Baby Registry Must-Haves
Having a baby can be expensive… but if you make smart choices with what you put on your baby registry, you may receive the necessities for your little bundle of joy as gifts. Despite being tiny humans, they require a lot of stuff. From car seats to bottles to swaddles to high chairs, there are so many versions of each baby product. Putting a registry together can be a daunting process for a first-time parent, which is why I’m here to help.
I started putting together my baby registry about halfway through my pregnancy. We had just found out that “Sprinkle” (that was our nickname for Dax before he was born) was going to be a boy, but I still kept the majority of our registry items neutral in hopes that we could reuse most items for future children. I spent HOURS doing research on everything from burp cloths to baby monitors. Between putting questions out to my Facebook friends and reading hundreds of reviews online, curating my registry was basically a part time job.
Below you will find three lists: the items I’m glad were on my registry, the items I wish had been on my registry, and the items I could have left off/chose to leave off my registry. These lists do not include recommendations for a car seat, stroller, or crib, because those will already be on your list, and there are so many options in different price ranges for each of them. I focused instead on some of the items that I couldn’t live without but was not sure I needed when I first created my registry. Your friends and family will ultimately buy whatever they want you to have, but my lists will help guide you to the most important items to include on your registry, and hopefully that will save you from having to spend a lot out of pocket on baby essentials.
One of my registries was through Amazon, because they sent an awesome welcome box as a registry incentive (lots of freebies). We also had a registry at BuyBuyBaby; their prices were usually higher than Amazon or Target, but they always have coupons available (they even take expired ones). I have a friend who used Babylist, which allows you to add items from all different websites (Amazon, Etsy, etc.) to your registry. I did not know about this option or I may have used that in place of my other registries.
Items I’m glad were on my registry
Sleepsacks
This is the #1 thing we have used every. single. day. We registered for 7 Halo Sleepsacks: 2 in size newborn, 3 in size small, and 2 in size medium. Both of our newborn sleepsacks and one of our small sleepsacks had the velcro swaddle option, which worked so much better than trying to use an actual swaddle blanket. The swaddle portion can also be wrapped around the baby’s waist instead of restricting his/her arms, so we were still able to use the small one with the velcro swaddle even after we stopped swaddling Dax. My favorite thing about these sleepsacks is that they unzip from the bottom, so you can change the baby’s diaper without having to remove the whole sleepsack. Dax is now almost 18 months old and he still sleeps in a sleepsack (he’s now in size large), so consider registering for bigger sizes as well.
We also registered for a 3 pack of the Swaddleme swaddles. Unlike a traditional swaddle blanket, these have a pouch for the lower half of the baby’s body, then the top part wraps around and secures with velcro (similar to the Halo sleepsacks that have the swaddle option). These were great during the newborn period and they are less expensive than the Halo brand, however, you have to completely remove the Swaddleme swaddles to change a diaper. If you choose to go with this brand for your newborn swaddles, I would still get at least one sleepsack that unzips from the bottom for middle-of-the-night diaper changes in order to avoid having to remove the swaddle completely. Your baby is more likely to sleep through a late night diaper change (or at least be less grumpy about it) if he/she is not completely unswaddled in the process.
LÍLLÉbaby The Complete Airflow
We have gotten more use out of our LÍLLÉbaby than any other baby wearing product. My husband and I have both found it to be the most supportive and comfortable way to wear Dax. You can easily adjust how tight or loose this carrier fits, which is very convenient when we are taking turns wearing the baby. Our LÍLLÉbaby is a super cute Mickey Mouse print (if you haven’t seen our engagement trip post, we are Disney nerds), but they have lots of awesome prints available.
Aden + Anais Burpy Bibs (to use as burp cloths)
These are by far my favorite burp cloths! We honestly haven’t even used them as bibs because we like waterproof bibs better (the Bumkins bibs are great and come in fun designs), but the bib shape of the Aden + Anais Burpy Bib is part of what makes it so awesome. These bibs are much bigger than most burp cloths, and the curved shape (designed to go around the baby’s neck as a bib) works well for keeping it securely balanced on an adult’s shoulder because it has a cut out for the neck. I would recommend having at least 5-8 burp cloths on hand, but you can mix the Burpy Bibs with regular burp cloths, since the Burpy Bibs are a little more expensive. We ended up with 5 of the Aden + Anais Burpy Bibs (including all of the Disney prints) and 6 regular burp cloths, but the Burpy Bibs have definitely been the best for burping.
Halo Swivel Bassinest, Swaddleme Sleeper, and Pack ’n Play
Some people may choose to only register for one or two of these products, but all three have been super beneficial for us.
