In this blogpost, I will share a spreadsheet with my favorite preganancy, birth and baby essentials which can be used as a guide to create a personal checklist or a baby registry. I will create more posts in the future specific to a type of baby item like montessori toys/ teethers/ books but this is a more general list that can be played with and customized to fit anyone’s needs. This is a very much a maximalist list to cover all bases so I added the option of checkboxes to mark and filter the items you want to add to your shopping list and the items you may already have lying around the house and items you may simply want to skip.
Read on below for what a baby registry is and why you’d want to create one but if you’d prefer to skip to the spreadsheet, scroll to the end and it will be there.
Let’s start with the basics, what is a baby registry?
A baby registry is a list of all thing one would want to buy in preparation of an upcoming baby. It is a guide for people who wish to join in the celebrations and contribute to the arrival of the baby in the form of gifts.
Where does one create a baby registry?
There are multiple places that host a baby registry and it all comes down to personal choice but the two most popular options are Amazon and Babylist (the lesser popular options being target, walmart, crate and kids, pottery barn and buy buy baby). The biggest advantage of Amazon and Babylist over the other options is the ability to add items from other stores onto the registry and set up cash funds for diapers, education etc. I personally preferred Babylist over amazon because I like the ease of organization in babylist but I made sure that I removed the babylist cash funds and diaper funds from the registry because I did not want to be stuck spending gift money at one place.
A small perk of these registries is most places give a free baby box (after you meet certain requirements) with samples, some of which I actually found useful. Another advantage of baby registries is completion discount – most places offer a one time 15-20% completion discount that you can use on eligible items on your registry.
💡 Pro Tip – If you go with babylist, don’t forget to install the Add to Babylist Bookmark on your browser and the Babylist app on your phone.
💡 Pro Tip 2- Even if you decide to circulate one registry, go ahead and create them at all the places you can to get the completion discounts.
Who does one share a baby registry with?
If you grew up like me, you are probably very uncomfortable with the idea of suggesting that gifts come from a specific set of items you created a list for, let alone expect gifts in the first place. However, the reality of the matter is that people are going to want to celebrate with you and some of them want to celebrate in the form of gifts. It is becoming more and more common and acceptable to ask the expecting parents what they want for the baby instead of bringing gifts that the parents may not have a use for and having a registry comes in really handy when the question is asked and you can share an already ready list of items you know you need for the baby.
Sharing the registry link with an upcoming shower invitation or when asked what gift you want for the baby will make the gift selection easier for the guests, avoid doubles by keeping track of what has already been bought and ensure gifts that align with your taste and choice.
The most important question – What goes on a baby registry?
What goes on your baby registry depends on your space constraints, taste, values and budget. It is ideal to have gifts at a range of different price points so everyone has a gift to choose from within their budgets. Adding a cash fund also serves the same purpose in case all the gifts in one person’s price range are spoken for.
A baby registry is a very personal thing and there is no one-size-fits all registry so I am sharing a guide to creating one in the form an excel sheet that can work as a guide to creating your own unique registry and save you some research and suggest the most popular options for each item for you to choose from where applicable.
Below is the link to the spreadsheet to help create the most comprehensive baby registry ever – please remember this is not just a list of expected gifts, it is a great personal checklist to make sure all the baby essentials are in order before the baby arrives as well. I am really hoping this will help save to-be parents a ton of time! (Disclosure: This spreadsheet contains affiliate links)
CLICK HERE FOR THE SPREADSHEET
TIPS:
💡 READ the notes – I added a lot of useful info in there to keep this blogpost short and sweet
💡 Please use your best judgement on items you want but do not want to add to your registry (for example, you probably don’t want to add the long charging cable to your registry because that will for sure leave people perplexed)
💡 Please leave a comment or send me an email if you think I’ve missed anything essential in the list.
Please feel free to share the spreadsheet with your expecting friends and family and do leave your thoughts and comments below.
Until Next Time,
XO,
Bhanu.
The Neophile Diaries 