I spend pretty much all of my time giving baby registry tips and advice. Someone the other day said to me, you must have registered perfectly – made all the right choices. I laughed!  I would give myself an A-. I think I did a pretty good job but there are things I wish I had done differently. Not because I didn’t like the product but in most cases it just wasn’t the right fit for us.  Recall, we are urbanites, living in a small space with limited storage.  So here is my list of five pieces of gear I wish I would have registered differently. In almost all instances I would recommend anyone to purchase these products so don’t mistake this baby registry ideas list as products I don’t like. This is a personal list and a little insight into some mistakes I made!

SWING
The swing is my #1 regret.  Why didn’t I get the MAMAROO?  As mentioned in my baby registry advice post, everyone told me I had to have the swing. But guess what?  It is big, hugggee footprint, hard to move around (remember those space constraints).  Secondly, Eloise was just not a fan.  Now of course, no one was to know that my baby would dislike the swing but her disdain for it rendered it completely useless.  However, our gently used swing found its way to a family friend and guess what?  Her baby loves it!  It warms my heart it is being put to good use and that it is out of our living room!  My baby registry redo – the mamaRoo. It is smaller and has more subtle movements which Eloise seemed to like better.

GRACO SNUGRIDE 35
Note the bold 35.  I liked the Snugride but the 35 was TOTAL overkill.  My thought was – get the biggest seat so Eloise can be in the seat for as long as possible.  Well that is all fine and dandy until you try to carry this seat with a baby in it.  It is heavy.  Too heavy.  Even my strong husband thought it was heavy.  The 35 is not necessary.  Sure the specs says that a baby can be up to 35 pounds and 32 inches in the seat but I don’t think that is realistic.  Eloise is in the 10-15 percentile for weight and 50th for height and she had definitely outgrown it, at least comfortably by twelve months.  Not to mention, trying to carry a 20 pound infant in a nearly 10 pound seat is pretty tough.  I wish I would have gone with 30 instead because I loveall of the features of Graco carseats.

UMBRELLA STROLLER
I registered for and received the Maclaren Volo and after nearly 13 months of parenting have yet to use.  We’ve traveled a couple times, go out and about often but I just haven’t seen a use for the umbrella stroller.  It is currently taking up space in Eloise’s closet.  I have thought about selling it but keep thinking maybe I will use it.  We have two other strollers – the Bugaboo Donkey which stays in our house and the Britax B-Agile which stays in my car.  We use the Donkey for walks around the city and neighborhood and it is perfect.  The Britax is great for travel and on the go.  It is super easy to unfold/fold and compact but it has a smoother, more maneuverable ride than the umbrella stroller.  Bottom line, I don’t see the umbrella stroller fitting in at this point.  However, if I did use an umbrella stroller I would be glad I have the Maclaren.  The construction is sturdy and the fold/unfold is super easy.

BASSINET
I originally choose this because it was pretty.  I think one of the first lessons you learn in baby gear is that the best is not always pretty.  Case in point with the bassinet.  It is lovely and I am sure people with enormous master suites may love this.  Our room isn’t all that small but the bassinet was just too big.  I ultimately settled on the co-sleeper and to this day, it is one of my favorite products.  Even though I am a co-sleeper fan all the way I think there are better, more functional albeit less pretty options for NEWBORN SLEEPING than this beautiful bassinet.

PACK ‘N PLAY
I was apprehensive about registering for a pack ‘n play but I was told by so many people that I would really need it.  I went with this model from Graco which is a GREAT pack ‘n play.  Not the easiest to set up but functions very well.  It ended up taking up space in our small condo and we barely used it.  I ended up leaving it at my parents house to use while we were in St. Louis. We use it regularly and Eloise sleeps very well in it.  Saying I wish I didn’t register for a pack ‘n play is sort of half the truth.  I do think we needed one but I wish I would have waited on it and maybe just asked for a gift card.  A much more practical model for us is the 4MOMS BREEZE.  Easier to set up and folds very compactly so we can store it in our place.  I also think this model is a bit more sturdy that than the Graco.  Bottom line, I didn’t know what I needed and should have trusted my gut and left the pack ‘n play off my registry until I had a better handle on my needs.

It probably goes without saying but these are very personal choices.  Everyone and every baby is different.  Depending on your lifestyle and little babe these five things may be your favorite items.  I have friends who swapped the swing for the mamaRoo with each other because their babies didn’t like the ones they had.  They swapped and their babes were in love – maybe the grass really is always greener?!?

Refer to our BABY REGISTRY ADVICE post for more insight on what you need right away and what you can wait to purchase.  I realize that people like to buy gifts for showers and not gift cards.  In that case, turn to our BABY REGISTRY GUIDES, choose the one that most matches your lifestyle and register.  If you are unsure about something after receiving it, take it back and get store credit for when you know exactly what you want.

What about you – what do you wish you had done differently when registering?