My First Baby List

Like most parents, when we found out we were having our first baby, we were not only estactic but wanted to give him everything that he would need to be comfortable and to thrive. The tricky part was knowing what was absolutely necessary to buy versus what was just hype. My strategy for putting together a registry was to first ask my mommy friends and family three simple questions, 1. what could you not live without in the first few months for the baby? 2. for yourself? 3. for your husband? For question three, they all unanimously said essentially "your husband doesn't need anything." While inquiring, friends were helpful in offering other advise as well as items they were no longer using which saved us from buying items that we want to "try" but didn't know if we wanted to invest in (e.g. Euro bathtub) as well as larger items that we wouldn't have the space to store when we were done (e.g. crib)

Next, I scoured the web for other people's opinions, Babies R Us buying guide, Baby Bargains book, and consolidated everything in the basic baby items, nice to have items, and items for mom. The key was to keep the list as simple as possible.

Taking this list to start the baby registry was helpful in keeping me focused. It's so easy to get distracted by all the "cute but unnecessary" items and to get ahead of yourself and getting things you won't use for at least 6 months like bibs and baby proofing supplies. The list is also helpful if you're building your registry online first. Of course nothing can replace recent mommy friends who are willing to help you register on-site at the store and point out what you might have inadvertently left of your checklist.

I uploaded my baby checklist to Google docs for you to use and I will continue to update it and make it better based on your suggestions. Make it your own by creating a copy for yourself - Go to "File" in the Toolbar and click "Create a Copy". For recommendations, I hyperlinked some of the cells (in blue) to the actual product website, article, etc.

Hope you find this useful as you prepare to bring home your bundle of joy.
One thing to keep in mind is that as long as your baby has enough to eat, a place to sleep and lots of love, he/she will have a good start to life.

How it All Started

My love for lists started when I moved to the United States from Taiwan in the first grade. To learn English, my parents gave me a diary and I would enjoy visualizing each room in the house and list out everything that I could think of in each room. The kitchen was my favorite - all the utensils, spices, appliances. Of course, I couldn't spell anything so I would ask my sister to translate.

Eventually, the lists became detailed schedules. In college, I would write out my schedule in black ink (yes, it had to be black) in a Franklin planner and then as the day went on, I would write down in red ink what actually happened that day. If I got 90% done what I planned to do, then it was considered a good day where much was accomplished. Even after I graduated from the Franklin planner, I would create my own hour by hour/minute by minute schedule to the extent my family would tease me about my OCD.

I crave checklists as well and the best are those that are the aggregation of "must haves" from friends and family with subjects ranging from packing lists to wedding planning to baby planning.

To those who share in my compulsion to have a list or checklist for everything this blog is for you. My goal is to over time to develop a library of open source checklists that I can share with you. Feel free to modify them and I hope you will find them useful!