Introduction: Creating a Mindful Baby Registry
You are expecting an addition to your family and that means it’s time to build your baby registry. Whether this is your first or fifth baby, it’s important to approach all of your parenting choices mindfully.
This includes what to register for when building your baby registry.
A quick Google search might give you dozens of pre-built baby registry lists to choose from. And if you are short on time, then please utilize those quick lists!
But if you are trying to be more intentional about your motherhood journey, I encourage you to keep reading. You will learn more about how to create a mindful baby registry (and I’ll be de-influencing trendy baby products along the way).
Getting Familiar with Baby Registries:
Most expectant moms will make a baby registry at some point in their pregnancy journey. This is more true for first-time mothers. But many second and third-time moms create baby registries for their “baby sprinkles” as well.
The baby industry is one of the most infiltrated with products that are referred to as “must-haves”…
When in all reality, many are entirely unnecessary.
I am not here to give you a curated registry checklist. Because anyone could hand you a shopping list. And, honestly, thousands of those already exist.
Instead, I am here to help you weed through whatever baby registry list(s) you’ve likely already skimmed through and mindfully pick items that make the most sense for you.
Mindfully making your own decisions about your baby registry is your first opportunity to tune into your motherly instincts.
So, let’s get intentional.
Recognizing the Trend Trap:
You and I have both seen it – the beautifully curated images of some baby registry items. Usually in a beige or other trendy aesthetic.
Those list photos are SO enticing. They look clean and beautiful. I want to have that kind of amazing taste!
So the trend trap begins.
When you follow influencer and social media trends, you may find yourself adding items to your registry based on wanting what someone else has instead of exploring what’s best for your family.
I remember when I was pregnant with my first and creating my registry, I put a wipe warmer on my registry. We were due in mid-December and so many online lists had a wipe warmer listed that I thought, “Why wouldn’t I add this to mine?”
But when I revisited my registry a few days later, I realized that a wipe warmer didn’t actually make sense for our family. We live in a two-story, with a nursery upstairs. Knowing that I likely wouldn’t go upstairs to the nursery for each diaper change, that would mean that a wipe warmer would only be beneficial during *some* diaper changes.
Add in the fact that we like to travel and spend a lot of time out of the house, I finally realized that a wipe warmer actually made *no sense* for us.
I was simply following what was trendy at the time by adding it to my registry.
Baby registry trends have a way of leading you to believe that everyone is getting this item, so it must be crucial. When in reality, not all items will make sense for all families.
I am SO glad that I recognized this before I ended up with a wipe warmer that would be sparingly used.
The Pitfalls of the Trend Trap
But not everyone is so lucky to catch onto the pitfalls of the trend trap before it’s too late.
A dear friend of mine registered for a very advanced, very expensive baby swing. Half of her family pooled money together to gift them this baby swing.
Her baby ended up hating the swing. The baby much preferred an inexpensive, old-fashioned baby swing.
My friend kicked herself when she realized that her family could have spent their money on more helpful items like the crib, and glider, or even just helping her stock up on diapers. After all, the high-end swing became a glorified diaper caddy in their living room.
If you come across a trend when you are building your baby registry, pause and consider whether the item(s) are truly a good fit for you. And, if they are, be that trendy mom!
Mindful Consumerism
It’s so easy as an expecting parent to fall into a trap of blind consumerism. The average baby registry has from 150 to 200 items on it.
That’s a lot of stuff.
And stuff itself is not inherently bad. Lack of intention, however, isn’t ideal (in my opinion).
For example, my husband and I bought six… yes SIX additional zip-bottom baby swaddles for our first child when he was a newborn. Nine baby swaddles seemed excessive until we accounted for blow-outs, spit-up, and how much laundry we had with a newborn.
Owning nine baby swaddles was intentional and aligned with two major values of ours as new parents: sleep and survival.
You can practice mindful consumerism by:
- Pay attention to how many of each item you are registering for. For example, ask yourself “I know those footie pajamas are all so cute, but do I really need 30 in newborn size?”
- Consider how certain choices (or brands) align with your personal values, and
- Stay mindful of how much storage space you have in your home. A huge diaper stash seems like a good idea until you realize that you have nowhere to keep them all!
Navigating Peer Pressure:
While a lot of your baby registry may be influenced by social media and actual influencers, you are also influenced by the people in your life that you’re close to.
If all the mom friends in your yoga class use a certain kind of travel system… You might find yourself mindlessly registering for that travel system without even researching it.
While this might not seem like a huge issue, I know lots of moms who don’t think to measure their car seat, backseat, and trunk space to ensure that a travel system fits.
And with the hefty price tag of most travel systems, this is a costly mistake.
On the other hand, you may be more familiar with products that your friends and family can vouch for. Maybe you’ve even seen first-hand how great the products truly are.
As you add items to your baby registry, consider why you’re adding them. Is it because it’s what trusted loved ones have/recommend or if the product fits your family’s unique needs (and vehicle).
Be Mindful of Emotional Reasons for Buying Baby Items:
If you’re currently (or have ever been) pregnant, you can probably attest to the fact that pregnancy makes most women especially emotional.
With pregnancy plus the typical anticipation, nerves, and excitement over expecting a baby, it’s likely no surprise that emotions often play a huge role in building a baby registry and buying baby items.
Emotions like excitement can lead you to add items that you feel excited to use. Like extra outfits or toys.
Other emotions like nerves or feeling unprepared may lead you to add items to your baby registry that promise to make the job easier (even if they are unnecessary).
Be mindful of what emotions may be guiding you as you build your baby registry or shop for your little one. Ask yourself if the items are things you will truly need or if they are emotional decisions.
Mindful Budgeting:
If a baby registry is mostly items that you receive as gifts, what’s the deal with budgeting?
It’s not recommended that you assume that you will receive all the items on your registry.
A good rule of thumb is to expect that you will need to purchase a lot of the “big ticket” items yourself. Even if this is not how it plays out for you, it will allow you to budget mindfully when building your registry.
Something that my husband and I opted to do for our registry was to have some larger ticket items that we listed a “luxury” preference, while having a “budget back-up” that we would buy ourselves if it wasn’t gifted to us.
Not everyone who attends your baby shower(s) or purchases a gift will have the budget to buy designer footie pajamas and expensive gliders. So it’s also helpful to ensure that your registry has items that range in cost.
Be mindful of the overall cost of parenting. There may be costs beyond just preparing a nursery to consider: delivering your little one at a hospital, unexpected NICU stays, the cost of extra diapers, and unanticipated supplies (even the most prepared parents will need something they didn’t anticipate).
Prioritizing Baby’s Well Being
It can get easy to get caught up in what “looks the most aesthetically pleasing” when creating your baby registry. But, at the end of the day, your baby’s safety is the number one priority.
As you browse the internet, there will be tons of aesthetic baby products from brands you’ve never heard of. And from other countries.
Be mindfully aware that not all brands are reputable. And not all countries have the same requirements for baby products.
Sometimes the tried-and-true brands will be the best option in terms of quality control and after standards – they’re tried-and-true for a reason!
So, even though some of the bedside bassinets I saw on Amazon from brands I’ve never heard of looked adorable, I stuck with the tried-and-true Graco brand as my option for our little one’s bassinet.
Conclusion:
Now you have some incredible considerations that can help you mindfully create your baby registry.
These are some of your first choices as a parent and by practicing mindfulness in these choices, you are setting the stage for countless mindful parenting decisions in the future.
Ultimately, mindful parenting will help you learn to trust your instincts as a mom and prioritize what’s best for your family.
