Baby registry: the essentials and a complete example

Making a baby registry is a bit like taking stock of life with a baby before you've lived it. What do you really need? How many? What will never get used? Here is our list of essentials, room by room, and a complete example of a baby registry to copy and adapt.

When should you make your baby registry?

Start thinking about it around the 5th month of pregnancy : you still have the energy to compare, and you often know whether it's a girl or a boy. Share it around the 7th month, before the baby shower and the family's first questions. An online list can still be edited: you can add to it after the birth, once you know what you're really missing.

Baby registry essentials, room by room

For sleeping

• A cot or a crib, with a firm mattress that fits it properly.
• Two or three fitted sheets.
• Two baby sleeping bags (one spare), suited to the season: babies sleep without a duvet or pillow.
• A soft night light for night feeds.
• A baby monitor, very handy once baby sleeps in their own room.

For meals

• Breastfeeding: nursing pillow, breast pads, breast pump if needed.
• Bottles: four to six bottles, a bottle brush and a bottle warmer or steriliser depending on your routine.
• Around ten bibs and a few muslins.
• Around 6 months: a high chair and silicone tableware for weaning.

For bath time and care

• A baby bath or a bath seat.
• Two bath towels with hoods , soft and easy to put on.
• Bath thermometer, medical thermometer and nasal aspirator.
• Washcloths, round-tipped scissors and a soft brush: see our baby care range.

For changing

• A changing table or changing mat.
• Nappies in size 1 then 2: ask for size 2 rather, as size 1 is soon too small.
• Cleansing lotion, cotton wool and nappy cream.
• A changing bag for outings.

For going out

• A pushchair, ideally compatible with a car seat or a carrycot.
• A group 0+ (i-Size) car seat, essential for leaving the maternity ward by car.
• A baby carrier or a sling to keep baby close.
• A parasol or a footmuff depending on the season.

For getting dressed

• Six to eight bodysuits and as many sleepsuits, ideally in 1 and 3 month sizes.
• Two or three cardigans, a hat, socks.
• A snowsuit or a blanket for winter.

For play and the nursery

• A play mat and a mobile.
• a comforter (and a spare, just in case!).
• Cloth or board books, such as our 20-in-1 sensory book.
• A personalised birth poster to decorate the bedroom.

Complete baby registry example

Here is an example of a balanced baby registry, with gifts at every price. Budgets are rough guides.

Mistakes to avoid

• Too much newborn size : babies wear it for barely a few weeks.
• Gadgets used only once: a good test is to ask whether you'll still use it in three months.
• A list with only big gifts : include small prices for colleagues and friends.
• A fixed list : choose an online list you can update, and tick off what you buy yourself.

Create your baby registry online

To bring all this together in one place, the PetitMaxou baby registry is free and accepts products from any shop : paste the link of a pushchair spotted elsewhere, add our birth gift ideas, and share a single link. Your loved ones see what has already been given, and we give you back 15% of their PetitMaxou purchases as a voucher when the list closes.

Frequently asked questions