pregnancy

WHAT’S ON OUR BABY REGISTRY

We had the loveliest baby shower in Dallas this past weekend (I shared a few photos here if you’re interested) and our generous family and friends made a sizable dent in the long list of items we’ll need before our baby boy arrives in late September! I so appreciated your input on your favorite baby items in the comments of this post and I wanted to share the items that wound up on our baby registry. I’ll be sure to write an update once the baby arrives and we’ve used each of these products for a few months as I’m sure things will change and he’ll wind up hating things we thought he’d love and vice versa. I spent a ton of time researching each of these products on my own in addition to consulting several close girlfriends and feel really good about the list we ended up with. I hope this research helps some of you as you navigate this overwhelming part of preparing for a newborn!

design darling baby registry

BABY GEAR

NURSING/FEEDING

BATHING

DIAPERING

SLEEPING

HEALTH & SAFETY

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28 thoughts on “WHAT’S ON OUR BABY REGISTRY”

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  1. Have you thought about getting the Owlet? We have an (almost) 5 week old and it’s the best item we registered for. The peace-of-mind it provides is unmatched, especially in these early days.

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  2. What a small world…I found your blog while doing genealogy research. We have common ancestors through President Garfield. And even smaller world: the town I grew up in also had a pool called Graydon (the blog post where you mentioned your siblings’ names/potential names came up when I was researching genealogy) pretty sure your mom and I are from the same town. Best wishes on your pregnancy! Being a mom is amazingly wonderful, uncertain, spectacular, crazy, and in short, the best! My unsolicited advice: every emotion you feel is normal. You will freak out. You will make mistakes. And all will be well.

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  3. I really wanted to love my Baby Brezza but it ended up not making my son’s bottle correctly somehow ???? I have a 3 month old and after he refused two bottles from the BB, I returned it to Target. So much easier to just make my own really. I also trained him to get used to room temp water so it’s easy to fix a bottle while we’re out and about. The Ubbi diaper pail is amazing! We have the UppaBaby Vista system and he slept in the bassinet from the stroller and I just bought the stand from Uppababy! I just moved him to his nursery 3 days ago, so literally the first 3 months of his life he slept in it. And I also bought extra mattress covers for the bassinet.
    MeetTheShaneyfelts

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  4. Mackenzie,

    This is a GREAT list! I have an 8 month old daughter, and have & love many of these items myself! A few thoughts in case they are at all helpful:

    – I REALLY(!!!) wish I had registered for a travel crib (specifically BabyBjorn’s, which is $$$)
    – the Skip Hop Moby Bath Kneeler is a Godsend
    – we went with the Stokke Tripp Trapp in midnight blue. It is gorgeous (as highchairs go) and very functional
    – Beaba spoons are the best but a bit expensive. Another item I wish I registered for!
    – IKEA Skubb drawer organizers have been extremely helpful. So. Many. Little. Outfits!

    Best wishes to you and your family! xx

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    2. Thank you Mackenzie and Kristen! At the insistence of my sister, I’m just building my registry now so this post is super timely for me. 🙂 Kristen – Did you find the Beaba first stage or second stage spoons (or both) most helpful? Thank you!

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      1. Joyce,

        We first started with baby food at six months, and have been using the Beaba 1st stage spoons at every meal since then! They are wonderful when feeding your baby because the handle is long and the spoon itself is narrow – perfect to fit in little mouths without making a huge mess. At 8 months, our daughter is now showing interest in feeding herself, so I just ordered the 2nd stage spoons yesterday!

        Long story short – I’d register for both! 🙂

        PS – this is silly (or neurotic?), but I use the yellow spoon when feeding her carrots, because carrots stain EVERYTHING and it’s less noticeable on the yellow spoon, ha!

        xx

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        1. Thank you, Kristen!! I appreciate all the input, even the little detail about color! I just wanted to avoid getting something that was only going to be good for a super brief window but it sounds like both stages make sense. 🙂

          Thank you for the kind reminder to register for things beyond the newborn infant phase! xo.

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  5. Congratulations!! Please make SURE you use glass baby bottles, and NOT plastic!! It is critical…
    It doesn’t matter if the plastic is BPA free; when the formula/breast milk is heated up, and placed in a plastic bottle, the chemicals from the plastic will pass through to your little boy. Trust me on this…
    Good luck!! Infants and toddlers are soooo much fun!
    XX

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    1. Just note to say that while I assume that Meeghan was coming from a place of love for children and concern about health, I think we (those of us who read and appreciate Mackenzie’s posts) should avoid judging or offering unsolicited input on parenting decisions now and in the future. Mackenzie notes in this post that she spent a lot of time putting together her registry. Decisions about parenting are hard and there really are so many ways to be “right.” Let’s try to celebrate that.

      Also as an epidemiologist, I rile when folks who are asking people to reconsider decisions simply ask them to “trust me.” Instead, let’s offer links to high-quality research studies, offer to answer questions (if we have the expertise to do so), and then trust that people can make their own decisions when given that information. Shaming folks by using all caps does not empower anyone.

      For what it is worth, I am a few weeks behind you in pregnancy, Mackenzie, and have decided to use glass bottles (the same Dr. Brown bottles that are on your list, but in glass!) with silicone sleeves to avoid breaking. I trust that you will make the decision that is right for you and was not going to comment, but given that Meeghan raised this issue, I thought I would share one study that made me reconsider my initial decision to use BPA-free plastic bottles: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19440049.2011.644588.

      Regardless of what choice you make on bottles (such a small detail in the long run!), it is clear that you are a thoughtful, caring mom and your little one will be lucky to be in such a loving home. Congratulations!

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  7. Ah, I’ve been waiting for this post! My sister’s really been putting the pressure on me to finish up my registry—love seeing so much overlap between mine and yours. Do you know what highchair you’re going to get?

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      1. Currently looking at the Stokke but the search is so overwhelming! Realistically I know that she’ll probably be fine in whatever we pick, but for some reason it all feels so high stakes (especially when someone else might be gifting it to us).

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          1. Great list! Just popping in to say I did not personally love the 4moms… found it hard and plastic-y. We returned it for the Peg Perego Siesta which we love! My second choice was the Stokke – my sister has that and loves it.

            I have an INSANE Google Doc of everything I used with my son from birth til now (he’s 18 months old.) If anyone would like to see it I am happy to share! Message me on Instagram @queenjord.

  8. i have those pbk towels and they are my least favorite towels that we own. their animal towels are much softer and thicker. Love halo sleep sacks and the Hatch sound machine!

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