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Building A Baby Registry: My Top 10 Must-Have Baby Items


For anyone that follows the blog, yes, this is a bit of a repeat of a few other blog posts from several months ago about baby items and big baby gear. So if you've already read those, this might be a bit boring for you, but that's ok! I'm on a few different forums online as well as in a group on Facebook for moms that are due in September. Some moms are having their fourth child, some are having their first. But undoubtedly, in EVERY forum I'm in, there are several questions about creating baby registries. So I thought to myself, "Abby, you're nearly halfway to having baby number three, what do YOU suggest?"

When I think about this, it's different than when I was thinking about what we needed for Annabelle for obvious reasons (we had NOTHING to go on as far as our own experience). It's also different from when I thought about what we needed for Eloise for other reasons. With Eloise, part of me just assumed she would like a lot of similar things as Annabelle, which she did, but she also DISLIKED a lot of things that Annabelle loved. So as we prepare for Baby #3, I'm trying to take ALL of that into consideration.

Luckily, we have a lot of things already (no surprise there), especially the big things. There are a number of other things though, that we don't have, so I built a registry with those items on it. It's our 3rd child in 3 years, so I'm not under any impression that we will have a shower, or expect anyone to get anything off of our registry for us. I really built it for the rewards. Amazon's Baby Registry has some decent rewards (free Welcome Box with some awesome swag and samples a completion bonus, as well as a Baby Buck Bonus), so I decided to create the registry because we'll need a lot of these items anyways and if I purchase them from the registry, they can go towards those rewards. Before I get to today's actual blog post, for those of you out there that are curious what a soon-to-be mom of 3 includes on her registry, you can check it out here.

Now, onto the fun stuff! Whether you're a first time mom overwhelmed with where to start, or a 2nd-plus time mom wondering if there is something you might want to get, I've compiled a list of my top 10 items (in no particular order) that I would want (all of which we already have) for bringing baby home. This is just me - I'd love to hear what other parents have on your lists! Everything has a link to Amazon so you can check out the details if you're interested!

This is just amazing. Whoever invented this contraption is a genius, and I owe some "decent" nights of sleep with a newborn to them. *Disclaimer - yes, I know you're not technically supposed to have baby sleep in these. My parents have the auto rocker like the one pictured here, and we have the non-auto rocker. Both have their benefits. The benefit of the auto rocker, well, is that is rocks by itself. The benefit of the one we have that DOESN'T rock by itself is that it's so easy to fold up and take along with you. We used it for a few different road trips or overnight trips this summer when Eloise was still small and it was a Godsend. Eloise also had some pretty bad reflux - which she actually JUST grew out of a little over a month ago - so sleeping flat in her crib was exacerbating the problem. We'd hold her relatively upright for 30 minutes after a feeding, and then almost immediately after laying her in her crib, she was covered in spit up. So we finally decided to move her to the Rock and Play (safely) to sleep and it was a total game changer. The snuggled feeling along with the slight incline made a world of difference for her and she was so much more comfortable sleeping. Annabelle didn't have any issues with reflux, but she LOVED this too. Once they got too big, we obviously didn't use it any more, but for the first few months of their lives, it was a life saver.

These are also incredible. Both of our girls love them STILL. If Annie doesn't have her blankey when she goes to bed - it would be an EPIC meltdown. Eloise loves snuggling hers as well when I'm holding her. They are muslin, so super lightweight and breatheable, which is good for the mama like me, who logically knows that both girls are out of the high risk for SIDS, but still worries. We recently gave Eloise hers to help her self soothe at bedtime, as she does not take a pacifier. Of course the first few weeks I checked several times before going to bed that it was not wrapped around her in any way that would cause harm. Now she just holds it as she sleeps. The minute I give it to her when she has her bedtime bottle, she snuggles right into it - it's SO adorable! They are also great for long car trips, and Annie uses them regularly for sleeping in the car if we are on the road for a few hours. Because they are so light, she doesn't get overheated from snuggling her blankey, which I love. Aside from the comfort aspect, these are great for baby to lay on on the floor, they double as a spit up rag, and can be a covering in a stroller, for example. SO many things are great about these blankets - I could go on and on! I think between our house and my parents' house, we have about 10, and I bought another 4 pack at the Babies R Us liquidation sale too. That's how much I love these.

