Knowing what to put on the baby registry can be so hard, especially if this is your first baby. We are here to help! Below are our must have items for baby, along with a few extras items we loved.
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Our Top Baby Registry Items!
We focused on six06 key areas:
- On-the-Go Needs
- Diapering/Clothing
- Play
- Sleep
- First Aid/Bathing
- Feeding
For both of our first kids we registered for A LOT of stuff we did not need. We did include items that we didn’t use but know others will want.
We are pretty minimalist when it comes to baby stuff initially because they really don’t need that much.
We also both bed share with our kids which means cribs and bassinets weren’t a necessity for us, but we know not everyone wants to bedshare!
Let’s explore what we recommend including on your baby registry!
This webinar will discuss what to expect in the first few weeks in caring for your newborn, to include different options that are available to you, when to seek additional help, and guiding you in your initial feeding journey.
- 2-hr webinar
- PDF of PowerPoint
- Upcoming Live Webinar & Q&A
- Watch on Mobile Device
Registry Websites
Amazon: We both used amazon and loved it! Most people we know have Amazon prime, so it makes shipping gifts to us super easy. Especially being military, not all our family and friends live nearby. Most things we would need are on Amazon as well! They had added the new feature of being able to add items to your registry from any website like babylist below.
Babylist: This registry is pretty cool because you can register for gifts on ANY website!
Target: Who doesn’t love Target!
On-The-Go Registry Items
Car Seats
First, car seats are mandatory! But, knowing which one is best depending on your preferences and family needs.
1. Infant Car Seats with Attachable Base
We recommend if you want this option, to also have a stroller that it can attach to for ease on the go. Also, regarding the attachable base, we recommend it the buckle attachment, similar to the seatbelt where there is a button you press to release, as opposed to metal latches that you have to manually press to open! The metal latches can be really hard to transfer the base from car to car. If you have the option, you can also add a base to multiple cars.
Infant car seats are usually best for about the first year of life (we personally used them for about 6-8 months), so you will need to eventually transition to a convertible car seat.
2. Convertible Car Seat
This car seat can be either rear or forward-facing (rear-facing for the first two years and read your car seat manual for weight limits). We personally use the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible Car Seat for our kids.
The convertible car seats usually can be used from 6 months (there is a minimum weight requirement, read the manuals) up to 8-10 years old!
3. Car Seat/Stroller All-in-One Combos:
Another option that makes easy traveling is the Doona car seat, this is an infant car seat with a base and stroller all in one! It’s not the cheapest option but has great reviews from those that did buy it.
We personally have not used the Doona, but have a stroller that allows us to attach our infant car seat into or babywear if we are out of the car.
2. Stroller
This is another item that has SOOO many different options. Which one you choose can depend on your needs. These questions were helpful for us when deciding on the stroller for us:
- Do you plan to have more children close enough in age that both will be in a stroller?
- Do you want it to be compatible with a car seat?
- Do you want to also be able to be active with the stroller, such as run?
- Do you plan on taking lots of trips where you need to bring the stroller with you?
- Do you have limited or unlimited storage in your home for it?
We ended up getting three strollers. A regular double stroller (Gina’s choice & Roxanne’s Choice), a jogging stroller (double jogging stroller), and a travel stroller.
We started with just the double stroller and slowly added on as our family needs changed. Right now, Gina just uses an Uppa Baby Vista Stroller for three kids (kick board attachment and two seats) and Roxanne primarily uses the City Select Stroller for two kids (two seats).
Facebook marketplace is a great place to find used strollers at a discount if you are okay with that! I would not buy a brand-new jogging stroller because you can get some great deals on Facebook marketplace!
3. Baby wearing devices
Babywearing is our favorite way to get things done around the house and on-the-go with a baby who loves being held!
There are so many different types of carriers and brands, so it will be about deciding what your preferences are for babywearing.
Baby carriers we preferred:
- Ring sling or wraps for newborns. Wildbird is one of my favorite brands for ring slings!
- Structured Carrier once our baby had more head control. This was our preferred carrying method for workouts and being out and about with a baby or toddler! Ergo is one of my favorite brands for structured carriers!
You may find that you end up collecting a few different carriers over time! One way to test out carriers before purchasing is to ask friends, local mom groups, or look up a baby-wearing group in your area.
