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Here is the 2nd part of our baby registry checklist guide.
If you found this page and want to see the other parts, here are links to each:
- Comprehensive Baby Registry Checklist (this is long, the broken down “parts” are below if that is easier to read)
- Baby Registry Checklist Part 1: Clothes
- Baby Registry Checklist Part 3: Bathtime
- Baby Registry Checklist Part 4: Diapering
- Baby Registry Checklist Part 5: Health and Safety
- Baby Registry Checklist Part 6: Bedding
- Baby Registry Checklist Part 7: Baby Gear and Travel
- Baby Registry Checklist Part 8: Nursery and Toys
Supplemental Posts:
Baby Feeding Essentials You Are Going to Need:
Breastfeeding or Pumping:
Breast Pump
Unless you plan on exclusively using formula or always having your baby with you, you are going to want a breast pump. Check into if your insurance helps cover these, companies like Aeroflow can help the process and help you check if your insurance covers them.
We used Aeroflow and they have emailed me a few times to let me know when my insurance will cover more pump replacement parts. This is nice because extra pump parts are nice to have, and sometimes it is hard to keep track of when you need to replace certain things.
We have the Medela Pump in Style pump and it does the job.However, I can tell you that I have envied the mom’s out there who chose the Willow or Elvie pumps. Because let me tell ya, the idea of being able to do other things while pumping that isn’t just sitting on my bum is majorly appealing.
**I did end up getting the Willow pump and I love it! It took awhile for me to get use to it and making sure I had everything lined up just right, but it does give so much more freedom! Just make sure you measure yourself before ordering it, I had the wrong size at first and, ow!
Plus, when I picked out my pump they weren’t all over every mom influencer’s page yet. Or maybe they were but I wasn’t following the right people? Ugh, who knows.
When you are looking at breast pumps think about when you will be using them. Planning on going going back to work? You probably want one that isn’t heavy to lug around with you. Going to be doing other things while you are pumping? Get a double pumping electric one with a hands-free pumping bra. Think you are going to be pumping in your car? Consider getting a car adapter or battery pack for your pump, or one that doesn’t need to be plugged in. Want one you can discretely pump in? Consider the Elvie or Willow.
As a side note, a breast pump shouldn’t be something you get second hand.
Haakaa
This little doodad is nice for catching the letdown on the boob that the baby isn’t feeding on by using a gentle suction. It also can help you build up a stash with what you collect!
There are other “letdown” collectors, but this one is a mom favorite. I had a hard time in the beginning figuring out how to nurse my baby and have this setting in a way that my baby wasn’t hitting it.. If you have a hard time figuring it out like I did in the beginning talk to a lactation consultant. Another option is to bring it with you to the hospital so their lactation consultants can work with you on how to use it.
You can buy this without the lid, with the lid, or with a flower stopper. I have one with a lid because I am prone to spilling things, and breastmilk isn’t something you want to spill.
*If you plan on exclusively pumping, you won’t really need this. I honestly haven’t used mine since I started exclusively pumping.
Nursing or Pumping Bras
So, I know that you could make it work without these, but… THEY ARE SO WORTH IT. Get some that are supportive and comfortable. I ordered a few different types:
Some lace bralette style nursing bras: I wanted some that didn’t just make me feel frumpy. You know, because I needed something to combat the ancient sweatpants I was living in. My favorites are these ones.
Some pumping bras: which I honestly wear most of the time I am home because we exclusively pump. These are the ones I have, and here is another style that is popular.
I did order some sleeping nursing bras, but I honestly only wear them when my other bras are all in the wash. They are great, super comfortable and I can still pump hands-free in them if I get creative, but I like wearing something more supportive.
Another good one to get is a sports bra style nursing bra if you are planning on working out. I have heard great things about this one. Since I workout at home and exclusively pump I don’t have any nursing sports bras.
I would get 2 nursing or pumping bras to start with and maybe different styles. You are going to want more, but at least this way you can try them out before you buy a bunch of them.
You can also bring a regular bra into Nordstrom and have them change your bra into a nursing bra. I personally haven’t tried this since we don’t have a Nordstrom near us, but have heard positive things.
Milk Storage
I have used both the bag types and the bottles. I haven’t ever been so far ahead of my baby in pumping that I have anything frozen, so now I strictly use the bottles that I pump into to store milk in the fridge.
