Your Guide to an Amazon Baby Registry
Baby registries can be daunting especially if you’re a first time mama. There are so many different choices for where to register, what to register for, what is necessary, what’s not, and so on. I remember crying in the Babies-R-Us parking lot after looking at all the baby items for hours during my first pregnancy and just feeling so overwhelmed and clueless. Well, it’s my third time around this time, and I’ve got a little wisdom to pass along to all my fellow mamas out there. Let me share with you my experience and registry choices in hopes that this takes a little weight off your shoulders, that way you can cross that chore off your ever-growing list of to-do’s with ease!
This is my third baby (first girl!) and I’ve used many different baby registries with the other two, but this go round, I decided to go with only an Amazon registry, and here’s why:
It seems like everyone and their brother has an Amazon Prime account now. It also seems like everyone is doing more and more of their shopping online (I know I am) these days, so it seemed like the most convenient thing for everyone and just made more sense to me this go round.
Amazon has a free 90-day return policy for baby registry items. This was something I was wary of when registering with Amazon, as I was concerned that if I received a duplicate item, I wouldn’t be able to return it. No problem there! AND if you do end up returning an item, you can use the credit to buy virtually anything (not just baby items).
One of the best parts about an Amazon registry is that you can get a 10% completion discount (or 15% discount for members of Amazon Prime) on items remaining on your registry starting 60 days before your child’s arrival date.
Another really cool thing is that you can add items to your Amazon registry that aren’t sold on Amazon. So, if you have things at Target or Etsy or Pottery Barn you want to add, you can add them right to your Amazon registry, and it directs people to that site, they can purchase through that site, and then get redirected back to the Amazon site to take it off your registry.
Now, let me share some of my favorite baby products to be sure to add to your Amazon registry:
Baby Book – I’m obsessed with this beautiful baby book! Every baby needs a baby book so you can keep track of all their special milestones. It’s something they will treasure forever. This one is great because it’s very customizable and easy to use.
Humidifier – This is something most first-time moms don’t think about, but it is a necessity! During the winter months, the air can get so dry and make it hard for babies to breathe, and humidifiers help so much with that. They also help so much if the baby gets a cold. Just trust me on this one, and register for it!
White Noise Sound Machine – We have one of these in every bedroom in our home (even the guest room). We ALL love these sound machines and the baby will love it too! The white noise sound is so soothing to babies as it reminds them of the sound they heard in the womb. We also love it because if you have guests (or other kids) in the house while the baby is napping, this drowns out any loud noises, so the baby isn’t disturbed.
Boppy Nursing Pillow – If you’re planning to breastfeed, you may want to add one of these to your registry. I have used one with every baby for at least the first 4-6 months. They really help you get the baby in the right position for nursing and make the whole process so much easier.
Rear Facing Car Mirror – This is a no-brainer. You need one of these so you can see your baby as you drive when they’re rear-facing.
Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat – We got this car seat with our second child and plan to use it with our third as well! We love it! It’s fairly lightweight for a car seat and really hugs the baby. It had held up SO well even after one year of use!
Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment – This is my favorite ointment for, well, everything really. From diaper rash to dry skin patches to chapped lips, everything! I even use it on myself for dry skin. Works WONDERS on diaper rash!
Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Baby Bottle – Every baby is different, and you might have to go through a lot of trial and error with bottles for your little one, especially if you’re breastfeeding, so I would definitely say not to buy or register for too many of the same bottles. With that being said, these were some of our favorite bottles once they turned about 3 months old. They tend to be less choosy about bottles when they get a little older, and these are just the easiest bottles to wash and use. Highly recommend! We also love Dr. brown bottles when they’re newborns.
Burt’s Bees Baby Shampoo & Wash – So I’m weird about smells and newborns. I want my baby to smell like a baby, but so many of the good baby soaps either don’t have a smell or smell funky to me. I love the smell of Johnson and Johnson, and it’s the soap we used with our first son, but it doesn’t have great reviews anymore, so we switched from that to Burt’s Bees with our second child, and we LOVE how sweet it smells and how gentle it is on the baby’s skin. Register for at least a lot of these because you will go through them so quickly!
Adjustable Swaddle Blankets/Infant Wraps – Another major essential! These swaddles allow you to wrap the baby up tightly so they feel secure, like they did in the womb. This helps them sleep so much sounder!
Baby Jogger City Mini GT Single Stroller – We had a crappy, cheap, but cute stroller with our first baby, and it was terrible! It was bulky, we couldn’t steer it well, and it was terrible on rough terrain, so needless to say, we had to make a switch with baby #2. So we decided on this baby jogger, and we have LOVED it! We use it ALL the time, even though Landon is now 2 and it’s still going strong. You have to buy a separate attachment to put an infant carrier on it, but it’s easy to assemble and easy to remove once you don’t need it anymore. We definitely plan to use this stroller with baby #3!