Diapering
There are a lot of diaper options to choose:
- Disposable Diapers
- Cloth Diapers
- Wipes
- Diaper Bag
After deciding which of the diaper options you want. we found it helpful to have a basket that was dedicated to diapering to carry around the house, because you will likely not ALWAYS change at a changing table (that we don’t really recommend even bothering with purchasing).
1. Disposable Diapers
This was my (Roxanne) preferred method. Our washing machine is not good enough in our rental house that I trusted it would clean the diapers well enough.
We liked both Honest* and HelloBello* diapers. We switched between the two just depending on when we ran out and what was on sale. We had a subscription for our HelloBello* diapers that we got every month or so.
It was easy to skip months if we were going out of town or if we didn’t end up using the box as quick as we thought. When I skipped boxes and ended up needing more diapers, or when we travelled, I would buy a box of honest diapers because they are more readily available in store.
You can use code ROXANNEA for a discount on HelloBello* diaper subscriptions*
2. Cloth Diapers
Gina loves to use cloth diapers over disposable ones because she finds it helps with her kid’s skin sensitivity! We found some cheaper ones on Amazon with bamboo liners, but recently discovered a cloth diaper kit you can grab from Esembly that has everything you need in one package!
3. Wipes
Our favorite wipes are ones that have no fragrance to it and are mostly water!
We would get the HelloBello Wipes in our subscription boxes and I am not a huge fan of those because they are not as wet as the water wipes. I use them more for cleaning messes on the go, or as a last resort for diaper changes.
Gina prefers the Pampers sensitive wipes, but Roxanne loves water wipes!
4. Other Diapering Essentials
Other things we find necessary for diapering include:
- Portable Changing Pad (Cover optional)
- Basket for diapering supplies to carry around your house
- Diaper Bag (or just really any bag to put your diapering supplies in, doesn’t need to be a diaper bag, I use a book bag for mine!)
- Baby booty balm, rash cream or ointment
5. Clothes*
For Clothes. I put an * because this doesn’t necessarily need to be on the registry, most people will buy you some sort of clothes for your baby that they pick up at the store.
If you do add clothes to the registry ensure you register for a range of sizes from newborn up to 12 months and getting gift receipts can make it easy to exchange clothes they didn’t end up wearing in that size.
We found it easier to just buy clothes as our kids grew, because we would inevitably misplace or forget about a outfits that we had been saving.
Play Gym & Other Toys
There are a TON of toys advertised to the newborn baby, but to be honest most of them don’t really do much!
We found that the toys/activity our babies enjoyed doing the most and that does the most for them developmentally is Tummy Time!
Toys that help babies want to stay in Tummy Time longer or entertain them while lying on the ground are the best.
Toys we found most beneficial for newborns and infants:
- Play mat/gym: There are a lot of Play Mats/Gyms on the market, and they all do the same thing. Give baby entertainment while they are laying on the ground whether it’s on the back, side, or tummy!
- Thick Blanket or Floor Padding for tummy time
- Small pillow or prop to support baby in tummy time
- Mirrors
- High Contrast Toys (Black and White)
Our favorite play mat/gym was the Lovevery play gym!
It comes with all the things you need to provide developmentally friendly entertainment for your baby! It has a wooden rattle that makes noise when it moves, it has a teether/crinkle paper combo, and a high-contrast ball that hangs from above.
Sleep
When it comes to sleep, we all want as much as possible! It’s up to you as a family to decide how you want to approach sleeping arrangements. Some options include:
- Co-sleeping: baby in the same room but on a separate sleeping surface
- Bedsharing: baby in bed with you
- Baby sleeping in a separate room
The Safe Sleep Campaign recommends baby to sleep in their own space, but in the same room as you for at least the first 6 months. You may find that bedsharing works better for you and your family and is more common in other countries.
1. Co-Sleeping
The option of having a bedside bassinet for at least the first 6 months (or until the baby is mobile) is a great option for many.
- Bed Side Bassinent Option: Halo Bassinet
Once you move your baby from the bassinet to a crib, you can set the crib up in the same bedroom as you or in their own room with a baby monitor.
- Crib: Babyletto convertible crib.
- Crib Mattress: Newton mattress
This crib has the option to convert to a toddler bed, making its use last longer! Some convertible cribs can convert to a twin bed eventually!
2. Bedsharing
If you choose to bedshare, there are some safety tips to consider!