The bags you can use to freeze milk are inexpensive, but you can really fly through a box of 50 or 100. To save on them consider getting a few bottles to pump into as well. I would pump into the bottles then separate out what you have into bags if you are working on a freezer stash.
With the bottles you will want to match the brand to the brand of pump you have. If you are using a Medela pump these are the ones we use.
*If you decide to pump directly into the bags you may need an adapter. I would just order this set that has the adapter with it for most pumps and see if you like using them first.
Like the bags but want something more eco friendly? Haakaa came out with silicone bags that you can freeze and reuse. I wish I would have been aware of these when I ordered my stuff! They are a little more expensive, but they are reusable!
Insulated Bag for Bottles
If you plan on going back to work you will likely want something that you can keep pumped breastmilk in for the sessions you will have away from the baby. This way when you are leaving work you can keep the milk cool on your commute home.
Another good use for these is if you are taking a long drive with your baby and are pumping. Chances are your diaper bag (if you buy one specifically designed as a diaper bag) will have insulated sleeves. But these insulated sleeves may not be covered all the way, so we prefer to use our little insulated bag with an ice pack.
We have this one and it has worked out well for us so far. It comes with an icepack and we have been able to put two of our Dr. Brown’s 4 oz bottles in there and have space left. We haven’t ever put more than two in so far.
If you are trying to decide what bag to get think about what the largest bottle you would like to try is and how they will fit in there. If you are going back to work you could also get a larger bag to hold your breast pump and more bottles, like this one.
Nipple Pads
Don’t go crazy with nipple pads in the beginning. Just get yourself a set that has some overnight ones as well as a few daytime ones.
I ordered the Bamboobies set here and also ended up receiving a few along with different nursing bras I ordered. I am currently 4 months out from delivery and never use them. Honestly, I think I used them for about 2 or 3 weeks max before I didn’t need them.
That being said, everyone is different.
The Bamboobies ones are a nice size, soft and machine washable so they were winners for me.
There are also disposable ones you can buy if you would prefer that instead of washable ones.
Nursing Cover
These have a few different uses, but they are nice to have while breastfeeding in public. We have one and use it to cover our baby;s car seat while we are walking through the doctors office or public spaces since, you know, Covid. They can also be useful during flu season to keep strangers from saying hello to your baby.
Formula Fed
Formula
Obviously.
We ordered a container of a European brand to have just in case but haven’t used it yet. We chose the brand because it was free of maltodextrin, starch, sugar, corn syrup, GMOs, gluten, is 100% natural and certified organic by one of the most stringent organic certifications in the world.
Do your research when you are buying formula to make sure what you buy falls inline with what you look for in food.
Some hospitals may give you a sample of formula as well if you aren’t sure if you are going to supplement yet.
Both
A sample pack of different bottles or individual bottles of a few brands you like
If you plan on, or it ends up happening that way, feeding your baby with a bottle you will need some bottles. The amount you need depends on how many feeds you plan on doing with a bottle. Which you probably won’t know until you have your baby.
The tricky thing is that you aren’t going to know what kind of bottles your baby likes until, well, your baby is here.
So don’t register for a large pack of a single type of bottles. Yes, maybe your baby will like them, but what if they don’t? Just get a few different options and try one at a time so you can return what you don’t use (if ordered individually instead of a sample pack).
Each time you feed your baby you should be using a clean bottle. So, if your baby has 10 feeds in a day from a bottle, you probably want 10 bottles unless you plan on washing bottles during the day.
We have 7 bottles and wash bottles twice a day.
Also, websites will recommend that you get 4 and 8 oz bottles, but you don’t need the 8 oz bottles right now.
I planned on buying a sample pack of different types of bottles but I was very particular about bottles. We planned on breastfeeding and having her night feeds being bottles so my husband could help me out. Because of this, I wanted to make sure that whatever type of bottle we got wouldn’t cause nipple confusion or result in our baby preferring the bottle.
I spoke with a lactation consultant (IBCLC) at our OBGYN clinic and she said that for breastfeeding babies she only recommended Dr. Brown’s options + with a preemie nipple. She recommended these because the flow on these bottle nipples is slow so your baby wont get frustrated going from a faster flow bottle to well, slower boob. So that is what we bought.
