Four years ago, I felt registering for our wedding shower was stressful - but my first trip into a baby store was BEYOND overwhelming! Sure, I’ve been around children and shopped for my friend’s baby showers, but suddenly Babies-R-US seemed like a store of foreign thingamajigs and whatsits. And- the items I recognized were displayed in every possible color and size, so choosing “the right one” seemed impossible.
I kept thinking about Rachael Green
at her baby shower…opening gifts and not knowing what they were…(check it out ‘Friends’
season 8 for a good laugh!). She guessed the breast pump was a baby bong and
thought the diaper genie dispensed clean diapers. I was determined NOT to be that girl! Also, we have a small home that’s already
jammed full, so I couldn't register for everything and then
figure out what we’d need because we simply do not have room for everything. SO
-I quickly realized I needed to head home and design a game plan before registering.
I started by pulling out all of the “What to register for” articles and checklists that I found on websites and magazines. Then I started my own list in Excel (yeah, yeah, I know I’m a super organized nerd).
IF you are interested in an electronic Excel copy of this registry
that will allow you to modify and print,
you can purchase it through my eBay Store
by clicking here: eBay listing for Baby Registry List
I started by doing research on the
big ‘must have items’, and then continued down my list to find the best products
in each category. I LOVE the reviews on Amazon.com. I would find an item and
then look at it on Amazon and see what people had to say. I always
ignored the highest and lowest ratings, and tried to read several comments so I
knew the pro’s and con’s of the item. I also like that Amazon shows a scrolling
bar of "similar items", so sometimes when I was not happy
with the item I originally searched, I found a better item by simply browsing
that list. Also- don't forget to seek advice from those who have "been there- done that".
After figuring out that I wanted a
particular brand/item, then I searched for the best price for that particular item.
For example, I researched swings and decided I liked the Fisher-Price
Snug-a-Bunny. So, on my Excel list, next to ‘swing’, I added ‘FP Snug-a-Bunny’.
Then I checked the prices of that swing at the local stores (Wal-Mart, Target,
Buy Buy Baby, Babies ‘R Us and Amazon). When I figured out where it was the
cheapest, I added the store name and price to my Excel list. Some items I knew weren't worth the price, so I checked consignment stores, Ebay and Craigslist.
When I was torn between two items,
I tried to figure out if one would last longer. For example- some
strollers carry heavier weights, so they should be usable longer. I also
learned that most stores carry the same item, but they all have their
own patterns/color options. Like- I wanted the Graco pack-n-play with the
newborn sleeper, but it came in different colors at Wal-mart, Buy Buy Baby, Babies-R-Us
and Target. I just happened to like the color that Target offered. We opted for gender neutral colors on big items that can be shared
with others or future children.
When my list was pretty much
complete, I began registering for some items online and some in
the stores. It's nice to go to the stores too because I would see items I
had not thought about and I added them to the registry. We were lucky to have good friends
loan us tubs of their baby’s clothing, so we did not register for clothes. But
we did decide to register for everything else, because our parents (future
grandparents) began buying ALL KINDS of stuff. So we finished the registry
before Christmas and asked them to purchase gifts from the registry, so items would not
be duplicated (but mostly so they wouldn’t buy crap we didn’t really
need/want!) We decided to register at BuyBuyBaby (BBB) and Wal-Mart because they
generally had the best prices. Target had some great prices too, just not as
much selection and they are located an hour away near BuyBuyBaby, so we wanted
to have the option of getting some things close to home. (Even if you
don’t plan to officially register with Target or BuyBuyBaby, you should get
online and create a registry of diapers, wipes, shampoo, and lotions, because
they will send you a coupon after your due date for 10% Off everything left on
your registry! It’s a great way to get 10% off of some basic items that you can
never have enough of!)
Here’s my registry! Hope I did
some of the work for you, or helped you figure out a plan of action for yourself!!! Enjoy!!
Let me know what else you would add, or items you registered for!
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