I’m so excited to be partnering with Walmart to bring you a list of Baby Registry Essentials, all opinions are 100% my own. Preparing for your first baby (babies) can be so overwhelming. There are thousands of baby products out there, and it’s impossible to know which ones your baby will love before they are here. Before I share the top 20 items both my boys loved, I want to share the top 3 mistakes I made when creating my baby registry.
Top Three Mistakes I Made When Registering
Only Registering Online
At the time, I thought making a completely online registry was brilliant–that couldn’t be further from the truth. I didn’t think about Jim’s Great Aunt Suzy (not a real person) who didn’t have internet, people not getting to see us open their present because it automatically shipped it to our home, or how returning an item meant a trip to the post office. It was a bit of a headache, to be honest. Walmart just completely revamped their baby registry, and I definitely wish this was around when I was pregnant with the twins. Walmart is the first place I turn to when looking for affordable baby items, they carry premium baby brands, and you can return online items in store. You can register here, and get a free welcome box.
Feeling Like I Needed The Latest Baby Gear
Feeling like I had to have the most advanced expensive baby gear took away from getting items we truly needed. If you’re anything like me you stalked your favorite blogger’s registry looking for items you wanted
Only Registering For Newborn Items
Not registering for items past 6 months. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the newborn must-haves, but babies grow and change so quickly… Soon most of the items you registered for will be irrelevant. Try to add some items you’ll be able to use later on. You may not appreciate that teether now, but at 3 am when you haven’t slept in 6 months you’ll be so thankful you have it.
My Top Baby Item
While all of these are baby registry essentials, this one is a must. Invest in a good stroller that will grow with you [the one we have is currently on sale]. I’ve also read great things about this one. Both have similar concepts, but one is more affordable. If you only have one big-ticket item let it be this one, family and friends love to pitch in and get a really nice gift. In general, the first baby shower is where people get you the essentials. I know it’s hard to think about your second child before your first one is here. Make sure to pick something that will grow with your family. So many of my friends end up getting this one after having their second child, which costs more money in the long run.
If you’re a twin mom, THIS IS IMPORTANT, I have used this almost daily since they were born (we have 4). They make adapters for most car seats and you can easily snap their infant carriers in. The seats completely recline, so I used them like a bassinet during our walks until they could sit up. It’s slender and can get through tight spaces and doorways. We have flown with it, taken it up an impromptu hike at Enchanted Rock, and to the beach (I wouldn’t recommend this lol). I truly love this stroller.
Top 20 Baby Registry Essentials
- Car Seat- All car seats meet federal safety guidelines. Often you’re paying more for fabric, convenience, and extra features like a cup holder. This one has extra padding, higher safety standards, and is half the price of more luxurious car seats. Babies typically outgrow the carriers by 10 months to a year. I would recommend getting a less expensive infant carrier and investing in a higher quality convertible car seat since they will be in that one for years. We have this one and love it. Technically it fits babies from 4lbs-120lbs. It would be great to have in a secondary car. We just had multiple bases which saved us so much time. To save money, you could start out with this, but I LOVED infant carriers. It made running errands so easy, they would just sleep.
Susher – This actually wasn’t on my registry, but our family friends who split their time between Kentucky and Texas gifted it to us. I really cannot tell you how many times I used this thing. From photo shoots, restaurants, airports, stores, you name it, thesusher was there.- Portable Pump/Pumping Bra- If you plan on breastfeeding, I highly recommend these. This is the one I used, but I bought several cheapy ones before. I had mastitis three times and this saved me. I kept it in our diaper bag for emergencies when I needed to relieve myself and didn’t have my pump with me. Even on trips where I had my pump with a portable charger, this was often easier. When I say this was a lifesaver, I mean it. The ability to be handsfree while pumping with twins is crucial.
- Sit Me Up Chair– We didn’t register for this, but it was probably our most used “toy”. It helped them learn to sit up before they were stable enough to be in a Bumbo or
exersaucer . My boys’ heads were so deformed from laying against my pelvic bone and ribcage. This helped keep them from being off their back and avoided wearing a helmet. - Thermometer– We had this fancy one where you just point it at their head and to read their temperature, but it always took me 5 or 6 tries to get an accurate reading. JHC bought us this, and we still use it. Technically rectal temperature is the most accurate in newborns, we used this when they were small.
- Backpack Diaper Bag– This is the updated version of ours, we still use it two years later. It’s so important to be able to be handsfree, all the seasoned mama’s told me this. A lot of people rave about this one and it’s under $30.
- Swing– There was a time we legit would not have slept if it weren’t for this swing. My boys preferred this over the
mamaroo and rockN’play. - Bouncer– We used these a ton, mainly I would put them in these so I had a few minutes to shower. LOL
- Lounger /Boppy- The Boppy is wonderful for singletons, or you could buy two. For the first couple of months, it was still a little big for my boys. We didn’t have these because I didn’t know they existed, but I wish we did. When I asked for y’all’s top baby items, these were both on there.
