Registry- HELP

My advice for the day, if you are giving a lovey blanket/animal thing, give two - both my son and daughter are addicted to theirs and I live in fear that we will lose one of them. I wish I had had enough forethought to get two of each of them.

For me a total waste of money was a baby bath tub. Next time I only want one of those sponge things or a small seat (teh one for newborns +). I also never used the bottle warmer and tons of baby blankets went unused (people give these even when you don't ask...or atleast thats what I have found).
I loved my baby swing, bouncey seat, bumbo and sling.

I had my third baby 3 years ago...after my youngest was eleven! So I had to do a bit of research too. I found that baby bouncers are waste. Extra diapers or gift cards for babys r us are always great! A swing is essential and also the Boppy. A good monitor is also essential and you don't have to break the bank for a reliable one. Fisher-price makes a very good one. Onsies and extra crib sheets were very appreciated, and bottles bottles and more bottles. One more thing that I would have rejoiced in was a mom to help out on those days that I just couldn't keep my eyes open. You sound like just that kind of mom. God Bless and good luck!

gotta have:
-swing
-the basic needs (diapers, crib, carseat)
- teethingbling.com
- a GOOD quality monitor (even if you have one story, you want to go outside while baby sleeps and work in the garden or get some sun).

waste of money:
- food grinder
- a whole bunch of stuffed animals
- crappy monitors
- blankets (I say this only b/c I got so many blankets! Why did I even register for some? I got those, plus 10 more it seems. Hello! I live in Texas! It's hot here 90% of the year).

I have a 4 month old at home....what I loved this time around:

- LARGE receiving blankets - these work well to swaddle
- bouncy seat
- swing
- diapers in all sizes - I got too many newborn diapers - ask for size 2, 3, 4, 5, - baby will be in them before you know it and you will be glad they are there to reach for when you realize you are out.
- a nursing cover if you will breastfeed
- washclothes and towels for baby
- NOSE FRIDA - this is the best nasal aspirator you will ever use - the only one that works. I ordered mine online at Target. The idea is kinda gross, but I promise it is sanitary and you will be so glad you got one!

What I wouldn't ask for:
- bottles - I have a breastfed baby who takes bottles of milk every now and again, and we got so many different kids of bottles that he doesn't care for or that we don't like - so now they sit. Just buy one or two bottles and wait to see what baby will like...then buy more.
- clothes - they grow out of them so fast, and I know everyone LOVES to buy babies clothes, but they go overboard sometimes!
- a diaper warmer - who has time for this??

My best friend gave us a three way touch lamp from Pottery Barn kids (in white). It was the greatest thing becuase it was silent when doing the middle of the night changes and feedings and when she got a little older (she is 2.5 now) she could do it herself.

Alos, sleep sacs were amazing! All you have to do to change is unzip the sac and unsnap the onesie. The Halo ones are the best as they zip from the botttom up but Caters makes some nice ones too. Some long sleeve onesies make it the perfect gift.

We have a Britax car seats and would not go anyother way. They are pricey but you can use coupons at Buy Buy baby or Babies R us. We have a cousin that is a firefighter and he has seen cars flip and no damage to the baby or the car seats.

Congrats!!

All I can say as my 3 month old sits here screaming at me because he hates everything we own, go cheap and buy a variety of objects. I have a 230$ swing, bouncy seat thing, that is totally cool, and never used. a pack and play with a bassinet, an actual bassinet and a crib, again never used he won't sleep alone and even though I hate cosleeping between his age and hernia he can't CIO (but then I'm against that too). We have tried 6 different brands of paci's and he hates them all, even though he takes a bottle just fine and has no nipple confusion or anything. He hated being swaddled, and we have tons of those cause i found them at a garage sale and thought they were really neat.

So yes, don't settle on a brand of anything till after baby arrives, save receipts and don't open anything till you are ready to use it. Then if there is an allergy or he just doesn't like something you can exchange it.

Things I have used though, we have two really nice blankets that we love
changing table covers, we probably change it once a day because of an accident (what can i say the one place I can't leave him alone, he would gladly spend hours on)
carrier, my friend makes them (olivesandapplesauce.com) and it's the only way I ever get anything done
medela breast pump
and we cloth diaper but rather than buy the fancy ones we just use prefolds and prorap covers
and as fast as babies grow 2 weeks worth of clothes is really probably plenty in the smaller sizes, at 3 months old my son is almost out of 3-6 month sized clothing, so he obviously didn't wear half of what we had.

