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My mom swore by having a Johnny Jump Up when my sister and I were little. It was one of the first things we registered for. Also, what about an activity mat or rock'n'play? I know that LO is still a newborn but I adore our rock'n'play.

We actually were gifted a Johnny jump up for Christmas but have yet to set up. Ds LoveSssess his boppy circus play gym. It has little rings on it so I can attach all kinds of toys to it so he doesn't get bored. It is fantastic!!

@shopaholic: I will say that the r'n'p is very portable and light, so if you plan on taking baby to grandparents' houses or friends for a longer visit, that might be worth it. DH's parents live about an hour away, and we'll do to their place for several hours, and this way LO has a familiar place to nap and rest.

@shopaholic: we have a snugabunny swing, rock n play and bouncer and they ALL get used. LO sleeps in the Rock N Play at night next to our bed. And we bring it with us to friend's houses so she has a place to nap or just chill out. The swing we use during the day when I'm doing stuff downstairs. She loves to hang out in there and watch the mobile. And then I use the bouncer if I want to be able to move her around. For instance she sits in it while I shower and get ready in the morning. She has reflux so the bouncer is awesome because it keeps her upright.

We bought a bouncer and swing. Thought the rock and play was redundant. Benji hates the bouncer.

I saw the rock and play on sale for $30 on amazon and decided to buy it and check it out since returns are free.

I AM IN LOVE. So is benji. He sleeps so much better in it than the crib and I can put it right next to the bed. I drag it to the living room during the daytime and will set him in it if I need my hands free to check the mail, put dinner in the oven etc.

Like maisymay and mamamoose said its great to take with you if you are visiting others. Personally I would skip the bouncer and get the rnp instead.

We didn't get a jumper because our ped recommended against them. But we are thinking about getting an exersaucer so that my DD can spend a few minutes in it while I prepare dinner and stuff. So I would say nay to the jumper for now. Can you buy some of this stuff later on or did you want to take advantage of your registry completion discount?

@travelingbrit: My ped recommended against it because she's seen many babies with hip/joint problems due to jumpers. I don't know the specifics but she mentioned something about how jumpers cause the babies to put too much pressure on their toes, which isn't natural and is bad for development. She said they're ok as long as your baby doesn't spend too much time on it (no more than 10 minutes at a time, a few times a day). If you're going to use it sparingly, it should be ok though! If we received one as a gift, I might use it sparingly but I'm not planning to go out and buy one myself.

@shopaholic: Yeah, talk to your ped and see what he/she says. My ped tends to be more conservative than most so I don't know how common these hip problems really are.

@shopaholic: My DH is a terrible sleeper too, I ended up kicking him out of our room for 3 weeks when she was a newborn and he slept in the guest room! I wanted her in our room (in the bassinet from our Britax or our PnP) until we hit our groove. We also had the SnugABunny swing in our room for a few weeks because she sleps the most in that thing and I needed the rest.

Let me think what I have in that price range on my registry.

Nursing cover ($70-80ish, the Dria one)
Activity gym (Skip Hop treetop friends one)
Bouncer (Babybjorn babysitter bouncer)
Swing (graco swing frame)
R'n'P (snugamonkey)
Baby food maker (beaba)
Baby carriers (ergo, moby, ktan, etc)
Monitor (angelcare movement monitor)
Diaper pail (mine's for cloth though)
Ear thermometer (the Braun Thermoscan one)
Shopping cart cover (the itzy ritzy one)
Car seat cover (also itzy ritzy)
Nursing stool (wood, medela brand I think)
Diaper bag (a timi & leslie one, around $100)

Check out the go-pod. It is $50ish. We have bouncers and jumpers but I'm considering it for when we go camping and for sticking in the kitchen or bathroom once they are mobile. It folds up pretty small, which would be way nicer for day to day storing than our massive jumperoo.

@shopaholic: Re: Thermometers - Our hospital had a great temporal one that they would just swipe across the forehead. I saw one at a store for less than $30 and am so tempted to get it...more for DH than for LO!