Baby Registry
So for awhile now I have been thinking about our baby registry. I have been thinking about all the things we did register for, all the things I wish we had registered for and the things we received and didn't received from our registry.
When we did our baby registry, they gave us a big packet of ideas and to be honest, we registered for a lot of stuff. If i remember correctly, there were over 100 items on our registry list. While we were walking the store with the little radar gun I was thinking about things I knew I wanted, things they suggested in the packet, and I was thinking about making sure there was a price range for people who were buying for us.
We went to the store a few times to look at things before we went and did the actual registry - I highly suggest this as it is quite overwhelming...the whole regisrty process is time consuming and you want to get it right as much as you can so that you aren't spending too much more time making changes later on.
I would give yourself a good few hours to complete the registry. I know for myself, I wanted to be able to take my time and walk around and be efficient.
Speaking of being efficient, we chose ONE store to register at as that made it MUCh easier for us and the people buying from our registry. I know other families chose to register at 2 or more places, but honestly that was too complicated for my liking, so we chose Babies R Us.
I want to write down all of the things we've gotten the most use of out as far as baby items. There were some things that we registered for that we ended up returning, and there were things we bought later on that I wish we had registered for. So here is the list of things that we personally have found the most useful that I would highly recommend to others!
1. The crib. We bought the Baby Cache Montana Lifetime Convertible Crib. I liked this crib because it has rounded off corners and edges and in my mind, I was thinking about safety. A lot of the other cribs have really sharp corners and edges. To be honest, I was not even paying attention to the fact that this crib is a 4 in 1. It is a crib, and then can change into a toddler bed, a day bed and then can become the headboard and footboard of a full sized bed.
2. The crib mattress. We walked up and down the crib mattress aisle and compared all of them to each other and decided on the Serta Master Sleeper Crib Mattress. It had the most 5 star ratings in the most categories.
3. The mattress pad. I think we ended up with the Babies R Us quilted crib mattress pad. This will absorb any accidents before they get to the actual mattress. This is a must have to preserve the mattress!
3. Crib Sheets. We received crib sheets that went with our nursery theme. They are 100% cotton and they are very tight fitting which is a must so that the baby cannot get caught up in them.
4. A monitor. We have the AngelCare Deluxe Movement Monitor. This monitors movement, which essentially monitors that the baby is breathing and it also monitors sound.
5. Crib Bumpers. These are NOT recommended but we bought the BREATHABLE mesh crib bumpers. I am glad we did because now that our little guy is moving around, he likes to try and stick his limbs thru the crib slats and the bumper reduces his getting stuck.
6. A mobile. To be honest we only used the mobile for 6 months, because at 6 months old he was able to reach up and grab the hanging parts of the mobile and it then became unsafe, so we took it down. It was nice to have in the beginning though as it played music and spun around and gave him something to look at while we backed away from the crib and let him fall asleep.
7. A changing table. We got the Summer Infant Manchester Changing Table. It has the top area where the baby is changed and then 2 shelves underneath. Once we do not use the changing table, we can use the entire thing has shelving so it will still be useful.
8. A changing table pad. We got the Serta Contour Pad. It fits into the changing table perfectly and has great padding.
9. A changing pad cover. We bought a generic one that fits on most pads. We bought one that is velour type material so it is nice and soft.
10. Changing pad liners. These are rectangular and go in the middle of the changing pad over the cover. So if there is an accident, the liner absorbs everything and you do not have to wash the entire cover every time. We bought a 3 pak and rotate them out.
11. A diaper basket. We received a square basket that is perfect for diapers. We load it with diapers and it makes access to the diapers much easier.
12. Speaking of diapers, we LOVE Pampers Swaddlers. They now come in sizes Newborn thru 5! To give you an idea, my son is 8 months, a little over 20 lbs and is in size 4 Swaddlers. I was THRILLED when Pampers announced that swaddlers now come in sizes 4 and 5! Also, we use the Pampers Sensitive Wipes and those have been wonderful on my sons sensitive skin but I do want to try Water Wipes next which are 99% water and seem like they might be even better, although a bit more expensive.
13. A Diaper Pail. We went with the Diaper Genie Elite. You have to buy the refills, but we've had success with this diaper pail and really like it. There is no smell and it holds a lot.
14. A dresser. We were gifted a dresser that came in about 5000 pieces and we (okay, my husband) built the entire thing. It has 4 drawers and holds all of the baby's clothes. We like this much more than hanging baby clothes.
15. A area rug. We bought a throw rug for in front of the crib and it now offers a great space for playing.
16. A play mat. We got the baby Einstein Baby Neptune Ocean Adventure Gym. There are lots of choices but our son has really enjoyed this particular one.
17. A swing. We got 2 different types of swings. One is the Disney Baby Lion King Convert Me Swing 2 Seat. This has 5 swing settings, music and sounds, vibrates and lock in place to act as a seat too. The other is a Graco swing/bouncer. This swing, swings side to side rather than front to back like the Lion King one. The Graco swing is also convertible and the seat part un-clicks and becomes a bouncer seat. Again, the Graco has multiple swing speed settings and plays a variety of music and sounds.
18. The car seat! We started with a Graco Snugride 35 infact car seat. This has the carrier that clicks onto the base in the car and also clicks into a stroller which we found hugely helpful and useful. Now, we use the stroller without the carrier and he is forward facing. Since the Snugride has a weight and height limit, we have now switched the the Graco Smartseat. This carseat goes from rear facing to forward facing and then becomes a booster seat. So this should be the last carseat we buy as it will last until our child is out of a carseat all together.
