Baby 101: The Complete Baby Registry Checklist

Creating a baby registry can be overwhelming for a first time mom!  I did the majority of my baby registry with the help of two friends who had recently had babies themselves; this saved my husband from having to spend hours in Buy Buy Baby and gave me the benefit of their firsthand experience with baby products!  I took my husband back later to make the big decisions, like the carseat and stroller, but he was happy to avoid debating which bottles, pacifiers, bibs, and swaddle blankets we needed!

I registered at 3 stores: Buy Buy Baby, Babies R Us, and Pottery Barn Kids.  I've included below my baby registry suggestions; in parenthesis are links to the specific items I registered for.  I hope you find this helpful as you create your own baby registry!

Nursery

• 1 crib (Pottery Barn Kendall crib in white)
• 1 crib mattress (Colgate Classica III Foam Mattress)
• 1 glider + ottoman (Little Castle Serenity glider from Buy Buy Baby)
• 1 side table for next to glider (Kraven white round accent table)
• 1 rug (Bright Eyed Suzy Rug in green)
• 1 dresser (Ikea Hemnes 8-drawer dresser in white)
• 1 storage/bookshelf (if you have room - I didn’t)
• 1 lamp (Stacked ball lamp base and trellis print lamp shade)
• 1 fan - if your room doesn’t have a ceiling fan, to reduce the risk of SIDS
• 1 sound machine (Conair Sound Therapy sound machine)
• 1 baby monitor (Motorola 3.5" wireless video baby monitor with remote zoom/pan/tilt and night vision)

 

Bedding

• 3 fitted crib sheets (Pottery Barn Kids chevron, tile, and mini dot sheets)
• 2 waterproof fitted mattress pads (Carter's Keep Me Dry Fitted Quilted Crib Pad)
• 1 quilt/blanket (Pottery Barn Kids Alligator Madras Quilt) - for use on the floor as a play area, not in the crib!!!
• 1 crib skirt (Pottery Barn Kids Harper Crib Skirt)

Clothing

I would not bother registering for outfits/onesies -- first, because people will pick out what they like, and second, because the stock in stores changes so often with the seasons that what you register for will likely no longer be available when your showers come around.

• 3-pack of small/medium SwaddleMe infant wraps (Busy Bees print) 
• 3-pack of large SwaddleMe infant wraps (Superstar print)
• 2 medium Halo Sleepsack wearable blankets (100% cotton in Sage) - you'll want these in the medium size if your baby will be going to daycare, since most daycares don't allow swaddle blankets
• 1 4-pack Aden & Anais swaddle blankets (Safari Animals print)
• 2 packages socks
• 1 package scratch mittens (Carters)

  

Health/Safety

• Nail clippers (Safety 1st nail clippers)
• Emery boards (Safety 1st emery boards)
• Boogie wipes
• NoseFrida snotsucker and filter refills
• Diaper rash cream (A+D diaper rash cream)
• Infant Tylenol
• Gripe water
• Gas drops
• Cool mist humidifier (Crane drop shape humidifier)
• Temporal thermometer (Exergen temporal artery thermometer)

  

Feeding

Your insurance should pay for a breast pump - don’t buy one!

• 1 Nursing cover (Itzy Ritzy nursing cover)
• 1 package soft spoons (Gerber Graduates Soft Bite Infant Spoons)
• 1 bottle drying rack (Boon Grass drying rack and twig)
• 1 bottle brush (OXO Tot Bottle Brush)
• 1 Boppy nursing pillow (Boppy Bare Naked pillow)
• 2 Boppy slipcovers (Jacks and Green Dots)
• 1 package wipeable (vinyl) bibs (J Cole 3-pack bibs) - bibs that snap (instead of Velcro) won't tear up your laundry!
• 1 package absorbant (cotton) bibs (Aden + Anais Life's a Hoot bibs)
• 1 bottle cooler w/ ice pack (Skip Hop bottle bag)
• 1 high chair (Fisher Price Deluxe Booster Seat) - I got one that attaches to a normal chair to save space
• 1 package sectioned plastic plates (Re-Play Divided Plates)
• 1 package plastic bowls w/ lids (Gerber Graduates Bunch-a-Bowls)
• 2 baby food freezer trays (OXO Tot Trays)
• 2 packages baby food freezer storage containers (OXO Tot Baby Blocks)
• 100-pack breastmilk storage bags (Lansinoh storage bags)
• 1 box breast pump cleaning wipes (Medela Quick Clean Wipes)
• 1 box breast pump microwave sterilizer bags (Medela Micro-Steam Bags)
• 1 tube Lanolin ointment (Lansinoh lanolin)
• 1 package of bottles (5 oz size) in 3 different brands (Joovy Boob, Dr. Brown's, Gerber First Essentials)  - after you figure out what kind your baby prefers, you can buy more.  Don’t open and wash them until you need to - start with the simplest/cheapest brand first and only open the other brands if your baby doesn’t like those.  My baby ended up liking the Gerber First Essentials bottles, which are the cheapest option on the market (yay!)
• 1 bottle warmer (Dr. Brown's bottle warmer)
• 1 box disposable nursing pads (Lansinoh nursing pads)
• 20 pairs of washable cotton nursing pads (Breastpads.com or Bamboobies)
• 1 hands-free pumping bra (Simple Wishes hands-free bra)
• 1 package of pacifiers in 3 different brands (Wubbanub, Nuk, Mam)
• 1 dishwasher basket (Munchkin dishwasher basket)
• Burp cloths (Gerber 6-ply cloth diapers or Aden + Anais burpy bibs) - I have about 20 and use them all! 

