How many things should I put on my baby registry?

There's no magic number, but most parents do well with somewhere between 40 and 80 items spread across price tiers. Include a healthy mix of small, giftable things (bottles, swaddles, burp cloths) and a few big-ticket items (car seat, stroller, bassinet). Registries often offer a completion discount, so anything left over you can buy yourself later at a break — no need to cram everything on there at once.

When should I create my baby registry?

Most people set one up in the second trimester, around 20 weeks, once the anatomy scan is behind them and a shower is on the horizon. That gives you time to research the big items without a deadline breathing down your neck. If you're reading this at 38 weeks, don't panic — you can build a solid registry in an afternoon and fill gaps after the baby arrives.

What is the one thing I shouldn't skip on a baby registry?

A properly fitted infant car seat. You legally cannot drive your newborn home from the hospital without one, and it's the single item with the clearest safety stakes. The AAP and CPSC both publish guidance on choosing and installing seats correctly, so it's worth registering for a well-reviewed model early and learning to install it before your due date.

Do I really need a changing table, wipe warmer, and all the nursery furniture?

No. A changing pad on top of a dresser you already own works just as well as a dedicated changing table, and most babies are indifferent to a wipe warmer. Prioritize a safe sleep space and a car seat; treat the matching nursery set as a want, not a need.

Should I register for newborn diapers and clothes?

Register for a range of sizes rather than stockpiling newborn everything. Plenty of babies skip the newborn size entirely or blow through it in two weeks. A few packs of newborn and size 1 diapers plus mostly 0–3 and 3–6 month clothes will serve you far better than a mountain of tiny outfits your baby never wears.

What to Put on Your Baby Registry (From Someone Who's Done It)

Building a baby registry is a strange rite of passage. One minute you're happily pregnant, the next you're staring at 4,000 kinds of bottle and quietly panicking about whether the wrong burp cloth will ruin your child's life. It won't. Take a breath.

We've done this — more than once — and the honest truth is that babies need far less than the internet implies. A safe place to sleep, a way to eat, a car seat, some diapers, and a handful of clothes will get you through the first weeks. Everything else is optimization. This guide goes category by category with what's genuinely worth registering for, what you can skip, and where to spend versus save.

If you'd rather work from a printable list, our registry checklist covers the essentials. Consider this the opinionated companion.

You do not have to get this perfect. Almost nothing on a registry is a one-shot decision, and babies are remarkably forgiving of your gear choices. Register for the basics, leave room to learn what your specific baby likes, and buy the rest later. Done is better than optimized.

Sleep: spend here, and keep it simple

This is the category where safety matters most, so it's worth getting right. The AAP's safe-sleep guidance (healthychildren.org) is refreshingly minimalist: a firm, flat surface, a fitted sheet, and nothing else in the sleep space — no bumpers, no pillows, no loose blankets. That means a lot of cute nursery products are actually things to skip.

Register for:

A bassinet or crib. A bassinet is handy for the newborn stage because it fits next to your bed, which the AAP recommends for the first 6 months. Eventually you'll want a crib and a firm crib mattress. You don't need both a fancy bassinet and a fancy crib on day one — pick your starting point.
Swaddles or sleep sacks. Newborns sleep better contained. Swaddles are worth a few on the registry since babies outgrow and out-wriggle them fast.

Skip (or wait): crib bumpers (a CPSC ban on padded bumpers reflects the suffocation risk), weighted sleep sacks, and most "sleep-enhancing" gadgets. If you're overwhelmed by the sleep aisle, our newborn sleep and safe sleep primers cut through the noise.

Feeding: register for a starter set, not a stockpile

Whether you breastfeed, formula-feed, or do some improvised combination of both at 3 a.m., you'll want a few baby bottles. Here's the thing nobody tells you: babies are picky and unpredictable about bottle nipples. Register for a small variety pack rather than committing to eighteen of one brand. Once you find the one your baby tolerates, you (or a grandparent) can buy more.

If you're planning to breastfeed and return to work, a breast pump is a big-ticket registry win — and often covered by insurance, so check that before you register. Our breastfeeding survival guide is worth a read for the realistic version of how this goes.

Skip: the wipe warmer, the bottle sterilizer that does what your dishwasher already does, and the elaborate bottle-drying tree unless clutter genuinely soothes you.

Diapering: register for range, not volume

The instinct is to hoard newborn diapers. Resist it. Some babies are born already too big for newborn size, and all of them grow alarmingly fast. Register for a spread of sizes — a couple packs of newborn, more of size 1 and 2 — across the diaper brands you're curious about. A changing pad on a dresser you already own beats a dedicated changing table nine times out of ten.

Getting around: the car seat is non-negotiable

You cannot legally leave the hospital without an infant car seat, so this is the one item to research early and install before your due date. Both the AAP and CPSC (cpsc.gov) publish installation guidance, and many communities offer free car-seat checks — use them. Later, you'll graduate to a convertible car seat.

A stroller that clicks into your infant seat makes life easier, and a soft carrier is a genuine sanity-saver for babies who only nap on a warm human. Both earn their registry spots.

Skip: the shoe collection. Newborns do not need shoes. They will never need those shoes.

Soothing and "extras": nice, not necessary

Here's where you can relax. A baby swing or a baby monitor can be lovely, and plenty of parents swear by them — but they're wants, not needs. Register for them if you'd like them; don't feel behind if you don't. The same goes for the high chair, which you won't touch until around 6 months, so there's no rush.

If you're pregnant and reading this at 2 a.m. because your hips hurt, a pregnancy pillow is arguably the most for-you item you can put on a baby registry. You're allowed.

What actually matters (a short reality check)

The categories above sort roughly into three buckets:

Spend and research: car seat, sleep space, breast pump if you're pumping.
Register for variety, buy more later: bottles, swaddles, diapers, clothes in a spread of sizes.
Optional and easily added later: swing, monitor, high chair, most "system" gadgets.

Everything on your registry was tested and sorted using the same honest framework we apply everywhere — you can read about that on our how we test page.

A note on timing and sanity

If you build this during pregnancy, our pregnancy stage hub has more, and don't forget a hospital bag checklist for the actual departure. Once the baby's here, the newborn and postpartum hubs will meet you where you are.

Your registry is a tool, not a test. Fill it with the basics, leave yourself room to learn what your particular tiny human prefers, and let the rest go. You've got this — one small, forgiving decision at a time.