Halo Swivel Bassinest (bassinet): We knew that we wanted Dax to co-sleep, but not bed-share, so a bassinet was a must-have for us. After a lot of research and many recommendations for the Halo Swivel Bassinest, we ultimately decided to go with the Premier model (click here to see a comparison of all Halo Swivel Bassinests). We chose this model because it includes all of the same features as the Luxe model, except for the floor light and storage caddy; we have no regrets about choosing the Premier over the Luxe because we didn’t end up needing those additional features and saved about $50. The swivel is the best feature, making it easy to slide the baby close to the bed, especially for middle of the night feedings. The built-in sound and vibration features were also very helpful at putting Dax to sleep (and keeping him asleep). It took Dax a while to get used to sleeping in the Halo Bassinest as an infant, but he seemed to be more comfortable after we added the newborn insert, so we regretted not having that from the beginning. We bought an extra sheet and the waterproof cover for the mattress, which both kept the Halo mattress from being affected by spit ups or occasional diaper leaks.
Swaddleme by Your Side Sleeper: I describe why we choose this over a Dock-A-Tot in the third section (below), but this is one product we used every day for almost 6 months, and only stopped because Dax grew out of it. It’s really light and portable, so we easily could move it to any room in the house if we needed to get things done while Dax was napping (especially during the newborn phase). Dax slept in this a LOT for the first two months, before he finally decided to sleep in the bassinet (after we added the newborn insert). We went with the Deluxe model because it vibrates and has a sound machine, both of which were super helpful for getting Dax to sleep.
Pack ’n Play: We chose the Graco Pack ‘n Play Playard Reversible Napper and Changer LX in the Holt pattern/color scheme. It has been awesome for travel and served as Dax’s bed between when he outgrew the bassinet (around 7 months) and when we finished converting what was my office into the nursery. We never got a chance to use the napper/changer feature because he had surpassed the size limit by the time we first traveled with him at 6 months old, so I cannot comment on how well it works. If you want to stay under the $100 price point with your pack ‘n play, I would get a version without the napper/changer attached. We also got a couple of sheets to cover the mattress part of the pack ‘n play, and I’m glad we did because it does not come with a sheet. Just like with the bassinet, having a sheet to cover the mattress has helped with any spit up or diaper leak situations.
Boppy
Using a Boppy was very helpful for supporting Dax during breastfeeding, especially for this first-time mom. I still needed to incorporate a variety of pillows the first few months, but eventually transitioned to just using the Boppy during breastfeeding. It was also a great support for anyone who helped bottle feed Dax. It can be used for propping, tummy time, and sitting, which we did with Dax on occasion, but 90% of the time, it was used for feeding him.
Cloth Diapers and Ubbi Cloth Diaper Bag
We decided to do some cloth diapering (not exclusively) as a way to be more eco-friendly and save some $$$ when it came to diapering. Babies go through a LOT of diapers, so we used cloth as much as possible for the first 9 months, and then switched to mostly disposable diapers out of convenience. It took a while for Dax to fit into even the newborn size cloth diapers, so we used a lot of disposable diapers the first 2 months. I read a lot of reviews and received feedback from friends who cloth diapered their kids, but I think choosing the right brand really comes down to how your baby fits into them, which will vary from one baby to another. We used Alva Baby (newborn size and regular size) and Bum Genius. Dax fit into Bum Genius the best, but he outgrew them by the time he was about 18lbs. I liked the Bum Genius Freetime ones because the cloth portion is connected to the inside, so you don’t have to stuff it, like you do with the Alva Baby diapers (and most other brands of cloth diapers). Cloth diapers need to be washed within 48 hours of use, so if you are doing a mix of cloth and disposable, you want to use as many cloth in a row as possible to maximize your cloth diaper washing. We stored used cloth diapers in an Ubbi cloth diaper bag until we washed them. We decided to try just using the diaper bag without the Ubbi diaper pail, and it worked just fine (the diaper pail is nice, but on the pricey side). When it was time to wash the cloth diapers, we would throw them into the washer along with the Ubbi cloth diaper bag, so that everything was washed at one time. The Ubbi cloth diaper bags come in a set of two, so we always had a clean one to hang up while the other one was in the wash.