If you like these bottles they come in glass, which we bought, or plastic. The glass ones are a little heavier, but we really wanted glass bottles. You can also get wide or narrow bottles, we have both but prefer the narrow bottles.
Chances are that in the free registry packs you get for setting up registries you will receive at least one bottle. We ended up with two bottles that we never used this way.
Bottle Brush
We have a few different types of bottle brushes, which is great because brushes should be replaced after awhile. I replace the sponge-style ones more often than the actual brush-style ones. The guidance on how often to switch them out varies.
To keep our’s fresh we actually run them through our sterilizer without anything else in there.
Our current favorites are the Boon brushes. This set comes with brushes that work for pump parts as well.
When you need replacements for the Boon brushes, if you decide to get those, you can just order the brushes instead of the whole set here.
Looking for something a little less expensive? These don’t come with parts to help cleaning pump parts though.
Bibs
So, in the first few months I went back and forth on bibs. Most of the time we grab a burp cloth and just use that, but our baby also isn’t very spitty. On the flip side, I have a friend who always has her baby in bibs.
BUT, now that we are into our fourth month and our baby is getting pretty drooly bibs are saving us multiple outfit changes.
If you are on trying to figure out why you need bibs and burp cloths here is the basics:
Bibs are to protect the baby’s clothes.
Burp cloths are to protect you and are better for wiping up spit-up that made it onto other surfaces or your baby’s face.
You will want both.
I would recommend that you get a pack of these. But maybe don’t register for more than 4-6 of them until you see how many you end up with as gifts. Because surprise, people don’t just stick to your registry!
We have a few different types of baby bibs, but the ones we use the most are our Copper Pearl ones. We also have some Bebe Au Lait ones, which are super cute as well.
Of the two, we prefer the Copper Pearl ones because they are a little thicker and bigger. The Bebe Au Lait ones also tend to curl up whereas the Copper Pearl ones stay pretty flat.
These are also some popular solid bibs.
Burp Cloths
Get at least 8 or 9 of these.
We have 9 burp cloths and are constantly looking for clean ones. We have even resulted in using bibs to burp our baby with our fingers crossed that we don’t end up with spit up all over.
I am actually considering ordering another pack of them.
You are going to want some in every room your baby will be in and in the diaper bag. We have 2-3 in our bedroom next to the rocker, 1 in her diaper bag, 2-3 on the living room couch so we can easily grab them if she spits up during playtime, and 1-2 by her changing area. The rest? Usually being washed.
You will go through these like crazy. Get some that are absorbent and large.
We have these and love the size and shape. Plus they are organic.
These are other great one’s from Burt’s Bees, and here are some from Copper Pearl which come in cute designs. The Copper Pearl ones have a tendency to sell out quickly!
Dishwasher Basket for Small Items
If you plan on using a dishwasher to clean/sterilize your bottles, pump parts, etc a basket for the small items will help keep all those little bits contained.
Otherwise, if you plan on getting a sterilizer then you can skip this.
Don’t just order whatever one looks the prettiest or whatever, you need to think about the parts you will put in there.
Again, we don’t have a dishwasher but once we get one ordered we plan on ordering this one.
Nice to Have, Not Necessary
Nursing Pillow
These can be nice for positioning your baby while you are breastfeeding, if you decide to. Some of them can be used for different things, like helping support your baby during playtime.
So we ordered the Boppy around the time our baby was a few weeks old and I think I have used it maybe two or three times. I just had such a hard time getting comfortable with it.
Yes, it is stiffer than a regular pillow, but honestly, I preferred just using pillows with a clean soft blanket on top or an absorbent burp cloth. The pillows were nice because I have a longer torso (I am 5’8″) so I could adjust the height better by adding or removing a pillow. Plus, at the hospital they showed us how to use pillows to help prop your baby up while breastfeeding.
Pacifiers
I have these listed here because if you take advantage of the free registry boxes you will likely get a few pacifiers. Also, this is something else that people will likely buy you off of the registry.
If you have a particular brand you want to try out, say an orthodontic pacifier, then register for them, but don’t register for too many. We had 8 pacifiers on our registry (three different packs) and ended up with 14 pacifiers.
