Must Have Baby Registry Items from a 4th time mom
This post is in partnership with buybuy BABY, a brand I honestly love!
Before you start reading, make sure you follow me on Instagram, where I share lots of our daily life including helpful tips like this baby registry post.
Baby registries are nothing foreign to us, being that this is our 4th baby we have made a few trips with the scanner to our favorite baby stores. When we got pregnant with our first son, I honestly never even thought about a baby registry, my mom was the one who introduced me to it. I was also only 19 years old, and just assumed babies slept through the night at 6 weeks, and breastfeeding is just a walk in the park. So clearly my vision of motherhood was obscure. When we made our registry with our first son, we registered for EVERYTHING! Renaldo and I were running through the aisles scanning barcodes like we were playing laser tag. So come our baby shower, all 140 some items we scanned in store (including the random rubber duckies that we thought were the cutest), we got! When it’s your first baby, people truly want to shower you. It’s exciting for you and the family (especially if this is the first baby of the family).
What we did right the first time around:
- Like I just said, we registered for everything! Renaldo and I weren’t expecting everything, but we knew that whatever we didn’t get we could use giftcards and the promotional 10% off whatever is left BuyBuy baby offers (Read more about it below).
- We registered for all brand diapers, we weren’t specific with the brand we wanted because we honestly didn’t know which one would work for him. And we knew that we could always return whatever ones that weren’t open and swap them out for a different size or brand and pay a difference if there is one.
What we DID NOT do right the first time around:
- We did not research anything prior to scanning. I thought all baby products are made the same. So we literally based our registry off cute prints, and what colors would match. I honestly thought a green and gray car seat NEEDED to match the high chair, and also the playpen. Little did I know, the brand I was scanning because “it’s soooooo cute!!” was a very cheap brand, and didn’t have the greatest reviews. I just wish I took the time to really look into reading reviews, and comparing different brands. But you learn from your mistakes.
The second time around, we decided to have a baby sprinkle. Because we were having another boy and had a lot of RJ’s old things, not much was needed. But remember, a lot of the things we registered for wasn’t the greatest quality so we added a few new things to the list. We added a new car seat (because we donated RJ’s old one), we added a mamaRoo (because that was the IT item in 2015) and of course a new stroller to accommodate 2 kiddos. But mostly all that was needed was diapers! For the most part, when you’re having a 2nd baby of the same gender there isn’t much you need if you register the right way the first time.
When we had our 3rd baby, just 18 months after having our 2nd we didn’t register for anything at all. We decided to not know the gender of the baby (ended up being a boy anyways) and I’m so grateful my job threw me a baby shower and everyone gifted me diapers. Not just regular ole’ packs of diapers, they were giving me cases! Like I said before, we are never crazy about diaper brands because one brand that may work wonderfully for one baby will work terribly for another. So we knew it was all trial and error!
What was so different the 4th time around: Well for starters, we are having a girl. So that means all the boy outfits, boy blankets, and basically everything RJ, Elias and Joel used basically was going on 6 years old and needed to be tossed anyways. We are literally starting over with the exception of a few items that we are salvaging (playpen, high chair, toys, and playmats). But everything else we had to register for.
So what are my MUST have registry items for the 4th baby?: (I will link a full list for you first time mamas)
Pin now, to read later!!
- DockATot: We have been a DockATot family since Joel was 5 months old. I am a firm believer in this thing. I 100% believe the reason he has been such a great night time and day sleeper is because of his DockATot. So when we got pregnant with Baby Laila, a DockATot was one of the first things we added to our registry. We ended up getting (gifted) it shortly after! To read my DockATot review from last year, CLICK HERE!
- Joovy Qool Stroller: With every child, we have upgraded our stroller to accommodate our children. But The Joovy Qool will be your first and last stroller you will ever need. It COMFORTABLLY seats 3 kids (not triplets though). Take a look HERE to see all the different configurations. But we chose this stroller because right now Elias, Joel AND RJ all have a place to sit. Once baby Laila arrives, RJ will no longer have a spot, but he’ll also be 6 years old…so a seat for him is not a priority. What’s even better is that it fits in the trunk of our SUV even with the 3rd row up. If you’re having a 3rd or 4th child, I’m almost positive you are driving a car that has a third row, so trunk space is limited (unless you have a surburban). The Joovy Qool fits perfectly in the back of our 17′ Nissan Pathfinder! Full review coming soon.
- Owlet Smart Sock 2 Baby Monitor: Read my review here! But if you want some sanity, I highly recommend adding this to your registry!
- Hatch Baby Grow Scale : I’m a breastfeeding mama, and with all three of my boys my constant worry when I was breastfeeding was if they were getting enough. I hated having to wait for a Doctor’s appointment to see if my baby is gaining enough. So being able to track my baby’s weight before and after feeds is huge for me. Plus is doubles up as a changing pad! Serves many purposes!
