Creating a Baby Shower Registry

I was all about the stuff my first baby go around. I registered for all the baby things. If someone told me about a product that was helpful for their baby I wanted it. The problem with this is that every baby is different. What works for one, might not work for another. The other thing is that every mom is different. 

I can remember the day I went to do my registry with my husband. I was standing in the middle of the baby section at target for the first time in my life. I’d been to target so many times before but was only now entering this foreign land. I had the scanner ready trying to figure out what we needed. My husband had no interest being there. He looked at me and said do we really need all this this plastic crap? 

We didn’t fill out a baby registry that day.  I ended up creating an Amazon registry later on by myself. I filled it with so much stuff that in hindsight, I didn’t need. Don’t tell my husband this, but he was right. We didn’t need all that plastic crap. 

Here is the thing though. People are going to want to buy the baby gifts. If you are lucky they are going to want to throw a big party to celebrate the arrival of a new human, which is an amazing idea. What could be more special then celebrating a new life… but they are also going to want to give lots of things to help with the new addition. Lots and lots of things. They are going to do this even if you don’t register for anything and request no gifts.  We are lucky to have this problem, but still this means a lot of money potentially wasted, a lot of stuff you have to find a place for and a lot of stuff that will eventually end up in a landfill. So here’s what I would do if I had to do it again. 

I’d go to one of those stores that gives you the scanner wand and create a baby registry. I’d put everything I think I might possibly need. I’d also open up a Babylist account and consider putting some alternative baby registry items on there. 

I’d welcome the big party. I’d enjoy having all the family and friends together and enjoy celebrating the fact that a new human is joining the tribe. 

I’d open all the sweet baby stuff. The hundreds of adorable outfits that are so stinking cute and bring everyone so much joy….but are so impractical and will never actually be worn, because when it comes down to it the only thing the baby is wearing the first couple of months is pajamas anyway. 

When the party is over I’d say thank you and send thank you notes and let people know how much I genuinely appreciated them celebrating this new special season of our life with us.

I’d get home and tuck everything away with the tags still on. I wouldn’t open it yet. I’d check the stores return policy and see how long I have to return items off my registry In case I change my mind about some items. Once the baby is born I’d start to see what I really need.  I would pause before opening anything. I might even wait a week on some items and see if what I think I need is actually needed. 

Why do this? Because what I would often find with Anika and Jacob is in the desperation and exhaustion that comes with being a first time mom to a newborn baby, I would often search for the quick fix answers that these products seemed to offer me. So many of my additional purchases were impulse items that looked incredibly useful…and they were for maybe a month or two and then my kids would move into the next phase of development and it would be old news.  

If you determine some gifts off of your registry are actually unnecessary I would go ahead and return them. 

 Is it rude to return gifts that were given to you? I’d say no. The gift served its purpose the moment it went from the gift givers hands to yours. What happens to it after that is up to you. 

Looking back I would have been just fine without so many of my baby purchases and baby registry items. The money invested in them would have been better spent elsewhere. 

I know now when it comes down to it all my babies really needed was sleep, milk and love.