Yes, pacifiers get replaced, they get worn out or your baby outgrows them (yes, pacifiers have age ranges!). However, you don’t know if your baby will even take a pacifier, or which ones they will like.
We have had the most success with Philips Advent soothies.
Also, our baby loves the pacifier from the Fridababy Medi-pacifier. It’s just her style I guess. Not the fancy orthodontic ones in bright beautiful colors. Just the boring clear one.
If you want some orthodontic ones these are really popular. We actually tried out their mini version for babies 0-2 months and as a parent I loved them, but our baby isn’t a pacifier fan so she doesn’t care what I like. They were very lightweight and smaller than most of our other pacifiers.
Not sure where to start? Babylist.com has a sample pack of pacifiers so you can try out.
Dry Rack
If you are handwashing your bottles, pumping supplies, etc, a dry rack can be nice to have. I ended up registering for the Boon lawn dry rack but didn’t end up getting it and have survived without it.
I also thought that it would grow mildew and be difficult to clean.
What you can do instead is just run them through the dishwasher if you have one or use a sterilizer if you have one on the dry setting.
If you end up getting a bottle rack remember to sterilize it every once and a while. Just because you put clean things on it doesn’t mean that it itself is clean. Also think about the space it will take up on your counter, some of these aren’t very small.
This is a popular one, as well as the Boon one I mentioned earlier.
Sterilizer and Dryer
Bottles, pump parts, pacifiers, teething toys, etc. are all going to need to be sterilized after use. If you don’t want to use your dishwasher (on sanitize and dry setting) and would prefer something that is dedicated to just baby gear get a sterilized and dryer.
Get one that both sterilizes and dries. Also, try to get one that fits different brands of bottles and can fit anything else you plan on sterilizing for your baby. We use our sterilizer all the time since we are about to remodel our kitchen and currently don’t have a dishwasher. I throw everything in there.
Originally we bought the Pabalic sterilizer and dryer but were also sent the Philips Advent Premium sterilizer and dryer * to try.
I use both sterilizers daily, but have a few issues with the Phillips Advent sterilizer. For one, it doesn’t support our bottles very well on the little bottle pegs so they just fall over. It also doesn’t do as good of a job drying our baby gear as our Pabalic one. Plus, the Pabalic one is like $50 less.
The Pabalic sterilizer fits our bottles well, fully supports them, has enough space, and is easy to operate and clean.
*This was sent to us as part of Stellar Review Panel
Don’t Need
Nipple Cream
Consider using coconut oil instead, or if you prefer a lactation consultant may prescribe you one. I ordered some Bamboobies nipple cream and never opened it. I am sure it is great, but I just didn’t need it.
Plus, if you go the coconut oil route you can use the coconut oil as lotion for your baby! Or you know, cook with it and just put a small portion in a jar to use for your nipples.
If you do get a nipple cream remember that you may need to wash it off before breastfeeding your baby!
Bottle Warmer
You really don’t need this. If you really want to warm up a bottle you can put warm water in a mug then place the bottle in the mug to gently heat it up.
Eating Items for When Your Baby Is a Little Older
These things you can wait on, but you can also add them to your registry in case anyone would like to gift something for the non-newborn stage.
Necessary:
High Chair
Some high chairs can be used earlier than others, so check the age recommendations before using them with your baby.
When you are looking for a high chair think about what will be important to you. Do you want it to fold down and store away? Or are you just going to leave it set up somewhere?
Also, make sure that it is easy to clean.
Something that, to me at least, isn’t a selling point for a high chair is if it “grows with them”. Yes, something that converts so baby can use it until they can sit on a regular chair would be nice. But, you probably won’t use a high chair, however converted it is, as a chair for your pre-teen.
We haven’t ordered our high chair yet, but here are some we are considering:
- The Tripp Trapp from Stokke, it is pricey but non-toxic , ergonomic and will go with our home decor. It also grows with your baby. The only down side is that the accessories are sold separately and can add quite a bit to the bill.
- This Keekaroo high chair, which is similar to the Tripp Trapp but less expensive.
Another popular high chair that is very inexpensive is the Ikea high chair. There are ways to decorate it so it isn’t as plain if you want. Things like seat cushions and decorative tray liners are available just look around on Etsy.
