OP what did you decide? One thing I was given off-registry was a small insulated zippered stripe lunch bag with my child’s initial. I didn’t think I would use it but it was the perfect size for the park, and now DC takes their lunch to pre school in this bag. I totally get that monogrammed stuff can’t be returned and might not be best, but in our case it worked out. Kids love to see their name and initials and it starts in that pre-literacy phase. So this gift has actually carried us through quite a few years already and it’s not something I would have thought of.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a similar suggestion: basket with boogie wipes, baby wash, baby sunscreen, etc. All stuff they’ll need and use. (One friend gave us a booger themed gift: nose frida, boogie wipes, and oogie bear — all very useful!!)

Or an experiential gift: baby yoga class, baby music, baby gymnastics, etc. Obviously I would ask what they would be interested in doing.

But again, I am very particular about which brands of these items I use on my baby and would not want someone else to buy them without knowing my preferences or I wouldn’t use them. People on this thread seem to think either moms just don’t care about brands, materials or quality at all or that there’s some universal set of items when there really isn’t. That’s why if registry is all bought, just get gift cards. (And in my case I don’t trust Amazon because of its rampant counterfeit issues so I wouldn’t even buy baby products there and that gift card would be unused, too…)

A gift is a nice sign that they love you. If you dont' like it than say thank you and give it to a child who needs something and isn't pickly about " the brands". Good god this generation is too much.

You can’t find one thing you’d ever buy on Amazon? Good grief. Just regift the gift card or unwanted item. Or, in all honesty, you may be somebody who is just better off having a “no gift” shower if potentially receiving something as “unusable” as a gift card is deemed offensive to you.

^ This was meant for the special snowflake you replied to PP, not you
who I (we) all agree with!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a similar suggestion: basket with boogie wipes, baby wash, baby sunscreen, etc. All stuff they’ll need and use. (One friend gave us a booger themed gift: nose frida, boogie wipes, and oogie bear — all very useful!!)

Or an experiential gift: baby yoga class, baby music, baby gymnastics, etc. Obviously I would ask what they would be interested in doing.

But again, I am very particular about which brands of these items I use on my baby and would not want someone else to buy them without knowing my preferences or I wouldn’t use them. People on this thread seem to think either moms just don’t care about brands, materials or quality at all or that there’s some universal set of items when there really isn’t. That’s why if registry is all bought, just get gift cards. (And in my case I don’t trust Amazon because of its rampant counterfeit issues so I wouldn’t even buy baby products there and that gift card would be unused, too…)

A gift is a nice sign that they love you. If you dont' like it than say thank you and give it to a child who needs something and isn't pickly about " the brands". Good god this generation is too much.

You can’t find one thing you’d ever buy on Amazon? Good grief. Just regift the gift card or unwanted item. Or, in all honesty, you may be somebody who is just better off having a “no gift” shower if potentially receiving something as “unusable” as a gift card is deemed offensive to you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really appreciated the homemade crochet baby blanket we got. As a minimalist that purges hard, it will be a keepsake we’ll save to adulthood. They look to be about $50 on Etsy.

I was given seven blankets when my first was born, and four when my second was born.

+1. I do a hard pass on that. Fleece blanket got much more use than the crocheted one.

The problem with blankets, which are a lovely gift, is the "make your baby's bed look like a prison" safe sleep advice that gets drilled into every American mom's head. I did follow it and obviously a sweet fuzzy sleep space is much less important than preventing SIDS, but it meant that thoughtful baby gifts like teddy bears and blankets got basically zero use when I had an actual baby (<1 year).

I used them in the car seat.we got a lot of use out of the med/small blankets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a similar suggestion: basket with boogie wipes, baby wash, baby sunscreen, etc. All stuff they’ll need and use. (One friend gave us a booger themed gift: nose frida, boogie wipes, and oogie bear — all very useful!!)

Or an experiential gift: baby yoga class, baby music, baby gymnastics, etc. Obviously I would ask what they would be interested in doing.

But again, I am very particular about which brands of these items I use on my baby and would not want someone else to buy them without knowing my preferences or I wouldn’t use them. People on this thread seem to think either moms just don’t care about brands, materials or quality at all or that there’s some universal set of items when there really isn’t. That’s why if registry is all bought, just get gift cards. (And in my case I don’t trust Amazon because of its rampant counterfeit issues so I wouldn’t even buy baby products there and that gift card would be unused, too…)

A gift is a nice sign that they love you. If you dont' like it than say thank you and give it to a child who needs something and isn't pickly about " the brands". Good god this generation is too much.

You already have a gift for one of the two showers, so I don’t think it’s necessary to give a second gift at a second shower.

You could easily:

(1) Not bring a gift to the second shower

(2) Just bring a card to the second shower if you feel weird attending without a gift

(3) Give a gift card or savings bond

(4) Give a practical gift they can either use or, in the spirit of being minimalist, regift or donate

To be honest, I received several gifts that weren’t my taste (giant bows, frilly bloomers, fancy tulle tutu-style dresses, a zillion blankets), but I held onto them knowing they’d be good to gift to somebody else. And that was nice to know I had some items “in stock” I didn’t have to go shop for. TBH, you can’t determine whether the recipient will like or use your gift anyway, so don’t put so much energy into finding what may be “perfect.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a similar suggestion: basket with boogie wipes, baby wash, baby sunscreen, etc. All stuff they’ll need and use. (One friend gave us a booger themed gift: nose frida, boogie wipes, and oogie bear — all very useful!!)

Or an experiential gift: baby yoga class, baby music, baby gymnastics, etc. Obviously I would ask what they would be interested in doing.

