Share your registry tips here

[rbp]

I set up my registry at Buy Buy Baby yesterday. My two pieces of advice are

(a) If you can, take a friend who recently had a baby. Though you might differ on opinions, her input will be very valuable as she will have good advice on which items are important and which are a waste of space. When the sales associate told me that I should register for 200 items, my internal reaction was "so you are going to be completely unhelpful." Seriously?? 200 items?? (I left with 80 items on my registry FWIW.) I bought my friend lunch to thank her for spending her afternoon with me at BBB. 

(b) Keep an eye on the clock if you have limited time. We had about two hours to register before I needed to get home for dinner plans, and I wasn't wearing a watch. BABY REGISTRIES ARE A BLACK HOLE and a huge time-suck. At one point, my friend looked at her watch and we had been shopping for two hours and 20 minutes. I was like "oh shit, we have to go NOW!" I spent some time today setting up my Target and Amazon registries, though I still have a lot more work to do on them. More black hole of time!

What tips do you experienced registerers have?

[VillainV]

Lucie's List and Baby Bargains are good resources. Have a plan before you go :-). But it's definitely okay to test-drive stuff in person. And it's okay to do it a little bit at a time instead of all at once.

[rbp]

Apr 6, 2014 18:24:54 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Lucie's List and Baby Bargains are good resources. Have a plan before you go :-). But it's definitely okay to test-drive stuff in person. And it's okay to do it a little bit at a time instead of all at once.

Good call--I basically took Lucie's List as gospel I read part of Baby Bargains but found the extensive lists overwhelming.

[rbp]

Apr 6, 2014 18:27:21 GMT -5 jjwritergirl said:

I found it invaluable to read product reviews and recommendations before ever going into the store, and setting up my Amazon registry first as a baseline. I basically brought my Amazon registry to the stores with me to see the items in person and make sure I liked them, or to narrow down options. This proved invaluable when narrowing down the stroller and carseat options.

They also tried telling me my registry was too small, but they are on crack. I barely have room to store the necessities, much less all the crap they say you "need" in the first year.

I just discovered Lucie's list today and edited a few items as a result. I really liked her commentary and reviews.

Yeah, I had to be convinced to register for stuff we won't need for six months like a highchair. Then H suggested I go ahead and register for potty training supplies. LOLOL

[cmarie11]

Both of those are good advice! I really wanted my BFF to come with me but she broke her foot and I felt bad making her hobble around for 2 hours with me.

-I'd register for like 2 or 3 strollers, 2 or 3 high chairs in the store, and then I went home and read the reviews online and narrowed it down. I found that easier than researching everything first.

-Don't register for blankets. You'll get 8 million of them anyways.

-You don't need 200 things on your registry. I think I had like 65 at BRU and maybe 30 at Target?

[rbp]

Apr 6, 2014 18:53:43 GMT -5 luckydog said:

If it seems overwhelming, focus on one group at a time. Like cribs this week, strollers next week, bath items in store the following week, etc.

Be careful registering for clothes as they are seasonal.

Once you make a decision, don't second guess it! You'll drive yourself mad realizing there are cosleepers OR bassinets OR both.

Get h involved. Have him research car seats or cribs or something. Mine did and it was great. All he had to do was show it to me and I added it to the registry. That made it less overwhelming and I gave me more time to learn about pumps and breastfeeding.

Eek. I don't have that many weeks. My CWs are having a shower for me at the end of the semester, which is super-thoughtful, but they have been pressuring me for a registry. (Also, I can't think of many less pleasant ways to spend six weekends in a row!)

[ringstrue]

- Get the latest Baby Bargins ( there is a new one every year) research a handful of big items you know you'll need ie- cribs, car seats, strollers, swings.

- create your registry online, register for a few things and add on over time.

- I recommend putting most things on online, but going in the store and seeing/ feeling them in person can help a lot. Especially for things like strollers and enormous swings and crib bedding.