- Bed Bumpers to keep baby from rolling off the bed. Can also be used as a divider between you and your baby from your partner. Gina uses two bed bumpers; one on the edge of the bed and one in the middle to create a divided sleep space.
- Avoid entrapment: move furniture away from the bed, and bed is away from the wall.
- Tie long hair up and sleep in tighter fitting clothing for adults.
- No cords (phone chargers) on or near the bed.
- One pillow per adult
- Light blanket
- No swaddling for baby
- Baby in light sleep clothes to avoid overheating
- No alcohol or drugs that could affect your awareness or cause you to sleep deeply.
- Breastfeeding if under 4 months.
3. Baby Monitors
Baby Monitors are not always necessary, but we found them to make it easier to keep an eye on when baby would wake up.
There are some great ones that connect to wifi so you can check on them from anywhere at any time, but my husband and I felt uneasy that someone would hack it (seems like an unlikely risk, but still always a risk) we got one that would only connect to the monitor.
We liked the infant optics ones, but they also have an upgraded one that has good reviews.
4. Night Light & Sound Machine
A night light that is easy to turn on and isn’t too bright can be nice for those middle-of-the-night feedings, so you aren’t sitting in the dark. I liked this night light because it was portable and just a touch turned it on.
Sound Machine was an item we bought in the middle of the night after recommendations from friends and family.
This sound machine worked wonders in helping our daughter fall asleep and stay asleep. It also made it less likely my husband would wake up from Lily moving in the bed at night because it drowned out her sounds.
The Hatch (Hatch+)is a great combo of both above items that is highly recommended.
We also got an Air Purifier for the kids and our bedroom because Colin had some issues getting stuffy noses easily as a baby and loved the Airdoctor! It is fairly quiet but when we were sleeping it provided a gentle white noise that worked even better than a sound machine!
5. Blankets
Every baby gets at least one blanket from someone as a baby shower gift, even if you do not add it in. So, you don’t have to add one to your registry unless you are one an exact one.
There are the plush bulkier blankets that are warm and cozy, and then the thinner blanket like the Muslin type blanket.
We personally liked having one plush blanket to use as a tummy time space when out and about, but also to keep the kids warm during the winter months in the car or stroller. Then using the Muslin blanket for almost everything else, it was so lightweight and was multipurpose as a blanket, tummy time space, burp cloth, diaper changing space.
There are so many types out there just picking one that you like the feel of and fits your temperature needs.
First Aid/Bath Needs
1. First Aid Items
First Aid items are one of the items that a lot forget about when setting up the registry or even just preparing for baby to come home. These are just some of the items I would have on hand in an actual first aid kit or a storage box that you put all the first aid items.
- Nasal Aspirator/Bulb Syringe: The Momcozy Nasal Aspirator is a staple of any household with kids in the past year! It’s so effective at getting the boogers out!
- Saline Drops can be helpful if baby does get a stuffy nose to help their nose from getting dry and irritated from the suctioning and make the boogers easier to get out
- Oogiebear gadget is another one that is so helpful for boogers. It helps get those hard-to-get boogers in your baby’s nose without worrying about going too deep like with Q-tips.
- Tylenol is good to have on hand just in case, but always consult a pediatrician before using it!
- Motrin (After 6 months): Can be used after your baby is 6 months old, but consult a pediatrician before using it.
- Nail Clippers/Nail File: Nail File or Baby Nail Clipper is helpful because babies’ nails grow crazy fast and they are so sharp. I would use the clipper if the nail was really long and then file down the remaining so I didn’t accidentally get their finger!
- Thermometer: The VICKS SpeedRead Thermometer gives color-coded readings and can be used as an oral, rectal, or under arm thermometer. I don’t trust the forehead scanning ones, so I like one that has a probe.
2. Bath Items
Bath time is one of the things that is a necessity. You don’t have to do it often, but it’s helpful to have the stuff to make it easiest on you and more enjoyable for baby.
- Baby Tub that grows with baby are the best option because it can be safely used from newborn to toddler. It’s also easier as baby gets bigger to only have to fill up the small tub rather than the entire bathtub. If you only have a shower in your house this is a MUST!
