning it, just stating a fact). They’re the perfect size and weight for a good tight swaddle. If you take a peek in my nursery, you just might find one. Or four.
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