A Highly Practical Baby Registry Checklist

These should get you through the first 12 months.

We already know I found the idea of having a baby stressful the first time around, but the stuff. The stuff we needed loomed like a deadline I wasn’t prepared to meet. I hate doing research, I hate planning, but I also hate being unprepared, so I was stuck chasing my tail around this list of must-haves and life-savers and so many adapters and doodads, and Pinterest boards.

We lived in a relatively small apartment in New York, so I knew I didn’t want too much stuff, but also I didn’t really have a good starting point to start building my spartan list of things we’d actually get. So then we just got everything. Way too many things. The actual timeline of babies and when they need things like cribs, or non-bassinet strollers, or front-facing carseats perplexed me.

With my second kid, she was born right in the beginning of the pandemic, right before we left that relatively-small NYC apartment with just four days worth of clothes and books and toys. We left all that “helpful stuff” behind, and only bought what we really needed, when we really needed it.

By Lydia Ricci via Mother Tongue

Which gave me clarity. Unfortunately (I mean, not really, two is enough) she would be our last baby and I couldn’t put my wisdom to use again. Until now.

Behold - my baby registry or new-parent guide to the things I found really useful, and the ages I found them most helpful. This is a long one, and takes you through 12 months.

But first, a brief list of things I hated, didn’t use, or don’t think you need: wipe warmer (you don’t want your kids getting too used to warm wipes), wipe dispenser (who has time to refill it? More plastic garbage), bottle warmer (I ran bottles under warm tap water), baby food maker (just use your food processor if this is your thing), a designated diaper bag (you’ll see why later), newborn mittens (get onesies with little flaps you can flip over their fingers), shoes (they’re cute, but until they start walking they’re just going to fall off and you’ll lose them. Stick with socks instead).

At the very end, a list of misc things I loved but aren’t absolutely necessary, IMO.

*Newborn*

Clothes That Don’t Go Over Their Head

One thing I was surprised by when I brought Ellis home was how floppy he was. He was like a Ziploc bag full of water kind of floppy. I bought all these cute newborn things that I would have to pull over his head, and then the second I tried to pull anything over his head I burst into tears at how impossible it was and I thought mayyyybe I shouldn’t be a mom. Over a shirt.

Do yourself a favor and get these kimono onesies instead. Get a bunch of cheap white ones and then tie dye them at your baby shower.

Bassinet

Ok, so I used the Snoo with Ellis, and I think it helped, but it wasn’t like, a miracle. He was also a tricky sleeper. With Phoebe, I didn’t have it, we couldn’t pack it in the car to Austin, so I got a really inexpensive Halo bassinet that you pull right up to the bed. Phoebe slept about as well in that as Ellis did in his Snoo, but what really REALLY helped was this clip in hammock thing that made her feel kind of suspended and extra swaddled.

The point of this is - you don’t need a crib for your baby until they’re like 6 months old. Until then, all you need is a bassinet. My mom told me I slept in a wicker basket at that age on the floor, which seems practical as hell to me. You don’t really need anything all that fussy, to be honest. A Snoo is great, but this thing also did the trick.