There are some pricier items that are good gifts for people who might like to go together to buy them... like the carseat/stroller travel system, a pack and play or bassinet of some type that can be kept in the family room or somewhere for naps and diaper changes, monitors (and if I have another baby, I definitely want a video monitor... thought I didn't care about it last time around, but now I wish I had them)... A nice swing is good to have, and I did use my bouncy seat a little, but I wouldn't say that's a MUST, but it is something to consider. They now have those seats that are less like a bouncy seat, like the papasan, where you can put the baby when you need to sit them down somewhere, and they can sleep there, too. Some of them rock, or glide... that is also something worth having...

I would also register for things like the baby care kit that has nail clippers, a nasal aspirator, etc. - I found I did eventually use those things, if not right away, but nice to have them available when you do need them... another good thing to have on hand is a GOOD, QUICK ear thermometer... and that's something you want to have on hand, not wait til ya need it to buy one!

Things I thought I needed, but found were a waste of money:

Diaper Genie - it always stunk, no matter how often we emptied it or how well we cleaned it, so we just kept a garbage on the porch, and lots of those little handle-tie bags to tie up stinky diapers, and emptied that can often.
Diaper Warmer - WASTE
Bottle Warmer - WASTE
And I wouldn't bother registering for any clothes or blankets, because people buy that stuff whether it's on a registry or not... she'll get plenty of clothes and blankets...
I also think it's silly to register for big stuff that you won't use for a long time, like a potty chair. I always laugh when I see things like this on a registry, since it will most likely have to be stored for at least 2 years...
Newborns don't need toys

As for diapers, my son could only use one kind of diapers, so in our case, it was not helpful to have lots of packs of diapers we couldn't use... so gift cards to Walmart, Target, etc. are great for things like that...

Inexpensive items, as most people don't buy pricier items. I received lots of Target gift cards and was able to buy a car seat. I bought nearly everything (nothing that I wouldn't know if BPA-free, for example) but carseats second hand nearly new at consignment stores and warehouse consignment sales (these are SO much fun!).

Target Aden & Anais sleep bags and receiving blankets, bumbo, Beco Butterfly II carrier, car seat canopy (sewed my own), Graco Sweetpeace swing (high weight capacity, electric, plays music, mp3 compatible and most important, baby LOVES), Tommee Tippee bottles but I would register for ONE bottle of several brands and buy medium flow nipples, if nursing, to see which kind they like. Don't register for bibs or clothes, you'll get them.

The diaper pal is the biggest waste of money. It works great for a few weeks, but once the dirty diaper smell gets into the plastic of the container, no matter what type of scented bag you use, the entire room will smell like dirty diapers. We did bleach it a few times and that lasts for a while, but who has time to be bleaching a diaper pal when you have a newborn. It was much better to just take the garbage out everyday. The best product that I never thought of until I got it as a gift was a humidifer. It had so many uses from the breathing assistance during snuffy nose/cold season, to helping regulate the temperature in our house, reducing bloody noses and dry skin in the winter and it just plain created white noise that helped the baby sleep.

I also loved the Medela Breastpump. I had to go back to work shortly after having both of our children and wanted to breastfeed. The Medela Breastpump was great. I was able to breastfeed both of my children for over a year with the assistance of the pump.

can't live without my Ergo baby carrier.

I'm more of a natural parenting, breastfeeding Momma... so my registry is full of single cloth diapers of varying brands... singly they are more affordable for people to get. I also have inserts from different companies and a wet bag or two. I also have a few different types of diaper bags I want, I'm going to talk my Mom and Dad into getting me a dual electric breast pump... I also co-sleep so a baby monitor, crib sheets, etc would be a waste.

Just make sure you add only the things you personally think you want and will use. Don't put in for a ______ (whatever) just because you think it's what you SHOULD get eventho it's not something you think you'll use.

Strollers are my main issue at the moment, all the ones I like are too expensive. But I think that's not a registry thing.

Basics: Bottles, Pacifiers, Diapers, Wipes, Diaper Rash Ointment, onesies, socks, sleepers, hair brush, and, if you are breastfeeding, pump and supplies.

I also could NEVER live without lots, and lots, and LOTS of receiving blankets. I used those for everything from swaddling to wiping up spit up, to protecting ME from spit up!

Bath Time: Shampoo, Body Wash, Bath Tub, Bath sling or sponge to keep the baby from slipping in the bath tub- the ones that come with the tubs are always sorely useless. For both my daughters, I bought a giant bear sponge and put that in the tub to keep them put.

