My Baby Registry Essentials for a Southern Baby Boy

“Baby registry essentials for a boy” is a phrase I googled and read every post until there were no more results. Despite the tens of hours I spent researching, I still ended up with a pile of donations. Please let me save you the money and headache I wish someone had saved me!

All of these are essentials to me, but there are cheaper versions out there. Don’t feel like you need the most expensive thing. Do what works for your budget (and keep the receipts always in case you want to exchange for the name brand!)

Click on the photos to learn more or see my full baby selections on LTK HERE.

Let’s start with the fun stuff, shall we? 🤩

Clothes

• Coming home outfit (I loved our Feltman’s gown with matching bonnet) and newborn photo shoot outfits
• Hospital birth announcement & monthly milestone cards
• HALO velcro swaddles
• Ollie swaddle (Velcro is stronger than HALO. Newborns have freaky strength)
• Sleeper gowns (makes diaper changes a breeze)
• Cute bibs and burp cloths (the cloth diapers make the BEST cloths)

My Favorite Shops for Graham’s Clothes

• Target – Cloud Island is cheap and will last the longest
• The Uptown Baby – Cute mommy and me boy prints
• Promise Baby – Like SKIMS for baby, also mommy and me matching

Day Outfits

• Classic Whimsy
• JoJo Mommy
• Nella Pima
• Magnolia Baby
• Lila & Hayes
• Bottles & Bows
• Little English
• Feltman Brothers
• The Beaufort Bonnet Co
• Dillard’s Edgehill Collection
• Petit Ami
• Children’s Salon
• Smocked Flamingo
• Florence Eisman
• Henry Duvall

Personal Recovery

• Zip-up robe with pockets
• Slippers with grip bottom (so many horror stories of moms falling while holding baby)
• Extra sheets (night sweats)
• Nice body wash for morning shower (again, night sweats) followed by lotion
• Donna Karan deodorant (can you tell I hate to sweat and stink/ this stuff WORKS)
• Frida disposable underpants
• Peri bottle

The best thing I did for my mental health was a quick 30-60 second shower first thing in the morning. No matter what. I put Graham in the lounger on the bathroom rug. Even if he fussed the whole time, the shower was ALWAYS worth it. There are studies linking lack of personal hygiene/showers with increase in postpartum depression. Please take time for yourself.

Every single morning after the shower, I put on the Kindred Bravely bra, my diaper cocktail in the Frida disposable pants, and the zip-up robe with my Barefoot Dreams socks and grippy slippers. Cannot recommend that combo enough.

I can’t talk about a baby registry without preaching good skin care ok I’m sorry

After that, we went downstairs. I put Graham on the Lovevery play gym. Then, I got a frozen English cucumber from the freezer and rolled it on my face. Looks ridiculous, but it wakes you up. The cucumber is calming. Sometimes even followed by eye patches.

A couple hours later, I put him in his crib for his first nap. Then….skincare. I used the Elemis Tula eye brightener and a moisturizer and did 5 passes of gua spa on my cheek bones, jawline, and down my neck. So, 30 passes all together. Sounds like a lot, but I swear it helps the postpartum face puffiness.

• Elemis Resurfacing Pads
• Superfood Facial Oil or Vitamin C Serum
• Gua Sha
• TULA eye brightening stick

If I had to do it over again, I’d only buy the Frida mom Disposable Postpartum Underwear and this pink peri bottle. My hospital (Sentara Princess Anne Hospital) gave me everything I needed, so I regret buying the full Frida mom postpartum kit so far in advance. You can always do a Target curbside if you run out of something. You must ask for the mesh undies, prep H, dermoplast, tucks, and XL pads…immediately stick the majority in your bag, and then ask for more the next time the nurses come back. I was in diapers for maybe 2-3 weeks with a 2nd degree tear, so get enough to make it last lol.

Take a probiotic!! Esepcially if you are GBS+. Gosh, I could sing it from the rooftops after battling mastitis *twice* in the first few weeks. My favorite is the Just Thrive brand because it is spore-based.

Pumping/Breastfeeding

• Spectra Gold
• Momcozy M5 Wearable Pump
• Bodily – I have the “Everything” and the “Do Everything” bra.
• Kindred Bravely Sublime Bra (way more supportive than the Bodily for pumping. can’t tell you how many times the flanges slipped out of the Bodily one)
• Silverettes (I used these during the day)
• Earth Mama nipple butter (used at night, hot tip- don’t use both the nip butter and silverettes, it can cause a chemical burn 🙃)
• Graham never latched despite having his tongue/lip/buccal ties released, so I exclusively pumped for 4 months. Please read some BF mama’s recommendations too!

Feeding Baby

• Bobbie Gentle Formula – LOVE LOVE LOVE
• Dr. Brown’s bottles
• Stokke Tripp Trapp
• Counter chair – We love the Inglesina but there are cheaper versions out there that do the same thing
• Burp cloths – buy one million of them. white. bleach them.

Baby Transportation

• Solly Baby wrap (I have the Ergobaby wrap as well and it’s cheaper. Both are nice, but I prefer the Solly. It is softer and Graham stayed in it longer)
• Nuna TRVL (I have this one, but I know a lot of people who love the Mockingbird. V similar design, but Mockingbird is cheaper)
• Nuna Pipa Carseat (I specifically chose this one for the 50 SPF panels or as I like to call them, the “don’t touch my baby” panels)
• Doona (Mike has this one in his Jeep. So convenient for travel)
• Tush Baby (We have the real TB and a cheaper lookalike from Amazon. I like the real one, and that thing is attached to me or in the stroller basket. At. All. Times.
• Portable Fan (We have 3. The one in the photo is my favorite, but I kept it on my bedside table most of the time. There isn’t a fan in our bedroom, and I got the craziest hot flashes while pumping overnight)
• Cupholders (Any will do, but I like this one because there is an option for your drink and baby’s bottle. Bottles will leak if in the stroller’s basket)
• Travel white noise machine (I love this one! Graham liked the heartbeat setting for his first week home)

Baby Docking Stations

• Baby Delight Alpine Bouncer (a MUST have – Graham bounced in this until it snapped lol. We also have the Ergobaby one but he couldn’t get as much height from bouncing. The Ergobaby has a higher weight limit)
• Snuggle Me Organic Infant Lounger
• 4Moms Playard (Love everything about it except for the fact that it is black. Would purchase the beige Nuna one if I had to do it over – the changing station is clutch!)

Nursery Needs

• Owlet sock – a friend so kindly let us borrow hers to try out. It is 100% worth the cost imo
• Nanit – helpful and fun to watch replays
• White drawer organizers
• White felt hangers
• Clothes organizer for closet
• HALO breathable/washable crib mattress
• 100% cotton crib sheet (we splurged on the serena & lily sheet, but a cheaper one would have been just fine)
• Keekaroo peanut changer
• DaVinci glider
• Hatch sound machine

I could have made this post into a novel, but these are “top of mind” favorites that I love. Congratulations on your new baby. 🤍 DM me on Instagram. I’d love to chat more!

xo, Chelsea