4 Baby Registry Mistakes to Avoid
If you’re a first-time parent, it’s almost a given that you’ll make some baby registry mistakes or stumble into some common baby stuff shopping pitfalls. In this post, we aim to help you steer clear of four of the common missteps when building your baby registry.
Since 2015, Gugu Guru has helped thousands of families with registering. By learning about big baby registry mistakes to avoid, you can reduce the likelihood of cluttering your home, dissatisfaction with products, and returns or exchanges.
1. Registering for Way Too Much
One of the most common big baby registry mistakes is putting everything under the sun on your registry. It’s easy to get overwhelmed but you’d be surprised how little baby actually needs. Aside from savings and an uncluttered home, another benefit to registering for just the essentials is that you’re reducing your footprint as a consumer.
One easy thing to avoid is buying way too much in one size – especially newborn size. Babies grow and they grow quickly. If you purchase tons of newborn size clothes and launder them, you’ll inevitably be stuck with a bunch of unworn clothes in a short amount of time. (Aside from some layette basics, you may actually want to forgo registering for clothes altogether if you’re having a shower since people love buying clothes for baby.)
Same goes with newborn size diapers – definitely register for one jumbo box but register for a box of size 1 as well. If your baby is still in size NB diapers when you’ve gone through that initial box, then you can always buy more. When in doubt with your baby registry, just add gift cards!
2. Thinking It Will Cost a Fortune
Since there are so many brands now that cater to families on a budget, you definitely do not have to sacrifice quality nor break the bank when it comes to registering for baby. We are also living the age of local Buy Trade Sell groups on sites like Facebook or consignment sites. But buyer beware: while clothing is generally safe to get as hand-me-downs (though make sure to check for loose buttons or other infant hazards), there are certainly some items that you may want to avoid getting second hand such as car seats (they expire!), strollers or cribs.
3. Underestimating the Value of a Few Investment Pieces
On the flip side, if you are too penny-wise when building your baby registry, it can come back to haunt you. If you register for an umbrella stroller that’s priced at just a few dollars – expect to be replacing it probably more than once, and also expect to be frustrated when you can’t open it, or when the wheels won’t turn or when a wheel pops off.
Trust us when we say that sometimes a “value” price tag isn’t worth the frustration nor is it worth a potential safety hazard for baby. Another thing to keep in mind is if you’re planning to have more children close together in age and how that may affect the types of products you choose.
For example, it may be worth to register now for a stroller that converts to a double versus having to pay for a double stroller later on. There are other investment items we recommend like a mattress, bouncer and other items that will get lots of use and last for future kiddos too.
4. Asking Others What to Register For
This is the queen mother of all big baby registry mistakes – asking your friend or family member what to register for. We say this all the time at Gugu Guru: the products that work for – even those products considered as “can’t live without” by – your BFF or your sister may not be the right products for YOU.
As much as you have in common with your besties, your respective home décor and wardrobes probably look a lot different and that will be the same for the products you choose for parenting.
Even more so, a year in the baby gear market is like dog years. New products and up-and-coming brands are a constant, and if you’re not staying on top of things and only going for what your friend used for her baby she delivered 6 months ago, you may just miss the perfect products for you.
We hope these tips help you in creating your baby registry and save you the headaches of some common mistakes. If you would like personalized product recommendations, swing on over to Gugu Guru.
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About the Author
Monica Banks - Guest Blogger
Monica Banks is the founder & CEO of Gugu Guru - a free platform that delivers highly personalized, expert product recommendations to parents and parents-to-be. Gugu Guru’s insider knowledge of buzzworthy brands, emerging products, safety and more fuses perfectly with its innovative discovery platform to create unparalleled services for expectant and new parents. In addition to the free service, Gugu Concierge offers an affordable premium service that gives the most personalized help preparing for baby. The personal shopping experience provides unbiased product recommendations that are tailored to unique lifestyle needs, budgets and more - all identified by a detailed ‘quiz’. Learn more at guguguru.com.
Prior to launching Gugu Guru, Monica was a branding and marketing consultant in the Mom & Baby industry and has worked to launch successful initiatives with such brands as Pampers, Similac, Belli skincare -- to name just a few. She currently lives with her husband and two children in Long Island, New York.