Okay, so those are some of the main big things. I will write another post soon about some of the smaller other things we've liked so far! ENJOY!
When we did our baby registry, they gave us a big packet of ideas and to be honest, we registered for a lot of stuff. If i remember correctly, there were over 100 items on our registry list. While we were walking the store with the little radar gun I was thinking about things I knew I wanted, things they suggested in the packet, and I was thinking about making sure there was a price range for people who were buying for us.
We went to the store a few times to look at things before we went and did the actual registry - I highly suggest this as it is quite overwhelming...the whole regisrty process is time consuming and you want to get it right as much as you can so that you aren't spending too much more time making changes later on.
I would give yourself a good few hours to complete the registry. I know for myself, I wanted to be able to take my time and walk around and be efficient.
Speaking of being efficient, we chose ONE store to register at as that made it MUCh easier for us and the people buying from our registry. I know other families chose to register at 2 or more places, but honestly that was too complicated for my liking, so we chose Babies R Us.
I want to write down all of the things we've gotten the most use of out as far as baby items. There were some things that we registered for that we ended up returning, and there were things we bought later on that I wish we had registered for. So here is the list of things that we personally have found the most useful that I would highly recommend to others!
1. The crib. We bought the Baby Cache Montana Lifetime Convertible Crib. I liked this crib because it has rounded off corners and edges and in my mind, I was thinking about safety. A lot of the other cribs have really sharp corners and edges. To be honest, I was not even paying attention to the fact that this crib is a 4 in 1. It is a crib, and then can change into a toddler bed, a day bed and then can become the headboard and footboard of a full sized bed.
2. The crib mattress. We walked up and down the crib mattress aisle and compared all of them to each other and decided on the Serta Master Sleeper Crib Mattress. It had the most 5 star ratings in the most categories.
3. The mattress pad. I think we ended up with the Babies R Us quilted crib mattress pad. This will absorb any accidents before they get to the actual mattress. This is a must have to preserve the mattress!
3. Crib Sheets. We received crib sheets that went with our nursery theme. They are 100% cotton and they are very tight fitting which is a must so that the baby cannot get caught up in them.
4. A monitor. We have the AngelCare Deluxe Movement Monitor. This monitors movement, which essentially monitors that the baby is breathing and it also monitors sound.
5. Crib Bumpers. These are NOT recommended but we bought the BREATHABLE mesh crib bumpers. I am glad we did because now that our little guy is moving around, he likes to try and stick his limbs thru the crib slats and the bumper reduces his getting stuck.
6. A mobile. To be honest we only used the mobile for 6 months, because at 6 months old he was able to reach up and grab the hanging parts of the mobile and it then became unsafe, so we took it down. It was nice to have in the beginning though as it played music and spun around and gave him something to look at while we backed away from the crib and let him fall asleep.
7. A changing table. We got the Summer Infant Manchester Changing Table. It has the top area where the baby is changed and then 2 shelves underneath. Once we do not use the changing table, we can use the entire thing has shelving so it will still be useful.
8. A changing table pad. We got the Serta Contour Pad. It fits into the changing table perfectly and has great padding.
9. A changing pad cover. We bought a generic one that fits on most pads. We bought one that is velour type material so it is nice and soft.
10. Changing pad liners. These are rectangular and go in the middle of the changing pad over the cover. So if there is an accident, the liner absorbs everything and you do not have to wash the entire cover every time. We bought a 3 pak and rotate them out.
11. A diaper basket. We received a square basket that is perfect for diapers. We load it with diapers and it makes access to the diapers much easier.
12. Speaking of diapers, we LOVE Pampers Swaddlers. They now come in sizes Newborn thru 5! To give you an idea, my son is 8 months, a little over 20 lbs and is in size 4 Swaddlers. I was THRILLED when Pampers announced that swaddlers now come in sizes 4 and 5! Also, we use the Pampers Sensitive Wipes and those have been wonderful on my sons sensitive skin but I do want to try Water Wipes next which are 99% water and seem like they might be even better, although a bit more expensive.
13. A Diaper Pail. We went with the Diaper Genie Elite. You have to buy the refills, but we've had success with this diaper pail and really like it. There is no smell and it holds a lot.
14. A dresser. We were gifted a dresser that came in about 5000 pieces and we (okay, my husband) built the entire thing. It has 4 drawers and holds all of the baby's clothes. We like this much more than hanging baby clothes.
15. A area rug. We bought a throw rug for in front of the crib and it now offers a great space for playing.
16. A play mat. We got the baby Einstein Baby Neptune Ocean Adventure Gym. There are lots of choices but our son has really enjoyed this particular one.
17. A swing. We got 2 different types of swings. One is the Disney Baby Lion King Convert Me Swing 2 Seat. This has 5 swing settings, music and sounds, vibrates and lock in place to act as a seat too. The other is a Graco swing/bouncer. This swing, swings side to side rather than front to back like the Lion King one. The Graco swing is also convertible and the seat part un-clicks and becomes a bouncer seat. Again, the Graco has multiple swing speed settings and plays a variety of music and sounds.
18. The car seat! We started with a Graco Snugride 35 infact car seat. This has the carrier that clicks onto the base in the car and also clicks into a stroller which we found hugely helpful and useful. Now, we use the stroller without the carrier and he is forward facing. Since the Snugride has a weight and height limit, we have now switched the the Graco Smartseat. This carseat goes from rear facing to forward facing and then becomes a booster seat. So this should be the last carseat we buy as it will last until our child is out of a carseat all together.
Okay, so those are some of the main big things. I will write another post soon about some of the smaller other things we've liked so far! ENJOY!
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