Ok, so technically these are 2 different things, but I do think there is an option to get them both, though I'm not 100% sure on that. We have the carrier, and I'm planning on getting the insert for this babe. For the girls, I used a Baby K'tan wrap carrier when they were younger, but now that I'll have two littles running around AND a baby, I want the insert because the Ergo is simply more sturdy and better on my back. It's really structured, but doesn't pull on me in ways that will hurt. And it's SUPER secure for babies. They aren't supposed to be in the Ergo facing outward itself until they are around 15 lbs. I think or can hold their head up, but with the insert, I'll be able to carry baby facing inward comfortably. I did it without the insert with Eloise a few times when she was nearing 15 lbs., but I felt like I was always adjusting her so the insert will just be that much easier. And with 3 kids under 3, easy is going to be the name of the game for me for ALL the things.

OK, it doesn't have to be THIS travel system (though I could go on and on about how much I love this car seat and jogging stroller), but really any travel system car seat carrier and stroller combo will work. We went with a travel system because it's seriously the EASIEST thing. If we want to go for a walk while we're out somewhere, I just click Eloise out of the car seat base while still in the car seat, and click her into the stroller. It's awesome. This fall, when we'd go out for short walks (short because Annie can only walk so far before she wants to be held and we didn't have a double stroller at that point), I'd get Eloise all strapped into the car seat inside and simply walk out and click her into the stroller and we were on our way. As you can see from the lovely photo of Annie with the camel above, it also works as a regular stroller. Having a travel system automatically takes out the work of wondering if your car seat is compatible with your stroller, and if not, it eliminates the need to buy an attachment. Again - make your life simple and just get one of these!

Depending on when baby is born, maybe you don't want a fleece swaddle sack, but HALO makes them in a few different materials, including cotton and muslin. Most babies that I know, though not all, like being swaddled, especially as newborns, as it reminds them of being in the womb. Alas, I've never been great at swaddling my kids. They make it look so simple in the hospital so I think, yah, no problem, I've got this! But every time I tried, it seemed one thing or another always found a way to come undone. I wanted the girls to feel secure, but more importantly, SAFE. Both of my girls liked being swaddled as newborns, but I was too afraid to try and swaddle them at night in a blanket for fear it would come undone and block their airway. Enter the HALO SleepSack, aka swaddling made easy. I love that the HALO allows you to swaddle arms out OR in, because babies are all so different. Annabelle and Eloise both preferred arms out, but this sleep sack is built so you could do arms in if that's what baby preferred. I also like that the zipper closes at the bottom, so during a nighttime diaper change, you really only have to unzip it halfway. Anyone who's tried to quickly and quietly change a baby at night knows how great of a feature this is! We have a few in newborn size and size small, and have added some to the registry for baby #3 as well, since we can't seem to plan our kids' births in the same seasons!

I SWEAR by these bottles. Any relative or friend I've ever had that has asked me for bottle recommendations, I ALWAYS suggest Dr. Browns. Sure, there are a bunch of parts to clean, which is a pain in the butt. But they made a huge difference. When Annie was in the NICU after she was born, Dr. Browns are what the staff sent home with us, so that's saying something in itself. They are designed to help create a vacuum with the airflow, so babies aren't sucking in as much air. Both girls took better to bottles as newborns, so it was important to me to use a bottle that would regulate the milk flow, and these were the best. We tried a few, especially since we'd gotten some other brands as gifts, but these were always the best for us. If you're worried your baby might have some issues taking a bottle in the beginning, or at any point for that matter, then definitely consider putting Dr. Browns bottles, in both 4-oz and 8-oz sizes on your registry. The smaller ones are good in the beginning since babies don't take a ton at a time anyways. Once they are past 4-oz per feeding, you can move on up to the 8-oz size.

