https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 26 May 2026 10:37:40 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2188431 Mon, 25 May 2015 10:21:24 +0000 simplyfelicity 2188431@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We bought the crib and all nursery decor/furniture ourselves but my MIL bought us a recliner and my parents bought the travel system. I just looked online and most of the "bigger items" (swing, rnp, etc) have been purchased. I have a TON of stuff to return to Target (we got a lot of out of season stuff + duplicates) so I am going to put that money toward the items we don't get from the shower. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2188427 Mon, 25 May 2015 09:55:27 +0000 badwolf 2188427@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We didn't buy anything until after the shower, but ended up having to buy almost everything from our registry ourselves....apparently most of our friends and family either didn't understand or didn't feel like using the registry so they bought a ton of off-registry baby clothes and pretty much nothing else. We got one pack of diapers and a ton of clothes. My parents had already bought the crib ahead of time and my older sis had offered me a bunch of handmedowns, including a stroller and some other helpful practical stuff, but we bought everything else ourselves. The registry discount was helpful but it's only 10 or 15% so don't be afraid to buy elsewhere if you have coupons or see a big sale. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183678 Tue, 19 May 2015 17:11:30 +0000 MrsBananaGrabber 2183678@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with everyone else- wait until after your shower. In general, some categories / types of gifts were more popular than others on our registry, but there were some surprises as well. The most expensive item was purchased but not the 2nd or 3rd highest. Very few breast feeding items were purchased, but nipple butter was one of the first things to go. As much as people liked cute gear overall, no one bought the bouncer.<br /> Another reason to wait is to use a registry completion discount for whatever you don't get. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183637 Tue, 19 May 2015 16:38:55 +0000 Corduroy 2183637@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You won't know until after your shower(s). I didn't think anyone would buy any BFing-related stuff for me. My office gave me a gift card for the price of my pump and DH's office (oddly enough) ended up actually buying the pump and all the Medela stuff I had on my registry. I guess all the working people understood the value of a pump. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183123 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:58:42 +0000 gingerbebe 2183123@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did the same thing in putting everything on Amazon. We'd mark something as fulfilled if we ended up getting a screaming deal (ex: I got a My Best Friend with a thick velour pink cover for $19 on a lightning deal), but just left everything for the discount. I did hoard diapers and wipes using coupons when I was pregnant (watch Target for their "spend $100-ish dollars and get $20-ish back in gift card" deals and use it with both Target and manufacturer coupons for Pampers or Huggies). Glad we did - the only diapers I got was the diaper cake at my shower. </p> <p>I bought my own breastfeeding supplies - lanolin cream, breast pads, nursing tanks, milk bags, extra pump supplies - and we purchased our own stroller accessories, like the parent organizer and bumper bar, and the travel bags for our stroller and carseat. People got us clothes - like full outfits - but honestly DS lived in footed zip-up sleepers for at least 4 months. So we ended up buying a lot of those in many different sizes. We also ended up buying 3-4 different kinds of bottles and pacis before finding what worked. We bought the boring stuff like waterproof crib pads, pack n' play mattress, pad, and sheet, baby Tylenol and Advil, saline spray, Nose Frieda, temporal thermometer, first aid kit, gripe water, teething tablets, etc. But a lot of the BFing and health related stuff may be eligible for your FSA if you have one, so check on drugstore.com first. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183117 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:56:04 +0000 Mrs. J 2183117@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would wait. We had two showers, and I was very surprised at what people did buy! Like @youboots: people even bought our cloth diapers. My ILs wanted to do the crib plus mattress; my grandma wanted to do the stroller/car seat (britax sale)....so really, you never know. I jumped on our bedding because it was on sale at PBK and was being discontinued. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183105 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:53:27 +0000 2PeasinaPod 2183105@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd also wait until after the shower! My SIL was so hesitant to put her BOB stroller on her registry, and I kept encouraging to do it, because my other SIL, mom and I wanted to get it for her and split it. People like to get big things and split them with others if they know they'll be used for a long period of time, and you never know how generous someone wants to be! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183102 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:52:10 +0000 nana87 2183102@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I feel like our friends/family totally bucked the trend about baby shower gifts, so I'd wait until after! Like, you always hear about people getting nothing but clothes, and I think only 1 guest bought us clothes. We got a lot of toys and books, and most the big ticket items. We didn't get any linen-y things (swaddling cloths/halo sleepsacks, sheets, towels, boppy covers, nursing covers, etc) until my mil noticed we hadn't gotten any and bought some after our shower. