Our baby registry was not great. It wasn’t bad, it just included so many things recommended by so many people that ended up going to waste. So, so, so many things we could have gotten from other new parents. 

You may not want a bunch of hand-me-downs on your registry. It makes sense. You’re having a new kid, you want the kid to have new stuff. But most everything is just as good as a hand-me-down and you most likely won’t know what you want/need until well after the baby shower.

You will not know what diapers or diaper cream or wipes or any butt related items will be useful until you’re actually using them. So that stuff isn’t on this list. 

You may request an absurd amount of bottles only to find out you hate the bottles you wanted because they can’t be washed in the dishwasher and you end up buying a different set only to find out your kid doesn’t like the size or feel or whatever and you end up with a landfill’s worth of plastic. So these don’t make the list. 

You may have a family glider or crib or live in a small space so those don’t make the list. 

This list consists of five items that worked for us and, in theory, will work for anyone. Most of them take up very little space and most are useful well after the baby is a toddler. 

Noise machine 

Why didn’t we get this earlier? I’ve already espoused the usefulness of a good sound machine and I’ll continue to do it here. Get one. Get any of them. All of them work. There’s no such thing as a designer sound machine. 

Alarm Clock

A new development in our house, an alarm clock with a built in wake up light is useful in teaching the kid how to tell time, doubles as a nightlight and, in theory, works as an alarm. The kid is always up before the light but that’s not the point. Sooner or later you’ll need a clock in their room so you might as well get one now. 

OR just get a Hatch Rest+ because it’s a noise machine and wake up light. This is not an ad for Hatch. We don’t have a Hatch, we found out about Hatch after getting a noise machine and an alarm clock.

Camera

Used from the get go, a good camera is not entirely necessary but extremely helpful. We loved our first camera. But the monitor stopped working after being dropped a few hundred times. We’re on our second system and our screen is mostly obscured from getting stuck to an Apple Watch charger so there’s a black hole that occasionally changes shape and obscures our kid. But for the most part, it works and helps determine whether it’s worth it to actually go in the room or if a dream has turned into a temporary nightmare. 

Whether or not you want to get a camera that you can use with your phone is ultimately up to you. We don’t have one but the one’s we’ve seen have a way better camera than something not on wifi. But if you’re ever planning on having a babysitter, they’ll need to download the app. And if you’re at all paranoid about a wifi enabled camera in a nursery, you may want to stick with something dumb. 

Stroller/Car Seat 

Request a specific stroller. I’m including the car seat as part of this pick since you may want a car seat that doubles as a stroller or a car seat that can be placed in a stroller. This isn’t the most useful advice but do some research. You know your living situation better than anyone. What works for an apartment may not work for a townhouse may not work for a condo may not work for a farmhouse, you see where this is going. I wish there was a one-size-fits-all stroller/car seat but there just isn’t.

If we were doing this over again, I’d argue for going with a running stroller rather than a standard stroller. The running stroller is bigger and at first more cumbersome, but way better once the kid is older. Also, there’s a free stroller on the neighborhood parent listserv every week. I’ve yet to see a free running stroller. 

Nugget

This is the best piece of furniture we’ve acquired since having a kid. It’s also the only brand specific recommendation on this list.

The Nugget is a couch or seat or bed whenever you need it to be a couch or seat or bed. You can also use it as a modified Pikler Triangle or fort. All it is is a few cushions that seem like way too much money when you open it but soon makes a whole lot of sense. They’re often sold-out and there’s good reason.

It’s making the list because it can serve as a bed when it’s way too early and the kid is way too awake. It’s easy to fold up so the footprint is tiny. And I’ve yet to see anyone give one away. 

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Feature photo by Jomjakkapat Parrueng on Unsplash