But again, I am very particular about which brands of these items I use on my baby and would not want someone else to buy them without knowing my preferences or I wouldn’t use them. People on this thread seem to think either moms just don’t care about brands, materials or quality at all or that there’s some universal set of items when there really isn’t. That’s why if registry is all bought, just get gift cards. (And in my case I don’t trust Amazon because of its rampant counterfeit issues so I wouldn’t even buy baby products there and that gift card would be unused, too…)

This seems bizarre to me. I can understand not wanting to buy certain products from Amazon, but you can't use an Amazon card to buy picture books for your baby? Or buy something you need and then free up some money in your budget to buy an organic product for your baby? Or to celebrate your baby by buying products from the wish list of some organization that is meaningful to you? You literally couldn't spend an Amazon card at all?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a similar suggestion: basket with boogie wipes, baby wash, baby sunscreen, etc. All stuff they’ll need and use. (One friend gave us a booger themed gift: nose frida, boogie wipes, and oogie bear — all very useful!!)

Or an experiential gift: baby yoga class, baby music, baby gymnastics, etc. Obviously I would ask what they would be interested in doing.

But again, I am very particular about which brands of these items I use on my baby and would not want someone else to buy them without knowing my preferences or I wouldn’t use them. People on this thread seem to think either moms just don’t care about brands, materials or quality at all or that there’s some universal set of items when there really isn’t. That’s why if registry is all bought, just get gift cards. (And in my case I don’t trust Amazon because of its rampant counterfeit issues so I wouldn’t even buy baby products there and that gift card would be unused, too…)

Well, sometimes you just take a gift and graciously say thank you. The registry is complete. And guess what? The registry is also just a suggestion. People can buy what they want. OP is crowdsourcing ideas for a thoughtful gift and people made appropriate and detailed suggestions.

You sound like you couldn’t be pleased anyway.

Anonymous wrote:I have a similar suggestion: basket with boogie wipes, baby wash, baby sunscreen, etc. All stuff they’ll need and use. (One friend gave us a booger themed gift: nose frida, boogie wipes, and oogie bear — all very useful!!)

Or an experiential gift: baby yoga class, baby music, baby gymnastics, etc. Obviously I would ask what they would be interested in doing.

But again, I am very particular about which brands of these items I use on my baby and would not want someone else to buy them without knowing my preferences or I wouldn’t use them. People on this thread seem to think either moms just don’t care about brands, materials or quality at all or that there’s some universal set of items when there really isn’t. That’s why if registry is all bought, just get gift cards. (And in my case I don’t trust Amazon because of its rampant counterfeit issues so I wouldn’t even buy baby products there and that gift card would be unused, too…)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Diapers and wipes

+1. So many saying books. You can have too many books folks. Especially if you prefer the library.

Yes but toddlers love chewing on books. A few aren't going to kill you

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really appreciated the homemade crochet baby blanket we got. As a minimalist that purges hard, it will be a keepsake we’ll save to adulthood. They look to be about $50 on Etsy.

I was given seven blankets when my first was born, and four when my second was born.

+1. I do a hard pass on that. Fleece blanket got much more use than the crocheted one.

The problem with blankets, which are a lovely gift, is the "make your baby's bed look like a prison" safe sleep advice that gets drilled into every American mom's head. I did follow it and obviously a sweet fuzzy sleep space is much less important than preventing SIDS, but it meant that thoughtful baby gifts like teddy bears and blankets got basically zero use when I had an actual baby (<1 year).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really appreciated the homemade crochet baby blanket we got. As a minimalist that purges hard, it will be a keepsake we’ll save to adulthood. They look to be about $50 on Etsy.

I was given seven blankets when my first was born, and four when my second was born.

+1. I do a hard pass on that. Fleece blanket got much more use than the crocheted one.

Is part of their minimalism an environmental or sustainability concern? I notice that some moms have plastic bags for dirty diapers (that you can’t toss at the pedi) or wet clothes. You can buy zipper waterproof bags in fun patterns for these uses. The bags are washable. This is something that makes me personally feel better about all the wipes and paper towels that you use for kids. And it’s useful later for wet bathing suits, water shoes, etc.

Idk maybe this is dumb but it makes me feel better to not use plastic bags. I also agree with the poster who specifically mentioned Aquaphor. Kids can be sensitive to different things, but the clear Aquaphor ointment is one thing I’ve never seen a kid react to. Same with water wipes.

I think gift cards are the way to go in this situation. I was that minimalist mom (absolutely bare essentials until I knew what my babies liked/needed) and gift cards are perfect for the things you find out after the baby is born. Personally, I loved doordash and delivery food things even though usually I love to cook, but I guess think about if that's something your friends will use? You can also give them more of anything disposable/consumable you think they'll actually want and is shelf stable -- baby shampoo and diaper paste and wipes and lotion and baby Tylenol and things.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did the registry include a tub mat and the bathtub faucet cover? That faucet cover has saved us a bunch of times and for some reason people always register for a baby tub but don’t think of the mat for when they (quickly) transition from the baby bathtub.

is a bath mat necessary?

What’s the alternative? Our tub is slick so our babies and toddlers tub had a nonslip mat so they could sit and play in the tub. And it was safer to stand up on (in the case of our tub).

I don’t know if all people use one but I couldn’t imagine skipping it.

We just used a hand towel on the bottom of the tub. After the bath you wring it out and wash it with the other towels. One of the concepts of minimalists is to have less things that only have a single purpose, like a nonslip tub mat.

Interesting! I think I would still personally prefer the mat that I clean once a week when I wash the tub. I wouldn’t want a soaking wet towel to wash after every bath. In this case I don’t see how the mat is any more cumbersome than the towel. But it’s def a single purpose item. You are right about that. Can’t think of any other use for it!