14 Baby Registry Tips for First-Time Moms

Creating a baby registry can be helpful because it allows you to pinpoint all the little things you need after the baby arrives. However, baby registries are not always easy as there is much confusion on all the products that are out there. Because of this, many mamas end up registering for items they either don’t like or will never use. What’s worse is that they often forget about some important items and end up buying them at full price later on.

To make sure that doesn’t happen to you, here are some baby registry tips that will help you create an effective baby registry!

Need more help with your registry? If you are finding that you don’t even really have a grasp on what kind of baby products to register for, or how to prepare for your baby, grab a copy of my ebook — The Baby Registry Handbook. It’s perfect for mamas who want to prepare really diligently for their new baby!

1. Don’t try to research every baby product from scratch.

The most important of all the baby registry tips? Don’t overdo it!

In the world of online shopping, one of the biggest problems that first-time moms face is time. They simply don’t have enough time to spend hours surfing Amazon and comparing baby products before making a purchase decision.

If there is one bit of advice I could give to my old self when I was pregnant for the first time, it’s to not try to research every single baby product. Trust me — you can end up spending your entire pregnancy researching baby products and putting together your baby registry. That’s no fun and not a great use of your time, either.

Ask your trusted mama friends for product recommendations and take advantage of the countless hours of research I’ve put into my baby gear recommendations. Here are some of our most popular articles:

Best certified organic crib mattresses
Best natural baby wipes
Best non-toxic disposable diapers
Non-toxic car seats
Best baby bathtubs
Best non-toxic bassinets
Non-toxic toys for babies
Best diaper bags
Non-toxic baby registry checklist

2. Decide where you’ll register.

Choosing where to register for your baby shower is an important decision. When you create a baby registry, you’ll get perks such as completion discount coupons, extended return windows, and even some freebie baby welcome boxes.

It’s also important to choose where you’ll register based on how convenient it is for you and your baby shower guests. Will some of your guests prefer to shop in person? Do you have guests across the country who’ll send you baby shower gifts even if they can’t attend your shower?

Consider having more than one baby registry to accommodate the needs and preferences of your guests. For example, you could register at a big box store and at a local baby boutique. Or two bix box stores.

Most of my readers will have one baby registry in addition to a creating a baby registry at Amazon or Target.

3. Create your baby registry online.

Unless you’re really well-versed on baby brands and baby gear, skip registering in person. While some stores will allow you to register in-person, you’ll be much more efficient if you register for your baby online. This gives you a lot more control over the pool of products that you can choose from. And it helps you see right off the bat if a product has a low rating or isn’t available for a completion discount.

Plus, it saves you plenty of time by allowing you to easily refer to our free baby gear guides! So that alone cuts down on several hours of research.

4. Don’t list duplicate items on your registries.

If you have more than one baby registry, be careful not to list duplicate items across your registries or you’ll end up getting a lot of duplicates and spending a lot of time doing returns. For example, if you register at both Amazon and Target, add your stroller to only one of these registries, not both.

5. Register for the items you hope your friends and family will buy for you.

It’s natural to have a long list of items that you plan to use with your baby. But you may want to think twice before registering for all of them. Instead of registering for every single little thing you plan to use for your baby, try to limit your baby registry to only include things that you’re hoping to receive as gifts.

Keep the other items that you plan to buy for yourself on a separate list or on a private category within your baby registry. Then, you can easily add them to your registry when you’re ready to use your completion discount.

6. Include items at various price-points.

Give your guests a good variety of options at different price-points to choose from. Anything as low as $15 to something as high as $100+ gives your guests a variety of choices. Some guests may pool their funds together to buy you a large gift off of your registry, for example. And some family or friends may splurge on you while others may gift you with a smaller budget.

7. Add a comment on your registry about why you’ve chosen a product.

If there’s something you’re really hoping to receive, add a comment explaining why you have chosen it (if your registry allows you to). That way your guests can get some insight into what you are hoping to get, how high a priority it is, and why you want it.

8. Do register for things you’ll need as a new mom.

A lot of mamas tend to think that the baby registry is only for baby items. That’s not necessarily true! Breast pump parts, nursing pillows, nursing accessories, and even parenting books are all perfectly acceptable for your baby registry.

9. Plan your registry by stages.

Believe it or not, your baby will be out of the newborn phase faster than you can imagine. So if you have a large circle of friends and are having a big baby shower (or multiple showers), plan ahead and register for the things your baby will need at 4-6 months and even beyond that, such as a convertible car seat or high chair.

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Even if you aren’t having a big baby shower, you’ll still do yourself a big favor by doing the research now rather than trying to do a bunch of product research during the postpartum phase.

10. Don’t register for too many clothes, towels, or blankets.

People love to gift these items, so unless you have very specific items that you’re hoping to receive (such as GOTS-certified organic baby blankets), you will probably be better off leaving baby clothes, towels, and blankets off of your registry altogether.

11. Consider having a “no clothes” baby shower.

It’s common to receive so many baby clothes that you don’t end up receiving many other wish list items. Consider telling your baby shower host that you’d like to have a “no clothes” baby shower. That way, you can pick and choose from the baby clothes you’d like to buy for your baby.

12. Have a diaper party.

If you plan to use disposable diapers, including them on your registry is a great idea. You might also consider having a diaper party. This is a newer trend, often referred to as a “daddy diaper party”. It’s a complement to the traditionally all-girls baby shower.

The dad-to-be gets together for a party with his guy friends and everyone brings a box of diapers. This is one item that’s never a bad idea to stockpile. Most diaper retailers (like Walmart or Target) will happily exchange unopened boxes of diapers for different sizes, even if they weren’t originally purchased there.

13. It’s compltely OK to return things you won’t use.

Many times, guests will be great about shopping off your baby registry. But, not everyone is…

So be prepared to receive items you didn’t put on your registry.

Sometimes you’ll be nicely surprised with something you end up loving, and other times you will receive duplicates or even things you have no intention of using. Even if you didn’t receive a return receipt, you can still return most items at big-box retail stores.

If all else fails, you can resell a lot of baby gear on Facebook marketplace (hide the listing from friends!) or apps like Mercari. The only exception to this would probably be if you receive something sentimental from a good friend or family member.

14. Take advantage of completion discounts.

When you create your baby registry, stores will usually allow you to apply your completion discount to one or two purchases, so plan wisely.

Use those completion discounts strategically so that you can apply those 10-20% off codes to as many items that you need to pay out of pocket for as possible. And if you’re wondering if you should create more than one registry just for the completion discounts, you wouldn’t be the first mama to do this.

You technically don’t have to share a registry to get the discount, but some companies may have registry purchase minimums that must be met before you can unlock some of the perks. Just read the fine print.

Have Fun Creating Your Baby Registry!

I know that creating your baby registry can seem overwhelming, but hopefully these baby registry tips and hacks are helpful! Be sure to browse the rest of the site for product recommendations and tips on preparing for your baby, too.

14 Baby Registry Tips Every Mom Wishes She Knew Sooner