Dekor Diaper Pail
After considering a variety of brands, we chose this one because of the price point. It has not disappointed! It’s great at maintaining the smell of disposable diapers. As Dax transitioned to “real food” from formula and breastmilk, the smell got worse, but we started adding an air freshener (Munchkin makes one with Arm & Hammer baking soda) to the bottom, which helped reduce the smell. The refill bag seems expensive (a pack of 2 bags is about $15), but it last a long time because it is actually a really large bag that is cut into smaller bags. You cut the bag off at the top once the diaper pail is full, and then tie the end of the refill bag to create the bottom of a “new” bag. As Dax’s diapers have gotten bigger, the need to change the bags has been more frequent, but we were able to use the same big refill bag for about 2 months before needing to replace it. Dekor also offers an eco-friendly refill bag, which has been just as durable and good at maintaining the dirty diaper smell as the regular bags, so we’ve switched to using that one.
Baby Monitor
We ended up with two monitors: one that was just audio (given to us by someone who didn’t need it) and one that had video and audio (this one was on our registry). I honestly don’t know why it took us so long to set up the one with the camera, but I think we expected it to be more difficult to set up than it actually was. If I were to do it over, I would have just used the one with audio and video from the beginning. I couldn’t find our exact model online, but the brand is Levana and it has worked so well for us! I like that it is not dependent on WiFi and the video is pretty clear whether the lights are on or off in Dax’s nursery.
NoseFrida and NailFrida
You can definitely get by with a bulb syringe and baby nail clippers, but we found the NoseFrida and NailFrida easier to use for removing things from Dax’s nose and filing down his nails. Plus, if you haven’t seen the disgusting photos of the inside of a bulb syringe (since you can’t really clean it out), that might be enough to convince you to switch to the NoseFrida.
NoseFrida: I’m not gonna lie, when I first read about this product, I was like “Nope! No way! I am NEVER using that!” The idea of using my own mouth to suck snot and boogers out of my son’s nose grossed me out to the max. However, after many moms and nurses recommended it, I decided it would be worth trying, and it has worked very well (though Dax is not a fan). There is a filter that prevents anything you suck out with the NoseFrida from actually getting into your mouth. It is also way more effective at removing everything quickly than using a regular bulb syringe. It’s easy to clean and you can replace the filters, so it’s very sanitary.
NailFrida: We have both the NailFrida SnipperClipper and the NailFrida S-file. Dax has never been cut by the SnipperClipper (I’m not sure it’s even possible to pinch the babies skin based on the way the clippers align), so I definitely recommend those clippers, in addition to getting a nail file. Before I saw the set with the NailFrida SnipperClipper and S-file, I had not considered filing Dax’s nails instead of trimming them. I was already terrified to clip them, having heard how easy it can be to accidentally cut a baby’s finger, so filing seemed like the perfect solution. My husband did most of Dax’s mani/pedi services while I was nursing him or while he was sleeping, and the S-file worked especially well on the newborn nails. Our biggest challenge now is getting him to hold still long enough to do his nails, but we’ve found that filing still seems to work better than clipping.
Items I wish had been on my registry
Additional Boppy Cover(s)
Dax had a lot of reflux issues early on, especially before we had his tongue tie revised, so we had a LOT of laundry. Though we were prepared with multiple sleepsacks/swaddles and clothes, we only had one cover for our Boppy. We eventually bought a second cover because we couldn’t wash and dry the first cover fast enough between nursing sessions, so I would recommend having at least 2 covers, maybe even 3 for extra messy days. It’s a lot easier to wash the cover than the whole Boppy pillow, but the pillow itself can be washed if milk or other fluids leak through the cover onto the pillow.
Additional Changing Pad Covers
As new parents, it took a little while for us to strengthen our diaper changing skills, which meant we were swapping out our changing pad cover a lot the first few weeks. We easily could have used 3-4 changing pads covers because there were days where we went through both of the covers we had before lunch. Another mistake was that one of the covers we got was white, and while it is super cute, that was definitely not the most practical color to have during diaper changes (thank goodness for Oxy spray!).
More Diapers and Wipes
You can never have enough diapers and wipes. Even though we planned to cloth diaper, we have realistically ended up doing a mix of cloth and disposable diapering, partly because it took forever for Dax to fit into even the newborn size cloth diapers without leaking. Even though we had brand preferences based on the research I had done, we used all of the diapers and wipes that we received. Our favorite brands to buy have been Honest and Kirkland (from Costco); the Kirkland diapers are really good quality and you get a lot more per dollar than most other brands, but I prefer the ingredients in the Honest wipes over most other wipe brands.