- Hatch Baby Rest night light and sound machine: We are sound machine lovers, but this one takes the crown. With just the tap of your finger you can change the entire mood of the room. Although we haven’t used with the baby yet, I have been sneaking away to her nursery to just sit and enjoy the peaceful sounds of the rain (from the sound machine). It gives me a little break in the midst of this #boymom chaos.
- Halo Bassinet: I have ALWAYS wanted this. And I’m crossing my fingers we get this at our baby shower, but why I really want it now is because ever since we upgraded our bed to a king size, the distance between my bed and the wall is pretty small. The Halo Bassinet has legs that tuck under the bed, and the bassinet swivels in and out and its basically on top of your bed. It’s hard to explain, so CLICK HERE so you can see what I’m struggling to explain. But basically it’s a space saver, and it keeps baby close to me. So those middle of the night feeds, I don’t have to get up out of bed to get her. That’s really important for a recovering mama, especially my C-section mamas.
- Breast Pump Supplies: I’m not going to be brand specific, but if you’re a 2nd time mom, you know what brand you like. But regardless of the brand, you’re going to need some newer parts! Whether its bottles, membranes, flanges, or sterilization bags.
- Plain White Onesies and Socks: You can never go wrong with plain white, short and long sleeve onesies. And if this is your 1st baby or your 6th, you will always need more socks. Those darn things always seem to go missing.
- Detergent: Don’t forget detergent! You will be washing baby clothes for a LONG time, why not add some detergent to the list. Personally I love Dreft. Nothing says a baby is here like the smell of some dreft baby detergent! And even though my kids have super sensitive skin (like serious eczema), Dreft never bothered them!
- Diapers: Add all the different brands. Sometimes people go to the store to buy you something off of your registry and they don’t even think to buy diapers. So adding it to your registry will remind your Tia Maria to get some diapers too!
- Diaper Pail: If this is not your 1st baby, I HIGHLY recommend adding a diaper pail to your registry. With my first, we purchased the plastic kind, the kind everyone uses and by the time we had our 3rd kid it had a faint odor to it. So we knew it was time to replace it. We decided to go for the Ubbi Diaper Pail. Because it’s made with stainless steel, it will not hold absorb any odors like plastic ones do with time.
- Newton Baby Wovenaire Crib Mattress: So we already have this, but I HIGHLY recommend getting a new mattress for your 2nd,3rd and 4th baby. Why I recommend it, because if you’re like me….the original crib mattress is over 6 years old. We got RJ’s mattress when I was like 20 weeks pregnant with him. and ALL THREE kids have slept on it. We knew it was time to ditch it, and get a new one. What I love about the Newton Mattress is that it’s 100% breathable. When I took it out of the box and held it up to the light, I could see the light shining through the mattress, that just proves how breathable it really is. Also another awesome feature is that it’s washable!! The clean freak mom that I am, did a happy dance when I read that! They come in 4 colors (white, pink, gray and blue) but plain Jane me got white.
- Gas Drops and Windi Gas and Colic Relief: Super random, but super smart. With every.single.kid we go to the store, tired and fed up with a super gassy baby and end up forking out at least $20 in hopes of relief. This time around, we made sure we added it to our registry!
For a FULL printable registry checklist, CLICK HERE!
Why we registered at buybuy BABY
If you’ve never stepped foot in a buybuy BABY before, I recommend you locate one NOW and visit one. The employees there are trained in all things baby gear. Being a season mom, I personally know baby gear very well, but every time I go I am blown away with all their knowledge. I use to work for 4moms as a brand rep that would visit buybuy BABY stores very frequently and I’d always observe the associates and how they were with the customers, and I’d always admire their patience with the super confused and indecisive prego mamas, or the tired new moms who need a good hands-free carrier. So I told myself, whenever I have my next baby…this is where I’m registering. So fast forward a year or so, and here I am just finished my baby registry at buybuy BABY. But here are some of the perks with registering at buybuy BABY.
- Has all the brands we wanted in one place. Things are all under one roof and out on display so you can play with it before buying. Personally, that’s the only way to successfully create a registry. You need to touch and feel the item first.
- Obviously, the super knowledgeable associates. You may think one brand is the best, but they can give you feedback from other parents. They have heard first hand from other parents what’s good and what’s not!
- Free Goodie bag LOADED with samples. I love freebies, and buybuy BABY hooked my bag up. They loaded my bag with brands that I trust and know and brands that I’ve never heard of.
- Free Shipping Rewards Program. With their Free Shipping Rewards Program, you can earn unlimited free standard shipping for your baby’s first year with help from your family & friends
- buybuy BABY offers you a 10% discount after your baby shower to purchase whatever is left from your registry! On top of that, when you join their email list you will periodically receive 20% off coupons.
- They also price match. So if you see something you have to have right now, And it’s on sale at another store, they will price match it!
- Hassel Free Returns: This is something I love, because if you’re not 100% satisfied with a product, why should you still have to use it or let it accumulate dust? Return it!
So like I mentioned before, make sure you check buybuy BABY out and consider them for your baby registry!
Thank you buybuy BABY for sponsoring this post. All opinions and thoughts are 100% my own.