Many may find themselves wondering what is a baby registry for a baby shower, and while it may sound complicated, a baby registry guide 2020 is far from difficult! The best baby gifts are the practical and beneficial ones that will help you in the future, so making sure you tell your guests what you need is crucial for saving money and time. Making a baby registry is like making a wish list for your guests; it is to ensure everything you get will be of use and not go to waste! Also, we tend to spend a lot of our money on unnecessary items, so making a registry will force you to only choose things you really need, which will help you save money and wasted products!
[See: Unique Baby Shower Ideas]
How does a Baby Registry Work
Many new parents may find the idea of a baby registry foreign to them, but we are here to tell you that it is much simpler than it sounds! Essentially, it is a baby wishlist of all the items you want for your incoming newborn. Many companies can make baby registries for you, such as Walmart, Target, and Amazon. With a few clicks and some information, you will be able to choose items from the website right at your fingertips! Without the hassle and embarrassment of asking your friends what you want, a baby registry is a universal option that all moms do to prepare for the incoming baby!
How to Create a Baby Registry
If you are a new parent, you will be experiencing many firsts, which means not everything will go as planned. Especially when creating a baby registry, there can be many things you are doing wrong that you may not even realize. First, before you add items, it may be a good idea to have a universal baby registry, meaning the items you want doesn’t have to be from that specific store. For example, Target and Amazon have universal baby registries where you can choose the cutest pajama sets from Free Birdees! This is great for things you find that are adorable but not at the store you made your registry at. Although you can find pre-made registries online, it can be good inspiration, but not something you should copy, for your lifestyle varies from others. In other words, how to start a baby registry is not as hard as you think, just make sure you don’t go overboard while picking items for your baby!
When to Start Baby Registry
With everything you do in life, planning ahead is always essential, especially when a baby is coming and time will be precious! At the latest, you should start your baby registry at 6 months pregnant, but to be on the safer side, starting it at 5 months or earlier never hurts. When making one, you might not realize how much time it takes to pick the best items you want, and doing your research on what is the best of the best! Starting it later may be stressful for you and your friends, for you have to take into account that your friends need time to buy the gifts as well. When it comes to sending out the registries, you can either do it via email, a baby shower card with the link, or any other way you think of that gets the list to them!
Purpose of a Baby Registry
Not only are baby registries perfect for getting the items you need, but it can also be a great way to have fun with your friends, and have both parties feel happy about what they bought or received. As the gift giver, you never really know what the giftee wants exactly, and can be stressful choosing the perfect gift. Not to mention that there might be repeats or similar items. Now that we know what are baby registries for, you may wonder how many items to register for baby showers. This can vary between people, but a good formula to follow is to have double the amount of items to guests attending the baby shower. So 50 people attending means about 100 items. This is to ensure you have baby register categories, and in case people want to buy 2 or more items!
Things to Add to Registry
Figuring out how many items to register for a baby shower can be difficult because newborns are such needy humans. That is why knowing what to add to the registry is so important, especially if you are going to be a new parent. You may not know the little secrets and gadgets that will be extremely useful in the future for you and your baby, so you do not want to miss out on these items!
Infant Car Seat
Safety is always the number one priority, so getting a car seat before your baby is born is paramount. Therefore, what better way than to include this in your baby registry! It is something you will definitely need, and hopefully, it will last for years! With this being an expensive item, it would be greatly appreciated to guests that multiple people help buy this item. Just keep in mind that expensive items should be limited on the registry, but a car seat can be a great “big” gift for the mother!
Stroller or Baby Carrier
Taking your newborn out into the world is difficult without some sort of support, either a stroller or baby carrier. A stroller is easy to transport your newborn in, but harder to carry and move around. On the other hand, a baby carrier can be tossed in the back seat or trunk, so it is much more portable, but can be cumbersome on your arms. Both are great options and essential baby items. As strollers can be pricey, especially the newer and sturdier ones, you may want multiple people to chip in on this item, as it can put a burden on one family to buy a $500 product.
Newborn Clothing
Taking pictures and documenting your newborn’s journey as they grow older is so important for memories to cherish in the future. Clothes can make a huge difference in how your baby appears and feels because nobody wants to look subpar and wear uncomfortable clothes! To solve this problem, Free Birdees, an eco-friendly bamboo baby clothing boutique, designs their baby clothes to do two things, make your baby look awesome and feel amazing. Their goal is to give your baby the best care possible, so they craft their clothes with bamboo viscose, ensuring comfortability and breathability for the whole day!
