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?
The only thing that really did turn out to be a "must-have" was my nursing pillow. Now that truly was a life-saver!
So if you're driving yourself bonkers trying to create the perfect baby registry, relax. Take a deep breath, pick up a pen, and cross the following items off your list of baby "essentials." (Or at least don't worry too much about whether or not you get them.)
1. Wipes warmer
2. Diaper stacker
3. Changing table
4. Steam sterilizer
5. Baby bath tub
6. Diaper pails
7. Fancy crib bedding
8. Burping cloths
9. Glider/Upholstered rocking chair
10. Drying rack for bottles
Having second thoughts about any of the above?
What's on your baby registry?
Image via Jessica Merz/Flickr
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Comments 73
I dont know.... I loved having me some burp cloths. I kept those suckers in every nook of the house along with wipes there for a while. All the other things, though...garbage :)
I personally loved my changing table, of course I got a simple cheap one that as soon as we were done we just took it down & moved it from their room. Some of those crazy expensive ones just seem ridiculous.
The wipes warmer was a joke, we tried every trick in the book & it still dried out the wipes.
Steam sterilizer is great too. Not having to boil countless pots of water? Priceless.
Really, burping cloths? So.... are you saying to just let the baby puke on you or are you suggesting I let all my tea towels get ruined with puke stains?
1. Wipes warmer- Garbage is you use disposable wipes, essential if you use cloth wipes. I use mine every day and LOVE it.
3. Changing table- Again, I use it every day. My daughter is an escape artist and without the table she crawls away during diaper changes.
5. Baby bath tub- How else would you bath them before they can sit up on their own?
7. Fancy crib bedding- I wouldn't call it necessary but it's cute.
8. Burping cloths- These are essential. I use them constantly still and my LO is almost a year.
9. Glider/Upholstered rocking chair- We need a rocking chair to survive.
So it's all relative. These are the things you found you did not need to survive with YOUR baby, but it's asinine to say that because that's your experience no one else needs these things.