Baby Registry Revisited

I got an e-mail from a former Purposeful Conception kindred spirit (she's due a couple weeks after I am!), asking for my thoughts about the items on our original baby registry. Would we still want all those same things now that we have the benefit of knowledge and experience? What would we do differently? What do we wish we had put on there? What items did we never actually use (if any)?

I have to preface this post by pointing out that every "Must Have" baby item list I've ever read (even from bloggers whom I turn to every day for other advice and insight) has never even come close to my own list. I think it's simply that what we need, want, and the kinds of babies we have vary so much from person to person. 

With that said, I still think it's worth going through this exercise, as long as I explain my thinking behind my preferences. That way, you can see if my rationale resonates with you on any of these things.

Also, keep in mind that most of this stuff can be purchased used. All of these items are personal preference; none of them is absolutely critical. My strategy was to try and think of everything we would need until Christmas. Then, at Christmas, I try to think of everything we'll need until the next birthday. Then, at his birthday, I try and think of everything he'll need until Christmas. It means we may have to store things in the closet for a while, but it helps us save money.

So, here we go (in no particular order):

Items I'm so glad we received (or purchased):

• American Baby Company Organic Waterproof Quilted Crib Mattress Pad Cover These are like fitted sheets that protect the mattress from urine and poop. Buying organic mattress covers made me feel better about purchasing Henry's mattress from IKEA. I was so glad to have two of these, so if we need to change it in the middle of the night, we can take it off and put the next one on without worrying about washing it right away.
• Global Babies/Bebes del mundo (Global Fund for Children) In my experience, babies love looking at pictures of other babies. I love this book for its global perspective. We still read this book to Henry and he's almost two.
• Black & White  This book is great because you can set it up accordion style on the floor and set your baby down for stomach time in front of it. In the grand scheme of things, you don't get much use out of it because this developmental time period is so short, but it's invaluable for that stomach time phase.
• Baby Faces Board Book #02: Smile!  See explanation about baby faces above. We still read this to Henry.
• BearView Infant Mirror Tan Bear This is one of those contraptions that allows you to see your child when they are in a rear-facing carseat. We just flipped Henry's carseats forward facing because the most recent recommendation is to keep them rear-facing as long as possible. These mirrors were super helpful. We had one for each car.
• Graco SnugRide 35/32 Infant Car Seat Base,Tan We bought an extra carseat base, so that we could snap the carseat in and out of both cars. Having two really allowed Matt and me to distribute Henry responsibilities with ease. I'm so glad we went this route. Once you get a base installed, you should have it professionally verified (places like fire departments and hospitals can do this for free), so you don't really want to move it around after that.
• Graco SnugRide 32 Infant Car Seat, Rittenhouse We opted for a bigger infant carseat than most of our friends, which meant that we got to use it a little longer. The downside is that it's heavier to carry, but we honestly didn't keep Henry in his carseat very much. Even if he was sleeping, we would take him out and put him into the Moby or Ergo because he would sleep much better in one of those than the carseat. Again, this varies a lot from baby to baby.     
  
• bumGenius Diaper Sprayer  We didn't use this much during the breastmilk phase (even though we should have to keep waste out of the water system), but we use it constantly now.
• Stokke Tripp Trapp Highchair, Cherry We love this high chair. We never bought the special infant adapter harness thing (because many of the reviews said it was too tight for a lot of kids), and I'm glad we didn't. We never needed it.
• Lansinoh HPA Lanolin 1.41 oz   Definitely needed this stuff constantly in the first several months of breastfeeding!
• My Brest Friend Deluxe Pillow, Light Green We opted for the My Brest Friend instead of the Boppy because it snaps around your back (I found that the the Boppy slid forward too much). It's very much personal preference, though. I recommend trying them out for yourself.
• My Brest Friend Slipcover, Leaf Having a second cover was absolutely necessary because of vomit, etc. Like mattress covers and sheets, having a second one on hand allows you to change it out right away and delay washing, if necessary.
• Moby Wrap Moderns 100% Cotton Baby Carrier, Slate I love, love, love the Moby. I had to watch the internet tutorial several times to learn how to put it on, but I love it. We used it all the time to carry around Henry when he was really young.
• ERGO Baby Carrier - Performance Grey I also loved the Ergo. Having two kinds of carriers gave us options in those "dark days." We really did fluctuate between the both of them. 
• ERGObaby Organic Heart2Heart Infant Insert, Silver I'm glad we had this, but I recommend trying to borrow it from a friend because you don't use it for very long. The most helpful piece is the little pillow that helps them sit up higher when they're still really small.
• Fold-up Baby Nail Clipper from Safety 1st Great nail clipper. Their nails grow so fast!
• BABYBJORN Little Potty - White  I like the simplicity of this little toilet.
• BOB Infant Car Seat Adapter For Single Strollers  Our pediatrician said not to let Henry sit in the stroller for six months, so this adapter was absolutely essential. In fact, we still have it attached so Henry can use it as a footrest.
• BT285 Double Ring Hanging Toy Great, simple toy.
• Wooden Natural Boars' Hair Baby Brush We rarely use this, but I still think it's helpful to have on hand.
• bumGenius Elemental One-Size Cloth Diaper 12-pack - Diaper Packages - Cotton Babies Cloth Diaper Store I'm still really happy with our bumGenius all-in-ones. Yes, they take longer to dry and they take longer to fit a newborn, but I really like the organic cotton, and I think they will last through a second child. They are starting to get some wear and tear. We have 18 of these all together, and that's been a good.
• BA212 Arch Toy Hanger Even though we didn't use this for very long, I appreciated having it. It allowed me to take a shower every single day when I was staying at home with a newborn. In retrospect, I might have saved money by buying the IKEA wooden arch and painting it all white to minimize its busyness.
• DwellStudio | *NEW SKYLINE LT. BLUE FITTED CRIB SHEET - Crib Fitted Sheets - Bedding - Baby I wish we had gotten two fitted sheets for all the reasons discussed in the mattress cover section.
• BT290 Color Snake Hanging Toy Another great, simple toy.
• BT295 Sphere and Bell Hanging Toy Another great, simple toy.
• BR010 Rattling Caterpiller Hanging Toy Another great, simple toy.
• Planet Wise Diaper Pail Liner - Diaper Accessories - Cotton Babies Cloth Diaper Store These pail liners have worked great for us. Again, having two is indispensable.
  
