I know, there are a million blog posts out there about baby registry essentials already, but I have had friends ask, so people still want to know! Plus, Emme is about to turn one and I am in full-blown reminiscing mode! If you are like me and hope to start your journey into motherhood without accruing a house full of stuff, this post is for you! I’m breaking down what baby registry essentials I think you really need, and the lessons I learned. We live in an apartment in Japan, so I had no room for unused baby stuff. Unfortunately, I still ended up with a bunch. 😂
PS This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links (see full disclosure at end of post).
Stroller and Carseat
You actually usually cannot leave the hospital without a carseat, there is no getting around these! We purchased the Britax baby carseat and the Baby Jogger City Mini GT2. It is technically NOT a jogging stroller, but it has all the features of a jogging stroller and we jog with it on normal surfaces without issue, so, it works! Plus it’s not nearly as huge as a traditional jogging stroller, but still has the air filled tires and lockable front wheel. It folds in half easily and we love it. I bought this adapter so it worked with our carseat.
Bed or Bassinet
We got an inexpensive IKEA crib that fit Emme’s small room (See her nursery plan here and her room reveal here). We also had a hand-me down Halo bassinet from my sister which was great for the first week weeks! Emme was a very loud newborn sleeper so she got moved into her own room pretty quickly though.
Baby Carrier
Baby carriers are life-saving. Some people like ring-slings, some like wraps, and some like buckle-carriers. I am a big fan of buckle-carriers! We purchased this ergo carrier and I LOVE it. Emme has done lots of 8 hr+ days exploring Tokyo in here, and my back has survived! I was also gifted a WildBird ring-sling by a dear friend and did like that for around the house when she was itty-bitty. Some people swear by them! As far as baby registry essentials go, you definitely need at least one carrier, but the type is up to you.
Swaddle
I know all of the swaddle blankets can be so cute, but the velcro ones are truly easier. We ended up buying two of these halo micro-fleece swaddles and Emme lived in those for sleeping until she could get her arms out. We also tried and liked the swaddle me velcro swaddles, but Emme was tiny in cold weather so we truthfully liked the halo ones better.
Sound Machine
Everyone needs a sound machine! We have three which is really extra but it just happened somehow. 😂 We have a less expensive one for our guest room, a more expensive bluetooth one for Emme’s, and a portable one. We like them all, though keeping the portable one charged drove me nuts. Emme doesn’t really nap when we are out and about now so I have not used it in a while. It was nice when she was tiny and easy to tote all over.
Diaper Products
One random thing we have really loved is this diaper changing mat. It’s the perfect size, can clip to anything, and stores just enough diapers and wipes for a day out. Other than that we also loved the weighted wipe holder because we cannot stand flapping the wipe bag around trying to get a wipe out. 😂 This lives in Emme’s top drawer of her dresser for diaper changes. We also love our diaper genie that we bought in mint green to match Emme’s nursery.
Bath Products
You may not need a baby bath depending on your sink, but you probably do need washcloths or sponges and soap. We thought our baby bath was great and used it for a long time! We loved the hospital style sponges and ended up ordering those, then we bought this little fishy sponge which we and Emme love.
For Breastfeeding Mamas
If you are planning to breastfeed there are a few other products that I think are must-haves. The first is these gel-soothies. Buy like 5 packs of them. These saved my life. I had a lot of trouble breastfeeding at first, because I didn’t understand that my boobs were engorged and needed to be pumped out. I was worried pumping would just make them more full. Anyways, poor Emme wrecked my nipples because of it. I kicked and screamed and cried when she ate, every time, for about the first two or three weeks. It took me a long time to adjust (I think most people have a much easier time, don’t worry). Anyways, I couldn’t wear a shirt or bra unless I had the soothies on for weeks.
In terms of nipple cream, I wasn’t picky. They all have a slightly different consistency. I liked the lanisoh from the hospital but some people do not. The more natural ones just felt like rubbing olive on IMO. I love the Motherhood Maternity seamless nursing bras and nursing nightgowns, and Jessica Simpson Nursing Tanks. I bought this pack from Amazon as well though which was much cheaper and they have held up well!
The Extra Stroller Debate
In a perfect world we only need one stroller from birth to whenever. But a stroller that can jog simply doesn’t work for living in Tokyo and I needed both of those functions. We ended up caving and getting the Mountain Buggy Nano stroller for traveling after a friend recommended it and we love it. It stays in my car and is the outing stroller! It is super light and compact and has just enough storage. We also took it on the plane to New Zealand and it worked perfectly while traveling.
What else I did and didn’t really need
Okay so I will caveat this by saying Emme was waking up at least 6 times a night until she was 7 months old and we finally purchased the ABCs of sleep from Taking Cara Babies (worth every. dang. penny.). So I would have bought anything that I thought would make her sleep. We purchased a Doc-a-tot after her 4 month vaccines. She got 7 vaccines that day which was traumatic and just wanted her to be comfortable and near us. To make a long-story short, it would have been better to have had it in the beginning as a place to lay Emme down. By the time we bought it she was learning to roll and wasn’t in it long. Definitely not on my list of baby registry essentials.
As I said earlier, I also did not need to buy a million swaddle blankets. Emme lived in the velcro swaddles for sleeping. Some of the larger muslin ones are nice for covering the stroller or carseat though. You need maybe 2 or 3.
We didn’t buy a swing, just had a hand-me down bouncer to set her in that I also could have probably lived without.
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