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183092 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:46:54 +0000 MrsKoala 2183092@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Wait for the shower but from my experience, people didn't buy me anything that had to do with breastfeeding. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183087 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:42:13 +0000 yoursilverlining 2183087@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@oliviaoblivia: nobody bought us diapers either - I guess we're weirdos because it does seem like everyone else and their sister gets tons of diapers at showers!</p> <p>The stuff people didn't buy us (that were on the registry) were bottles (we registered for a couple different kinds, got 1 small set of 1 kind), pacifiers, baby medicines, baby shampoo/lotions/etc., nursery art, and books were very hit or miss. My MIL bought us the crib, stroller, rocking chair, bassinet, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183086 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:42:08 +0000 LindsayInNY 2183086@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We bought the crib ahead of time. Some family members spoke up for infant car seat, for example. Otherwise we waited until after the shower and bought the stroller ourselves and whatnot. I had a fairly small baby shower and will not have a work one. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183082 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:39:51 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2183082@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You could buy the things you'll always need more of, like diapers. But if you put everything on the registry, everything's fair game for gifts! You could always buy as you see appropriate then take it off the registry. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183075 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:33:55 +0000 youboots 2183075@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You never know. I'm one of the first of my friends to CD and a group of them went in on all of my CD- which I did not expect anyone to buy. we bought our own crib because I found the exact one I wanted on Craigslist. I also bought all of the feeding stuff myself. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183061 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:26:14 +0000 Bluemasonjar 2183061@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I put a bunch of breastfeeding supplies (storage bags, lanolin, pads etc.) on our Amazon registry but no one has purchased so far. I figured I would just pick them up myself after the shower. Also haven't gotten a lot of baby meds that we put on the registry but again that is easy to pick up. </p> <p>We have actually had a lot of bigger items purchased for us. My mom is planning to buy the stroller if no one else dose. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183046 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:19:05 +0000 oliviaoblivia 2183046@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The only things people didn't buy were the grosser bodily function type stuff....nose freida, breast pads....that kind of stuff.<br /> And diapers. Everyone in the world seems to get diapers at their showers, but we got none. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2183018 Tue, 19 May 2015 11:05:42 +0000 PinkElephant 2183018@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think People tend not to buy very specific clothing, specific sheet/blanket patterns if they come in multiple colors, etc. so if you're attached to, say, particular sleep sacks or pjs, you might want to buy them before they sell out and keep the receipts. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2182987 Tue, 19 May 2015 10:54:32 +0000 psw27 2182987@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't buy anything before my shower either! I ended up buying most of my registry stuff myself afterwards since I have such a small family but my parents and ILs got me a bunch of the bigger stuff. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2182879 Tue, 19 May 2015 10:09:15 +0000 birdofafeather 2182879@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Agree with @regberadaisy:. We only bought stuff pre shower if we found a deal and/or it was something I couldn't live without! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2182808 Tue, 19 May 2015 09:27:38 +0000 Mamaof2 2182808@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would wait until after the shower.</p> <p>A few of my friends chipped in and got me the stroller and car seat and my grandma bought the crib. You just never know! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2182807 Tue, 19 May 2015 09:27:34 +0000 regberadaisy 2182807@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wouldn't buy anything until after your shower unless you got an absolute killer deal. Most likely your family will start speaking up for (hopefully big ticket!) items. Friends might go in on a big item. You might get a work shower and they might all chip in for a big ticket item.</p> <p>My ILs purchased our crib &amp; dresser, my one brother the car seat, the other the stroller and my mom the swing.</p> <p>Best to wait! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-can-i-count-on-people-not-to-buy-me#post-2182799 Tue, 19 May 2015 09:22:50 +0000 mrscobee 2182799@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We put everything we could think of on our Amazon registry (so we can get discount). But we know we won't get everything (some of it is expensive, and lots of people like to shop off the registry for babies). In your opinion, what should we count on not getting and buying ourselves (crib, car seats, strollers)? We are having two showers, and our families are generous, but we have small families, and I wouldn't call them rich or anything. Plus some of this stuff isn't as fun to buy, so I am not counting on getting all of it... What do you think? From your experience, what have you seen that people do / don't like to buy as gifts?</p> <p>I know this question could be different for everyone, but is it generally best to just start purchasing crib, car seats, strollers, etc.? </p>