After reviewing my baby registry list of 2.5 years ago I wanted to compose the ideal baby registry list. I had over 50+ items on my list. I feel like you don’t really need a lot. I didn’t know what I was doing so I guessed on a lot. Some were happy surprises and some were mistakes that were repeated many times.

But first… If you are 8 months pregnant and still freaking out if you are ready… here is what you really need to have when you bring your baby home.

  • A place for the baby to sleep most likely a bassinet of some sort and most likely they will sleep with you for the first 4-6 months
  • A diaper changing station – a dedicated area, it can be the floor with a blanket underneath or a dresser with a changing pad on top: whatever works for you! Just make sure you have your diapers, cream and wipes near by for easy access!
  • Milk – Fed is best so breast milk or formula works. When I did my Amazon Baby Registry list I got sent a ton of baby things like formula (which we ended up using!) and a lot of coupons for baby stuff.
  • Swaddle blanket or wrap (many)
  • Car Seat with stroller attachment
  • A diaper bag filled with all the usual suspects ( I will be doing a diaper bag deep dive soon for new moms!)
  • Clothes – Onesies (long and short sleeved), comfy pants, socks and hats!
  • Soft blanket to put over stroller and car seat to keep baby warm
  • A lot of love and patience as you figure everything out!

That is all you really need. Everything else kind of comes as you need it or you received it at your baby shower. You will end up using most of what you received at your shower. Just maybe not all of it the first month. You will figure it all out as your baby changes and grows!

There is also a lot of different brands and price points to choose from. I wanted the best for my baby but I also knew that he would outgrow a lot of this stuff quickly so I didn’t want to break the bank either.

Here is what I would get having the knowledge I now have with raising a 2.5 year old:

SNOO Did you know you could rent a Snoo? This is how I would do it. I make tall babies and Hue was only in his bassinet for about four months before transitioning to the crib so we wouldn’t be renting for long. I did see Snoo’s when I was preparing my registry but I couldn’t handle the $1500 price tag. Renting one is a price I can handle (about $150 a month). It also solves the problem of what to do with it once your baby has outgrown it. I feel like it has smart features like knowing when to rock your baby and has a built swaddle. I also think it tells you how long and when your baby slept all through an app on your phone. I also am not 100% sold on this idea because I still would be spending over $600 for a smart bassinet. Yeah it’s way cheaper than the $1500 dollars to purchase it but it’s still a lot of money. If I were to have a second baby I would really research this to see if it’s for my family and my tall babies.

MOSES BASKET WITH STAND If renting the Snoo is still too much I would go this route. When researching I found it hard to land a place that sells the basket/stand together as a package, you always have to buy separately. Here is where I found you could get both the basket and stand. If this is still not quite right you can get this for around the same price. Also, if I was having a second baby I would probably research the moses basket even a little more. Research is kind of key because all you want is your newborn to be safe and they will spend a lot of time in the Snoo, or bassinet or moses basket for most of the time their first couple of months since they sleep so much.

CRIB I would get the one I got! But I also always liked this one too. It is a classic crib that is a great price!

ROCKER CHAIR I also would get the one i got! It was perfect and I am totally attached to it. It has a leg rest and reclines all the way to a bed position. I have promised it to a friend who is due with her first in October and I have been slowly weaning myself and Hue off the chair! But it also takes up a ton of real estate in his tiny room so we are just trying to grow and change as Hue does.

DRESSER We needed a dresser because Hue’s room used to be our office so his closet is all shelves. We keep all his clothes in his dresser. We kept all his diaper stuff in the left top drawer so we were always ready to go for diaper changes. I picked a neutral color, classic dresser. I felt we can change the knobs or paint it if Hue needs a change later on.

HATCH The best investment ever! A sound machine/night light that connects to my phone. I can create my own personal programs that work for Hue. Like our main program goes on automatically every night at 7:45 pm wether we are home or not. It is not programmed to turn off until late morning. The reasoning for that is if Hue has a middle of the night wake fest where he is teething or not feeling well then I usually will put him back to bed at like 6am. I don’t want the Hatch to turn off too early and wake up Hue so I have it set to turn off super late and just turn if off myself in the morning. It doesn’t happen too often but when it does the last thing I am thinking about is the Hatch, it is just a seamless part of the sleep process. When the Hatch turns off it is a cue to Hue to wake up! Also, I have the parent lock on my night program that way Hue cannot turn it off himself no matter how hard he tries! Hue cannot sleep without this and the blue calming light serves as a night light.

BREAST FEEDING Elvie Pump. First things first, I would not buy this until the baby is born and you have an idea about what your breast feeding journey is going to look like. I think I would have pumped longer if I had these. You pop them in your nursing bra and walk around and get things done. That was the hard part about a traditional pump was getting stuck not really being able to move around and you don’t have a cute baby staring at you so it just becomes harder and harder to do. I think the portable pump takes all these pain points away. The price tag does not so wait until it’s an investment that you actually need.

