Anyone willing to share their baby shower registry or list of must-haves for new moms?
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Anonymous
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Also lived in a small space and deliberately went very minimal. Before baby, we already had an extra dresser, which just required putting a changing pad on top of. We stored clothes and diapers in the dresser.
Arm's Reach co-sleeper (then baby slept in there with the sleeping surface dropped down until he outgrew it at 19 months) basic bouncer (gift, did not register) Fisher Price 4-in-1 tub Moby wrap Bobby pillow Summer's infant stroller that reclines flat Grace Extend2Fit convertible car seat various clothes, blankets, and toys That's pretty much it. Grandma bought a playmat around 2 months. An Infantino carrier was passed down to us when baby was around 6 months old. Later on we got a simple IKEA high chair, and my aunt sent us a travel high chair that we've barely used. We did buy a mini crib mattress for the arm's reach to make it more comfortable for baby once he got a bit bigger. We got a tot bed that was passed down from a sibling at 19 months. |
Anonymous
Buy a swing for $20 used. If baby likes it great! If they hate it, just sell it. I rarely used my bouncer. I used it mostly when I went back to work as a place to set the baby down in my bathroom while I got ready in the morning. I never actually bounced the babies. I have heard rave reviews of the Bjorn bouncer, but all the others suck. |
Anonymous
I’m that PP. I got that many clothes because they were small and cute and to try to reduce frequency of laundry as we live in an apartment with a common laundry room. As for the bath, DD took baths in the kitchen sink until she outgrew the sink at which point she could sit up in the tub. The wash cloths and blankets came in a 5-pack and didn’t take up a ton of space! |
Anonymous
Thanks, everyone. This has been incredibly helpful! I'm updating my registry as I read this. 
For bottles, would you recommend a starter kit or getting a few different kinds to try out? While I'm planning to breastfeed, the baby will be in daycare at 3 months. |
Anonymous
Don't buy any. you'll get a lot for free with registry kits. You can then see which your kid likes. Mine liked the lansinoh momma that came with my manual pump. |
Anonymous
Dr Browns are known for reducing gas. I've gone with those for both kids and neither had issues with gas. |
Anonymous
| We received both a Boppy Lounger and a Leachco Podster as gifts and I have to say, the Leachco Podster worked SO MUCH BETTER for us than the Boppy Lounger. I am adding this comment because the Boppy Lounger seems to be more popular and I've seen it recommended on here a few times. I had never heard of the Podster before I received it as a gift from a fellow mom who swore by it. It's great for supervised naps (he slept a lot longer in the Podster than in the Boppy) and when the baby was really tiny we'd just set him on the dinner table in the Podster while we ate. Also, my son was sick at 1.5 months and was very stuffy. The only way he would sleep was in the Podster since it elevates the head slightly. He also outgrew the Boppy Lounger much earlier. FWIW, we did not use a bouncer and he refused to sit in the overpriced swing we bought, so he never used it. |
Anonymous
I guess it depends on preference, but I love the Boppy Lounger. My 2.5 month old is in the midst of a 3.5 hr nap on it as I write. I bought ours used for $15 and I can honestly say it was the best $15 ever spent. |
Anonymous
They're also a pain to clean, and your kid might not need gas reduction. Mine used Avent bottles and never had issues. Agree to wait on bottles and get as many free as you can, unless you are going to the glass in which case the avent bottles worked great for us. We never needed anything other than the 4oz size. |
Anonymous
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A way to transport baby: Infant car seat, virtually any brand will do but we had a Britax one that attached to our britax stroller and we were very happy with it.
A place for the baby to sleep: we only ever used a crib (ikea) + crib mattress (davinci baby) + crib sheets (we had 3 but really only needed/used 2) + crib mattress cover, also a sleep sack we liked the halo ones Clothes: 3-5 zip up footie pajamas, 3-5 soft pants, 3-5 snap onesies/bodysuits, baby socks, a hat or 2 Diapers, baby wipes, aquaphor or other diaper ointment/cream Feeding stuff: if breastfeeding, a pump, some bottles and bags to put pumped milk in, nipple cream, nursing pads (you should be able to get all that through insurance), a breastfeeding pillow (I liked my Boppy); if formula feeding: obviously bottles and formula though I have no specific recommendations as I mostly breastfed. The times we bottle fed pumped milk we liked the avent bottles. A few cloth bibs for spit up and a few waterproof bibs when they start solids, some baby spoons and a couple divided plates, the munchkin miracle cup has been the best sippy cup we’ve owned (and we’ve had many)
Baby bath tub, baby soap/shampoo, a couple hooded towels, baby nail clippers, baby comb/hairbrush, digital thermometer, first aid kit Stroller: as I said, we loved our britax but there are lots of nice ones. I did really like having the option to connect the infant car seat with the stroller and we did that all the time. We still use the stroller now, 4 years and 2 kids later. Baby carrier: we had the original erbobaby and liked it but I think there are a lot of even better ones now. If you plan to baby wear a lot get a really nice one that can be used facing in or out. High chair: we had the ikea one and loved it Other baby gear: I think you want a place to put baby when you need hands free but whether that’s a bouncy seat or swing depends on what your baby likes! I had one kid who loved to swing and another who hated it; one kid who was very happy sitting up in a bouncy seat and another who was happier just in a blanket on the floor so you may want to wait til your baby is born for this and/or buy second hand; a play mat/activity gym is nice to have but not must have; when they get bigger IME most kids love the jumperoo or exersaucer but I also recommend getting this later, when you’re actually going to use it and buying second hand. They use it for such a short amount of time and you don’t want to store all this stuff for months; pack n play just the basic one was good for us!; diaper bag nice to have but could also just use a regular bag or backpack is just as good imo; baby monitor we just had a basic vtech audio monitor. It’s fine. I really wanted a video monitor but my husband thought I’d check it obsessively and he was right so we just got a no frills monitor instead. Other: don’t buy books, blankets (besides maybe one-2 nice swaddling ones), toys, you will get tons! |
Anonymous
And here come the disagreements. I hated this carrier. It's bulky, heavy, and hot. The BOBA soft structured carrier was "better" for us. |
Anonymous
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OP here. I can’t thank you all enough for this info. I haven’t even started my registry, but I feel like I could totally make one from this thread alone.
Thank you!! |
Anonymous
| Get the skip hop diaper changer that you can throw in a bag. We still use that at 16 months. We also got the origami mini crib instead of a full crib. It rolls through doorways and fit well right next to our bed in the early days, and we are also still using at 16 months for baby #2. The Baby k’tan was nice for the newborn days for getting out of the house, but I hated the ergo and so did my kids. The halo swaddle sleep sack was really handy for transitioning from swaddling. I also highly recommend the guava lotus travel crib instead of a pack n play. Other things like exersaucers, tubs, and play mats get used for such a small amount of time and are not really necessary, I wouldn’t focus my efforts on it. We also had a small space and didn’t need a monitor. Definitely get a stroller that can convert to tandem if you think you might have another, I feel like we wasted money on the first stroller. |
Anonymous
| You don’t need to register for clothes, blankets, or books. After 2 kids in 3 years we are drowning in this stuff. I would also say don’t worry about a nursery or nursery furniture, we ended up room sharing for the first year. |
Anonymous
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register for simple to use swaddles.
We first did the swaddling with a thin blanket, but couldn't quite get it tightly wrapped. Then we moved onto Halo sleep sacks, but the noise that the Velcro made when we got her out of it for diaper changes startled her too much. We switched to Woombies and never looked back. It kept our daughter snug and asleep, and was super easy to unzip for diaper changes. |