Not so much Eat Pray Love but Eat Poop Sleep

BabyBety.com > Baby Gear > Not so much Eat Pray Love but Eat Poop Sleep

This page may contain affiliate links.

Registry Advice

By: Monica Casañas

 

When faced with creating a baby registry I had absolutely no clue what a baby needed or what we as a couple needed to keep our tiny human happy and comfortable. I had seen the shows, the movies – I even had the baby apps installed on my phone. It all confused and overwhelmed me more.

 

When I asked my friends who had babies they seemed clueless, it could’ve just been timing on my part – the one friend I asked had a 3 year old. When asked for registry advice she gave me the ‘ol fuck if I know look. I got it – she was trying to survive – giving advice on a baby registry was the farthest thing from her reality.

 

My husband and I dove in. We knew the basics: Eat, Poop, Sleep (EPS). Here are some EPS recommendations:

 

Eat

I have an 8 month old and as of now I have about 15 bottles. We started out with 30 but the dog ate half of our supply. A baby eats different measurements of liquids from 0-12 months. According to the company Pampers:

 

AgeAmount per feedingFeeding frequency
2 months4 ounces6 to 7 feedings/24 hours
4 months4 to 6 ounces5 feedings/24 hours
6 months6 to 8 ounces5 feedings/24 hours
1 year8 ounces
  1. Bottles (10-20) from 4-8oz bottles
  2. Bottle Sterilizer
  3. Bottle cleaning pack ie. brush, sponge
  4. Bottle drying rack
  5. Burp cloths
  6. Bibs
    1. Bibs* (for around the 6-8 month mark)
  7. A high chair*
  8. Baby spoons*

 

Poop

Your baby will be pooping . . .   A LOT! It’s all fun and games until the baby poops on you, but who are we kidding, even then it’s still crazy cute – that’s how you know the love is real. So if you haven’t already received a shit-ton from your baby shower . . .

 

  1. Diapers
  2. Diaper rash cream (Desitin, Vaseline and AD cream)
  3. Baby wipes
  4. Diaper et al disposal chamber (cause diapers tend to smell)
  5. A changing table
    1. A changing pad x2

 

If you’re a granola parent like me, you will want to put a shit-ton (pardon the pun) of the following on your baby list:

 

  1. Cloth diapers (minimum quantity 20)
  2. Cloth inserts (minimum quantity 30)
  3. Cloth diaper bag (minimum quantity 4)

 

Sleep

Chances are you will not get much sleep. But don’t worry – I promise it will get better. However here is your survival pack for what parents who have been in your shoes call the zombie days:

 

  1. Baby Crib
    1. Crib mattress
    2. Crib sheets
  2. Pack and play
    1. Pack and play part 2
    2. Traveling pack and play
  3. Bassinet
  4. Rock and play
  5. Baby sleep sacks
  6. Pacifiers (they are life savers!)

 

Google SIDS and do not obsess over it. It is recommended to have baby sleep in the same room with you until at least 6 months to 1 year. This means if you have a baby room you won’t really be using the crib for sleeping for the first couple of months hence the bassinet.

 

Bassinets are compact and can be easily kept at bedside to have baby within arm’s reach. Pack and plays are great to have in the living room or if you live somewhere with more than 1 floor it’s great to have multiple sleeping options for you and baby. The Rock and play will save your sanity for those weeks (maybe months) where baby is still becoming accustomed to sleep. Baby sleep slacks will help you sleep during those colder nights knowing your little one is warm – it is recommended that the baby sleep with no blankets or toys in the crib/bassinet.

 

Not so much Kid & Play but Boob & Play

 

Boob

The wonderful world of breastfeeding (insert sarcastic tone here). I will not sugar coat it – there’s a minority for whom this is easy but for the rest of us – breastfeeding is hard – wonderful but hard. You can opt to put breastfeeding paraphernalia like pumps etc on your list but if you have insurance you are mostly likely covered. A couple of recommendations here to help moms on a breastfeeding path:

 

  1. Breast Friend
    1. Boppy

 

I highly recommend the Breast Friend because you snap it around your waist – where as the Boppy is a half-moon pillow. These pillows are great to rest your baby on while they nurse.  

