Setting up a baby registry can be a daunting endeavor. I
know I cringed every time I thought about it. First, of all I despise
department stores. Second, I was a new mom. What did I know what I would need? Third, we lived in an 800 square foot condo
that was already cluttered with our stuff. My head hurt thinking about adding
all the baby stuff.
Than a friend who is a minimalist and a mom sent me a link
to this blog post of an easy earth-friendly baby registry. I basically copied
and set it up on Amazon. The beauty of Amazon is you can link other sites such
as Babies R’ Us to your Amazon account AND you don’t even need to leave your
house.
So I figured I’d share a simple registry that can be a good
starting place for any new mom.
1.
Convertible play yard with bassinet &
changing table(3 in 1). This is a wonderful thing for a home where space is a
premium. The play yard can become a crib later down the road and it easy to
move from room to room if necessary.
3.
Bottles. Glass is better, especially for
heating. Whether your breastfeeding or not, bottles are essential if you plan
on ever going anywhere in the first year without your baby.
4.
Diapers. Whether you are planning on doing
disposable or cloth, be prepared to go through 12-15 a day the first few weeks.
For cloth figure out how often you want to do laundry and go from there. If you
are doing cloth you’ll need at least 5 liners, 6 - 8 is better.
5.
Diaper pail. For either cloth or disposable. It
doesn’t have to be ginormous. For cloth think of how often you want to wash
them; disposable, how often you’ll want to take the garbage out. 2-3 days is
usually good, more than that the bin will get really stinky. I found a five gallon bucket with a lid works just fine for cloth diapers and a small-lidded trash can for disposables.
6.
Clothes. Most likely people are going to give
you bags of hammy downs or loads of new outfits for your little one. If you do
put cloths on your registry, make sure it’s a bigger size from 3 months on.
Newborn clothes last a month if you’re lucky and during that first month
sleepers are the easiest. I found that sleepers with a zipper worked best for
me because I couldn’t never figure out the snaps. 4-5 newborn sleepers are
plenty. If you’re swaddling, 4-5
swaddlers are great.
7.
Car seat. You can’t take your baby home from the
hospital unless you have a car seat. The kind that detaches from a base is the
most convenient for newborns. Plus the seat becomes a great place to have your
baby hangout. I used to put my daughter in hers and bring it in the bathroom so
I could shower. They also rock nicely for soothing.
8.
A couple of toys. People love to buy toys for
babies & children. Here’s a chance for you to choose what kind of toys you
would like your child to have. Babies don’t really need many toys. A little
rattle or wire ball will provide plenty of entertainment for them.
9.
Humidifier. Especially for newborns in the
winter. Their respiratory tract is so delicate and they need the extra moisture
when the heater is running.
10.
Baby carrier or sling. If you want to get
anything done in that first month, you’ll discover wearing you baby is the key,
unless you have one of those easy babies that will sleep anywhere you place
them. I found Moby wraps were the best for my daughter in the first month. Baby
Bjorn and Ergo Baby are also great.
11.
Burp cloths and bibs. You can never have too
many, but at least 10 of each is necessary.
13.
Blankets. 2 for the home, 2 for travel, and 2
for spares.
And that’s about it. Simple and basic.