A lot of insurance companies will provide you with a free breast pump, and if that's the case, TAKE IT, because these can be expensive. My insurance covered it, so I have the less glamorous (no special bag or car converter) version, but this is the model that I have. I was planning on nursing Annabelle, but it didn't work out for us, so the pump got a lot of use. Eloise nursed a little better, but her reflux was a bit better with a bottle. After a few weeks, I ended up transitioning her to the bottle as well because of it. So I have pumped a LOT. And maybe you're planning on nursing exclusively. I was in the beginning too. But for various reasons, it may or may not work out for you. And the last thing you want when you've just brought your baby home, is to try and figure out what breast pump you should get or order. Trust me, you'll want one on hand already. Medela is not the gold standard for breast pumps, but they are pretty good and I like mine (as much as you can like a breast pump), so this is on my top ten list as well.

The first time my brother saw this when we brought Annabelle home, he called it (affectionately) an "arm rest baby holder," which to be honest, is a pretty accurate description! Some moms don't think these are a must have, others do - and I have no issues with either stance. Technically, no, you don't NEED one. But they make it a lot easier to feed your little babe, whether you nurse or bottle feed. Newborns have almost no muscle tone, so it's up to whomever is holding them to fully support them. For example, my aforementioned brother, had in fact never held a baby before he held Annie. So he had no clue how to correctly position a newborn. The Boppy helped with that. And when you're home for those first few weeks and doing a lot of baby holding yourself, your arms will get TIRED. And the Boppy is designed to perfectly fit around your waist and under your arm to nestle that little bundle of joy. Which is more comfortable for them AND you. I have used ours to feed both girls their nightly bottles -when Annie still took hers and up until just recently until Eloise started to get too big to hold on the Boppy OVER my growing belly. One thing I'd highly recommend if you get a Boppy is to also have an extra slipcover or 2. If your baby is a spitter, or even if they have a stomach bug at some point, you'll want to throw a new cover on instead of waiting for the one to make it through the wash. And they make the covers in TONS of cute prints, which is so fun!

Diapers

I don't need to give you an Amazon link for these, because you can find them pretty much anywhere baby items are sold. You may wonder why I'm putting them on the list, because they seem like a no-brainer. And you're right, they are!! The reason I've put them on the list is to make sure you know (especially first time moms), NOT to stock up on newborn-sized diapers. You're better off maybe getting one box of newborns, and then registering for a few boxes of size 1, 2, and 3. And don't feel like you have to stick to a certain brand. Pampers are generally considered a top choice, but they also come with a higher price tag. We used Pampers on both girls for the first few weeks until they seemed to acclimate to the diaper feeling, and then we tried Luvs, which are cheaper. They both did fine with Luvs, so that's what we stuck with. It's all a personal choice though - I only suggest this to make sure you don't feel like you have to stick with ONE brand of diapers. Similar to pacifiers, you'll find what your baby likes best, and go with that! And put whatever diapers you want on your registry! Sure, they may not be as fun of a gift to buy as that cute little onesie you have on there, but odds are SOMEONE will get you diapers as a shower gift, especially for a first time mom. And that's one less box of diapers that you have to spend money on yourself.

Wipes

Another obvious choice. And I won't repeat myself too much, but wipes can be expensive, too! So throw some on your registry and maybe someone will buy you a box. Trust me, you'll FLY through both diapers AND wipes in those first few months. With 2 kids still in diapers (we're slowly working on potty training Annabelle), I feel like we are buying diapers or wipes every other week. It's insane! You can obviously register for or buy whichever brand of wipes you like best. We prefer the Huggies Natural Care brand, just because they come in big bags, and are pretty sturdy against those big blowouts. Our girls both have sensitive skin, and Eloise in particular was prone to diaper rashes for the first few months, and these wipes seemed to work just fine on both of their skin. But you do you, and find your favorite!

If I were forced to boil down my Top 10 Baby Registry Items, this would be the list. There are a lot of other things that we love that didn't make the list, but if I were a brand new, first time mom all over again, these are what I'd tell myself to register for. I'd love to hear from other parents though - what would YOU put on your list?

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