 

Play

At some point the baby will begin to play and become more active. These chairs in addition to the Rock and Play are a saving grace:

 

  1. Baby Bouncer
    1. Sitter (Compact enough to fit in a suitcase – which I did when we travelled to Puerto Rico)
  2. Play Dome
  3. Activity Mat with Walls!
  4. Play mat

 

You will appreciate any play area that has walls once the baby begins crawling – which can  typically happen between 6 and 10 months. You may have noticed a lack of smaller toys – don’t worry, like clothes you will get many toys for your tiny human.

 

Posh Spice, Baby Spice or Scary Spice?

This is where we talk about your fashion forward baby – clothes. DO NOT PUT BABY CLOTHES ON YOUR REGISTRY. Why you ask? Because you will get a shit-ton of baby clothes. You will need a dresser, bins and hangers, lots of them:

 

  1. Dresser
  2. Hangers
  3. Storage Bins

 

Do you know why you need bins? If I didn’t say this before – you are going to get a shit-ton of clothes. So so many clothes – too many clothes – too many to fit in the dresser at once and even if you did put them in the dresser they won’t all be the same size. Bins are a great way to organize by size/month the clothes you are gifted.

 

The only clothes that I will ok on this list are newborn clothes (0-1 month) and these booties only:

  1. Zutano booties

 

The Grand Finale – Healthy Baby, Clean Baby & Baby on the go!

 

  1. Care Kit
  2. Baby Tub
    1. Shower lilly (Compact and great for travel)
    2. Towels
    3. Shampoo
  3. Baby Stroller
    1. Car Seat
    2. Stroller/Seat Cover (for cold days and rain)
    3. Car Mirror
  4. Baby wearables
    1. Wrap
    2. Ergo
  5. Diaper Bag
  6. Baby Monitor

 

Some last words of advice – get items that will help you in the first year (0-12months). Get items that grow with baby – for example the crib that will turn into a regular twin bed later on. Get items that are combined like the baby stroller + car seat in one. If you don’t get gifted items from your registry don’t panic – second hand items will more than likely be offered to you. You can also find many of these items for sale used on Facebook or on the Nextdoor App.

 

You and baby got this! You will survive but most importantly you and your baby will be ready to take on the world with this list.

 

The Complete Baby list:

  1. Bottles (10-20) from 4-8oz bottles
  2. Bottle Sterilizer
  3. Bottle cleaning pack ie. brush, sponge
  4. Bottle drying rack
  5. Burp cloths
  6. Bibs
    1. Bibs
  7. A high chair
  8. Baby spoons
  9. Diapers
  10. Diaper rash cream
  11. Baby wipes
  12. Diaper et al disposal chamber
  13. A changing table
    1. A changing pad x2
  14. Cloth diapers (minimum quantity 20)
    1. Cloth inserts (minimum quantity 30)
    2. Cloth diaper bag (minimum quantity 4)
  15. Baby Crib
    1. Crib mattress
    2. Crib sheets
  16. Pack and play
    1. Pack and play p2
    2. Traveling pack and play
  17. Bassinet
  18. Rock and play
  19. Baby sleep sacks
  20. Pacifiers
  21. Breast Friend
    1. Boppy
  22. Baby Bouncer
  23. Sitter
  24. Play Dome
  25. Activity Mat with Walls
  26. Play mat
  27. Dresser
  28. Hangers
    1. Storage Bins
  29. Zutano booties
  30. Care Kit
  31. Baby Tub
  32. Shower lilly
  33. Towels
  34. Shampoo
  35. Baby Stroller
  36. Car Seat
  37. Stroller/Seat Cover
  38. Car Mirror
  39. Baby wearables
    1. Wrap
    2. Ergo
  40. Diaper Bag
  41. Baby Monitor

Parenting Tips

For more parenting tips check out our parenting tips blog!

Tags: ,

Written by Whitney Rowley