Pregnancy and Registering

Sidenote to my pregnancy posts:  As I post I plan to be completely honest about my feelings and thoughts as we ride this rollercoaster into parenthood.  I plan to use this blog as a way for me to process this journey.  Thanks for taking the time to read.

After an extensive amount of reading online it sounded like couples don't start registering until after 12 weeks. We waited until the day after :) It was definitely me jumping the gun. It was snowing a lot outside, but that didn't squelch my need to get out of the house. I asked John if we could just go and look at Babies R Us. He was up for it, so we went. While I was looking for a brochure a lady asked if we wanted to start our registry. We said sure and I filled out a piece of paper (not time consuming at all), they gave us a scanner and registry guide and sent us off.  The registry "guide" was an 8x11.5 sheet of paper with very small print.  They claimed we needed LOTS of stuff for our new tiny human.  Even having the little bit of experience with what I want because of being a nanny for two infants Babies R Us was overwhelming! John kept telling me to calm down, but I honestly couldn't take it all in. I was trying to decide on what bottles to register for but it seemed like there was a bazillion choices. There were also a bazillion choices for strollers, carseats, jumpers, bouncers, pack-n-plays, nail clippers, bibs, breast pumps and diapers. Holy buckets! Babies R Us also seemed expensive. I'd searched around online for products I knew I'd want to register for so I had a general idea of prices. It was hard for me to register for a product when it was so much money. We left after registering for only 12 baby products, none of which I was sure about. We did get a great gift bag with coupons and samples after turning in our scanner though!

Fast forward a week and we were at Target to start our registry. I saw online that Target also offered a “gift bag” for new parents who open a one, so of course I was excited about that. I love free samples and coupons! We had to fill out some information on the registry computers and the guest service lady supplied us with a scanner gun.  John thought Target would be a waste of time because their baby section is so small. We honestly had so much fun doing this registry. Neither of us felt overwhelmed, just excited. Instead of being crabby with one another because we couldn't make a choice we were both taking turns with the scanner. Next to their big purchases (Pack-n-plays, Strollers and Carseats) they had “packages” that showed what matched with that product. It allowed us to easily find the stroller, carseat and diaper bag that matched our pack-n-play.  They also had a matching swing, but I already registered for the one both my nanny families have.  Not that matching products were necessary, but I enjoy having a gender neutral “theme” for the big items so we can use them for all our babies, boy or girl. Hopefully we'll be able to pass them onto someone else who needs them after we're done too. We ended up with almost fifty items after our scanner ran out of juice. We returned it and went home happy after purchasing a belly band :)

After returning home I told John I was going to check out Amazon.com's Baby Registry. I looked around for a mere 10 minutes and decided we could get everything we needed from Amazon or Target. I went to Babies R Us online and transferred everything to whichever registry had the product we wanted. There was a swing that both nanny families have that was $180 at Babies R Us, but only $100 on Amazon. One hundred dollars even seems like a lot to ask of people when one nanny baby loved it and one didn't really use it. Babies are complicated sometimes. The prices seemed like a big enough difference for me to switch over to Target and Amazon. Both places were worth going to the store just to get the “gift bag” with valuable information, coupons and freebies. Here's what each bag included from the stores we visited: They both came is nice reusable bags.

Babies R Us:

Packet of Valuable information about what to register for, info about baby and having a healthy pregnancy.

Coupons for various baby products

One American Baby and One Baby Talk magazines

Full A+D Ointment: This is what my mom used for us, so it should be good for our babies

Two Huggies newborn diapers

2 Lansinoh Nursing Pads

Target: 

Packet of Valuable information about what to register for, info about baby and having a healthy pregnancy.

Coupons for various baby products

$20 gift card for Shutterfly that doesn't expire until next year, so I might use it for baby announcements

Tommee Tippee 5oz bottle

Two Huggies newborn diapers

Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags

2 Lansinoh Nursing Pads

A small Aquaphor sample 

*This blogger got the same samples I got and she posted a photo http://www.frugalityisfree.com/2013/02/target-baby-registry-gift-bag.html.  She has a great 2013 Baby Guide for more information!

If I had to give a newly pregnant friend advice about registering I'd just tell them to relax and enjoy the experience.  All these places have the opportunity to change/delete/add products via sign in on the internet.  The registry process doesn't have to be only one day either.  I've been adding/changing/deleting products since we started.  I'm hoping John and I have some time this weekend to go through what I've added, sometimes he's picky.  Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about registering!  Thanks for reading.  

If you want to see some fun photos from our registry adventures at http://thehammarfamily.shutterfly.com/pictures/4451