Because we didn’t have a baby shower to celebrate Little C before he was born, I didn’t fret too much about what we should and shouldn’t include in our baby registry. But I wish I had taken more time to think about our registry as a longer term investment in our son’s first year. People love buying gifts for babies, and many people look to that comprehensive list of mom and dad’s requests when shopping, especially those who are not familiar with the scores of baby products on the market.

Of course, we included the standard items like bottles, swaddle blankets and baby toiletries.  We picked out a swing, a pack ‘n play, a monitor and more.  I surfed the baby registries of friends and acquaintances to be sure there was nothing I missed. What I really missed though were not items that the baby needed in that first month.  If I could have done it again, I would have been more forward thinking, choosing items that Little C would need at 6, 9 and 12 months as well as those adorable baby hooded towels and bath temperature toys.

Here are a handful of items I wish I had registered for:

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1)  Toys – We opted not to include clothing or toys on our registry, but I wish we had asked friends (or read more on sites like Hellobee) about the different types of toys that babies play with over the first year.  We registered for the big ticket items like a swing and a jumperoo, but spending $10 here and $20 there on toys we think Little C would love and learn from over the past year has really added up.  Pictured are a few of the many toys that Little C enjoys. (1a – Rocktivity Music Skool Table, 1b – Laugh and Learn Puppy Piano, 1c – Barnyard Animals Knob Puzzle, 1d – Melody Music Set)

2) Push and Pull Toys – Grandma Confetti bought Little C this Vtech push toy, and I’ll confess – I kind of hate it (sorry mom).  Little C of course thinks it is wonderful, but the music is pretty awful and it doesn’t push very easily on our hardwood floors.  If I could do it again, I would have gotten C a wooden push toy with activities attached like the one pictured above.  I would also have asked for a push rolling toy.  Little C is already fascinated by the chime toy we got him and pushes it around his room while he crawls. (3a – Manhattan Toy Stow and Go Activity Cart, 3b – Janod Push N Roll)

3) Quality Bath Towels and Mold-resistance Bath Toys – For the tub, we registered for this adorable bath bucket, a toy that doubled as a water thermometer, and some cute hooded towels.  We loved and used all of these items, but again, I wish that we had the bigger picture in mind.  Once baby can sit up, they love bath toys, and I have discovered that investing in mold-resistant toys is much more worthwhile than buying and replacing rubber ducks with holes in them that grow moldy within a few weeks.  And those adorable hooded towels?  They’re great for a couple months, but babies grow so fast – I wish we would have just requested a couple of high-quality bath towels that matched C’s nursery. (3a – Boon Odd Ducks, 3b – Boon Water Bugs, 3c – PBK Rugby Striped Bath Towel)

4) Diapers – Yep.  I said it.  Diapers.  Disposable Diapers.  They are expensive and a total pain in the butt.  Originally I had hoped to use cloth, and I registered for a few, but in the end, using disposables was best for our family.  If I could go back and do it again, I would have put 2-3 jumbo boxes of diapers from sizes one through four on our registry in case someone wanted to go purely functional for a gift.

5) Tools for Solid Feeding – Everyone thinks about the bottles and pump supplies and baby feeding gear.  What I wish I would have thought about were the six months after Little C was born, and the spoons, bibs, sippy/straw cups and traveling snack gear we have stocked up on since then. (5a – Dex Dura Bib, 5b – Munchkin Snack Catcher, 5c – Nuby Straw Cup, 5d – Dr. Brown’s Snack Cups)

If you could go back and register again, are there things you wish you had asked for?