Haakaa & Manual Breast Pump
The Haakaa is something I learned about after I had my first major leak while nursing, so I would highly recommend having this before you ever start nursing. The description is misleading, because I would not consider this to be a “manual pump” at all. I would classify it more as a “milk catcher” that suctions to the breast on the opposite side of where your baby is nursing. It is a great way to save milk from the letdown while your baby is nursing the other side, and much better than being soaked with breastmilk. On occasions where I pumped using a hand pump, I would put the Haakaa on which ever breast was not being pumped and then switch it over before I pumped the other side. I purchased the Haakaa that came with the cute flower stopper (to keep any milk from spilling out), but they have a few different options for ways to cover the opening of the Haakaa before you store the milk.
By the time I was 2 months postpartum, I was in my car a lot for work (this was back when I primarily taught dance in preschools all over valley and was working events 45 minutes from home), so having options to pump was really important when I was not able to nurse Dax. I bought both a hand pump and an adapter for my electric pump so that I could pump in my car. The hand pump was great for short pumping sessions and the adapter for my electric pump was nice to have when I knew I’d be parked in my car for 20-30 minutes. I also made sure I had containers for the milk, a cooler bag, and ice packs any time I knew I would be pumping while out of the house, to make sure the milk stayed chilled.
Noggle
Living in Arizona, the Noggle has been a necessity for summer months. We were fortunate enough to receive two of these (one for each of our vehicles), even though they were not on our registry. Had we not received them, we would have bought at least one for sure. The Noggle connects to the AC vent in your car and extends back to your baby, so that he/she gets cool air in the backseat. Depending on your car and carseat, it may take a few tries to figure out the best way to position your Noggle, so give yourself time to practice with it before you need to use it. The Noggle comes in different lengths for rear-facing and forward-facing carseats (the rear-facing ones are longer), so keep that in mind when adding one to your registry.
Baby Shusher and Sound Machines
We were lucky to receive two Baby Shushers as gifts, since we did not know to put this item on our registry. We keep one in the diaper bag and one at home, so I would consider getting two of them if you don’t want to have to remember to pack it up every time you leave. The price point seems a little high for what it does (mimicking the sound of a person saying “shhhhhhhhhh”), but it is worth every penny. Even at 17 months, we still use this every night to help Dax fall asleep.
We also have a sound machine and a portable smaller sound machine, which we have paired with the Baby Shusher during sleep times for Dax. The portable sound machine was not on our registry, but we are so glad that someone decided to get it for us, since we have used it quite a bit. There are a wide variety of options for sound machines, so I would recommend picking one that has sounds you like (ocean, bubbling brook, crickets, etc.) since you’ll likely be listening to it in your room or over your baby’s monitor while you are sleeping. Since our co-sleeper and bassinet both had sound machines attached to them, we didn’t start using the regular sound machine until Dax moved into the nursery in his crib. The portable one has been nice to use any time we travel.
Items I could have left OFF/Chose to leave off my registry
Clothes
This is a tricky category because there may be clothes you really want to have for you little one, but you will also very likely receive clothes not on your registry. In fact, you may receive more clothes than your baby could possibly wear before growing out of that size. Putting cute boy clothes on my registry was a fun way for me to adjust to the idea of having a boy (I was convinced that “Sprinkle” was going to be a girl for the first half of my pregnancy), and though we got a lot of the outfits I picked out, we also received a lot of other clothing from a combination of non-registry gifts and hand-me-downs. While it may be tempting to put a lot of clothes on your registry, limit what you add to just your absolute favorite outfits and pajamas, and select a variety of sizes for your baby to wear throughout the first year. You also can’t go wrong with packs of plain white onesies, since they can be worn with any other clothing items and accessories.
Socks
I honestly do not remember if I registered for too many pairs of socks or if we received a lot more than what was on our registry, but my son has a ridiculous amount of socks. I’m pretty sure he outgrew some of them before he even got to wear them. Realistically, you probably do not need more than 5-10 pairs of socks per size. Babies create a LOT of laundry, so chances are you’ll be washing clothes at least once per week. If you want to get a cute 8 pack of socks, Hudson Baby has some awesome sets! We got a pack that looks like a bunch of Converse sneakers in different colors, and those were our favorite ones for Dax to wear.
