Before I was pregnant I thought of baby registries as only a positive thing. You sign up for gifts that you want for your baby and people buy them for you and may also throw you a party in the mix. What can be bad about that? Now that I have created a baby registry and have a child I can see some cons to them as well. There can be pros and cons to almost anything.
The amount of things that a baby needs is ridiculous. They need a place to sleep, a way to take a bath, diapers, so many diapers, clothes, and so much more. So a Baby Registry is such a great concept overall. Who doesn’t love having people buy and gift them needed baby items so that they don’t have to buy everything themselves? That is pretty great.
Now I am all for a baby registry but I just want to share some of the things that I found to be problematic or difficult with baby registries. Here is my list:
- First time parents, what the heck do you put on the registry or what is necessary
- Where should you register at
- Time consuming
- Information and recommendations
- People going off the registry
- Returning items
- New vs Used or Waste
What to put on the registry
As a first time parent how the heck do you know what to put on the registry? You may know the essentials that a baby needs but that’s not going to be all that you may need or want. How do you know if the baby will like it or even use it? There are so many baby items out there that it can be very difficult to put a baby registry together easily. Also how far do you go with it. Do you only put baby stuff and essentials on it or do you go further and add things for when they are ready to eat solids? What kind of diapers do you get? I debated forever between Huggies and Pampers and ended up putting both on my registry.
Time consuming
Because you are going to have to figure out what to put on the registry it becomes very time consuming. I hope that your significant other helps you through the process, which may reduce the amount of time it takes. You will also have many different options to choose from.
Information and recommendations
You may ask others, or they may just share, their recommendations on baby items. Research is also a great idea to try to figure out what baby items to get (Baby Must Have Lists), there may be differing opinions and reviews. You are going to get so much information and recommendations from everyone under the sun. You may be overwhelmed by all of this information. I know I was.
People going off the registry
Another thing about registries is that people are going to buy you whatever they want to or what worked well for them and their baby, even if it isn’t on your registry. This isn’t always a bad thing as sometimes there are things you didn’t even think to put on the registry. But if you have something similar or if you don’t want the item you will have to return it.
Returning items
That brings me to returning items. Returning seems like an easy enough thing to do if you have the time and live near the store that your registry is from or close to UPS/USPS. I did a registry on both Target and Amazon. I had most of my items on Target just because I thought it was nice to look at them before putting it on the registry. The closest Target to me is about 20 minutes away, not too far but sometimes finding the time to go is difficult. Side note: Babylist may be a great idea if you plan to use multiple stores on your registry as they put it in one spot and there will only be one link to click.
New vs Used or Waste
Something that I think everyone should consider is the amount of baby items that are at landfills. Sometimes the items are like new but people don’t know what to do with them when their child outgrows it. I suggest getting used baby items instead of buying new to reduce the amount that ends up in the trash. I tried to do this as much as I possibly could by getting baby items from friends, family or coworkers. Items can also be donated, sold through consignment, sold at a secondhand store or Facebook Marketplace (so many places to sell). If you plan to get used items make sure there are no safety recalls on the items before buying or using for your baby’s safety.
Bonus: Info on returns at Target
Target allows you to return any item on your baby registry for up to a year after your event/baby’s due date. If it is not on your registry and you don’t get a gift receipt they allow you to return it without a receipt but you can only do that for a maximum return of $200 per year for anything. They give you both registry items and no receipt in either a merchandise card (similar to gift card) or a gift card.
If you have many items to return without a receipt and they are large they can add up very quickly to that $200. I have found a hack that would help you not use up that $200 at all. If you scan the item (if it has a barcode) on the Target App and then click add to Baby Registry, they will allow you to return it without a receipt. It doesn’t matter if you do this before or after your baby shower or baby’s due date as I don’t think they can tell. They don’t give you cash but put the amount on a gift card if it was on your registry for you to use on another item later.
I hope you are lucky enough to have someone throw/have a baby shower for you or at least get you gifts from a baby registry.
If you are interested in what to put on a baby registry here is My List of Essentials for Baby.
