Before Ava, we had never put together a baby registry before. I mean, we had never had a baby before so we really didn’t have any clue what we needed and what we didn’t need. And so, like any other first time parent would do, we followed the advice lists that were listed on our registry.

I know, I know. It seems a bit silly since they are put out there by the store you are registered with so of course they are going to tell you that you NEED everything. But you really don’t. There are so many items that we ordered and then realized, “You know what? This is just really unnecessary.”

Yes, every family is going to love certain items and hate certain items but these are the things that, now that I’ve had a baby for 7 weeks, are necessities for that registry in my eyes. (And no, no one has paid me to say any of this. These are the actual products we use!)

Burp Cloths

best burp rags for babies - baby registry must haves

…and lots of them! We ordered a couple of packs of the Burt’s Bees burp rags and we love them! And then we ordered more…and then we ordered more…and I am about to order more. If you have a spitter upper like we do, you’re going to go through a lot of burp rags. And that means, a lot of laundry if you don’t have enough. So instead of doing a load of laundry every day, I would advise you just have plenty. Because no one has time for that!

Plain, Simple White Onesies

beby registry must haves - white gerber onesie 5 pack

Another item you’re going to go through like crazy is clothes. Yeah, I dress Ava up every time we go out in public but here at the house, she just wears a plain old onesie. And then she spits up, and then we change, and then she spits up again and we change again. So just like the burp cloths, I would rather have extras than do laundry once a day. So we ended up buying the white Gerber 5-packs of onesies in short sleeve and long sleeve and although the newborn ones weren’t worn much, they were a lifesaver!

Pads, Pads, Pads, and Pads

Yes, there are 4 types of pads that were absolutely essential when we got home from the hospital, and two are probably not going to be on your registry but make sure you have them ready to go!

Maxi Pads – I bled for about a month after Ava was born (sorry if that is TMI) so I had a couple different sized pads as the bleeding went down. And yep, I made a couple extra trips to the store because I had no idea that was going to happen.

Nursing Pads – And not the washable cloth ones because you’ll leak right through them if your milk is anything like mine! I ended up using (and still use) the disposable Lansinoh pads and they are fantastic at absorbing the milk – I haven’t had a leak since I started using them so they come highly recommended!

best disposable nursing pads that dont leak - baby registry must haves

Changing Table Pads – Instead of risking the diaper exploding all over the changing table or your little one deciding to pee right when the diaper comes off (yes, that happens), only to make you clean the changing table cover over and over, we purchased the small waterproof pads to place on our changing table. So whenever there is a leak or a spill, we just change out the small pad on top and our changing table cover is as good as new! Again, less laundry (I think this is becoming a common trend).

changing table pads - baby registry must haves

Crib Pads – We have the regular crib mattress pad under the sheet as well but then on top of the sheet, we have a large, 3x2 foot waterproof pad. So instead of cleaning her sheet every single night (and having to deal with wrapping the fitted corners around… I hate doing that!), we change out the top pad every day and then, less laundry for us! (Word to the wise: DON’T DRY THEM. Although they say they can be dried, they will melt and you’ll have to toss them and buy more!)

crib changing pad - baby registry must haves

Velcro Swaddles

We got so many beautiful muslin swaddles and I still love having them to keep her warm on brisk days in the stroller or for just using them around the house. But for night time sleeping, I would highly advice the Velcro swaddles. Not only are they so much easier, they work like a charm. Well, Ava got out of hers every single night while we were using them but at least it made it a little more difficult on her and easier on us!

Newborn Clothes

I was under the impression that a lot of babies never fit into newborn clothes. Ava was 7lb 8 oz and very long at 21 ½ inches and she still needed newborn clothes for a couple of weeks. So have some on hand and just leave the tags on just in case you have a big baby because otherwise, you’ll be taking a shopping trip to Buy Buy Baby with your 2-day old (yep, we sure did!)

Bottles and Pacifiers…and multiple brands of each!

Another thing I did not realize is that babies are picky. They are picky with pacifiers and picky with bottles so you may have to try a couple before you get it right. So register for a couple of brands and once you know what he/she likes, then you can purchase more!

Items for Mom

Just some house keeping items for you, mom. Because these were necessities for me:

- Nipple cream: Your nipples are going to hurt badly for a while. But I promise it gets better!
- Ice/Heat Packs for your breasts: I produced way to much milk in the beginning and it was painful! And they say you shouldn’t pump for the first three weeks because otherwise, your body thinks your baby needs that much milk and will continue to produce more! So heat/cold packs saved my life.

Of course there are plenty of other items that we needed and still use, but these were the ones that I had never thought of and wish I had known before we had a baby! So there ya have it :)