  

Bathing

• Bath toys (Rubber squirties, foam alphabet letters, and stackable cups)
• 1 bath toy caddy (Boon Bug Pod Bath Toy Scoop)
• 12 baby washcloths (Neat Solutions terry washcloths)
• 1 baby bathtub (Fisher Price Aquarium Bath Center)
• 1 bath spout cover (Skip Hop Whale Spout Cover)
• 3 hooded towels (Jonathan Adler Hooded Towels)
• 1 bottle baby lotion (Aveeno Daily Moisture Lotion)
• 1 bottle baby shampoo/wash (Aveeno Baby Wash & Shampoo)

  

Changing Table

• 6 waterproof changing pad liners (Boppy changing pad liner 3-pack)
• 1 changing pad (Colgate contour changing pad)
• 1 changing pad cover (Pottery Barn Kids chamois changing table pad cover in gray)
• 1 wipes dispenser (OXO Perfect Pull wipe dispenser)
• 1 diaper caddy to organize diapers, wipes, lotions on changing table (Pottery Barn Kids navy geo reversible changing table storage)
• 1 laundry hamper (OXO Tot hamper)
• 1 diaper pail (Ubbi diaper pail) - this one takes normal trash bags and is made of steel so it won't absorb smells like plastic

Activity

• 1 bouncer chair (Fisher Price Snuggapuppy bouncer)
• 1 swing (Fisher Price Snuggabunny swing) - this one plugs in with an AC adapter so you don’t burn through batteries!
• 1 exersaucer or doorway jumper (Johnny Jump Up)
• Toys (lots-of-links; a stroller toy; an O-ball)
• 1-2 teethers (Sophie giraffe teether and Munchkin Ice Ring Teether)
• 1 play gym (Baby Einstein play gym)

On the Go

• 1 Pack n Play (Graco Pack N Play in Soho Square)
• 1 package of Pack n Play sheets (Graco sheets)
• 1 diaper bag (Petunia Pickle Bottom Boxy Backpack)
• 1 zippered wet bag (Itzy Ritzy wet bag) - for the diaper bag, to keep soiled clothes in
• 1 disposable diaper bag dispenser (Munchkin diaper bag dispenser and refills)
• 1 baby carrier (Ergobaby carrier with infant insert) - this kind is supposed to be better for the baby’s hip development than the Bjorn
• 1 package pacifier wipes (The First Years pacifier wipes)
• 1 hand sanitizer (Purell jelly wrap hand sanitizer)
• 2 pacifier clips (Mam pacifier clips)

Stroller and Carseat

• 1 travel system or jogging stroller (Bob Revolution SE jogging stroller)
• 1 infant carseat adapter for stroller (Bob infant car seat adapter for Chicco carseats) - if needed to attach your carseat to the stroller
• 1 stroller handlebar console/drink holder (Bob handlebar console with tire pump)
• 1 stroller snack tray (Bob snack tray)
• 1 stroller blanket (Pottery Barn Kids Dot & Stripe stroller blanket)
• 1 clip-on stroller fan (Dreambaby foam stroller fan)
• 1 snap-and-go infant carrier stroller frame (Chicco Keyfit Caddy)
• 1 mommy hook
• 1 infant carseat (Chicco Keyfit 30)
• 1 car seat handle arm cushion (JJ Cole arm cushion)
• 2 car mirrors (Brica baby-in-sight mirror)
• 1 extra carseat base (Chicco Keyfit car seat base)
• 1 carseat cover (Carseat canopy)