Baby Registry Must-Haves (And How to Build One)

First, let’s acknowledge that “Baby Registry Must Haves” is kind of a ridiculous concept. Nothing is a must-have; people have been having babies for millions of years without bottle sterilizers. But! There are ways to think about your baby registry that will help you create one that best supports your needs and not those of your best friend or a random person on the internet (it’s me, hi). 

1. Make a list of the support you have and the support you want

Before we break diapering down into six separate products (which is conservative, tbh), think more holistically about what type of support you want and/or think you’ll need. You can break support into buckets or even individual people (your map could be four names or even four trusted resources instead of the broader categories we’ve chosen). 

Here’s what a “support map” might look like:

List people and support you already have, and/or types of people and support you’d like to have. In the example above, let’s say when thinking about where I could most use support from my family, it’s for babysitting, which my mom has already offered. My mother-in-law has said she’ll help around the house, and in thinking through what I already have and what I need, I decide that meal prep and laundry are where I can most use her support.

People love to be helpful, and direction and specificity can help both parties. It’s also better to bring up specific requests before baby, so your MIL can tell you she’s happy to do meal prep but not laundry, and you can figure out plan B before you’re running on 30 minutes of sleep and the hamper’s overflowing. 

Perhaps in creating your map, you realize you don’t have support for overnight and you know your partner is going to be traveling for work shortly after baby is born (ain’t that America). Identifying this gap might help you prioritize putting, say, four nights of night doula services on your registry instead of the super cool running stroller you want but don’t really need right now. 

2. Support vs. stuff

The reason the support map can be so helpful is that it helps you identify what you need outside of a list of baby products. 

Maybe your map includes dozens of friends and family members nearby who plan to help with everything from cooking you three meals a day to taking the occasional overnight shift so you and your partner can rest. 

Or perhaps you are the last friend to have a baby so you already have every product under the sun, but you live far away from your closest people. Maybe you fall somewhere in the middle and your registry must-haves include both intangible support and physical products. 

3. make your wish list 

Once you’ve mapped out what you have, need, and want, it’s time to draft a list of what might end up on your registry. Here are some examples of wish list items for both the support and product categories.

Support 

• Meal kit/meal prep or meal train

• Pelvic floor physical therapy sessions

• Massage

• Night doula 

• Babysitting hours 

• Laundry 

• Household cleaning

• Workout classes/postpartum trainer

• Newborn or family photo session

• Baby play classes

• Postpartum support group

Products

Diapering

• Diapers

• Wipes

• Diaper cream

• Changing table

• Changing pad

• Diaper bag

Eating

• Bottles

• Bottle sterilizer

• Drying rack

• Breast milk storage bags

• Nipple cream

• Breast pump

Sleep

• Crib

• Crib mattress

• Crib sheets

• Swaddles

• Sleep sacks 

• Blackout shades

• Travel crib/pack ‘n play

Tech + Safety

• Baby monitor

• Car seat

• Rear-facing mirror (for car)

• Thermometer

• Sound machine (stationary and portable)

Clothing

• Onesies (newborn)

• Onesies (0-3 months)

• Onesies (3-6 months)

• Cute or special outfit for meeting friends and family and/or newborn photos

• Outerwear

Other

• Stroller

• Playmat

• Books

• Toys

• Baby blanket

• Lovies 

• Nursery decor (dresser, art, mobile, bookshelf, etc.)

4. Comb and prioritize your list

We’re not going to dive too deep into specifics for this article. Partially so this article doesn’t turn into a novel and also because we don’t believe in the best diaper or the only bottle. Every family and every baby is different and we trust that with the right structure for your list, you can figure out what’s best for you. 

Once you’ve created your support map and list, you can begin to see where you have what you need and where gaps exist. For example, perhaps under “Friend Support,” you have two friends who have offered you containers of baby clothes. So, instead of asking for 10 different onesies, you can add one special outfit to your registry. 

If you can rent or borrow a lot of the products you’ll need, consider asking for some of the non-material support on your registry. 

5. Choose a baby registry Platform

Once you know what’s on your list, it’s time to choose a platform for your registry. For product-focused registries, you can choose between single retailer or a universal registry. 

For single retailer registries, if your must-have registry items cover a wide range of categories, you may want to consider Target or Amazon, single retailers that stock a wide range of products. If you’re really only asking for group contributions to a few major items like a crib or stroller, you may find what you need at a single retailer like Crate & Barrel or Pottery Barn Kids. 

Universal registry sites like Babylist and Zola (yup, the same place you registered for wedding gifts) are great for optionality. They won’t have every brand or product, but they cover most of what you’ll want and need, even if it’s not exact. With Babylist, you also have the option to add a widget to your browser so when you’re on other retail sites, you can simply add it to your registry with the click of a button. 

If your registry leans support-heavy, you might want to consider an option like Be Her Village, which supports families with funds to allocate to pre- and postpartum services like a doula, baby classes, mental health support or even a stay at a postpartum retreat center. 

Be Her Village offers wide-ranging support outside of typical baby registry must have items

Once your registry is complete, share it with your closest friends and family (or if you’re having a baby shower, have the host share it). Have fun with it and trust that baby already has what he or she needs most — you! 

TL;DR

• Think outside the box when it comes to creating your baby registry. You may have access to tons of products of support your best friend didn’t have when she made hers, or vice versa. What do YOU need to feel prepared and supported? 

• Making a mind map of where you currently have support — and where you have gaps to fill — can be helpful in determining what you really need. 

• Think about what you can borrow or rent, and if those options open up space on your registry to ask for larger items (that multiple people can contribute to) or services like a pack of baby play classes or a babysitter. 

• Is your registry more product or service heavy? If it’s mostly products, are there lots of small things you could fill a Target cart with, or a couple of big items you’re coveting? This will help determine which registry site is best for you. 

• Relax and have fun. Baby has you, which is all they really need anyway!