Registering for Baby Shower

All the sites that everyone has listed here and good places to start off with. Let me though just share an experience when I tried to return something from Target. Unfortunately on this gift, I lost or didn't receive a gift receipt. I thought I'd try anyways to exchange it since it was only a couple of months (and normally you have 90 days to return or exchange items). They said they were able to look up my registry and see what was bought and so forth. Well, unfortunately when this gift was purchased, they either forgot to tell the cashier or whatever, but it never got posted on my registry. So basically I had 3 of the same item but the registry only reflected 2. So I had to go through this long phone call with customer service and they were trying to say that they were at fault but couldn't fix it and there was nothing they could do. I totally didn't understand how that reasoning came about. After much arguing about the situation, they finally let me exchange the item. Just be careful ... that's all I'm saying. I know you can't do this, but just don't loose the gift receipts and if you don't get one, hopefully you have a good relationship with the person, that you won't be too embarrassed to ask for one. That's just my two cents.

If you're in the SF peninsula area, try Lullaby Lane. I chose Babies R Us and Target but I wished I had registered at Lullaby. They have a lot of great stuff the mainstream stores don't carry and the more popular products too. The staff is also very helpful. But don't feel like you must have EVERYTHING before the baby arrives. I drove myself nuts wanting the perfect nursery and fancy gear that baby will not even need until much later. You will be buying things as you go and changing your mind, etc. Just enjoy your new baby. With that said, do have lots of diapers, wipes, swaddle blankets, a safe carseat, and a safe place to sleep. I also love slings and used them since my boy was a newborn.

I agree that Target has an aweful return policy. I registered at Babies R Us and Right Start. Good luck!

DO NOT register at Target! Their return policy sucks! You get all the same stuff at Babies R us and they let you return anything anytime without receipts. There is also this cool baby store that carries more high end things and has tons of furniture etc. We got a rocking chair that doesn't even look like a rocking chair and tons of people compliment us on it. The store is called Baby Super/Rocker World off 280 and race st./meridian exite next to 24 hr. fitness. They have an online store and registry. Check out their cool chairs and nursery setups! www.babysuper.com

My first child is due in less than a week so I understand how you feel about the stress of registering! I also wanted to do either Target or Wal-mart but after shopping around some more I actually found that Babies R Us was the best bet. They are more reasonably priced then you would think. After you go through and make your selections they print your registry off and it even shows you what you forgot to put on there. Best of all you can go online anytime and either change it or family can pick things off of it instead of going to the store.

I agree, I would register at Babies R Us simply for the ease of use and the better return policy! A better return policy is good for several reasons...You are a first time Mom and may find you did not need something that you registered for, or need something that you did not. You also may get gifts that were not on the registry, and those you would be stuck with at Target.

Good luck!

T.
Founder
www.theparentpack.org

I hear ya, I registered for baby #2 and it was still overwhelming & tiring! I just did a lot of reading of reviews & consumer reports and had in mind the big items I wanted to register for before I went. I'm more of a natural momma too, but the great online sites we'd love just aren't convenient for friends and most likely you wouldn't get what you want anyway, most people go for the most convenient for them. I just chose from the few natural/organics that the big stores are starting to carry, I just found organic bath wash & skin products at Babies R Us. I wouldn't worry about registering too many places, just more options for them, and lets face it, Target is everywhere, I registered 4 places, if anything it's more confusing for us! If you're near Sactown, Goores has some good natural items & slings, and they can special order practically anything for you! I registered for a stroller they don't even carry. I planned on mostly receiving the big items I needed from my shower and got the rest for myself that weren't mainstream.
good luck!!
K.

A. : Warning regarding Target-they have an awful return policy: You can only return things twice a year without a receipt and it has to be under $20. I just had two baby showers and had registered at Target and Babies R Us. Lots of people bought from Target and did not include a receipt so I am stuck with a bunch of stuff I didn't register for! ;( You won't be overwhelming your friends/family if you register at different places. The point is to register for what you want. Good luck! K.

Congratulations! Just a warning, Babies R Us has modified their return policy, it is a little more strict than it used to be. Babies RUs has more to offer than target.
I found diaperbags.com was cool, motherhoodmaternity.com is good too. But the best place for nursing bras are at Nordstrom.
I'd wait to buy the crib, if you are considering co-sleeping. We have not used it very much if at all.
Definitely get a pack-n-play, we love our jumper, and we got the baby-high-chair that sits in a regular dining chair and that was great.
Register for different size clothes, 0-3, 3-6, 6-9 etc. They grow so fast that my boy only wore somethings once.
Register for different size diapers, pampers swadlers for new borns, then huggies for bigger sizes (unless you are doing cloth). Some people who do cloth still get disposables for travel.
You need a nice big diaper bag, and a smaller one for little trips.
For the stroller, make sure you get how it works. Take it down from the shelf and roll it around. We also took into consideration of our lifestyle, and the european stollers are sleek and nicer quality but they didn't have the infant carrier. So we bought one that had the infant carrier and a regular stroller, then ended up buying a euro-style jogger for longer walks.
Basically you don't need everything at once, unless your friends and family are going to buy it all for you than take what you can get.
Good luck, and may you have a smooth and wonderful delivery!

I just registered at Babies R Us and Walmart. I have two pieces of advice!

#1 Take a mom with you. I did, and she told me what I will need, and what I won't.

#2 Go to the Babies R Us website, and print out their list of suggested items for new parents. That saved me!

Don't forget to have fun...don't be afraid to register for the the fun stuff! People love to buy cute things!

Also, Babies-R-Us has an online registry/store, so you can update your registry from home if you want instead of trying to think of everything in one stop. They seem to have everything you need for baby. Another good place might be The Right Start. They also have an online store, and they have some neat stuff. Good luck and congratulations!

Definitely go with Babies R Us. The website is linked with Amazon.com so shipping is super easy, and they have reviews of almost every product. That makes it a little easier to formulate your "short list" so that when you go to the store to see everything, you won't be so overwhelmed. (I also really like Right Start.) Also, Babies R Us and Right Start are pretty vigilant about asking every customer if they're buying off a registry, so you won't end up with multiples of everything. As you know, at Target you're likely to get multiples of everything, and without a gift receipt, you're SOL on returns.

If you can, when you go to the store, try to take someone with you who has had a baby/toddler recently. They can help you cut through the list of things you need, vs things you will never take out of the box!