- I wouldn't go to BRU or the like for a lot of smaller things. Target usually had the same stuff for cheaper. I am also not seeing much variety in things like pacis and bottles on BRU, but I know they have a lot more choices at the store.

[bowies]

We only registered for immediate needs. Jumpers/high chairs? Newp. But then I highly doubt we'll receive much of anything off our registries (we have ~90 things total). They mainly exist for my personal use and for the completion coupons.

Experienced moms told us to hold off on baby entertainers/soothers until after the birth. That helped cut the registry down. And I skipped all the breast feeding supplies - the idea of someone getting me nipple cream was a little weird. I can buy those things myself LOL.

Really, the main focus was durable goods vs. things that get used up like baby shampoo.

[statlerwaldorf]

I wouldn't register for a lot of clothes.  Most people that buy clothes are not going to look on your registry anyway.  Plus there is a high turnover for a lot of clothes and they might not be carried any longer if you register early.  Clothes can often show up as a weird code on the registry, so no one is going to know what a bunch of random letters means.  I would also review your registry online and see how things show up and remove things that people won't be able to decode.  If you register early, make sure to go back over the registry later on to remove or replace things that might have been discontinued.

You might want to change the due date a little to get the registry completion coupon sooner.

[rbp]

Apr 6, 2014 21:15:56 GMT -5 statlerwaldorf said:

I wouldn't register for a lot of clothes.  Most people that buy clothes are not going to look on your registry anyway.  Plus there is a high turnover for a lot of clothes and they might not be carried any longer if you register early.  Clothes can often show up as a weird code on the registry, so no one is going to know what a bunch of random letters means.  I would also review your registry online and see how things show up and remove things that people won't be able to decode.  If you register early, make sure to go back over the registry later on to remove or replace things that might have been discontinued.

You might want to change the due date a little to get the registry completion coupon sooner.

I had the same thoughts on clothes. I just registered for a few packs of onesies at Target. 

That's funny about the registry completion discount. I feel like I would get a lot of confused calls if people looked at my registry and saw a different due date!

[statlerwaldorf]

Apr 6, 2014 21:17:35 GMT -5 rbp said:

Apr 6, 2014 21:15:56 GMT -5 statlerwaldorf said:

I wouldn't register for a lot of clothes.  Most people that buy clothes are not going to look on your registry anyway.  Plus there is a high turnover for a lot of clothes and they might not be carried any longer if you register early.  Clothes can often show up as a weird code on the registry, so no one is going to know what a bunch of random letters means.  I would also review your registry online and see how things show up and remove things that people won't be able to decode.  If you register early, make sure to go back over the registry later on to remove or replace things that might have been discontinued.

You might want to change the due date a little to get the registry completion coupon sooner.

I had the same thoughts on clothes. I just registered for a few packs of onesies at Target. 

That's funny about the registry completion discount. I feel like I would get a lot of confused calls if people looked at my registry and saw a different due date!

I didn't think of that.  I was just annoyed last time with Target because I didn't get the completion coupon until after DD was born although she was a couple of weeks early.

[hokiegirl82]

I didn't set up a registry because we aren't having a shower, but I found Lucie's list to be invaluable for helping me pair down what we really need and it helped me research the different brands. We've basically bought everything on our list over the last couple of months except diapers, wipes and a few small odds and ends, and taking the time to research brands and read reviews on Amazon helped a ton.

[cmarie11]

Apr 6, 2014 21:26:00 GMT -5 statlerwaldorf said:

Apr 6, 2014 21:17:35 GMT -5 rbp said:

I had the same thoughts on clothes. I just registered for a few packs of onesies at Target. 

That's funny about the registry completion discount. I feel like I would get a lot of confused calls if people looked at my registry and saw a different due date!

I didn't think of that.  I was just annoyed last time with Target because I didn't get the completion coupon until after DD was born although she was a couple of weeks early.

I actually got both completion coupons for BRU and Target about 2 weeks ago (around 33-34 weeks).