UPDATE: We bought the Tripp Trapp and love it! It was a bit of a splurge baby item, but I am so happy we got it!
Baby Bowls, Plates, and Utensils
We ordered two plates/placemats, a set of three bowls, and two different sets of utensils. Seems like a lot, especially of the utensils, but we figured one set would go in her diaper bag for traveling and while at home we were pretty sure some would end up on the floor.
For plates and bowls: get the kind that suctions to your high chair or a placemat. We haven’t started using these yet, but I can already tell I am grateful I ordered some that suction.
I can only imagine the mess my little one would make with bowls and plates she could lift up and toss off the high chair.
Yeah, no thanks. At least the suction ones will give her a little bit more of a fight if she is determined to throw things on the floor.
Plates: here are the one’s we ordered. Again, we haven’t tried them but they are highly rated.
Bowls: Ok, so we have the Cloud Island set from Target, but they aren’t rated super hot so I’m thinking of replacing them with these because they are so stinking cute and come in different colors. It you are looking for something less expensive here is a set of three that are highly rated as well.
Sets: I love these bamboo sets and actually have the white one in my Amazon cart to buy with our next order!
Utensils: These are very popular options and come in a set of two, one for babies newer to eating and the other for when babies learn the food-to-mouth motion. We also have this inexpensive set of spoons to help us make sure nothing is too hot!
Nice to Have, but Don’t Need
Splat Mat
Basically, it is just a mat you put down under a high chair so that when your baby eats the mess is easier to clean up.
It can make cleaning up more convenient but remember you will need to clean that mat after awhile as well. We plan on just sweeping/vacuuming and steam mopping the messes up in the beginning and seeing how it goes.
That is unless our little girl eats like her dad… then maybe we will get a splat mat to aid in the cleaning process.
UPDATE: Our baby is now eating solids (6 months) and things are getting a little messier. Not to the point where I am picking anything off the floor, but maybe in the future? We still are holding out on a splat mat.
Equipment to Make Your Own Baby Food
Making our baby’s food was important to us since we are picky about what we put in our bodies. So it only made sense for us to make her food as well. We are actually doing a mix of purees and baby led weaning, so this section is really for the purees.
We have the Baby Nutribullet, we haven’t used it yet but the only downside I can see so far is that you have to buy the steamer separate.
Looking for one with the steamer? I also really love this one because of all of the colors available, it comes in a larger size too. And this one would be so nice for making a variety of things at the same time!
Need glass storage containers? Here are some we are looking at.
Baby’s Own Open Cup and Straws
Skip the sippy cup and instead get some silicone straws and some open cups. Here is an article from Parents.com about why you may want to skip a sippy cup.
We are skipping sippy cups and using open cups and reusable straws instead. It is up to you what you decide to do. Here are some cups we are looking at, and these are another option we are considering.
Strained Food Feeders
We have a few of these and plan on using them when our baby starts teething and again when she is eating purees.
We are going to put frozen breastmilk in them for when our baby is teething if she isn’t able to have purees yet. That way she has something cool to suck on that will feel good on her gums. Then, when she gets to the whole eating purees stage we will put the purees in so she has something to self-feed with and suck on!
UPDATE: We have used these a few times now and our baby likes them. We have tried mangoes, bananas, and blueberries in it so far. They get a little messy, so remember to put a bib on your baby! And if you put in whole pieces of soft fruit you may have to smash it from time to time to get some food to come out of the holes.
Silicone Bibs
These bibs will be easier to clean and some come with handy “food catchers”. There are so many cute one’s out there, Like these Mushie ones that are super popular or these, which we have. Just make sure that they aren’t cheaply made, you want the “bucket”/”food catcher” to not just be some limp part that never catches anything.
I originally looked at the OXO tot one that rolls up because I thought that the silicone bibs might be bulky to store, but there were so many complaints about them growing mold!
Another good option is something like this.
Snack Dispensers
Having something reusable is nice, but these really aren’t necessary. They are nice to have though and there are inexpensive options.
Really though, you wont need this, if you choose to get one, for awhile. ‘
Skip
Sippy Cup
Go for something with a straw or an open cup instead. Unless you just really want a sippy cup.
That’s the end of our second part of our baby registry checklist on feeding essentials. To continue to the next part click here!