The Do’s and Don’ts When Creating a Baby Registry

This is a sponsored post on behalf of P&G. All opinions are my own.

So, you’re going to have a new baby in the house soon, congratulations! As a mom of 4, today I want to share with you my do’s and don’ts of creating a baby registry.

Do Create a Registry

Whether this is your first baby or fifth, whether this is a baby you have carried in your womb for 9 months or one you’ve carried in your heart and are adopting, whether someone is throwing you a baby shower or not, do create a registry. Creating a registry lets those who love you purchase a gift for the new baby that will be useful and needed. Some people are going to buy you a gift no matter what (what a blessing!) and creating a registry makes it easier for them.

Creating a registry also means you’ll get cool baby freebies. For instance, when you create a Target baby registry, they will give you a free Welcome Kit with $50 worth of coupons and handpicked samples! I’d say it’s worth the time to create a registry just for that! In addition, I’ve noticed that by creating registries with Target in the past, I’ve been sent coupons throughout the first year of my baby’s life to use towards baby necessities at Target.

Don’t Create Multiple Registries

While you should create a registry, I wouldn’t recommend creating multiple registries. Not only does creating multiple registries take longer for you to manage, it can also be confusing to your friends and families. For example, maybe your sister is planning to surprise you with a shower. She looks and sees that you are registered at Target and includes that registry in the shower invites. What she didn’t know is that you also registered at two other stores and some of the items you need most are on those lists.

Another scenario is that you registered for a baby bathtub at two different stores and, while one store shows that it wasn’t purchased, it actually just was purchased from the other store. Your friend didn’t check the second registry and now you have 2 baby baths. Sure, you can return if needed, but you don’t want that extra hassle when trying to prepare for a baby.

Keep things simple and stick to one list. Target’s universal registry option allows you to pull in items from any website to add to your registry, keeping it all together in one location, so there’s really no need for more than 1 registry.

Do Put Large Items on Your Registry

Some people shy away from adding big items, like cribs and travel systems to their registry, because they assume no one will purchase such a high dollar item. There are 2 reasons why you should put high dollar items on your registry. First of all, you just never know! You might have a family member who is excited to splurge and bless you with a big purchase. Plus, if you’ve registered at Target, they have a group-gifting option that allows friends and families to chip in towards the high ticket item.

The other reason you want to add those high dollar items to your registry is because, as you near your due date, Target will send you a completion bonus, which gives you a 15% discount off of all items not purchased from your registry, or 20% when you sign up with your REDcard. If you didn’t add that crib to your registry, you can’t use the discount on it. So add it! That 15% discount can save you so much money!

Do Add Necessities to Your Registry

Let your gift buyers know that you need and want the necessities by adding them to your registry. You want to add things like baby shampoo, lotion, free and clear laundry detergent, hangers, diaper cream and especially diapers and wipes. Trust me, you can never have enough diapers and wipes!

Did you know that newborns go through an average of 320 diapers the first month?! New moms often underestimate the amount of diapers they need, but your Target baby Registry helps kick start your registry by adding a few baby essentials like diapers so you won’t forget. I’d recommend adding a number of boxes of Pampers to your registry, in various sizes (especially size 3 which seems to be the size my little ones are in the longest).

Do Share a Link to Your Registry on Social Media

It’s common for someone to throw you a shower for your first baby, but not so much for subsequent children (which honestly I think is a real shame). Just because someone isn’t throwing you a baby shower, it doesn’t mean your friends and family aren’t interested in getting a gift for the new little one. Once you create your registry, share the link on Facebook for those interested in celebrating your upcoming arrival.

Don’t Frequently Check Your Registry

Once you’ve completed your registry, try to avoid the temptation to check it frequently to see what others have purchased if you’re having a shower. It’s nice to be surprised by the gifts you’ll receive!

Do Research Where to Register

There are a lot of places that offer the ability to create a baby registry and it’s important to do your research before you get started. As I mentioned above, there are a few benefits to registering at Target over the other places. When I compared the benefits to those the competition offers, the choice was easy.

While not shown on the graph above, Target also offers you the ability to integrate a Pinterest board into your registry! Yeah, that’s right. That board you’ve been creating for months (maybe years) of all the baby stuff you love, you can integrate it right into your registry!

The other reason I love to register at Target is their unmatched selection. They have the chic, modern brands I love, like DockATot, aden+anais, bumGenius and Tula. When heading in-store to register, you’ll find a huge selection of items that you can view up close and personal. My local Target has everything from play yards to strollers to baby carriers to bottles on display. Seeing in item in person is so much better than viewing an image on a screen!

Let me know if I can be of help with product recommendations as you set up your registry! Feel free to comment with your questions below. Congratulations again!