• Butterfly Mobile The Montessori mobiles are expensive and you don't use them for very long, but I just haven't found anything that compares to them. They are so beautiful,  lightweight so they move with air currents, and they are designed specifically for infants on their backs (i.e., the mobile elements are flat so the child can actually see them instead of just staring at the bottom of something like on most mobiles). I think they are a hugely important part of teaching independence, focus, concentration, and tracking from the very earliest days. I'm so glad we have these.
• Montessori Infant Bell Another great, simple toy.
• Mother and Baby Whale MobileSee mobile description above.
• Aden Anais Muslin Swaddle Blanket Star Bright for boysWe never swaddled Henry because it's not a Montessori practice (plus he didn't seem to like it), but these are great multi-purpose blankets anyway.
• Edison's Day - DVDs and Videos - montessori-namt​​​​a.orgIf you are at all interested in Montessori in the home, this video is essential for understanding what the goal is. It's a documentary about a 20-month old. I have watched it many, many times.
• Chicken and Egg Pull Toy by McCoyToys on EtsyAnother great, simple toy.

Day-to-day items that I'm glad we stocked up on:

• California Baby Shampoo & Body Wash - Calming, 17.5 oz I wanted a really pure soap and shampoo for Henry, and this stuff fit the bill. We can no longer afford to use it, but I'm glad we used it for the first year.
• Lansinoh 20265 Disposable Nursing Pads, 60-pack I tried to use reusable, organic cotton pads, but my nipples were too sore. These pads were perfect for their softness, and they were undetectable under my shirt.
• Charlie's Soap Laundry Powder, 2.64-Pounds We used this soap for our cloth diapers.
   

Items we got but wouldn't necessarily ask for again:

• Super Baby Food I really, really liked the explicitness of this book when I first read it, but I enjoyed other cookbooks much more.
• Kissaluvs Diaper Lotion Potion 4 oz, Spray  We quickly realized that plain water with homemade wipes (cut pieces of a flannel receiving blanket or washcloths) work just fine for cleaning Henry. We don't use anything else.
• Lansinoh 20435 Breastmilk Storage Bags, 25-Count Boxes (Pack of 3)  I decided not to pump, so these weren't useful to me.
• Dr. Brown's 3-pack 8-ounce Standard Bottles  See above.
• The First Years Hands Free Gate  We made our entire house kid-friendly, so we never needed this gate. When Henry was mobile and we wanted to keep him in his room, we simply shut the door.
• Toddler's Push Wagon / Walker - The Wooden Wagon I love this beautiful wooden wagon, and it's way more sturdy than the IKEA wagon, but I would purchase the Radio Flyer wagon instead. The Radio Flyer wagon can fit toddlers in it, so it lasts longer than an initial walker wagon.
• Montessori Mobile HangerThis was helpful for hanging mobiles, but I could have also just used a plant hook with some elastic from the ceiling.
• Organic Cotton Baby Wipes 6 pk See discussion above about homemade wipes or cheap washcloths from Target.
• Summer Infant Rest Assured Sleeper - Summer Infant - Babies "R" Us I'm glad I had this in preparation for co-sleeping, but Henry never wanted to sleep it in.
• Montessori Mat This mat wasn't nearly soft enough for a baby. A folded up quilt or blanket would work just as well.

Things I wish we had:

• Planet Wise Diaper Wet Bag - Sage Small  We still don't have a wet bag for diapers or underwear. It's annoying!

Items we purchased after having Henry that I would have added to our registry:

• Aquatopia Deluxe Safety Bath Thermometer Alarm, Green I took baths with Henry for a long time, so it was helpful to make sure the temperature was hot enough for me but not too hot for him.
• Wooden Grasping Beads For Babies 3 months and up by pinkhouse Classic Montessori toy!
• Interlocking Discs by goosedesigns on Etsy Classic Montessori toy!
• Nursing Bra I love these nursing bras. They are so comfortable. I wish I would have had them during my first pregnancy.

Things we didn't get and didn't need:

• Sterling Silver Rattle and Bag This item is way too expensive for the short amount of time it's used.
• Changing Table: We still use a folded towel on the bathroom counter and it works fine for us.
• Rocker/Glider: Everyone in the world says we needed one of these, but I didn't want to invest in one. I felt like we wouldn't use it for very long. I did use the front porch swing for several weeks, but other than that Henry has been fine without that kind of rocking motion. If I really felt like I needed one, I would probably make one like this.
• Dresser: We just use a baby organizer that hangs in the closet. It has two bars (one up high and one low enough for a toddler to reach) and cubbies. We keep Henry's clothes to a minimum, so one of these organizers is enough for us. 
• Multiple Strollers: We only received and use one stroller, the BOB Revolution. I love it.
• Swing/Bouncy Seat/Playyard/Etc.

So there you have it! Definitely let me know if you have any comments or questions. We're going to have a baby shower for Bambino #2 like we did for Henry (basically a fun party that we throw for ourselves). Instead of a bowling theme, I think we'll paint my belly to look like a beach ball and then throw the party at a swimming hole. I'm looking forward to it!

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