Pacifiers and Bottles
If you sign up for different registries or get the pack of samples the first time you shop at Motherhood Maternity, you will likely end up with some pacifier and bottle samples. There is no way to predict what type of nipple your baby will like in regards to either of these (some babies won’t take anything other than their mother’s nipples), so the best option might be to try out the samples you receive first. My son was in the NICU for 2 weeks, so he was started on Philips Avent Green Soothie pacifiers and Dr. Brown Bottles. He ended up with some pretty serious reflux issues, and since Dr. Brown Bottles came highly recommended for eliminating air, we stuck with those. Even though Dax has never had an issue drinking out of the Dr. Brown Bottles, he was not a fan of the Dr. Brown pacifiers. In fact, he didn’t like any of the other pacifiers we tried, so we returned everything but the Soothie ones we had gotten from the hospital, as samples, and as gifts. Fortunately, Wubbanubs have basically the same pacifier as the Soothie (maybe exactly the same, but I couldn’t confirm this), so we were able to keep all of the Wubbanubs we had gotten as well. It took about 3 months for Dax to actually use a Wubbanub over a Soothie (I think the stuffed animal attachment made the Wubbanubs too heavy when he was a newborn), but once he started using Wubbanubs, he was hooked, and those became his favorite type of pacifier.
Lanolin/Nipple Cream
Just like pacifiers and bottles, you will likely get at least one (if not more) samples of the Lansinoh lanolin nipple cream. I recommend using the samples before buying a bottle, because you may not need one. I didn’t need any nipple cream initially because I was mostly pumping and only nursing Dax 1-2 times per day while he was in the NICU. After he came home, we spent a few more weeks nursing before I actually needed nipple cream. I regretted opening the $10 bottle of lanolin because I didn’t need it right away, and later because it wasn’t effective enough to relieve the irritation coming from Dax’s poor latch due to his tongue tie. I ended up with a very expensive prescription nipple cream that worked better than lanolin, until Dax’s latch improved after his tongue tie revision. In an effort to not waste the mostly full bottle of lanolin and the left over expensive compound nipple cream, I have held onto both and use them for chapped lips and the area above my lip when it gets irritated due to a runny nose (it has not gone to waste and has been very nice to have during allergy season, but I still have a lot left to use).
Additional Nursing Covers
I received all four of the nursing covers that were on my registries. I love all of the prints and I have used each of them, but I would have been fine with the Boppy Infinity Nursing Scarf (which I used most often for nursing) and one more cover. I didn’t expect to receive all of the ones on my registry and I also did not know how frequently I would need to use them, so this was a learning experience. I do plan to use them for any future children, so this is one item I won’t need to purchase again. I also may get more use out of them with any future children, if I choose to cover up while nursing at home or while pumping at work.
Dock-a-Tot
This item was originally on my registry, however, I was informed by an NICP (newborn intensive care program) nurse that the Dock-a-Tot is not SIDS safe. She recommended the Swaddleme by Your Side Sleeper, and that is why we got that one instead. The Swaddleme by Your Side Sleeper is SIDS safe (mesh sides), and $100+ less expensive than the Dock-a-Tot.
Owlet
Like the Dock-a-Tot, this was another really expensive item that was originally on our registry, but turned out to not be worth the investment. We strongly considered getting an Owlet after Dax spent two weeks in the NICU. The biggest delay in his homecoming was stabilizing his oxygen, so we thought having a device that could monitor his oxygen at home would be important. After discussing the Owlet with the neonatologist, we ultimately decided not to get one, per his recommendation. The neonatologist told us that the device did not always read accurately because it’s not an actual medical device. In his experience, he has seen it give false alerts when a baby was fine and fail to alert when there was a serious problem. I have also seen a lot of posts in two mom groups on Facebook about false alerts, so this ultimately seems like a product that can cause more stress than peace.
Electric Breast Pump
Most insurance plans will cover the cost of an electric breast pump, since it is considered a medical device, so this is one expensive item you should not need to put on your registry or pay for out of pocket. I did not have the best insurance plan when I was pregnant with Dax, so when I initially called to find out what my pump options were, I was told that only one brand was covered. When I looked up reviews on this brand, they were not good. I decided to see if there was a way to get my insurance to cover a more highly rated pump. With Dax being my first baby, I had no idea what to expect in a breast pump, so my market research consisted of online reviews and feedback from my friends who had previously pumped for their babies. I initially tried to go through Aeroflow Breastpumps since I had seen their advertisements all over the place. Unfortunately, my insurance at the time did not work with Aeroflow, so I had to go another route. A friend of mine had gotten hers through Edge Park Medical Supplies, so I decided to give that a try. I figured at the very least maybe my insurance company would pay their max and I could pay the difference toward the pump I wanted. Fortunately, they were able to get my insurance to cover the complete cost of the Spectra pump I had picked, so it all worked out in the end.
I hope these recommendations help you with your registry selections. Feel free to comment below with any other products you would highly recommend so that other moms who read this post can consider your recommendations as well.