By Keiko Zoll, Disney Baby
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 to
actually start our baby registry. That first trip was overwhelming, for
sure! Just what exactly did we really need? As first-time parents-to-be,
we were clueless! While we had a great registry, looking back, there
are definitely some items we could have used right off the bat that we
never registered for.
Now that I've got my first full amazing year of motherhood under my
belt, 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 done
more research on when I was pregnant. We have a full travel system
stroller that includes a car seat and a very flimsy umbrella stroller
that 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 and
comfort of our huge travel system stroller without all the extra bulk
and weight.
2. Travel High Chair
Between the trips to grandparents' homes to the occasional overnight
family getaway, baby's still gotta eat - and we had a few trips where
Judah ended up sitting in one of our laps as we fed him. Rookie
parenting mistake!
3. Baby Glider Swing
There's no denying that Judah, like any newborn, loved to be rocked
and held. As a new mom, all the rocking and carrying took a toll on my
shoulders, back, and arms and besides - it wasn't realistic to carry him
24/7. I can't believe that our son was almost three months old before
we finally broke down and bought one for ourselves. When Judah developed
colic, our gliding swing was a lifesaver.
4. Activity Bouncer
After a certain point, once baby starts sitting up but isn't quite
yet mobile, the swing just isn't going to cut it anymore. They want to
sit or stand up and look around, but you still need to have them within
arm's reach. We waited until Judah was probably five months before we
finally 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 sleep
habits. We were very lucky that Judah began sleeping through the night
by the time he was three months old. Up until that point, we went
through a very challenging time where we'd put him down asleep and as
soon as his head touched the mattress, he'd wake up. We finally bought a
white noise machine to soothe him to sleep as we put him to bed and
then 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 bottles
I went through in a day. We were meticulous about hand-washing them and
it wasn't long before we had a whole line of them across our very
limited 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, counter
space-saving spinning rack, instead.
7. Zipper Closure Diaper Bag
When we registered for our diaper bag, my husband set a clear
ultimatum that if he was out with Judah, he only wanted a diaper bag
that wasn't too feminine. We found a great bag and I still use it to
this day - but the one major issue I have with it is that it's
open on top with just a single magnetic button to keep it closed. There
is nothing more frustrating when you're trying to get out the door and
you accidentally drop or knock over the diaper bag, with diapers, toys,
and wipes tumbling all over your driveway! I would give anything for our
diaper 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 to
size up his diapers. Not so much however, when he made that first
transition from newborn to size 1. It took entirely too many blowouts
and leak-throughs before we finally figured it out! Sometimes, we're not
sure if he really does need a new size. Registering for the smallest
pack available of diaper sizes through the first twelve months would
have been the smart thing to do, allowing us to test out the next size
up 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 a
lot of baby and children's songs! Sure, I know the melodies, but after a
few lines, I just go right back to humming or "la la la." For now, I
just fire up YouTube on my phone to find the songs I'm looking for as I
teach Judah words and melodies, but it would be a lot more helpful if I
could 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 cruising
and walking - and it seems like you're always playing catch-up! You can
baby-proof your home from top to bottom, but what about visits to the
grandparents, or overnight in a hotel? I wished we had registered for a
total baby-proofing starter kit that we could just toss into our luggage
or overnight bags and not have to worry about curious fingers and
uncovered outlets.
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