Have you created a baby registry yet? Well, before you add everything, be sure to read about the baby registry items to skip!
Okay. When I was pregnant, people told me everything they possibly could about being a mom. All the ups and downs and frustrations and wins. You name it, I heard it.
And when it came time to build a baby registry, I again, heard all the ins and outs and opinions.
People are going to tell you what you need to have on your baby registry. And not only will people tell you, but companies and ads will also tell you what you need.
(CAUTION: companies and ads are biased. They are just trying to sell products to make money.)
Don’t get sucked into all the baby gadgets and baby accessories! There’s a bunch of things that you won’t use that will just take up space and waste money, whether it’s your money or someone else’s.
Now, I am going to tell you a list of things that people told me to include that I actually think are unnecessary.
Whether something is necessary or not is going to be different for everyone. Obviously everyone is different, every baby is different, and we all like and need different things depending on our preferences and circumstances. So, take what you want from this post and leave the rest 🙂
I will also tell you things that you don’t need on your registry simply because people will buy them for you anyway.
So if you want to make the most of your baby registry, consider skipping these items, which will place more of a focus on the items you do choose to include on your registry.
This post is all about baby registry items to skip.
13 BABY REGISTRY ITEMS TO SKIP
Diapers:
We didn’t put diapers on our registry, and yet we still got So. Many. Diapers. I think you should avoid doing so, unless you are wanting to use cloth diapers.
People will give you diapers and laugh, saying, “You can never have too many diapers!”
Which is true. However, you CAN have too many diapers that are the SAME size. We got too many size one diapers, and we didn’t get to use them all before he had outgrown them. We ended up having to go to the store to exchange them for a bigger size.
We also live in a small 800 square foot condo, so we didn’t have room for boxes and boxes of diapers. Personally, we have preferred to buy them as we need them so we can optimize our space.
If you do include diapers, just be sure NOT to include Newborn Diapers, as you only need a few of this size.
Wipes:
Similar to diapers, we received many wipes without asking for them. And also being in a small space, we wanted our wipe supply to be limited.
Even if you put wipes on your registry, people will give you other brands that you didn’t ask for. It can be nice to experiment and find what you like, but we still have extra Huggie wipes in our cleaning supplies that we don’t like, but can’t return.
I preferred to buy the wipes we wanted ourselves and have people put their money towards other items.
Blankets:
Blankets are a hot gift to give. A HOT gift. We included 3 baby blankets on our registry, and yet we ended up with 22 baby blankets and 6-8 swaddles! Many blankets were purchased, yet many blankets were handmade.
I love blankets, but people just gave them to us anyway. This is for sure one of the baby registry items to skip.
Wipe warmer:
My husband was convinced that we needed one of these. We have a little boy, so my husband said to me, “Babe! Think of how cold a wipe will be on his little balls! We have to get a wipe warmer!”
Haha!
We had forgotten to put it on our registry, so we thought about buying it ourselves, especially because my sister recommended getting one.
Me being me, I “procrastinated” the purchase of one, because I didn’t think it was necessary. I thought his balls would survive 😛
At first, I questioned myself, because yes, the wipes were very cold, and we could tell he didn’t like it. We tried warming the wipes in the microwave safely, which seemed to make him a little more comfortable, but it became tedious to do so.
So we stopped. And we used the cold wipes. And our baby quickly got used to it and actually seems to enjoy a little bit of coldness down there now 😂
Looking back, my husband and I both agree that a wipe warmer may have been helpful in the beginning, but was unrealistic long-term and we are glad we didn’t buy one.
Changing table:
Unless you have the extra room in your house and want one of these, I don’t think this is necessary. Because we live in a small condo, we don’t have the space. I just lay down a blanket or a changing pad instead. I use the bed, the crib, the couch, or the floor, and it has worked perfectly fine.
(However, changing my baby in the crib has gotten more difficult because we had to adjust the height of the mattress when he started standing. Now when I change him in his crib, my back is bent a little funny and it can be uncomfortable.)
