With my baby shower next month I thought it would the perfect time to share with you what’s on our natural baby registry.

I scrolled through, what felt like, hundreds of YouTube videos and blogs to find out what I really needed. Some of my favorites videos/articles were titled “what I regret putting on my registry”.

They all seemed to share the general consensus that while we think we need all these gadgets for babies, babies really don’t need a heck of a lot.

Of course everyone’s situation and needs are different. And while one person might love their boppy pillow and use it everyday, another might think it’s the most useless creation and store it in the basement for all of eternity!

Quality of Product

While everyone would agree that you need diapers & wipes for your baby, there is also a lot of dispute about the quality of said diapers and wipes. To some, a diaper is a diaper. And to others it’s more in depth than that.

I am of the personal belief that the ingredients that go into these products makes a huge difference in the health of our babies. Which is why in addition to researching which products I’m going to add to my registry, I researched which brands I was going to choose as well.

Here is what hours of research looks like in the form of my natural baby registry!

What’s On Our Natural Baby Registry

Flame Retardant FREE Crib Mattress

Since babies spend A LOT of time sleeping (over 70% of their time) I wanted to make sure that the air he was breathing wasn’t going to be filled with flame retardants, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals. We decided to go with the brand NaturePedic (see it here on Amazon). They use organic cotton fabric and filling, zero fire retardant chemicals or barriers. They also have great reviews on amazon and lots of moms in the Mommy Facebook groups I’m in rave about how much they love this mattress.

I also bought this super adorable nest off Etsy that is organic and free of flame retardants to put baby in, on top of mattress, for the first few months, so he feels secure and surrounded. The maker of this nest has closed her shop since then, but there are TONS of other shops out there that sell similar nests.

Organic Crib Sheets

Cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops out there. And even after multiple washes, pesticide, herbicide, and fungicide residue will still linger on the fabric; meaning all those harsh chemicals are rubbing against baby’s day old or week old skin.

Plus, when you buy organic cotton you are supporting a type of agriculture that does not contribute to toxic pollution, and I think we can all agree that that is something to support!

These are the sheets we registered for. 

Natural Diapers

Surprised we aren’t cloth diapering? I am too. I wanted to be on board with cloth diapering so badly, but it just isn’t right for our family at this time.

We are going with disposable diapers, but I knew that just like choosing safe, non-toxic sheets and mattress, for something that is going to be strapped to my baby 24/7, I wanted something that was non-toxic. Especially something that was free from dioxins (which are a among the most toxic chemicals known to science and are listed by the EPA as highly carcinogenic chemicals. And guess what, they are in most baby diapers).

We registered for Bamboo & Seventh Generation Free and Clear Diapers. Both are clear of dioxins, sodium polyacrylate, polyurethane, and other chemicals, dyes, fragrances, plastics, and petrolatums. They also have great review from real Mama’s as being super absorbent!

Chemical FREE Wipes

Like diapers, most wipes are loaded with toxins. Do I sound like a broken record yet? 🙂

And even though many brands claim that the levels of toxins are “safe in small amounts”, long-term exposure to even small amounts add up fast, especially when applied repeatedly to tiny babies.

Just like with the crib mattress, lots of moms on the Mommy Facebook groups I’m in swear by these Water Wipes.

Body Care Products

When it comes to baby body care products, babies really don’t need a lot. And depending on the product, a good lotion/balm will double as diaper rash cream – good bye toxic Desitin!

I love Earthley products for so many reasons! Their ingredients are pure and clean, they are made in small batches by hand by a wonderful Mama, and they work! So when I was looking for: Baby Powder, Baby Balm & Lotion (doubles as diaper rash cream), and Soap I chose Earthly products!

Breast Pump & Bottles

I am so thankful for all those Mommy Facebook groups!! I tapped into that resource yet again when I was searching for people’s favorite breast pumps. Spectra S2 won by a landslide! So Spectra S2 it was! That was probably the easiest baby registry decision I made.

For bottles, I was a bit up-in-the-air (and still sort of am). My only requirement was that the bottle had to be glass, not plastic. But there are so many companies out there that offer glass baby bottles, so the next determining factor was the nipple. So often, though, it seemed like no matter how many raving reviews one kind of nipple got, there were just as many reviews that said their baby hated it… so it was really all up to baby’s preference. I read so many stories of women getting and entire set of bottle only to learn that their baby hated the nipple. Their advice was to just get a few of one kind, see if baby likes it, and if they do – stock up, if they don’t – then move on to another brand; which is exactly what I plan on doing.

