Things I love for my baby… and she’s not even here yet!

We are currently 8 weeks out from meeting our precious little girl, and to say I am excited is an understatement. Also, I’d say it’s fairly obvious.

The other overwhelming emotion I am feeling right now?

Panic.

This will be my first baby and even though I’ve been on this Earth for almost 31 years and have spent at least the last 10 around children, I had no clue where (or when) to start when it comes to being prepared for the arrival of the baby. Which is really frustrating, because I am a planner and I love to start preparing for things as soon as humanly possible. Like for real, I started getting rid of things in our house to make room for a baby…. before we were even trying to get pregnant 😂

Initially, my first thought was to ask my mother. And while she is a fantastic resource, with a lot of great ideas and things to think about, she hasn’t had a newborn in 25 years. A lot has changed since my brother graced us with his Earthly presence.

Fortunately, I am surrounded by mom’s who have become mothers fairly recently. My biggest asset has been my cousin, who has birthed two babies in the last 3 years. Not only is her experience far more recent, but, being my best friend and all, she’s super honest with me and gives her full hearted opinion.

When to make a registry

I began making my registry when I was only 12 weeks along. A lot of people will tell you that that might be too early to begin making it, but for the personality that I have, it was a necessary thing for me to do. Beginning the registry so early made it possible for me to really sit down and think about what I needed/wanted and THEN do research on the different products I was looking for.

Sure, I could have just done the research without actually making a registry online, but it was a nice list to be able to refer to as I was doing my research.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve added something and then ended up deleting it. Sometimes because I found something similar and perhaps better, or because I had done some research (or consulted with my cousin) and realized that maybe I just didn’t need something.

Whatever the reason, having started so early has really taken the stress out having it created in enough time. I was able to share my registry with coworkers before we got out of school for the summer (I was around 26 weeks pregnant for my school Baby Shower) and have added and discarded items since.

If you’ve come to this blog post for advice, here it is: make the registry when you feel like the time is right. Just give yourself enough time to make changes and share with your family and friends before the baby arrives.

Making the registry

Through all my scrolling and pinning on Pinterest, I found the website called Babylist. It basically is like the website TheKnot for weddings, but instead for your registry. You can add items from various stores and they will show up on your Babylist registry OR you can start registries on different websites and share the links to your Babylist page. Even better, you can do both.

Whatever you do, all of your registry information is in one spot.

My favorite feature when adding items to Babylist, is that it shows buyers the product and the cheapest place to buy from.

** Most places you create a registry offer you some sort of welcome box or discount on something from their website. I highly recommend registering at multiple sites (then adding their link to Babylist). The welcome boxes normally come with small samples of different products you might like to try.
I’ve received diaper samples, wipes, prenatal vitamins and drink mixes, pacifiers, lotions and shampoos, a sleep sack, stretch mark cream, and coupons galore! **

As far as other registries that I’ve created and linked to my Babylist registry – I chose Amazon and Target. When I chose Target it was because 1) I love Target and 2) since there is a store right down the road from my house, it is very easy for me to go and check out any items I might want in person. Amazon just seemed too obvious because, well, they have everything and returns are so so easy.

My favorite items… so far!

I’m finally done with the backstory and ready to share some of my favorite items that I’ve purchased so far. I plan to revisit this post after the baby is here to let you know what I really think of the items, and maybe what she thinks of them, too!

1. zooby Baby Monitor

We are always on the go. Like, always. This monitor makes it easy for us to do remain on the go and not worry about unplugging and packing our baby monitor that we have set up in the nursery. The stuffed animal – with the camera in its nose – easily attaches and detaches on something (like on a headrest in the car or the crib at Grandma’s house) and you get to view what the animal sees on a portable monitor.

We primarily got this to take the place of the mirror option in the car. Now we can just look at the monitor mounted on the windshield and safely (and easily) check how everything is going in the backseat.

There are also a few different types of animals. We chose the Zebra because they’re obviously the coolest. But which animal you choose is up to you! Check them out!

2. Beanko Baby – Diaper Changing Station for your Car

I have… boujee tastes. The actually definition of someone who is considered boujee says something about the person being classy. And as much as I’d love to be classy, I can’t fully claim that I am.

But I really like classy and fancy things. Like my car. With white, leather interior. As excited I am to have a kid, it kinda makes me sad for my car and the changes it’s about to go through. Like, the really messy ones.

I found this Diaper Changing Station for your Car and I believe some of my worries for my car have been solved. Now, if I have to change the baby really quickly in the car, I have the protection that I need. This pack also has various compartments to make it easy to find the equipment I need to change the little miss.

3. Lillefolk Stylish Baby Play Mat

We have hardwood floors (almost) everywhere in our house. The only carpet that exists is upstairs where the bedrooms are. Everywhere else – kitchen, living room, dining room – is hard floors.

I fully plan on not spending all my time with the baby locked away upstairs. I imagine that she and I would like to venture out into the kitchen and living room from time to time. Therefore, we needed a way to make some soft flooring,

I found these mats on many websites. They have pretty good reviews and are super easy to assemble and disassemble for tummy time. They are easy to clean which makes me confident to also take them outside and lay them on the grass if we need to.

There are lots of different patterns, too! Check it out!

Updates pending

I fully intend on adding to this post as we continue to get items off of our registry and eventually when the baby has arrived. Who knows, once we start to use them and not just have them sitting on the table ready to use, they may suck.

But that’s a post for a different day.

Check back often to follow me on this motherhood journey!