I’ve been working on this baby registry list for a couple of months now.
I have a few friends who are pregnant, including my older sister who has TWINS on the way (TWINS!).
Always a person of ACTION, lol, I started a note on my phone with a list of my personal “registry must-haves,” if you will, to send around.
Many of my blog posts have started as novel-length texts to my friends who probably never wanted all of that information in the first place. I can’t help myself!
So here it is: my baby registry must-haves. These are the things we either used for both our girls or the things we discovered with Emmie that we can’t believe we survived round one without. (Looking at you, SNOO).
I have realized that I am a bit of a minimalist when it comes to babies. This probably stems from my abhorrence to clutter and tendency to make a Goodwill run once a month. I find a lot of baby stuff unnecessary, honestly.
This list is truly just what I NEEDED for the newborn stage–although I’m sure the baby boomers in the room would roll their eyes about how we all turned out fine without a fancy night light.
Also, I didn’t cover every category. For example, I omitted my pump of choice because I’m not that passionate about it. And my car seat is nothing to write home about, so I skipped it. These are just our absolute favorite things that I recommend adding to your baby registry.
Sleep + at Home
SNOO: If it’s within your budget to buy or rent the SNOO, just do it. Renting especially is such a low-risk way to try to save yourself hours and hours of sleep each night. I have a full review of our experience with it here, but in short, it SAVED us the first few months with Emmie.
Hatch Baby Rest Night Light + Sound Machine: I like this sound machine a lot because it doubles as a night light, and you can control it from your phone as well as the buttons on the bottom. The night light is perfect for middle-of-the-night nursing and diaper changes so you can see what you’re doing without waking the baby all the way up. The sound machine has several options, but we just use the normal white noise. I remember on our first night home with Charlotte, I thought it would be a good idea to play the lullaby setting. She didn’t sleep at all, and Tyler and I spent HOURS trying to rock her down, that plucky little lullaby providing the soundtrack to our inaugural night as new parents. To this day that song gives me the heebie jeebies.
BIBS Pacifiers: I think we’ve evolved as a society enough now to not shame parents for using pacifiers, but just in case: ignore the haters and pop that sucker in, mama. Charlotte never really took a paci (likely because of her lip/tongue ties, looking back). Emmie, however, snapped one up right away and liked these ones the best. They come in the cutest colors and have a little ball shape at the end that made it easier for her to keep it in her mouth. I know I’m not an expert, but I never had any issues with her latching. Also, I cold-turkey threw it away when I sleep-trained her at four months. But for those first few months, she absolutely loved her paci and had it in all the time.
Lovevery Play Gym: My parents got this for Charlotte for her first Christmas when she was eight weeks old. She used it for most of her first year and it’s now Emmie’s office. This play mat has different “stations” on each side, spots to hang toys on, and a tent that we use to shield Emmie from watching the TV when we have it on. It’s so cute and I love that you can change the toys in and out. Emmie’s favorite “station” is the crunchy one. She loves anything crunchy. This something I would definitely recommend on a baby registry.
Tubby Todd bath/baby care: My girls both inherited my sensitive, dry skin, so I have to be really careful about what I use on them. Tubby Todd’s products are all natural, clean, and gentle. This line is definitely on the pricier side, but it’s an expense that is totally worth it to me. I have tried to switch to more affordable brands in the past and always notice the difference (in a bad way) right away. We love, love, love Tubby Todd’s hair/body wash in the original lavender + rosemary scent (smells like heaven), the All Over Ointment (I use it as body lotion for both girls), and the lavender chest rub (it’s like a clean Vick’s and I use it on them every night). I also like the lemon conditioner and detangling spray for Char’s lion’s mane of curls. Use my link for 10% off your purchase!
Dr. Brown’s Glass Bottles: We switched to Dr. Brown’s for Emmie and have loved their glass anti-colic bottles. Glass is better than plastic and much easier to clean, too, which is a big deal when you are doing multiple bottles a day like we were for a while.
Swaddles: I like having tons of swaddle blankets around during the newborn stage. I (obviously) used them to wrap up both my girls for naps and nighttime sleep but I also loved them for nursing too. I still like to use them to catch any leakage and for spitting up, etc. Breastfeeding always feels so messy to me (especially the first few months), so I prefer a larger swaddle as opposed to a tiny burp cloth. My favorites for actual swaddling are from LouLou and Co and Solly Baby–I actually like to double swaddle with the SNOO and talk about that on my review). And I love the muslin swaddle blankets from Mushie and Little Unicorn for nursing assistance. I recommend putting a few different kinds on your baby registry.
4moms mamaROO Baby Swing: Since the rock n’ play was recalled soon after Charlotte grew out of it, I knew we would need to step up our game this next time around. Emmie loves this baby swing. We used it a ton the first 4-5 months of her life–second baby problems, I guess. Now that she’s sitting up and can play on her own we don’t use it quite as much, but I do still put her in it while I’m cooking so she can watch me and play with Sophie.
Out and About
Uppababy Vista Stroller: This stroller is right behind the SNOO on my rankings of baby essentials. It has been worth every penny to us. It’s not cheap, but I use it for walks multiple times per day, every day since we brought Charlotte home 2.5 years ago. It is smooth, durable, and SO easy to collapse and put in the back of my car. The best thing about the Vista is that it converts to a double stroller. And let me be clear, it is a stacked double stroller, not side-by-side. I’m sorry, but I can’t think of any reason why someone in their right mind would choose a side-by-side double stroller. You can’t even fit those things through a door!! The Vista has been a huge blessing to us, now that we have two babies. Emmie’s car seat clicks into the top and then Charlotte sits on the lower front stroller seat. Emmie is just now big enough to sit comfortably in the regular stroller seat, too, so I’ve been using the configuration with both seats lately. There’s also TONS of storage; in fact just today I was able to take both girls to the park with a huge blanket, my diaper bag, water bottles for everyone, and Char’s unicorn tucked safely in the bottom.
Solly Baby Wrap: I didn’t end up using this quite as much with Emmie but I still wanted to include it on this list. Tyler and I took turns napping Charlotte in the Solly wrap at least once a day for the first four months of her life. It saved us. Emmie was a better sleeper than Charlotte from the get-go, so she was able to do most of her naps in the SNOO (or car seat if we were out). And while we didn’t end up using it quite as often, I still loved having it for those days where she just wouldn’t let us put her down.
Ergo 360 Carrier: Now that Emmie is bigger and older, we use this carrier all the time. We carried Charlotte in it until she was 18 months old, too. We hold Emmie in it at the park, the beach, and basically anytime we are out and don’t want to bring the stroller with us. I also use it at home if she’s fussy and I need to get stuff done. I like the Ergo for older babies because it’s much simpler to put on than the Solly wrap. It just feels more sturdy now that Emmie’s older, if that makes sense. I like this carrier because you can have the baby front-facing or outward-facing as well as either on your front or on your back.
Little Unicorn Skyline Diaper Backpack: I upgraded my diaper bag when I had Emmie and have been so happy with it. I had the Fawn with Charlotte and ended up hating it. I love the Skyline Backpack from Little Unicorn and wrote a full review of it and a list of what I keep in my diaper bag here.
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