With positive pregnancy test in hand, my husband and I looked at each other. Now what?It would be another few months before we'd venture into the store toactually start our baby registry. That first trip was overwhelming, forsure! Just what exactly did we really need? As first-time parents-to-be,we were clueless! While we had a great registry, looking back, thereare definitely some items we could have used right off the bat that wenever registered for.

Now that I've got my first full amazing year of motherhood under mybelt, with time and experience comes plenty of mommy wisdom. Here are the top 10 essentials I wished I had thought of to add to my baby registry the first go round!

Baby Registry Essentials: My Top 10 Wishes

1. Ultralight Urban Stroller

Without a doubt, this is my number 1 essential I wished we had donemore research on when I was pregnant. We have a full travel systemstroller that includes a car seat and a very flimsy umbrella strollerthat doesn't offer anything in other than a fabric seat with straps.There have been plenty of times I wish I had the storage capacity andcomfort of our huge travel system stroller without all the extra bulkand weight.

2. Travel High Chair

Between the trips to grandparents' homes to the occasional overnightfamily getaway, baby's still gotta eat - and we had a few trips whereJudah ended up sitting in one of our laps as we fed him. Rookieparenting mistake!

3. Baby Glider Swing

There's no denying that Judah, like any newborn, loved to be rockedand held. As a new mom, all the rocking and carrying took a toll on myshoulders, back, and arms and besides - it wasn't realistic to carry him24/7. I can't believe that our son was almost three months old beforewe finally broke down and bought one for ourselves. When Judah developedcolic, our gliding swing was a lifesaver.

4. Activity Bouncer

After a certain point, once baby starts sitting up but isn't quiteyet mobile, the swing just isn't going to cut it anymore. They want tosit or stand up and look around, but you still need to have them withinarm's reach. We waited until Judah was probably five months before wefinally got an activity bouncer for him and once we did, he loved it. Ours was portable enough and took up very little floor space, allowing us to move it from room to room as needed.

5. White Noise Machine with Timer

Establishing a bedtime routine is a must to help build good sleephabits. We were very lucky that Judah began sleeping through the nightby the time he was three months old. Up until that point, we wentthrough a very challenging time where we'd put him down asleep and assoon as his head touched the mattress, he'd wake up. We finally bought awhite noise machine to soothe him to sleep as we put him to bed andthen turned off after an hour of soft, gentle sounds.

6. Spinning Bottle Rack

Even when I was breastfeeding, I was shocked at the amount of bottlesI went through in a day. We were meticulous about hand-washing them andit wasn't long before we had a whole line of them across our verylimited kitchen counter space. We ended up buying a small bottle rack,but if I had to buy one again, I'd have gone for the vertical, counterspace-saving spinning rack, instead.

7. Zipper Closure Diaper Bag

When we registered for our diaper bag, my husband set a clearultimatum that if he was out with Judah, he only wanted a diaper bagthat wasn't too feminine. We found a great bag and I still use it tothis day - but the one major issue I have with it is that it'sopen on top with just a single magnetic button to keep it closed. Thereis nothing more frustrating when you're trying to get out the door andyou accidentally drop or knock over the diaper bag, with diapers, toys,and wipes tumbling all over your driveway! I would give anything for ourdiaper bag to have a zipper top closure.

8. Small Packs of Diapers in Multiple Sizes

As Judah has grown, we've gotten a good sense of when it's time tosize up his diapers. Not so much however, when he made that firsttransition from newborn to size 1. It took entirely too many blowoutsand leak-throughs before we finally figured it out! Sometimes, we're notsure if he really does need a new size. Registering for the smallestpack available of diaper sizes through the first twelve months wouldhave been the smart thing to do, allowing us to test out the next sizeup before committing to a bulk-sized box.

9. Children's Lullaby and Nursery Rhyme Album

This might sound totally lame, but I don't really know the lyrics to alot of baby and children's songs! Sure, I know the melodies, but after afew lines, I just go right back to humming or "la la la." For now, Ijust fire up YouTube on my phone to find the songs I'm looking for as Iteach Judah words and melodies, but it would be a lot more helpful if Icould put on a CD or mp3 album of children's music just for Judah.

10. Baby-Proofing Kit

Before you know it, baby goes from tummy time to crawling to cruisingand walking - and it seems like you're always playing catch-up! You canbaby-proof your home from top to bottom, but what about visits to thegrandparents, or overnight in a hotel? I wished we had registered for atotal baby-proofing starter kit that we could just toss into our luggageor overnight bags and not have to worry about curious fingers anduncovered outlets.