Night Time: Baby monitor, some lovies (stuffed animal, soft blankie), crib, crib sheets, dust ruffle, mobile or crib toy with lights (I could never have lived without our crib toy with music and lights-my daughters fell asleep to that thing EVERY night until they were 2 or 3!, CD player with lullaby CDs (another lifesaver for me), night light, rocker/ottoman for rocking the baby or breastfeeding

Furniture: Again, crib & rocker/ottoman, bassinett, play yard with changing station/nap bassinett, high chair, swing, bouncer, stroller, rear-facing car seat

My most highest recommended, can NOT live without items: receiving blanket, boppy, bumbo chair, and Boudreaux's Butt Paste!

Congrats and good luck!

I'm pregnant with my 4th....

Must Haves:
~A pack and play that doubles as a bassinet
~spit up cloths...get some cloth diapers, they work well for this task.
~Washable bibs, the plastic ones, not cloth...what a laundry saver
~Travel system (infant carrier car seat and stroller and an extra base for the car seat if there are two cars involved.)
~Butt Paste (I forget the name of the company that makes it but it comes in a yellow tube and it is called "Butt Paste." It's the BEST for diaper rashes, should baby ever get one)
~Mattress sheet for the pack and play (if she gets one)
~Waterproof pad for under the sheet for the pack and play.
~Night shirts for baby that have a drawstring at the bottom. Some have elastic. These type of "jammies" make diaper changing in the middle of the night an easier task.

What you can do without:
Boppy (never found it easy to use or even comfortable)
Wipes warmer

It's only been three years since my "baby" was born but I've forgotten a lot too! The most useful things I can think of:

Lots of crib sheets and waterproof padded mattress covers. We went through a ton again when we potty trained. Flannel sheets were especially nice.

Waterproof pads in different sizes - little ones I could put on my lap, larger ones on the bed next to me, a huge one for the floor for tummy time and crawling.

A papasan was essential for me to be able to put him in the bathroom with me so I could shower! Also loved my bjorn carrier. Strapped him in and wore him around the house to do chores.

I also wish I hadn't gotten a bassinet. We later got a Pack N Play with a bassinet top. We used that thing forever. First in our bedroom, then when he moved to his own room, we put it downstairs in our living room. One with a diaper changing station and storage was awesome. (You'll need different sized sets of sheets for this than the crib.)

For furniture we just got a crib and a rocking chair. We bought a low dresser for his room and attached a changing pad to the top of it. Nightlight for changes.

Sleeping gowns - so much easier to change diapers in the middle of the night with no snaps.

Car seat system with stroller to snap the carrier into. They don't fit in them for very long but it's so much easier to move the whole thing than just the baby.

Burp cloths - cloth diapers are fine for this. We went through a LOT of those at first too. It was nice to have a lot of them so I didn't have to wash them so quickly. Now they make great cleaning cloths.

Could have done without so many bottles. I pumped a lot but I really only needed some bags and two or three bottles.

I can not live without my Summer Infantino hand held video monitor. My husband got it for me for Christmas after we had our baby. In my opinion, it is the best thing since sliced bread! LOL

Congratulations!!

My baby loves the teethingbling. I got it off of babysteals.com for 1/2 price. I would recommend a boppy even if your daughter is not going to breastfeed. The boppy can be used for so many things. I hated my bumbo seat as it was $35 and we used it maybe 3 times. My son loved to sit in it, but he would like to reach for his toes causing it to almost tip over so that one got put away quick. We also did an old school walker with wheels since we have nothing but hardwood flooring. This is great because now the little guy can follow me around the house while I clean and put things away. The new more advertised ones don't have wheels and are only good in one room, they are also big and bulky and don't store nicely. My walker folds almost flat. We like our swing, but it isn't a must if money is an issue. A SWADDLE blanket is a must. They make the cheater kind now that everyone can work and are super easy. Diapers is sizes 2-3 wouldn't recommend anything above a 3 all of mine have never made it past a 3 before being potty trained. We also did a normal monitor because if I was that concerned about my baby I would just get up and go check on him not rely on a tv monitor (these also break very easily). Lots of wipes too! Gift cards come in handy a few months later for food and bigger clothing. I would suggest clothing, but to purchase it for 3-6 months or 6-9 months that are season appropriate.

What fun. I loved registering for my daughter. The things I found useful were:
Gowns- easy diaper change; bottles; diapers of different sizes; stroller system; convertible carseat for when the infant seat is too small; I liked diapers better than burp clothes because they were bigger;changing pads; small and large diaper bags; plastic disposible diaper bags to throw diapers away when you are out; swing; bouncer entertainment center; walker.

Items that I didn't use:
bottle warmer; swaddler-my daughter hated being swaddled; the glider- babies can't stay in it long;

Congrats on your baby!!!