FTM: When will you start working on your registry?

[aprilz81]

So when will you guys start working on your registry/ies and what will you start researching first?

I've debated starting research on car seats now, but I think I'm going to wait a few more weeks (at least until we have a good heartbeat).

I looked at a registry list last night and while I know BRU is trying to sell merchandise I was overwhelmed by the choices available and the decisions that will eventually have to be made.

My sister has some things that she will be passing down to me and I know she would be happy to help me put together my registry but this seems so much more overwhelming than our wedding registry.

[thelittleredm]

Not a FTM but when I started my registry (around 15weeks), I added absolute necessities first like diapers, wipes, etc. I kept clothes off my list and didn't add anything my kid wouldn't play with or need the first few months so no activity sets, feeding utensils, etc.

[aprilz81]

May 17, 2016 19:49:59 GMT -5 thelittleredm said:

Not a FTM but when I started my registry (around 15weeks), I added absolute necessities first like diapers, wipes, etc. I kept clothes off my list and didn't add anything my kid wouldn't play with or need the first few months so no activity sets, feeding utensils, etc.

Were you trying to steer people to your top priorities or did you have limited space to store things you wouldn't need for awhile?  Just curious...

[thelittleredm]

aprilz81, Both. I was more interested in receiving things that I would need but wouldn't want to have to leave the house to get (we were a one car family) all the time. Plus, we were only in NM a month before moving back to GA and everything needed to fit in our car and my dad's van so space was limited. It was great, though! We registered for different size diapers and didn't have to purchase any for the first couple months. Wipes lasted even longer

[thelittleredm]

And we still got a ton of clothes and baby toys because people can't resist.

[peaseblossom55]

I am not sure we will register except maybe for a completion discount of sorts. I don't think we will until after the a/s and week 24. I don't want to have to return stuff again or cancel an order for nursery furniture, we took most of what we bought for Anne.liese back. We still have a few items of gifts and things my sister gave us my niece is too old for now.

[aprilz81]

May 17, 2016 20:36:36 GMT -5 opheliainwaders said:

I think we registered around month 5 or so? I didn't register for diapers, but otherwise I agree with thelittleredm - we kept it to stuff we needed in the first couple of months, and didn't register for clothes at all. Partly because of space issues, and partly because I got a lot of the stuff we used only temporarily secondhand (like, we got an exersaucer off the neighborhood email list for $15, and sold it for $15 when we were don't with it).

Our parents also wanted to buy certain things (crib, stroller, car seat) so while we picked them out, we didn't put them on the registry since they were already spoken for.

I'm 100% on board with buying gently used baby stuff for things that they will only use for a few months.

I can see having two showers easy (one for DH's family and one for my family) and possibly one for our local friends.  If this turns out to be the case I don't want to go too bare bones so that people have options, but baby items are so cute I know people will go off registry anyway (and that's okay)

[raven]

I think I started my registry when second trimester started. As PP have stated, only necessities were on there. I did register for diapers, all sizes. Only got newborn and size 1. No clothes, got tons anyway. I registered for furniture because, at the time, all family lived out of state. They wanted to make sure I got what I wanted.
Some people will stick to the registry like glue, others will go crazy. Expect nothing and everything.
Also, a mother once told me to put something on the registry you will never expect. It's extravagant, but cute. You never know, someone might just buy it.

[irish14]

STM butting in. I think I started mine once someone started talking about a shower. Most places will let you add stuff even at the end, when you're at the store to use your completion discount. We used the discount on a whole bunch of bigger stuff in the last month, like the crib mattress, etc. So, worth it to do the registry to get stuff on discount that you'd be buying anyway.

+1 to don't bother with clothes, receiving blankets, or stuffed animals, you will get all this regardless if you have people buying you stuff.

[siouxsieq]

I found Lucie's List to be super helpful in building a registry because I was really focused on what it is I need and exactly how many of each thing I needed and felt like I needed to be very particular about what brands. And I was clueless about all of it.

If this sounds like you, then you might find doing a registry a huge task because you feel like you need to put a lot of thought into each item. So i would say it's never too soon to get the ball rolling, if that's the case!

It's kind of fun in the end. Everyone has an opinion on what's best but the glory is you get to decide what's best for you and your baby!

[judyblume14]

I don't think we'll be doing a registry (editing to add because I'm a STM and I didn't read the "FTM" part of the title), we have a lot of what we need, or we'll be getting stuff back from people who borrowed things like our swing and rock-n-play. We have too many toys, plenty of bibs/burp cloths/blankets.

For those of you looking for carseats, this is a great website where CPSTs review and rate car seats. csftl.org/

You can also find them on Facebook. When we were moving from bucket seat to convertible, I sent them a message with the years, makes and models of our 2 cars, and they sent recommendations in a few price ranges for the safest seats that would fit best in our cars. They responded within minutes. I'm not affiliated with the site, just a happy "customer" (it's free though).

[summergirl1211]

STM throwing in some input. I think we started registering around 22 weeks after we knew the sex, even though we picked mostly gender-neutral stuff. I agree with focusing on the large things first that you won't be purchasing yourself- furniture, PnP, diaper genie, pump (although I think we can all get them free through insurance now), monitor, etc. I had a friend of mine who already had 3 kids come to Target with me and help me pick things out like bottles, nipples, clothing essentials. This time we'll probably put together a small registry in case people want ideas (I doubt we'll be having a second shower and I'm not expecting one) and for the completion discounts. HTH!

[idreamofbacon]

Six months ago, LOL. I set up an amazon wishlist with things that I liked that I can use to base my brick & mortar registries off of

[heybulldog56]

Another STM butting in. We registered for essentials we would need in the first few months, things like monitor, bath tub, swaddle blankets, burp cloths, etc. Our parents got us the big items: car seat, stroller, crib, etc. We did not register for diapers or clothes but ended up a guest room closet filled with both.

We haven't discussed registering and I seriously doubt we will since we have everything we need (and then some). If anyone asks, I will probably throw a few little things on an amazon wish list but I am not going to do a formal registry or anything. Honestly, all we really need is a crib since DS still sleeps in his.

I am glad to offer advice and suggestions/ product reviews on things we looked into or used. I really enjoyed the process of reading reviews and deciding on things. I'm a freak.

[LovesMeSomeCake]

I have no idea when we'll actually get into the store to register, we still have some PTSD from the wedding registry marathon.
We've been going to the different baby stores to get an idea, and I now have Lucies List and Baby Bargains book that someone here told me about. I'm a crazy researcher, so the research in ongoing, the purchasing and registering will probably wait. I think we will be buying the big stuff, and extra car seats and pack and plays for the grandparents, MIL has stuff from when DH was a baby, and I just can't.
I know this sounds terrible, but we had a friend suggest we pretend to be team green until after the shower, just so we don't get so much pink/blue specific stuff.

[badwolf]

I have no clue. I didn't register the first time around and everything is completely overwhelming this time but I know we need to take stock of what's left over from DS and see if it's even salvageable anymore. Plus DH thinks his family kept some stuff from the last kid they had but I can't imagine it would have been very much since she's 8 years old now.