June 09, 2021
Best Registry Tips from Abby Kalter at Prepping for Peanut
We interview Abby Kalter, founder and CEO of Prepping for Peanut.
Prepping for Peanut is a baby prep concierge service on a mission to make nesting a stress-free, confusion-free, and clutter-free experience. We personalize and curate registries and resources so you spend less time researching and sorting through endless recommendations and must-have lists, and more time enjoying your pregnancy.
Here are her top tips on creating your registry and more.
1. What are your best tips for creating a baby registry?
1.) The market is always changing! There are product recalls, new releases, new innovations. While planning for longevity is important, planning for subsequent children can ultimately lead to purchasing of products you don't like now. Be sure you love the items now, not three years from now.
2.) Add things for yourself! I see this all the time, expecting parents forget to add things for themselves! It sometimes can feel uncomfortable to ask for items or services for you, and everyone's threshold for which items are appropriate to request are different, but keeping in mind your needs for products and support is so incredibly important and so often overlooked. Even including a doula fund, or meal train option is a great way to put your needs on the wish-list.
3.) Avoid crowdsourcing! When every must-have list offers different advice it can get really confusing really fast and ultimately contribute to overbuying. Your lifestyle is the only one that matters, so aim to evaluate your needs, not someone else's.
2. What are the most common questions you get asked for baby registries? Can you give us the answer?
I get this one often! And my answer is always "that's a trick question!" One parent's must have is another parent's must skip! That's why the sampling and brand exposure Upbring offers is so great. You, and in many cases, your baby are going to determine your "must-haves" and they might turn out to be totally different from mine. Aside from diapers, all babies need some type of diaper :)
I also often get, "what's the safest car seat" and the answer: "all car seats meet the same federal safety regulations, so there isn't one seat safer than the other. That being said, it might be worth paying attention to brands who publish their own independent crash testing results and incorporate extra safety features (not to be confused with convenience features). Ultimately the car seat story is much more intricate and your family, the car, and the other gear you select can really dictate which is best for you. This is where Prepping for Peanut really offers so much value to help families figure it all out.
3. What are important items to make sure to include in a registry? Car seat? Stroller? How do you know "the best" ones?
Car seat is arguably the most important item on the list. Most hospitals won't even let you leave without one. That being said, even a car seat will be more important for families with cars who frequently drive vs those living in the city who utilize public transit and are never in the car. For those city families a stroller and carrier are much more important and car seat is secondary. Everyone's lifestyle and priorities are different. We simply don't all care about or need the same things.
The "best" items are the ones that work for you and baby and fit into your lifestyle. You never want to be stretched for budget, stretched on space, or overwhelmed with how to use something. A universal item that everyone should pay attention to is safe infant sleep surfaces. We often are fatigued by stroller and carseat, by the time we get around to thinking through and selecting sleep arrangements. Bassinet, playard, crib and crib mattress are all important product decisions too!
4. UpBring offers a variety of items by stage, why would you recommend new parents have a few different items on hand? (i.e. several teethers or types of bibs)
When I build client registries, I do something similar in certain categories too because there is so much trial and error for certain products and we want clients to be prepared without being inundated with products. You know when you make the worst purchase decisions? It's at 3am when you can't get your baby to take the pacifiers you purchased in packs of three! Having variety and things to sample, especially in those newborn days and with certain milestones, is so helpful! It keeps you off the internet (the worst place for a postpartum mama) but also makes sure you have items at the ready, without filling your home with things you may not ever use. Can you tell, I'm a huge fan?!
You can find more about Prepping for Peanut and Abby below:
Prepping for Peanut - Website
Prepping for Peanut - Instagram