I’m not going to lie, building our baby registry list was extremely overwhelming. I spent hours upon hours of doing research on Pinterest, Google, Instagram, along with asking my mama friends what they actually used the most when their babies came.
What I learned from all of my research and from most moms is that all babies are different, which means that the products you need are going to be unique to the baby. For instance, some babies loved swings such as the MamaRoo, while other babies couldn’t stand to lay in them for more than 2 minutes at a time. Another tidbit I learned is that you’ll likely need to buy multiple swaddles as each baby has their preference. Basically, it’s all trial and error.
Since my husband and I live in a 1600 sq ft Chicago condo, we wanted to be mindful on the amount of things we registered for. We don’t have a ton of extra storage space, so if certain products didn’t work well for us, then we’d likely have no place to keep them. Therefore, we tried to really be strategic on what the baby and we would actually need and use.
Of course, I’m no baby expert, but as I mentioned I did do my research and asked a lot of mama friends what they ACTUALLY use and recommend.
The only thing I didn’t include in the list below was bottles or strollers because I felt like that’s very specific to each parent and baby. I actually purchased quite a few bottles and will have to report back on what works best for us once our little love is here, since I am planning on mostly breastfeeding.
Where to register
We decided to register on Babylist because they let you register from ANYWHERE, this especially helps when you want to add a cute onesie from an online boutique or even something from Etsy. They also have an amazing app that makes registering on the go (aka at midnight in bed when the insomnia hits) super simple.
Below are what’s on my must-have baby registry list and what you may want to consider for yours too!
Nap time + down time
You’ll need a place to put your baby when you want to take a shower, want to cook dinner or just want a break from holding them in your arms when they’re taking a nap.
- DocATot
- Ergobaby Carrier
- Solly Baby Wrap
- Baby Bjorn
- Snoo Smart Sleeper (so expensive, but a lot of mamas said it was worth it + they offer a monthly rent program!)
For the nursery
- Halo SleepSack
- Love to Dream Swaddle
- Owlet Baby Monitor
- Hatch Baby Rest Sound Machine
- Babyletto Hudson 3-in-1 Convertible Crib
- Baby Shusher
- Non-Toxic Organic Baby Mattress
- I Love You Blanket
- Naturepedic Waterproof Fitted Crib Pad
Travel
For Families
Feeding & Eating
- My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow
- Spectra S1 breast pump
- Haakaa Manual Breast Pump with Stopper
- Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush
- Burt’s Bees Baby Burp Cloths
- Inglesina Fast Table Chair
Changing & Bath Time
- Nose Frida Kit
- The First Years Baby Tub
- Newborn Fragrance Free Gift Set
- Keekaroo Peanut Changer
- Ubbi Diaper Pail + diaper plastic bags
Places to shop for cute baby clothes to put on registry:
- Rylee and Cru
- Beau Hudson
- Lulu and Roo
- Spearmint Baby
- Nordstrom
- H&M
- Gap Baby
- Kate Quinn
- Hanna Andersson
- Posh Peanut
- Lou Lou & Co
- Zara
- Tea Collection
- Flora & Henri
- Poshmark
- Monica & Andy
- Joah Love
If you’re a mama to be or parent to be, I hope you find this list helpful! If you’re already a parent, I’d love to know what you found to be a MUST HAVE during the first few months of pregnancy. Be sure to leave a comment below! xo.
12 comments
I really like the BabyBjorn Bouncer for when they are a bit older. I would also recommend the Earth Mama nipple butter, very important for those first couple of weeks. The last thing is a bottle sanitizer–I made all my kids use a bottle for pumped milk pretty early on so the pressure was off me to breastfeed for every feeding and this makes clean up much faster. For some reason I didn’t like the microwave method of sanitizing the bottles. I am 2 weeks away from giving birth to our third 🙂 Congrats to you and your growing family!
We have the keekaroo and love it, but we still have to put down something underneath our son or else the rubber is too cold! We put down a swaddle underneath his head and torso and then a regular old white cloth diaper under his bottom. They are easy to toss in the laundry and cheap to boot. We finally realized after lots of shrieking diaper changes that he hates cold. Oh, a wipe warmer is totally unnecessary, but also a game changer!
Congratulations to you, and what a great list! I too was a insomniac Babylister. My first baby (a boy) is 4 weeks old and a few of our favs that you haven’t listed are: Gathre changing mat (easy to change on your bed, couch or on the go), a sound machine (helps mom and dad sleep), a dyson fan, Snuggle Me (alternate to dock a tot – I like that it hugs baby more and the cover is easy to put on), BIBs pacifiers, Calmoseptine for diaper rash, and Primally Pure Baby Oil for baby massages. Wishing you nothing but the best!
The baby Bjorn bouncer is a must! So portable and useful to put down baby when doing everyday tasks around the house!
Hi! Thanks for posting this information. This is very helpful! Would you mind re-linking the mattress you purchased? The link takes you to a mattress pad and I would love to see which mattress you purchased since I am also in the market for one. Thank you!!
Totally agree with others on the Baby Bjorn bouncer! Angelcare baby bath support is another must for when they get a little older. Baby carriers are personal preference but I love my Sakura Bloom ring sling. Once you get the hang of it it is super quick to get by into, easy to thrown in a bag to take around town and baby looks adorable riding in it 🙂
I had my second baby in March and I used the solly baby wrap every single day for the first few months! It’s so soft and my boy was so comfortable. I tried a couple of other options with my first son and nothing compares to the solly wrap! I get a lot of back pain and I never felt uncomfortable (and I had a big baby!) I hope you enjoy using it as much as I did!
This is so incredibly helpful, thank you!! Can you link the non-toxic mattress you purchased? The link is currently taking you to a mattress pad.
Thanks again!
I’m so glad this is helpful for you! Here is the mattress: https://amzn.to/2FbO7lA
THANK YOU! for all your “ambitious mama” blog posts! loving them all and have found them all (and i mean all) so helpful
Absolutely! I’m so glad 🙂