I’m honored to be a member of the Pampers Baby Board, sharing my insights when it comes to registering for baby and helping a fellow mother complete her own #PampersRegistry. Thanks Pampers!

I’m a type-A person. I wanted to be as prepared as possible when I was pregnant with my first born. However, I couldn’t bare the daunting task of registering. I would meander through the aisles of my local baby store, not having a clue as to what I’d need. Finally, I reached out to an old friend who had had a baby recently. She was a God send. She filled me in on everything she used and what brands she loved best. It was amazing. From there, I was on my way to being well prepared for this baby.

Little did I know that I wasn’t alone. According to a recent Pampers survey, more than half (56%) of moms who created a registry felt it was more overwhelming than they expected. In fact, 59% of new moms said they trusted their friends who are parents most for registry advice. Since then, I’ve tried to pay it forward and be an open book to anyone who asks about anything baby-related.

So here it is – after two babies and a third on the way, I’ve come up with five things that were a must-have with my own babies and five things ended up I could live without. Registering and preparing for your baby shouldn’t be stressful and this will hopefully help ease you into a joyful new beginning. Feel free to use this as a guide to make your own registry and I’m happy to answer any questions you have. I’m an open book!

Five things you must have:

• Diapers and Wipes – And don’t just register for newborn diapers. If you have big babies like me, you’ll only want a couple newborn boxes. When I registered, I tried to get a good assortment of newborn, size 1 and size 2. As far as the type of Pampers diapers, I always started out with Swaddlers since the baby doesn’t have much chub, but as they get older and depending on their body shape, I moved from Swaddlers to Baby Dry or Cruisers. This way, you’ll be set for quite some time!
  
  When it comes to wipes, you can never have too many. I have a four year old and one year old and we still use wipes all the time. You can buy them in bulk boxes to save a little money, too. More so, I always buy the Pampers Sensitive Wipes. My babies bottoms always appreciate those more.

• Baby Carrier – There are so many on the market and loads of opinions on these. I have tried a few and have learned it’s really baby dependent. My first son did really well with the Baby K’tan. He was and still is a skinny kid and the K’tan worked well for us until he was about 1.5 years old. However, with my second child, he was too chunky to sit comfortably in the K’tan. I invested in an Ergo with the infant insert for him. He did amazing in it and he still is at 1.5 years old! I also tried a sling and never could get used to it. I found that my local baby store offered most of the carriers in the store to try on and let your baby ride around in them. That way you and your baby can test drive them before investing! Trialing multiple options is worth it to make baby happy!
• Bouncy Seat – I tried different varieties of motion apparatuses to calm my children down or get them to sleep when they were young. Swings, whether they are front-to-back, side-to-side, or circle-motioned are so specific to a baby’s liking. The swing usually worked for a small period of time, but neither of my kids really liked them. However, the bouncy seat was always a winner, especially when they got a little older and would kick around. I also love it because it’s so small and easy to travel with.
• Bibs – You won’t need them until your baby starts to spit up, teeth or eat solid foods, but when they do, you’ll be glad you have them! Bibs can save you from a lot of laundry and keep the moisture off of your baby! I stay away from velcro bibs since those tend to scratch the backs of their necks.
• Car Seat – My recommendation here is a little pricey, but has worked for us. We bought an infant car seat for our babies to use during the first year. It’s so nice to transfer the baby while they’re sleeping in their car seat or have them be able to take a nap on the go (playground, restaurants, etc.). Never wake a sleeping baby, am I right? Once they’ve outgrown the infant car seat, I transferred them to a convertible car seat. Thankfully, the convertible car seat will most likely be the last one they’ll need.

Five things you can live without:

• Diaper Disposal Bin – Totally unnecessary. I registered and bought one for my first child and never needed it. First off, if you’re breastfeeding their poops won’t smell until they try formula or solid food. Secondly, you simply need a trash can with a lid and then proceed to empty often. We have our main kitchen trash can with a lid that we put all poopy diapers in and use a smaller open trash can in the nursery for the pee diapers. It worked out nicely!
• Newborn Clothes – As a first time mom, I made the mistake of registering and purchasing a majority of newborn clothing. Little did I know but babies are only in newborn clothes for a very short time. They grow like crazy and get into 3-6 month clothing fast! Then, at some point (in my experience) they stay in a specific size for quite some time before they have another growth spurt.
• Special Laundry Detergent – My babies had sensitive skin and I thought I’d need to buy special detergent for their clothing, but I learned that all I needed was the fragrance and dye-free detergent. It’s less expensive and you can use it for the entire family’s clothing!
• Wipe or Bottle Warmer – While it might be needed if you live up north, we definitely didn’t need a wipe warmer in South Carolina. My kids never seem to mind the cool wipes, even as little babies. Likewise, I always used boiling water or the microwave to heat up bottles. A bottle warmer seemed like an unnecessary appliance on my counter. To each their own.
• Changing Table – Instead of a changing table, search for a dresser that is the right height for you to change a diaper. When your child gets older, you’ll be able to use it for their dresser and as they are entering the toddler years, they won’t be as encouraged to empty the shelves of your opened changing table. Drawers are a lot harder to open. Just be sure to use safety and caution when using a dresser top as a changing table. The pads that you place on the top will most likely come with screws to securely fasten it to your dresser and a safety belt to secure your baby.

With all of that in mind, 62% of moms have regrets about their baby registry – and of those who do, the top regret is that they didn’t register for enough practical items. Furthermore, 88% of moms wish they had included more diapers on their registry. I regretted that as well after I had my first baby, especially registering for more than just newborn diapers. I found myself exchanging sizes a lot with my first baby. I made sure with my second child to get a good assortment of diaper sizes in preparation for my growing baby.

To make my life easier, I registered on Amazon. I can easily combine everything I need and they even have a completion discount. I also used Target and Buy Buy Baby with my first child, but it was too hard to keep track of with some things only being available in-store. Amazon has just become my go-to for registering.

This should be a fun process! Just think of all of the exciting memories that you’re about to make as a growing family. If you get overwhelmed, ask a friend, family member or even me for help. We’re all in this together for baby.

In the meantime, Pampers has graciously offered a special registry kit giveaway for one of you new mamas! The kit includes:  Pampers Registry Checklist, a baby planner, a stress ball, a book to read to baby, diapers, wipes, and coupons.

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Pampers also gave me the opportunity to help a fellow new mother complete her registry. I chose a dear friend who is due almost the same time I am! We had a blast shopping and thanks to my husband for playing photographer during our trip! 

This post was created in partnership with Pampers. I was compensated for this post. All opinions are my own. I also received a grant to use to sponsor this mother. Please read my disclosure policy for further information.