registering help

the other night i took thatcher to babies r us for what i referred to as a "no pressure walk through." haha! having never set foot in that store before, he was completely overwhelmed and frankly, not a fan. he kept saying "how the heck are you supposed to know what stuff to buy? and how do you compare the different brands? i'm so out of my element!" i agree, it is overwhelming. even for someone like me who is interested in baby gear and has already been doing some researching online, but we need to register for stuff soon (since my baby shower is in mid february) and i don't know where to start. i hate that there aren't a lot of affordable places to register/shop for baby stuff. babies r us (and target) pretty much have a monopoly on that market.

that's where you come in, dear reader. care to share any "must have" or "don't bother" items? brands would be helpful too. anything from carseats to carriers to bibs to bottles to nursery furniture (which we are buying, not registering for). i think hearing about what people have had luck with (or not) would really be helpful. thanks!

Comments

Annie said…
hey hun, this whole registering thing is overwhelming for me as well!!
i recently came across a post from a blog i read. it was VERY informational!! i clicked on all the links and read everyone's comments. i now have a long list of items to register for. i think we will only be registering at target. a lot of my family is from south dakota and i don't think they even have a babies r us out there ;)

http://www.talesofthetrees.com/2010/11/mommy-help.html

i hope it helps you!! have a very merry christmas!! :)
December 23, 2010 at 3:18 PM
Cedar said…
I like Target better than Babies r us, too (so would suggest registering at both, especially since Targets are everywhere); their selection is decent, and the stuff overall seems much nicer. A lot of the things they suggest that your register for is unnecessary. Probably my favorite item was the Avent Isis pump (the plain old hand version); I liked that better than the hospital one, and you'll probably want one even if you are exclusively nursing. (or since you'll be working, maybe get a small one like that for home) The bouncy seat got a LOT of use, and we also LOVED our Eddie Bauer travel bed (that came from Target, I think -- it's the one I brought with us when we went down to Encinitas); I'd loan you ours, but Erin is still using it up in Canada. We used it both on trips and at home. Old-fashioned basic cloth diapers were the best for slinging over the shoulder, and wiped up better than the fancier (although cuter) versions we also owned. Swaddlers didn't work for us, so I wouldn't register for more than one. For strollers, you might want to check out some more boutique-type stores where you can test the models; Target and Babies r us sell a pretty limited selection. (although you might want to put a basic umbrella stroller on the registry now, even though you won't get to use it until later). The baby store in our old SF neighborhood had some really interesting imported strollers, some relatively inexpensive; I don't know what the store options are around here, but presumably there's something like that somewhere in the metro area. For strollers you really want to figure out exactly what you want in one; that really varies drastically from person to person. Those little soft-soled shoes can be expensive and hard to find used (they get worn out fast); if I were to do it again I'd register for some of those, especially in bigger sizes for the fall/winter. Gowns are the easiest for nighttime diaper changes, and you can probably never have too many of them. I wouldn't go overboard with baby-proofing things, but a couple of decent baby gates will come in handy, even relatively early on.
December 23, 2010 at 9:03 PM
Cedar said…
I thought of one more thing that will undoubtedly come in handy at some point in the coming year: one of those bottles that includes a syringe in the middle. I can't remember what they're called, but we got ours at Walgreen's when we needed to get Jack to take some unpleasant liquid medicine. You fill the bottle part with juice or milk, the syringe with the medicine, then slowly push the syringe while the baby is drinking from the bottle. I assume that both Babies r Us and Target carry them; they may be located in the pharmacy/medicine area of Target instead of the baby section, though. In any case, it's worth knowing about for down the road even if you don't put it on your registry.
December 24, 2010 at 10:19 PM
Karen said…
You already have my favorite thing, which is the sling. I didn't have one for our first baby, but used it all the time for the second.

P.S. Come shopping at my house again! I have a few more things, including a white Ikea crib that we might be ready to part with soon. (For you, or other expectant blog-readers.)
December 26, 2010 at 6:13 AM
Kris said…
Hey Melissa, I can't imagine sifting through the craziness of baby stuff. My sister-in-law bought a great book that reviews and sorts through it all. It saved her all kinds of hastle and had the same conclusions she came to when she researched things herself. Let me know if you want the name of it. Happy New Year!
December 27, 2010 at 5:21 PM
Post a Comment

Popular Posts