CHANGING PAD Keekaroo changing mat I like the look of these. I also like the look of this and this-which also has a scale! They all are like the same idea of a changing pad and I like the look of them all. There are pads you can buy to go on top but I don’t think it’s necessary. It seems like you just wipe this style down and you don’t need fabric covers for it like the one I used but I also really liked the one I used!

STROLLER Here is the deal. This is the most confusing item you need. I liked the look of bassinets but did I really need a bassinet stroller? What was a traveler. So the baby car seat also is a stroller? I was all over the place. I ended up with a Graco baby car seat with traveler. (Super convenient/ Wonderful system that does not interrupt baby sleep – which is key) Then a stroller which also converted into a bassinet (Also wonderful especially when away from home during nap time.) Then when Hue was about 1.5 years old we had to get a Bob Jogger because Hue was climbing out of his stroller. (Wonderful, especially for all the gardens we have been visiting. Sometimes it can feel a little wide but it is very sturdy and easy to move). If I were to do this all over again (We have donated all our baby items to friends that are expecting) I would purchase this. It’s everything rolled into one. It has the traveler, the baby car seat, the stroller seat part that converts into a bassinet! Unclear if the 4 in 1 car seat we currently have works with this traveler. Also not 100% sure if the baby car seat this comes with has a base or you have to buy that separately.(See how confusing?) One tip we did that was kind of rad was we got two bases, one for each car – made life super easy. Also my friend who has used the Uppa baby stroller said it could be kind of top heavy at times but she used the double stroller version. What I like is it seems like I could just throw my back pack or diaper bag in the basket underneath. My strollers baskets were always too tight of a fit to add my bag so I had to take what I thought I needed which was kind of a pain. The Uppa Baby is the same idea as the Graco Travel System just a lot more expensive. You buy the base and then everything is an add-on. I’m sure you can get packages too. We also looked at this company too and was very close to getting a jogger. Anyways, the stroller world is super confusing and you will need to research all the different company’s and strollers. I don’t think it is necessary to spend over a $1000 on a stroller but then again we spent a pretty penny on our Bob jogger but needed it’s durability. If you plan on having two or more kids you might want to look at what you can convert into a two-seater.

CAR SEAT We got this car seat after Hue grew out of his baby car seat/traveler system. It would have worked great from the beginning. We still use it today and love it. It will grow as Hue grows. We have similar versions in both cars.

SWADDLE There are so many options in the swaddle world. We swaddled I guess the old fashioned way with a blanket. We used this brand/similar blankets as these. I found that swaddle blankets come in all different sizes but you want it to be a large blanket and the muslin material is best in my opinion. Then there are swaddle wraps that take all the wrapping and tucking guesswork out of the equation. We were given a hand-me-down wrap which I never really used because I had the swaddle technique down. We later had a swaddle for him but his arms were out. Hue’s pediatrician recommended it to help Hue sleep. We stopped using it once he outgrew them. If you use a snoo it looks like you attach your baby into a swaddle wrap. There are options for what works best for you.

CLOTHES You will get a ton of clothes. Here is what you need. Onsies, a bunch. You will go through them fast, you will need back-ups. You will need short sleeved and long sleeved. You will need baby pants – so cute. You will need socks and baby hats. You will need the occasional jacket for colder months. That is really it. Anything else is just super cute and hard to resist when clothes are that small.

BOOKS Ask for books. I didn’t ask for anything specific and I got such a great library of books at my shower. My sisters got a lot of their favorite books which is so special. I have added so many cool books to Hue’s library since. Board books with simple stories are key when they are babies. I will be doing a post on Hue’s library soon.

BOOK HOLDERS I would get these. I got similar ones off of Etsy.If you are a DIY-ER I would make these myself and longer. Like a big art display of all the books. I also like this and this. Books and displaying them are super important! You want your baby/toddler to grab the books and be interested in them. And a heads up, just went to Ikea and they were low on stock or out of quite a bit of items.

BOUNCER I would get this. I like the look of this but the price tag is a little high. We had one that Hue liked but we didn’t used it a ton. It was under $30 and our cat probably used it more than Hue. We also bought him this swing (a similar one to this) and he also didn’t love it.So I think this would only be worth it if your baby really likes these.

BABY CARRIER Hands down I would use this one. Easy to put on. Hue could hang out for hours in it.

BOPPY  This is a nursing pillow but I used it like a pillow that protected the sides of his body. He loved this thing. We used it all day, every day! He preferred this to the bouncer or swing. I am interested if this is better? Not sure but the Boppy seems to works similar and it’s A LOT cheaper.

BLANKET I didn’t get any blankets. I  bought one for Hue for pictures but it wasn’t realistic for like washing a ton so here is what I should have got. These blankest are so soft and like being hugged by a cloud. They have a big selection to choose from too.

Everything else you can purchase as you go, plus if you have a baby shower you will get a ton of stuff that you didn’t know you needed but someone else knew you would need it. I tried to keep my baby shower reasonable price wise. Anything super expensive we bought ourselves. Also this is a “dream” registry so it’s like the ultimate or best. Best doesn’t alway mean the most expensive. Remember this is from my own experience and all babies are so different so please keep that in mind.