- Fridababy- We used this entire pack, everything so innovative and useful. It makes things like clipping your babies’ nails and getting their snot easier. My friend, Melissa who owns Sitting Made Simple FW, said this was a product she couldn’t live without. TBH, sucking your baby’s snot from a tube is about as fun as it sounds, so this seems wonderful.
- Bath- We started with this one, and it was kind of a pain. It’s super absorbent and thick, so getting it wrung out and dried was just annoying. It does make for super cute pics, so I’ll give it that. #doitforthegram, but it gets old fast. This one is the best.
- Keurig/Brezza- JHC and I would take an IV of coffee if they let us. After buying multiple bottle warmers that didn’t work, we started using the Keurig to heat the water. It made things so much easier. We didn’t use this much because I was able to BF for 11 months, but we had one and my MIL had one if that tells you how much we loved it. It’s just so easy if you’re formula feeding it’s definitely worth it. Especially at 3 am when you have two babies screaming, all you have to do is push a button and you have a warm mix bottle ready to go! GAME CHANGER
- Baby Gate– It’s crazy how quickly you will need a baby gate. We had more traditional ones, but this makes it SO much easier. It opens like a door giving you a much wider space to walk through. I can easily open and close it with one hand. Plus, it looks amazing in your home too.
- Burp Rags– Pretty sure I didn’t register for these, but all the seasoned mamas gave me them. They truly work the best, and honestly, they get so gross. In the early days, we went through SOOO MANY burp rags a day. I love these monogrammed, but I really would only do a couple and save them for when you’re out.
- Como Tomo Bottles– Compared to other bottles these are not really cheap, but they are worth it. JHC has PTSD from washing all the parts to Dr. Brown’s. They are super easy to clean, durable, breast like to avoid nipple confusion, and the boys held these super easily. So that alone was a win LOL. Just wait to open them all up before you know if your baby will like them.
- Diapers- TWENTY DIAPERS A DAY. Truly wish that was a joke, but in the early months, that’s pretty accurate. We had a diaper raffle (which was basically if you bring a pack of diapers to the shower, you’re entered into a drawing for a prize). I kid you not, we didn’t buy diapers for over 8 months. It was truly a blessing. Over the past two years, I have tried them all and these are my favorite. They have everything you want in a diaper and none of the bad stuff. Plus they’re affordable. Since they are only sold at Walmart, it makes exchanging sizes super easy. SIDENOTE: Request a gift receipt for diapers and tape it on the box until you need it. Without the receipt, they will only give you credit for the diapers at the lowest cost they have been marked. So if one day they had a sale and the $40 box of diapers went down to $25, then you would only get to exchange for a $25 dollar box. Every big box also carries different sizes, you’re not allowed to exchange Walmart Pampers with Target Pampers. Moral of the story request and keep the gift receipt.
- Soundmachine– We actually got a “cuter” one, and I regret it. Go ahead and register for a powerful machine from the start. This is a gamechanger for our boys. Developing good sleeping habits early on is so important. I know this because I didn’t, and now I haven’t slept in two years.
- Pack n Play– The twin Halo wasn’t out when we had the boys, and honestly they would have outgrown it super early. We had this right by our bed and it was perfect. The boys stayed in our room until they were 9 months old (I’m crazy) and this worked great. Once they could sit up well, I just put toys in it and they would play for hours. Those were the days, kidding. Kind of. We still travel with this one.
- Car Mirror– Add this to the list of things JHC said we didn’t need and loved. Until we got the mirror, I rode in the back seat with the boys. We still use them, it’s just a good product to have.
- Sophie the Giraffe– If you think you don’t need a $25 teether, you’re wrong. Sophie is the only thing that would calm them down sometimes. We actually lost them on a trip and asked for more on their first birthday. The boys took forever to get their first tooth, but then it was all at once. Sophie definitely saved the day.
Thank You!
Looking back, 15 out of the 20 items were bought by us after the boys were here. I hope you enjoyed my Baby Registry Essentials. They truly helped us so much during our first year with the twins. Growing babies is hard work, then you have to get the nursery ready, decide between thousands of baby items, and try to find time to enjoy your pregnancy. Behind most of these recommendations was a mom to two newborns looking for a better solution. Later this month I will have a complete registry post and checklist. Make sure you subscribe to my newsletter so you don’t miss it! You can go ahead and register HERE that way when I post the entire registry checklist, you can easily add them to yours!
Even though I partnered with Walmart, I was able to pick all the products and give my honest unfiltered advice. I really hope you enjoy this post. I know how confusing and hard it all can be. We joke that it’s like another language. What are some of your favorite items? I may even add some to my next post and tag you! Good luck mamas, we’re all in this together!
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