What you need on your baby registry

If you are having a baby or know someone who is, keep reading to see what items are a must have for your (or someone you know) baby registry!

I have four boys ages 12, 5, and twin 20 month olds and a 4 month old baby girl! So I guess you can say by now, I know what I need on my registry versus what is just a want or what I won't even use at all.

With my first born, I am not even sure if I made a registry. I was only 20 (was 21 when I had him) and I just kind of just left it to my family and friends to know what I would need!

With my second born, I had a list of things that I needed, and a few wants. By the time I had my twins, I knew I didn't need a bunch of unnecessary items and kept it to a minimum. 


Baby Registry Must Haves:

1.) Carseat- This one is a no brainer, of course you are going to need a carseat, how else will you bring your little bundle of joy home! There are so many different carseats out there, that you really need to do your research on to make sure you get one that will be the best for your baby. There are the infant seats which are nice because if baby happened to fall asleep when you are out and about you done have to wake them up to unbuckle them, because the seat just unclips from the car and can go straight into the stroller. The convertible carseats are also nice as you won't have to buy another carseat for baby like you will when you go with the infant seat. The only downside for me is that when you take little one out shopping or running errands and they fall asleep you are going to probably end up waking them up when you go to get them out of the seat to put in the stroller.

2.) Diapers/ Wipes- It is never too early to start stocking up. When I found out I was expecting twins, I started stocking up around 4 months. I clipped coupons, used Ibotta, and Ebates/Rakuten to help save money. Make sure to put a variety of sizes on your registry, just because you dont want 10 packs of newborn. Also if you are worried about baby out growing them before you use them, stores like Wal-Mart and Target will let you exchange them for a larger size as long as they carry that brand and size count! Another good idea is once baby gets here and you know which brand of diapers works best, you can use Amazon Prime Subscribe and Save and have your diapers delivered straight to your door! I did this with the twins and it was so nice. You receive them at a discounted price and you don't have to leave you house to get them! Another good place to get diapers is Sam's Club, they almost always have a deal on diapers, plus they also deliver!

3.) Clothing- I went overboard when it came to clothing for all my kids, baby clothes are just too darn cute! But I am trying to do better with Baby girl, even though I already have 2 tier clothing rack full of clothing, BUT I did buy in future needed sizes. LOL!
The main items of baby clothing that are needed are:

* Onesies- I would have atleast 7-10, and depending on the season your baby is born, some of those may need to be long-sleeved.

* Sleepers- 10, that way if baby has a blow out or spits up you have plenty of backups. You might not be doing baby's laundry every day and you want to make sure you have back ups. Also I recommend the zip up kind to the snap up kind, just because when you are sleep deprived in the middle of the night, you do not want to be trying to snap them up and then mis snap and have to start over....and over! If you do get snap up sleepers, my advice is to use those during the day. You will thank me later!

* Baby Gowns- 3-4 of these! I LOVE them! I used them for my boys and I have them for my little princess too. They make nighttime diaper changes a lot easier. 

* Socks- 5-7 pairs. When baby is not wearing a sleeper you will need theses to keep their little piggy's warm. My advice is to just stick with white ones to begin with until baby gets older, just because some of the more cutesy ones are harder to "match" with outfits.

* Mittens- 2-3 pairs. I used them with my 5 year old and with my twins for a few weeks. A lot of the baby sleepers now have the built in mittens so you won't need to buy a whole bunch of them. Some babies do not like them and will not keep them on, so that's why I say just a few pair and go from there.

* Pants/shorts- Again depending on when your little one is due, you will want to have a few pairs of pants/shorts for those cute little onesies.

* Sleep Sack- 1-2 are all you need until you know if your baby will like them or not. 

4.) Blankets/swaddles- 2 thicker blankets and 5-7 receiving blankets are all you need. Although it is hard when there are so many cute blankets out there. 

5.) Bottles- All babies are different and by saying that I mean that not all babies will like the same bottles. If you plan on bottle feeding, then you will need to find a bottle that your baby will take. My advice is to buy a few different styles and then see which one your baby prefers. Babylist has a set where you get five different bottles to see which one your baby likes. You can buy that set here.

6.) Crib/Bassinet- Since you will need a safe place for your baby to sleep, you will need to ask yourself a few questions, like will baby be sleeping in his/her own room or in your room. Since my babies have always started out in my room, I opted to get a bassinet to put beside my side of the bed for easy access to baby. I used the Halo Bassinest. I absolutely love this bassinet. It has a drop down arm so I can pick baby up easily while still in my bed, it swivels whichever way I need it too and it has height adjustment. The only issue with a bassinet is they are only able to be used for a short amount of time and if you are on a tight budget then it may not be the best choice for you. Another question is how much space do you have for baby's sleeping area? If you have a small space I suggest a mini crib. I used one for my 5 year old when he was a baby because where we lived, we didn't have a lot of space and it worked just fine. If space is not a problem you can opt for a full sized crib. There are so many different kinds of cribs, just be sure to do your research. Most cribs I see on the market now are convertible, which means they will convert to a toddler bed, twin bed and in some cases a full size bed if you buy the conversion kits sold separately.

7.) Crib Sheets/ Waterproof Mattress Pad- Don't forget to add these to your registry! You will need a few sheets, and I would say 2 mattress pads. That way you have a spare or two while you have one in the laundry.

8.) Crib Mattress- There are so many different mattress types of crib mattresses that it is easy to get a little overwhelmed. The first thing you need to be aware of is what size crib mattress you need, a  full/standard size or a mini size. My best advice on picking out a mattress is to go to BuyBuyBaby and look them over, or if you only want to shop online, read the reviews.  

9.) Baby Wash/Shampoo/Lotion- Of course you will need these on your registry! My advice is to buy some of the travel size versions of a few different ones and see what one works best for your baby. Some babies have very sensitive skin and can not use products with fragrance in them. My favorite to use on my little ones is the Shea Moisture 100% Virgin Coconut Oil Baby Wash. It smells so good!

10.) Swing/ Bouncer- These are a good idea to have on your registry, it gives baby a safe space to sit while you do chores around the house or just to give you a break. 

11.) Diaper bag- Do you want a backpack, or a shoulder bag? Maybe a tote bag. Would you prefer a small bag or an oversized bag? There are so many options to choose from. Depending on what you need, and how often you will need to use a diaper bag will help you determine which kind you need. Refer to my post about what to pack in your diaper bag here.

12.) Gas Drops/Tylenol/Diaper Rash Cream- Gas drops are a must in my house,  poor baby girl gets gas sometimes and needs help. Tylenol is a necessity too, incase of fevers while they are under 6 months before they can have Motrin. My favorite diaper rash cream is the Burt's Bee Baby Diaper Rash Cream. One of my twins had a really bad diaper rash and nothing we tried would help. So after jumping online to research the best diaper rash cream this popped up. Within one diaper change, you could already see a difference. By the second diaper change, it was gone! We had wasted so much time and money on different rash creams and ointments. Never again, this is the only one we use now.

13.) Baby Monitor- You don't have to have the most high tech video monitor on the market, but it is nice to have a baby monitor. I live in a single level house but I still have a couple baby monitors, a video one in my twins room and a regular one in my room for when I am in the living room and she is taking a nap. I am waiting for my husband to put the camera up in our room so I can see her and the twins when they nap at the same time. We got our video monitor off of Amazon. I have had no problems with it at all, you can link up to 4 cameras to this one monitor. 

These are the main items that you should need on your baby registry. I will update if I think of any others that I missed. If I missed any, please leave me a comment.





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