Registering: What Don't I Need?

Everyone has their own suggestions as to what is an absolute necessity and what you can do without when it comes to preparing your home for a new baby.  So when it came time to registering I listened to every possible suggestion.  Jonathan and I got recommendations on the best receiving blankets, diaper brands, and strollers.  However, none of that really means much when you are going around a store, trying to navigate through the endless aisles of incredibly foreign products.

When we registered at Babies ‘R Us I was about twenty weeks pregnant.  (I wanted to register before Christmas so that people could get us things from our registry.  I knew neither of us really needed anything, so it was best to start getting ready for our little one.)  This ended up being a great time in the pregnancy to register.  My morning sickness was under control with my Zofran and I had plenty of energy.  Or so I thought.  Your energy seems to drain right out of you once you hit the aisle of 6,000 pacifiers.  How does anyone ever make any decisions?!

Somehow, we were able to make some selections.  After my baby shower and even after Kendall was actually born though I realized what was actually necessary and what I truly did not need at all.  Assuming that you will be having a baby shower for your loved ones to celebrate your new arrival, here are a few helpful hints when trying to figure out what NOT to register for.

1. Receiving blankets: You will get hundreds of receiving blankets at your shower.  Some of them you will have selected yourself, others you will not have.  Once that baby arrives, it won’t make a difference what you use (either for swaddling or cleaning up spit-up).  Save yourself some time and forego this one.

2. Baby towels and rags: Again, you will get hundreds of these at your shower.  Chances are you will get so many that you will even have some to take back.  So no worries, you don’t have to add this to your list.

3. Soaps and shampoos: Unless you are opting for organic soaps, you do not need to register for these.  Many stores carry little baby bath-kits that are full of shampoo, baby wash, and lotion.  You may receive a lot of these, even if you haven’t registered for them.  Again, save yourself the time.  Someone will buy it.

4. Snap ‘n Go Stroller:  Hear me out on this one.  I think this is a great product.  It is the perfect little vehicle for your infant’s car seat, without having to lug around a giant stroller that you got in the “Travel System.”  However, they are usually around $100!  It seems like a steep price for something that may not get a ton of use.  Find a friend with one and borrow hers.  I got mine on Craigslist for $30 from a very nice woman who lived nearby that had used it only a handful of times.  If you don’t have a friend with one, feel free to borrow mine J

5. Clothes: Tiny clothes are hard to resist.  Anything so small is going to be adorable and you are going to convince yourself that you need it.  But you don’t!  People are going to buy you clothes, especially once that baby is born.  And it seems like when people find out the gender of their baby, clothes are the most popular gift at the baby shower. 

6. Baby bath tub: They might seem like a great idea, but for how long?  And then after you no longer need it, where do you store it?  I have a better solution, so stay tuned!

7. Diaper genie: By the suggestion of our neighbor, we did not add this to our registry.  He said that he and his wife had had one and it was awful!  Although they are to hold in the smell, he said that they do not.  And worst of all, he said that changing the bag was a mess!  Opt for a small trash can with a lid, use old plastic grocery bags, and save yourself forty bucks.

8. Baby shoes and socks: Before Kendall was born, I was obsessed with finding her socks.  I had convinced myself that she absolutely needed them.  Well, I was right…she did need them.  However, a pair of socks that fit newborn feet just don’t exist.  I wasted a ton of energy looking for teeny tiny socks when all I really needed to do was put her in a pair of pants with footies or footie pajamas.  So much easier.

9. Brest Friend Pillow:  Cumbersome, awkward, gigantic.  Get a Boppy instead.  Kendall is one year old and still nursing and we still love our boppy. 

10.  Toys and stuffed animals: There really is not much of a need.  Other than perhaps a play mat and a few little rattles, I would skip registering for toys and focus on some things that you are going to really NEED when that little one arrives.

Of course, these are all things I discovered that were not necessarily the best items for US.  Everyone is different and you may find that there are some items here that you just loved.  For me, none of these are it.  Follow up with me as I give my must have list and my absolute favorite items.