Creating a baby registry is supposed to be helpful, right? The whole point of a registry is to make life less stressful for new parents by making sure they're all stocked up on infant essentials well before the little one arrives. Or so I thought, until I was pregnant with my first baby. That's when I discovered how very stressful the process of picking and choosing the perfect items for your unborn child can be. 

Seems like every mom you meet has another "must-have" for the list:

"Make sure you register for a travel crib! That thing saved my life!" "Oh my god, I would have gone crazy with that vibrating bouncy seat. Do you have one on your registry?"

By the time my baby shower rolled around, I was convinced my future success as a mother depended on what I would find when I ripped all the pink bows and pastel wrapping paper off those boxes. Please, please let there be a bouncy seat!!

Then my daughter was born. And guess what?

Normally when someone is pregnant with their second, third, or fourth baby, (and so on and so forth), I don't really see a need for them to be thrown an additional baby shower. After all, that's kind of something that is reserved for first-time moms, because the gifts you receive can be passed down and used for future children as well. Seriously, who needs multiple pack-and-plays, exersaucers, and bouncy seats cluttering up their homes?

Earlier this morning, however, I read about a woman who was pregnant with her fourth child, and got her feelings hurt because an office baby shower was thrown for a co-worker who was expecting her first child, while this woman wasn't given so much as a slice of cake to celebrate her upcoming arrival. And you know what? That just doesn't seem fair to me. She totally got the shaft, and she had every right to be upset.

Over the weekend, Jessica Simpson, who you may or may not have known is pregnant, had her baby shower. Yes, it was a star-studded event, with celebs like Jessica Alba, Ellen Pompeo, sister Ashlee -- and their respective kids -- present. Yes, she received tons of gifts such as "books, stuffed toys, and clothes." And, yes, the color theme was pink with tube-shaped balloons and tulips serving as decor.

All in all, sounds like a lovely day. And from what I've heard, Jessica had a great time -- actually, the phrase "completely ecstatic" was used to describe the mom-to-be. But as anyone who's ever had a baby shower knows: Once the festivities are done, and all the baby paraphernalia is lugged into your house -- holy s**t, everything gets real. You're having a child!

Being pregnant can be incredibly thrilling, exhausting, irritating, and amazing. And that's just for the average lady. Consider expecting moms who live every day without the father of that bundle of joy because he's deployed as a member of the military. Stress! Now, how about if you are one of those military members on active duty while carrying a bun in the oven? Yeah, that's tough.

I was incredibly lucky to help out this week with one of Operation Shower's baby showers for expectant moms who have a partner or husband serving in the military or are active duty themselves. Let me tell you, after interviewing not one, but two pregnant mamas who were on active duty, my own pregnancy pains seemed positively trivial.

Hilary Duff and her baby-to-be were showered with love this weekend when her sister Haylie, mom, and a few friends threw her, well, a baby shower. Surely, the star got plenty of super fancy, organic, diamond-encrusted, one-of-a-kind baby gifts -- she's a pregnant celeb, it's a rule -- but I think some of the best gifts of all were the super cheap -- super cheesy -- ones. Like the adorably horrific bib her sister gave her.

So, I'm completely done registering. And my baby shower invites have been sent out. Most have reached their destinations, some are still en route. A few people who haven't yet received their propositions to buy me stuff have asked me, via text or Instant Message, "Where are you registered?" To which I respond with the baby emporium my husband and I chose. And then the slightest twinge of anxiety begins to set in. I feel like I'm about to be judged.

Truly one of the most daunting things I've had to deal with thus far in my pregnancy is figuring out what to register for (I'm lucky, I know). My experience with babies and infants is scant, and my knowledge of baby "stuff" is virtually non-existent. So, of course, when it came time to put together a list of stuff my little one and I will need, I had an influx of (welcome) advice.

Most of the suggestions were invaluable. I'm now schooled in the various types of swaddling blankets, and I'm 100 percent confident in the stroller I've decided to go with. But, in spite of my lack of knowledge, based solely on common sense, other things just don't seem all that necessary. In fact, they seem completely superfluous, particularly for a person who lives in a one-bedroom apartment. Here are five items I refuse to register for.

Dr. Benjamin Spock's ninth edition of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care is here, new parents! So don't you fret about raising that baby on the way. Even though the eponymous child rearing expert died over a decade ago, his wife and apparently a very modern team of editors carry on, and we now have an updated book that tells parents everything they need to know about bringing up baby.

Forget your Sears, your Karp, your ladies who whisper at babies, Spock was the first parenting "expert" to tell parents to learn to trust themselves, and to care for their children rather than ignoring their needs. Also (and this is my favorite thing about the good doctor), Spock's philosophy was to guide, not demand. So it's information rather than advocating for a certain parenting style. Spock got that every parent and every child were different and had to make their own choices.

So, then, after all of that, what is so dramatically different about the ninth edition of Dr. Spock?