The mystery of a registry

When we reached 20 weeks, it came time to prepare the house for the arrival of our little guy, and Lizzy's friends began preparation for two baby showers. One in Miami with my side of the family, and one here in Austin. I fully respect the prep work that goes into preparing for a shower after hearing the details about what went into the Miami shower from my mother, but from the perspective of the guests of honor, we had little to do except the dreaded registry.

Obviously we are no strangers to registries since we did one for our wedding but this was completely different beast. Wedding registries are easy. Put some china, sheets, a set of cooking knives for me, and some pots on there and call it a day.

But a baby registry? Now this is tough. There are so many things that the stores claim are "essential" for your child. A crib, a bassinet, a side sleeper, a vibrating bunny chair, and on and on and on.  Do you really need a high chair for a child that won't need it for about a year? How about a pack-n-play AND a bassinet? Are they the same thing or interchangeable? How can you predict what the baby will like before he's even born? Truth is, you cannot possibly know. What's worse, if you ask ten couples, you will get ten different lists of essential gear.

At the end of the day we ended up putting a bunch of stuff on the registry and decided that we will sift through the mess after the showers are complete. I know one thing for sure though... We can't leave the hospital without something for the baby to wear, and a car seat to get him home.  Everything else is optional... for the first day.