Baby Monitor
As I said before, safety is always the number one priority, so a baby monitor is a must-have to keep your baby safe and make you feel less stressed. We can never keep an eye out on our babies 24/7, so having a baby monitor to help you will be a lifesaver. They watch your baby and listen as well, so if your baby wakes up or something goes wrong, it will alert your phone or devices and make sure you are able to check if everything is okay. Overall, it is a great device to have so you can have some peace in mind and not stress too much about your newborn’s safety.
Baby Bathtub Essentials
With all the cool toys and gadgets you had to play with during bath time, how could you hate it? Making sure you have bath toys is important, but it is also key to not forget the other essentials needed as well. You should make sure your soap and shampoo is safe for babies and have soft towels and clothes at hand. A bath thermometer doesn’t hurt as well, but it is not required because using your hand is usually a good enough indication of the temperature. Some other honorary mentions for things to add to your registry can include essentials all incoming families need, baby food, wipes, diapers, formula, etc!
Best Way to do a Baby Registry
How do you do a baby registry is a question many moms have in mind, and it’s not necessarily how to make one, but how to make a good one. There are dozens online, but none are personalized for you, so spend the time to do your own research and see what items you really need, but know that some are a gimmick so be careful. In the realm of the internet, things can look enticing and useful, but in reality, marketers are just trying to lure you into useless items you are wasting your money on. So to make the best baby registry possible, there are a few tips and tricks we have picked up over the years to show you all!
Do’s and Don'ts of Baby Registry
The best way to do a baby registry is to find the amazing options that will accommodate everyone’s needs while getting the items you want. For starters, not everything has to be brand new! If your friend has old baby clothes or other baby items that are in good condition, don’t be shy to accept them! In the world we live in today, “fast fashion brands” unfortunately create an incredible amount of waste from their clothing, and to help, buying second-hand clothes or supporting small boutiques such as Free Birdees is a great way to help the planet! Another don’t is to not go overboard, and think to yourself if it’s baby registry needs vs wants. With that, it brings us to our last thing you should take into account, which is to not include expensive items. As friends are buying you these items, it can put a burden on them to buy costly items, and you never want to make people feel obligated to buy something they don’t want to spend a ton of money on.
Buy Baby Registry FAQ
Parents always have a lot of the same questions regarding how to create a baby registry or just baby registries itself, so here are some of the most frequently asked questions.
When do you Register for Baby Shower?
As we stated previously above, it is always better to create a baby registry ahead of time rather than the last minute. With this, the perfect time to begin would be 5-6 months into your pregnancy.
How many Gifts to Register for?
As it may surprise you, it is not uncommon for baby registries to have 100-200 items, as it should be double the amount of guests attending. This is why baby registries can be overwhelming, for there are 100 items you may need to find. Don’t worry, however, for it is always a good idea to have multiples of essential items (formula, diapers), and companies like Target and Amazon make it incredibly easy to shop for things you might want.
Where Can I Make a Baby Registry?
The top retailers, like Walmart, target, and amazon, are the best for when it comes to where to start a baby registry, for they will offer all the products you need to be fully prepared for a newborn. Some of these brands will also offer discounts on items left on the registry, so you will be able to receive all the items you wished for a price you like! Online registries such as babylist.com also are a great option.
How To Buy From Baby Registry?
Whether you are using a company such as Amazon or making your own list, you always want to keep in mind everyone’s needs and make it easy for people to purchase the items. Some people are more of an in-store person, while others prefer to shop online at the luxury of their own home. Therefore, it is important you always have an online option and an in-store option, and when you are doing a baby registry through a company, these two things will already be covered!
Conclusion
Now reading about baby registries, hopefully, you have found that the process of creating a baby registry is not as hard as it sounds! Yes, it can be a struggle to decide on which blanket you want, or if you really need the brand new stroller, but chances are you will have over 50 items in your registry, so no need to think about items too hard. Just keep in mind that some items are a true gimmick, and is something you do not need others to spend their coin on. The purpose of the baby registry is to help prepare for a newborn, so when the time comes, you will feel like a pro parent!