Hand mittens:
Honestly, these are just silly hah! You don’t need to cover your baby’s hands at all.
My midwife encouraged me not to, because babies are extremely sensory and use their hands for comfort. She also said that even though it’s sad when they scratch themselves, it helps them to learn.
Just keep their nails trimmed as best as you can. I usually left my baby’s hands uncovered, but when I did occasionally cover them, I used socks or onesies that had hand covers sewn in.
Socks:
Socks are iffy. My baby lives in onesies that have feet attached, so I hardly use socks. Socks just don’t like to stay on baby feet.
One sock always falls off somehow, so they end up rockin’ the one-sock-on-one-sock-off look, or they just twist around in all the wrong ways. I get tired of having to adjust them.
BUT, I do like socks for two reasons. Either A. to cover their hands once in a while instead of buying mittens, or B. covering their feet when I don’t want other people “eating” his toes -_-.
(Yes, beware, people will eat your baby’s hands and feet, and it may or may not absolutely disgust you. I hate it because I want to eat my baby’s hands and feet without feeling like I just put my mouth on everyone else’s mouth 🤮)
So, if you choose between mittens and socks, I would choose socks because they can be mittens as well.
But really, you don’t need socks until your baby starts wearing shoes.
Shoes:
Okay, I agree. Baby shoes are ADORABLE.
I hate to break it to you though, they are totally impractical and stupid expensive.
My baby is currently 9 months old and has not worn any shoes yet. You don’t need shoes until they start walking, so this definitely belongs among the baby registry items to skip.
Clothes for the first 6 months:
We got TONS of clothes for our baby that were sized newborn-6 months old. I don’t even think he had the chance to wear everything. Once he hit 6 months, he had hardly any clothes to wear because everything was too small.
If you put any clothes on your registry, I recommend that you ask for sizes that range between 6-12 months, or even 9-18 months.
I also got a ton of hand-me-downs from my sister, so keep this in mind as well if you have family, friends, or neighbors who have clothes they don’t need anymore.
Fancy clothes:
Fancy clothes are for show, and if you want to dress your baby up and take some cute pictures, I’m sure they will be full of cuteness.
But for everyday use, steer away from adding fancy clothing to your baby registry. You will learn quickly that they are inconvenient for you and uncomfortable for your baby.
There are plenty of adorable outfits that are comfy, convenient for diaper changes, and easy to clean!
Bath Thermometer:
Some people need a bath thermometer to make sure the water temperature is warm enough, but I just use the old wrist or elbow check.
Diaper pail:
Okay. To be honest, I am still unsure about this one, because I like the idea of having a garbage can specifically for diapers. But my experience so far has been “meh”.
We put the Munchkin Diaper Pail on our registry and I remember marking it as a “most important item”. Someone purchased it for us and we were very excited about it.
Now, newborn poo’s don’t stink. All babies eat is milk hahaha their poo’s don’t stink until you start to introduce solids.
The diaper pail we purchased required special bags to fit the model, which were expensive. Because the poo didn’t stink yet, we decided not to use the garbage can until his poo started to stink more around 6 months old.
And maybe it’s just the pail we got, but when we started using the garbage can, we didn’t like it at all.
The bag refills were expensive, the bags only held 6-8 diapers, and you could still smell through the can unless you bought a specific air freshener that attached to the inside.
Long story short, we didn’t think all the extra expensive purchases were worth it (although I am eye-balling this Ubbi diaper pail because people say it works way better and uses regular garbage bags. But I haven’t decided yet, so let me know if you try it).
Instead, we just take our garbage out more often. Or, in the winter when the hot sun isn’t heating the poo up like a porta potty, we keep a small garbage can outside on our patio for poo diapers only. We empty this once every two or three days.
Personally, the Munchkin Diaper Pail hasn’t been worth it for us, but maybe it would work better for you!
Breast pump:
I am not saying that you won’t need a breast pump at all, because you most likely will. However, many insurance companies will cover breast pumps, so before you add it to your baby registry, call your insurance to see if they will pay for one.
If they don’t cover it, then for sure put it on your baby registry!
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