Registering help please

Hi Ladies -

I recently started registering (I'm at 20 weeks) and wanted to find out what you couldn't have lived without, as well as what you found to be a total waste...

Thanks for the help - I feel like a kid in the candy store at BBB - I don't know which way to go first, and I feel like it takes us forever to pick out even the simplest things!

Re: Registering help please

sleep positioner, sound machine were two wastes for me

Re: Registering help please

Alot of people will tell you that the following items are a waste, but I have found them useful for the following reasons:

Diaper Champ (Genie, etc): I just find it more convenient to put the diapers in there when I am changing and dressing or re-dressing DD. This may change as she gets older but for now I really like it.

Wipes warmer: My little girl shrieks any time I have used cold wipes. She loves them warm and it makes diaper changes much more pleasurable for her. I was not using it at first, but since I am, she is much happier.

Bottle warmer: I have the one that also keeps 2 bottles cold. I keep this item on my nighttable and it makes the middle of the night feedings so much less hateful. I have the bassinett right next to my bed so I never even have to get out of bed. I just sit up reach in to get her, warm the bottle, feed her, change her if necessary (in my bed with a pad down) and then put her right back.

I personally think the stroller frame for the infant seat was a waste. Even though I do use it, the infant seat fits onto the regular stroller and I think I could manage just as well with that.

That's all I can think of for right now. I will repost if I think of anything else.

ETA: We could not live without the swing!! I even got a travel swing to take away with me.

Message edited 6/15/2006 1:11:09 AM.

Re: Registering help please

Believe it or not the registering thing is very personal. As you can read there are some things people couldn't live with or without. I was in the same overwhelmed boat as you and here is what I did.

I bought the Baby Bargains book and read it twice. Then I brought it with me each time I went to the baby stores. It really helped to clarify my stroller decision and made me see the little differences between high chairs and swings.


Book Link

I'd try to focus on a few things each time you go avoid getting frustrated and leaving without doing anything.

And for the record... I thought the Diaper Champ (or the concept of keeping dirty diapers in babys room) was a literally a waste. I only used mine for a few weeks.

Message edited 6/15/2006 7:19:26 AM.

Re: Registering help please

I know how you feel when registering. I felt the same way. I bought the book Baby Bargains (mentioned above) and the most recent consumer reports book for all my important safety items.

What I found to be the most useful were:

(1) The tiny love music mobile--this is the absolute best. I did not register for this because I thought the mobile that came with my DS's bedding set would be sufficient--WRONG!! This mobile is awesome--it stimulates him by leaps and bounds--it plays for 15 minutes either Bach, Beethoven or Mozart.
(2) The Fisher Price Aquarium Swing
(3) The Baby Einstein Water Activity Mat
(4) The Diaper Genie
(5) The tiny love toy bar that you put across the stroller so DS/DD has something to look at while you are in the stores.
(6) Rear view car mirror--a must!
(7) Tighy Mite--tightens the car seat.
(8) Large Bibs
(9) At least 3 sets of sheets for crib
(10) At least 3 changing pad covers
(11) Pack n Play
(12) Graco Infant car seat with the stroller frame
(13) Peg Perego Pliko stroller for when he/she outgrows the infant car seat/stroller frame
(14) Britax Marathon Car seat for when he/she gets bigger
(15) Fisher Price Kick and Crawl
(16) If you are not breastfeeding--Dr.Brown bottles--this really is a child preference. I originally registered for Avent and returned them because the Dr. Brown's worked so much better with the gas issue.
(17) Pampers!!! Especially Swaddlers--I hate anything made by Huggies--their diapers are way too small and their wipes are like cardboard--JMO


That is about it for now......

Re: Registering help please

My absolutes

Pack n play
Bouncy seat
swing
Sheet savers
sheet protectors
2 sets of sheets for pnp and bassinet
video monitor
cloth diapers to use as burp cloths
mylicon drops
Stroller frame for infant seat(I have a travel system, and the stroller is too cumbersome somtimes to run quick errands, but I love it for walks, the mall, anywhere where i am out more than 10 min in a store)
2 different size diaper bags
travel wipe holder
Baby diaper poop bags
aquafor for babies

Waste so far

Mobile in her crib
Toys for infant carrier (I have read they are a safety issue, god forbid if in an accident in the car they could come off and become flying object)
Sterilizer

Re: Registering help please

video monitor is my absolute must have. Also love my bouncy seat and snap n go frame

Re: Registering help please

Besides the big items (stroller/crib/pack-n-play, etc.) I consider the following to be the things I definitely got the most use out of:


bouncy seat
car mirror
video monitor
net covering for stroller/pack-n-play
wipe warmer & diaper genie
receiving blankets
cloth diapers (to use as burp cloths)
first aid kit (with meds/spoons/etc)
bathtub

It is definitely overwhelming, but take your time & have fun :) You'll probably get lots of gift cards to get the things you think of after the fact or that you don't get as gifts.

Re: Registering help please

The inclined to sleep was a waste. She doesn't stay on it, she slides off no matter how I adjust it. Bassinette is a waste IMO unless you live in a two story house. The pack 'n play can be used instead.

What I use daily
SWING
bouncy seat
snap and go frame
I know I'm the minority on this one, but I use my bottle warmer constantly.
Snuggle nest was very useful for the first few weeks, but I never use it now.

Message edited 6/15/2006 5:04:51 PM.

Re: Registering help please

Re: Registering help please

Some of things I found that I really like are: Sheet saves(I hide the ties underneath and put it in the bassinett, it is so much easier to just take it off in the middle of night instead of changing a sheet), wipe warmer, diaper pale, mobile for the carrier ( i only put it on when we are in the stores, I take it off and attach it to the handle above the window in the car when we drive), bouncy seat,swing and netting for the stroller when we go outside. Some things that I thought were waste were receiving blankets, he didn't like to swaddled and that was only thing. I originally put on my registgery the Graco Snugride with the Snugrider and received it at my shower. DH really didnt like the look of the Graco and wanted the Prima Viaggo which would match our stroller so I let him switch it and now I wish I didn't. The Pliko 3 isn't heavy compared to the Quattoro Tour but it is still a pain to take out, it would have been alot easier with the snugrider and I think DH sees that now tool.