I registered for a small set of Life Factory’s glass baby bottles.

UPDATE: Our son did not like the nipples on the Life Factory bottles, they were way too long for his little mouth. My friend gave me her old ComoTomo bottles and he LOVED them.

Bamboo Forks, Spoons, Plates

I never realized how much plastic we surround our babies with until I started building my baby registry. That’s why I was so happy when I found these great bamboo forks, spoons, and plates!

Car Seat

Choosing a car seat was by far the hardest decision to make when it came to this natural baby registry. Just like with mattresses, car seats are SOAKED in flame retardants and other toxic chemicals. And just like with mattresses, our babies, especially newborns, spend a lot of time sleeping in them.

I was able to find a couple car seats that do not use any kind of flame retardants because they are made with wool, which is a natural flame retardant, however they were insanely expensive and only came in newborn carseat size – meaning they would only fit baby until he was 5-11 months old (depending on his size), then I would have to not only invest in another car seat but it would be one that had flame retardants.

We decided on the Graco 4Ever carseat. It’s a convertible car seat meaning it will grow with baby and converts into a booster seat when he is old enough. And although it does contain flame retardants, Graco is one of the few brands that has removable covers that can be washed. I also plan on off-gassing the car seat outside in the sun until baby gets here and since this is not a portable car seat (meaning it doesn’t have a handle to carry it in and out of the car), baby will not be in it for long periods of time.

Baby Wear Slings

I think just about every crunchy mama swears by baby wearing. Maybe it’s because flame retardants in car seats + cribs are practically unavoidable, or maybe because it allows you to be with baby and be hands free, who knows, but I knew I had to have at least two of these on my registry.

I chose these ring slings instead of wraps because I think it will be easier than trying to figure out how to wrap and secure the seat for baby.

Baby Holders

 

There will be times when baby doesn’t want to lay down or be held in a sling, and in those instances I registered for the following:

• Pack N Play
• Jumparoo

I didn’t really have a preference on these and just wanted a few different options, so I chose these purely based off what I found on amazon.

Stroller

Choosing a stroller was pretty easy since our carseat is not portable, so we didn’t have to worry about compatibility. I wanted a middle of the road stroller… somewhere between lightweight and heavy duty and this seemed like a great fit!

Amber Teething Necklace

So many natural mama’s swear by these teething necklace, so I knew I had to have it on my natural baby registry.

Baby Monitor

Since baby will be co-sleeping with us there really wasn’t a need for a high-tech baby monitor, so we went with the simple audio only monitors for when baby is napping.

What we did not put on our natural baby registry

Crib

Since we plan on co-sleeping we’re making a DIY co-sleeper crib. We ordered the sniglar crib off Ikea and plan on leaving off one side. We’ll then adjust the crib mattress height to be flushed with our mattress and strap the bottom of the crib securely to our bed frame.

We are using this DIY tutorial for those who are interested in doing something similar.

We didn’t put this crib on our registry because we needed it sooner than the shower so that we have enough time to modify it and make adjustments (if needed) before baby comes.

Changing Table

So many Mama’s said their biggest baby registry item regret was the changing table. When baby had a soiled diaper that needed changing they wanted to change him/her right then and there – not carry him/her up to the nursery just for a diaper change…every diaper change.

These Mama’s ended up making mini changing stations around the house instead. They got 2-3 baskets and filled them with a small stack of diapers, a pack of wipes, some powder/balm for rashes, and sometimes even a small folding changing mat. They put them in different areas around the house so that one was never too far away.

So instead of a changing table, we plan on doing this – making changing station baskets and placing them in different areas around the house.

Nursing Pillows/Boppy

In my research I heard a lot of negative reviews on nursing pillows and boppys. Lots of women said it got in the way and just like with the changing table, when baby wanted to nurse it was pain to have to run back up to the nursery (or where ever you store your nursing pillow) and grab it just to feed baby.

We have lots of pillows around the house already, so no matter where I am, I can always grab a pillow for support if need be. Which is why I left specific nursing pillows off my registry.

Question of the Day

What was your favorite baby registry item? What was your least favorite?