The Perfect Baby Registry

Disclaimer: This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Huggies® and Latina Bloggers Connect. All ideas, pictures, and opinions are my own.

Have I ever mentioned I come from a large family? No, seriously, a large family with eight siblings from parents who are also from large families, which makes for cousins, aunts, and uncles galore.  Oh, and we all have friends who often times become shared family friends. With those kinds of numbers, baby showers and birthday parties are always in season around here. Celebrating life –it’s one of our specialties!

As a mother of three and a trusted source, I have had several fascinating and entertaining discussions on what to include on your gift registry when you're expecting. Most often, these conversations lead me to flash back on all three of my baby showers. Yes, I know, three baby showers. We deferred the sprinkle on those last two and decided to celebrate the upcoming debuts of babies two and three with full on baby showers out of fairness. Of course, nothing tops the excitement and enthusiasm of the firstborn shower, but don't tell my second and third kids that. So, I know first-hand how exciting and overwhelming it can be in preparing for the pregnancy journey.

 

This past weekend, I had the joy of celebrating an upcoming first-born debut with expectant first time mom and blogger friend Elba Valverde from Live Colorful. It was an adorable circus-themed baby shower – a popular theme that definitely pops and sets a joyful tone.

The details were lovely, with coordinating favors, a charming vibrant cake, and a diaper cake made out of Huggies®. Beyond providing your baby with unbeatable skincare and GentleAbsorb Liner to provide a cushiony layer of protection with hundreds of tiny absorbent pillows to help draw mess away from your baby’s delicate newborn skin the perfect clean, these little guys were the perfect prop for Elba’s baby shower. Super fancy.

That brings me to the baby shower games. Always a fun treat, but nothing beats my sentiments on guessing what is in a diaper. I’ve been changing diapers for a mighty longtime, and I will spare you the details of the hot mess that is usually no mystery. Thankfully, these diapers contained various chocolate “treats” that we had to inspect and match to the corresponding candy brands.

I must confess I could not get through this part of the game! I did, however, take the time to appreciate some of the features Huggies® Little Snugglers Diapers have to offer: cottony-soft diapers with a flexible, pocketed waistband to help keep in the mess, complete with that unique stretchy SnugFit Waistband that provides a gentle, secure fit for baby, and did I mention they also have a wetness indicator? Super useful for giving baby unbeatable skin care. Nerd problems for someone with a weak stomach for hot treats.

Aside from appreciating decorations done right and the fun games, I love watching the expectant parents open baby’s gifts. All of the oohs and aahs and sighs of delight. That communal sense of excitement. It’s a beautiful thing.

It’s also when you get to see how well your registry stress paid off. Not in a selfish way, but in that sense-of-accomplishment way that makes you feel like the little things in life really do matter.

So, how do you build the perfect gift registry? Well, that depends. Did I mention I'm a sucker for context and the queen of the grey area? Each of my registry experiences has differed slightly, but for the most part, if you want to spare yourself some grief and preserve some of your much-needed sanity, here are some quick and useful tips for building your perfect registry:

Step 1. Make a list of things you need. For a great list of registry must-haves, check out this great post by none other than mommy to be Elba Valverde.

A few non-sexy essentials worth mentioning here that will make your life easier:

• Bottle Brushes. These are great when you’re on the go and don’t have access to your dishwasher or bottle sanitizer. Or quite frankly, when you’re exhausted in the middle of the night and the bottle goblin has hidden all of your bottles, and you have no energy or sense to sanitize anything – a quick wash with hot soapy water and a good bottle brush will do the trick.

• Sanitizing Wipes & Hand Sanitizer. Yes, I can be paranoid like that.

• Temporal Thermometer. After three kids, I’ve discovered that the easiest way to get any kind of temperature reading without fighting with a screaming, squirming child is to use this fancy thermometer that you can just swipe across baby’s (or toddler’s) head.

• Diaper Rash Ointment. Babies get rashes and you want to be prepared!

• Birthing Care Pack Items. These are items that would make a nice little care package for mom to be with her delivery needs in mind. If you know of where they sell these pre-made, please do throw me a line. Otherwise, things to consider are breast pads, a toothbrush, travel shampoo and conditioner, lip balm, witch hazel, a portable massager, etc. For mommies building your perfect registry, think along the lines of what you would need to pack for your delivery and add these items to your registry. Trust me, you will be so thankful when your friends take you seriously and purchase these items as your gift for your shower.

• Diapers in Various Sizes and Wipes Galore. Register for an abundant number of these. Think of some absurd quantity and then multiply that by ten. Go for Huggies Little Snugglers Diapers. The GentleAbsorb Liner provides a cushiony layer of protection and the newborn size has an umbilical cord cut-out to help protect sensitive belly buttons! And, for a gentle clean, use Huggies Natural Care Wipes with the simplest formula ever for baby’s delicate, soft skin. You don’t want to mess with that sensitive skin!

Step 2. Decide which store(s) you will be registering with. It helps to have one store where you plan on having your “central” registry, and you also want to provide your guests with shopping options. For various reasons, we don’t all shop at the same store.

Step 3. Print the list and bring it with you! Believe me, if you go and grab one of those registry scanners, you are going to start scanning everything like crazy. You’ll lose your focus, you’ll scan everything (because it really is so much fun), and you’ll end up with gifts you really don’t need (“scanner’s regret”). As long as you have your list with you, I give you permission to go scanner happy --as long as the items are on your list!

On a serious note, you might find yourself adding a few useful and irresistibly cute items here and there. That’s totally normal. Just remember to check yourself with your list because all of this “stuff” will live in your home and take up space . . . and need laundering. Just a thought.

Step 4. Double-check your registry online. After you come down from the euphoria (and exhaustion) of scanning your registry items, you want to scope out your registry to make sure you didn’t miss any of the essentials, such as bottle brushes, rash ointment, and an abundance of wipes and diapers in various sizes. Free samples are a great way to find out which products you can place your trust in for your little family’s growing needs, so try the unbeatable skin care of Huggies Little Snugglers and Natural Care Wipes for yourself by visiting Huggies.com/SampleHug for a free sample today.

Some folks with super generous gifting family and friends are totally okay with adding some big-ticket items like a crib for your first-born, a car seat, or an essential stroller. If you simply can’t bring yourself to do that, fret not! Huggies® is giving you the opportunity to make your dreams come true with those fancy big-ticket items. All you need to do is add the amazing Huggies Little Snugglers and Natural Care Wipes to your baby registry and register your wish at Huggies.com/RegisterWish for your chance to win some of those items courtesy of Huggies who will do everything they can to make your registry wishes come true. How awesome is that?!

In short, there is no such thing as "the perfect registry" but there is the perfect registry for you. Keep that and your needs in mind. Take the tips and words of advice in the way that suits you. In the end, the items on your registry are meant to give you a jump start in gathering what you'll need for your ever growing baby so that you can focus your time on the magic that little creature will bring into your life. I promise you everyday will be an adventure! Enjoy the miracle and add some sparkle and humor into your life by coming back to visit me soon.

Abrazos,