- Shampoo/Body Wash: There are so many types of shampoo/baby wash options out there, not sure which one is the best for babies, we used burts bees but I wasn’t a huge fan of the smell. I used the Beautycounter one until they discontinued it. Now we switch between Honest and the Evereden brand
- Washcloths: I loved using the Muslin Washcloths, they just seemed the softest and gentlest on the baby’s skin. I also use the Norwex baby washcloths and love them for not just me but the kids as well. They advertise it as no need for soap, so I like that it’s one less thing I have to remember when I wash the kids with them.
- Bath Toys: Any sort of bath toys that baby can play with to make bath time more fun the better. These are one Gina and I both used and loved to start with. If you like to have the bathtub semi organized this was a nice toy organizer for the tub that we liked.
- Rinsing Cup: This one isn’t a must have but a lot of people like them! You can use a regular cup from your pantry too. This is to rinse baby off with clean water not from their baby bath and prevent soap from getting in their eyes.
- Baby Scalp Brush: this one isn’t really necessary, but it is nice to have. Especially if your baby has any sort of hair. This help prevent and treat cradle cap from forming. Eoghan had pretty bad cradle cap that led to him losing a lot of his hair. When Colin came out with hair, I knew I need to get this to avoid it from happening to him.
Feeding
The items you should register for depends on how you are planning to feed baby. If you plan to feed baby directly from the breast, you may not need all the items someone who is exclusively pumping needs.
Gina and I both fed our babies from the breast, so our list for those items are from personal experience, the other items are from my experience as a nurse and friends/family.
1. Breastfeeeding/Exclusive Pumping
- Silverettes: These are MAGIC in little silver cups. They heal sore and cracked nipples ad are perfect for those first few days/week while your body adjusts to having a baby latch onto you
- Nipple balm: This is an alternative to the Silverettes, the balm helps soothe sore and cracked nipples.
- Nursing Pads: Especially the first few days/weeks, some of us will find we are leaking milk EVERYWHERE. So having Nursing pads are a nice way to stay dry. I tried the reusable pads in different brands, but i leak a lot of milk so they didn’t last as long as the disposable ones did.
- Nursing Bras: Gina found some nice nursing bras on amazon that has held up for 5 years! I personally didn’t like the amazon brand ones but instead wore my itsbodily bra (Use code MAMASTEFIT10 for 10% off overs over $90) and baobei bras (Use code MAMASTEFIT) throughout my entire breastfeeding journey. I still wear both of these bras because they are so comfortable!
- Haaka: This creates suction that catches your letdown on one side and some extra milk. Some use this to build up a freezer milk stash and never have to pump!
- Ladybug: These fit into your bra to catch any letdown but has no suction.
- Heating pack: For engorgement and any clogged duct this is great to have around to comfort and to help alleviate any clogged ducts.
- Support Pillows: Feeding can be tough!! Having some sort of support pillow can be super helpful to stay comfortable while feeding your baby.
Exclusively Pumping:
- Breast Pump with flanges that are fitted to your nipples postpartum. Insurance usually covers breast pumps + accessories!
- Gina and I both used the Spectra pump and really liked it with our first postpartum.
- With our second kids, we rarely used a pump except when at a birth. We would use the Willow at births, and I would use my spectra still when I needed to pump at home for some reason.
- For Gina’s third baby she purchased an Elvie to try out, so we shall see how she likes it!
- I have also heard great things about Elvie’s Stride Hospital-Grade hands-free pump.
- Breast warming massager to increase the amount of milk that is pumped
- Milk Container – Collection Bags come in reusable or disposable,
- Milk Pitchers are another option for storing milk
2. Formula Feeding
- Preferred formula option readily available for when you return home. There are tons of different types of formula on the market. Along with choosing powder or pre-mixed.
- On the Go: Having a way to carry your formula around with you for easy bottle making on the go.
3. Bottle Feeding (Formula and/or Breastmilk)
- Find a bottle that works for you! Babylist has a sample pack of 5 popular bottles for you to try to see which one you like before you spend a ton of money on them. Gina and I both used Tommee Tippee and Avent bottles, just because that’s what seemed to work for us!
- Sterilizers – there are ones for the microwave, bags that go in the microwave, or legit sterilizers. This is important to have a way to sterilize the bottle to prevent your baby from getting sick from any bacteria that can grow in bottles.
- Bottle Brush for washing bottles easily after feedings
- Drying Rack for all the pieces after they are washed, air drying is the best practice over towel drying.
- Bottle Warmer