Baby Wenos is 29 weeks today. My pregnancy email update says he’s 2 1/2 pounds, about the size of a butternut squash. Which just makes me hungry for butternut squash soup …
Anyway, Nick and I have an awesome friend, Haly, who is expecting her first child in February with her husband Joe. (Feb is a popular month; we have four other friends expecting). Haly emailed me asking for advice on her registry. I felt flattered and even loved re-capping getting ready for Lor. And what I remembered is worth saving for Lor. And Baby Wenos – we are getting your room ready and have all this stuff for you! Here’s what I sent her:
“I’m going to send you my ideas, and if Nick has any, he can chime in (he seems to have a better memory of those first months with Lauren than I do. I was sleeping, trying to sleep, or breastfeeding).
First off – we were cheapos! We got Lauren’s crib for free, and after measuring the slats (Google the guidelines – you don’t want your kid’s head to fit through), it was kosher. We got the bedding off craigslist.com (unisex – Lauren was a “surprise” – moon and stars). So I’m not sure how to tell you to shop for a crib. Our high chair came from a garage sale.
We got a Boppy and a Bumbo from craigslist.com, and these were the BEST. They are not creatures from outer space. A Boppy is a U-shaped pillow that goes around your middle and allows to you breastfeed comfortably (or helps the baby drink a bottle) with the baby on top of it. A Bumbo is a seat that allows your child to sit, even if they can’t hold up their own neck yet. Great for spoonfeeding the babe when they move on to solids if you don’t have a travel high chair. Both retail for over $50 each (I need those patents!) so try to get one used, or maybe a few people can go in on them in the registry.
A vibrating chair or swing is nice for your free hands. I would say you don’t need both, but that’s just me.
Likewise, a Baby Bjorn or a sling is nice and easy to get used (they can also be $50 and up). You probably don’t need both – most moms I know are partial to one or the other.
Receiving blankets, hats, bibs, pacifiers (if you decide to use them) – good gifts, and you can never have enough.
A bassinette – nice to just put by the bed for the first three months, but baby could go swaddled in the crib and you could skip it.
Diapers – register for sizes newborn, 1, 2, 3 and you’ll save $.
I was disappointed by Diaper Genies and I just throw my diapers in the trash. Some people like them, though.
Car seat – we got two bucket style car seats that have bases. You can unsnap the seat and clip it onto a shopping cart. Ours were Evenflow and Graco. If you are taking a birthing class, they have a “car seat day” with dolls. You can do it! If you aren’t, Google your area police – sometimes they have clinics on how to properly install a car seat.”
*Nick added later (what a good dad. Makes my heart melt):
- Baby monitor
- Infant bath tub – this fits into a kitchen sink with a little hammock to keep them from moving
- We had a changing table that worked great. You can also get a curved shaped pad that sits on top of a dresser as long as it isn’t too tall. It keeps them from rolling over while changing
- Car seat cover – great for the winter, it fits around the car seat to keep them warm
- Socks – they don’t really where shoes right away but socks are good
- Kids books
- Rocking chair
A lot of stuff for a little peanut, and I’m sure we didn’t even hit everything …











* Lauren says “Poop” and about half the time, she actually has it in her diaper. Once this week, she told me before its occurance and we made it to the potty for the first time. Another, she woke up crying with a big blowout. It’s amazing to see the first signs of awareness here.



