When I was pregnant, one of my favorite things was researching and adding items to my baby registry (and looking at posts like this one — “baby items I wish I would’ve registered for!”). I had spent SO much time researching infertility and TTC tips that when I got pregnant, I realized I knew absolutely nothing about pregnancy or babies!
As much as I researched, though, the fact of the matter is that you never actually know until you have the baby exactly what you will really want or need. (Thank you, Amazon Prime free two-day shipping!)
The following are 5 things, though, that I left off of my baby registry that I wish I had registered for…the first two of which I really wished I had had from the very beginning, before I even brought my son home from the hospital!
Here are five things I ordered in the first five weeks with baby:
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5 Baby Items I Wish I Would’ve Registered For
1. This breastfeeding pillow
Breastfeeding comes naturally and easily to some people…but I think for the majority of us, it’s not easy — at least at the beginning. If I could do it over again, I would make sure I had everything to make breastfeeeding as easy as possible right from the start.
I had one of the popular Boppy pillows that a friend had given me, but after using this pillow at a breastfeeding class I went to, I immediately went on Amazon and bought it. Whereas the Boppy didn’t really wrap around me very well and kept slipping down, this pillow is adjustable and comfortable. It made a HUGE difference for me with breastfeeding, especially during middle-of-the-night feeds. I would even go so far as to say that it made a difference for me in not giving up on breastfeeding.
(I was still happy I had this Boppy pillow for tummy time later though!)
2. A manual breast pump
Okay, one more item related to breastfeeding: This manual breast pump. When I was pregnant, I researched (probably for hours) and debated which electric breast pump to get. I ended up paying extra for a cordless one (that my insurance didn’t completely cover) and I’ve since used it less than a handful of times. It’s not that it’s not a good one — it is. But it’s also big, bulky, and, for a new mom trying to figure out breastfeeding, just one more intimidating and confusing thing to try to figure out.
The first night home from the hospital, we ended up feeding a little of the emergency formula the hospital nurse had given us “just in case,” because breastfeeding was too painful and the giant pump too complicated. I so wish I had had a little manual pump that I could’ve used. Now I actually use my manual pump at work instead of the electric one!
*One note: I like the Lanisoh one a little better (the first one I ordered). However, I’ve since ordered this Medela one for work because I can screw our Dr. Brown’s Bottles directly into it! So easy. (The only reason I like the Lanisoh slightly better is because the parts are a little easier to clean — the Medela one has a little white part that is easy to accidentally let slip down the garbage disposal!) If you’re debating which manual pump to get, I would highly recommend figuring out which one is compatible with the bottles you are planning to use so you have less stuff to wash!
**Last thing on breastfeeding: I also had to order more of these milk storage bags in the first couple of weeks with baby, too!
3. Kids clothes hangers
My guess is that this item is high on the list of forgotten items on a lot of people’s baby registries. (Who wants to put something as boring as clothes hangers on there?)
But depending on how you are planning on storing your baby’s clothes, I recommend making sure you have plenty of extra kids’ clothes hangers before your baby is born. I had mistakenly assumed that I was good with just a few extras…but remember that you will most likely have lots of visitors who are most likely going to gift you new baby clothes! I kept ordering packs of 20…when I should’ve just ordered this 100 pack from the get-go.
4. Black and white books + contrast cards
As soon as my son turned a month or so old and was more alert, I realized I had nothing for him to look at. (Not that just looking around wouldn’t have provided him with enough stimulation, I’m sure!) But I wanted to start reading to him, and I wanted something that I knew he could focus on and look at. I hadn’t realized that babies can only see in black and white (and shades of gray) from birth till about 4 months!
I ended up ordering this Hello Animals book that my son loved to look at during tummy time! Later I added this tummy time mirror that includes high contrast black/white cards and pictures.
5. Newborn toys
Okay, I realize that newborn babies don’t play with toys. HOWEVER, as in the case of the black and white books and cards I noted above, small babies do like to look at high-contrast things! And sooner or later, they will want to touch and play with toys — so why not get a few now that they can enjoy for longer?
I bought both Freddy the Firefly to attach to his carseat and Jacques the Peacock to put on the floor and keep in my son’s toy bin at home. Although he didn’t quite love them yet when he was only a month old, he grew into them quickly and it’s so nice to have a toy always attached to the carseat!
If you’re still creating your baby registry, I highly recommend adding the previous 5 items — baby items I wish I had registered for!