Breathable Mesh Crib Liner – Bumper pads can be a hazard in a crib, so you want to stay away from those, but these mesh ones are perfect for keeping baby from bumping their head on the rails or getting their foot stuck between the rails, and of course, they’re breathable!
Burt’s Bees Burp Cloths – These are hands-down the best burp cloths! Yes, they’re a little pricey, but worth every penny. Both my boys were big spitter-uppers, and these were our favorite burp cloths to use. They are big, soak up well, and are organic cotton.
Luxury Ring Sling Baby Carrier – This is something I’ve never used, but I got one for this baby because I think it’s going to be way easier than the other type of wrap I used with the boys. The other one I used was so complicated, and I felt like I had to get on YouTube every time I wanted to use it just to remember how to do the wrap. This one, you just tighten the ring, easy!!
Muslin Swaddle Blankets – Oh, how I love these soft, thin blankets! They are so great for so many things. I use them for a nursing cover, play mat, burp cloth, or just a light blanket to keep the baby warm! They are my favorite type of blanket!
Nursing Cover – If you plan to breastfeed in public, you may want to consider a nursing cover. It’s always been my personal preference to be covered while nursing, but I’m not the type that wants to go hide in the car or a dingy bathroom to do it, so enter, nursing cover! This one I’m so excited to try, mainly because of the canopy effect! One thing I always hated about my old nursing cover was that the fabric would get in the baby’s face and make them upset. It would also be really hard to see them, but this cover seems to take care of both of those issues, and it’s got amazing reviews.
QuickZip Crib Sheet Set – So another mom friend told me about these sheets, and it sounded to me like the best invention ever! Crib sheets are a pain in the hiney to get on, and when it’s 4 am in the morning and you’ve been up nursing all night, only to finally lay your sleeping baby down and they puke everywhere, the last thing you want to do is wrestle with a crib sheet to get it on, enter the zip-off crib sheet!!! The top part just zips right off, and you can easily wash it and put it back on without having to remove the whole sheet. GENIUS!
Things that aren’t necessary to register for:
Clothes – People don’t buy you clothes off your registry, they just don’t. So, don’t waste your time registering for these. People like picking out clothes they think are cute, so save yourself some time and skip this one. If you get outfits you don’t like, just exchange them for ones you do like!
Diapers & wipes – Another thing people really don’t get right from the registry. Not sure why, they just don’t. I usually register for a box or two just so people know the brand I like, but you will still probably end up with brands you’re not fond of. In that case, you can either swap them out or give them a shot. You might find some of the cheaper brands do the same job for less $!
Diaper disposal – I have never had a diaper disposal with any of my babies and have never missed it one bit! After years of babysitting, I knew when I got pregnant with my first child, the method of diaper disposal we would use. It’s called the “throw the diaper in a Wal-Mart bag and chunk it outside” method, and it’s worked wonderfully for us for the last 5 years! I hate diaper disposals because no matter what brand you have, you’re still going to smell that baby poop, and I just can’t deal with that! So, save yourself some time and just register for a small trash can with a pedal that lifts the lid for you (you can put the pee pee diapers in this and take it out a few times a week without having a smelly nursery), that’s all you need!
Wipe warmer – Ok, so this is something that’s got to be your own choice, but let me tell you the reason I dislike these things. Yes, they’re amazing when you’re home and they save a few tears during diaper changes, but what happens when you’re out and about and need to change a diaper and your baby is used to warm wipes but now has to have a freezing cold one used on their hiney? Yep, you guessed it, they’re going to have a royal meltdown and cause the whole diaper changing experience to be even MORE stressful! So we just decided early on that we would use cold wipes and our babies would just have to get used to it, and they did!
Breast pump – It’s now a law that your insurance has to provide you with a breast pump for each pregnancy, so definitely don’t pay for one when you can get it free from your insurance. Just give them a call and see what the process is for this.
So there you go! My best advice would be to try to have fun with it and not stress about it! This is supposed to be a fun journey, so just know that even if you don’t register for the right things, even if your baby doesn’t use half the things they get, even if no one buys one single thing you registered for, you’re still getting a baby at the end of this, and that’s what you should focus on! The rest of it just isn’t worth the stress. And if this is something that you really feel so stressed about, ask another mom friend to come over for coffee one day and help you with it. It will be fun to do it with a friend! That’s it! That’s my best advice for baby registries, and I sure hope it helped you get some good ideas for your own registry.
XOXO, Anna
