When it comes to creating your baby registry, you’re probably feeling excited and a bit overwhelmed. After all, there are so many products on the market catered toward newborns, babies and toddlers, and hundreds (sometimes thousands!) of options to choose from in every category. Where to even begin? We suggest starting with What to Expect's Baby Registry Builder, which suggests the best registries and baby gear for you, based on your answers to a few quick questions.

The good news is that modern-day registries make it easier than ever to weed out the don’t-needs and nice-to-haves and navigate directly to the must-haves, which will seriously come in handy in the days, weeks and months after you welcome your little bundle of joy into this world.

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Whether this is your very first registry, or you’re familiar with the process from your wedding-planning days, you’re probably looking for one that’s easy to use, efficient, educational and compatible with just about all the items you’re looking to add. While there are plenty of stores selling baby products, each touting their own registry, you’re probably looking to add a variety of brands sold at a myriad of stores.

Luckily, with Babylist, you can do just that! This means that chic wall decor you love from Etsy, the too-cute-to-handle bunny bedding from Pottery Barn and the jumbo pack of diapers you want from Costco can all find a home side-by-side on your Babylist registry. How cool, right?

The benefits of a Babylist baby registry

Hello Baby Box: When you register with Babylist, you can score a free Hello Baby Box, which is filled with amazing samples and offers for parents-to-be and new babies from coveted brands. Not only are free products always a plus, but the Hello Baby Box is a great way to familiarize you with items and brands that you might fall in love with and then want to add to your registry. There are a few things you have to do to qualify for the Hello Baby Box: create a Babylist registry that contains at least three items from the Babylist store and three items from others stores, make a minimum purchase of $30 or more from the Babylist store and pay the $8.95 standard shipping fee. Easy peasy!

Ease of use: If you’re familiar with Pinterest, you’ll have no trouble figuring out how to use Babylist, since it works in a very similar way. You simply add anything you want to your registry, pulling from any website you want. Many items, however, can be found by shopping directly on Babylist’s website. In fact, they even have a variety of products not sold on larger retail sites such as Amazon, including the Nuna Pipa and Rava car seats, two popular What to Expect Awards finalists.

Tech-savvy features: Of course Babylist has an app — and it’s seriously amazing. Not only does it let you access your registry from anywhere you have cell service, but it lets you easily search for a product and then add it directly to your registry. To make things even easier for you, Babylist’s search section shows you an array of the 12 most popular baby-item-selling stores (from Amazon and Target to Baby Gap and Carter’s), so you can hop right onto their sites with the Babylist app running in the background. Once you're on those sites, the “Add to Babylist” button remains on the bottom of your screen, so you can craft your registry easily on the go. What’s more: If you’re browsing for items on your computer or laptop and want an easy way to add them to your Babylist registry, you can install a Babylist extension button to your Chrome browser. It lets you add items to your registry from any store with the click of the button.

Price comparison: For every item you add to your registry, Babylist will show various buying options so that those purchasing the items can score the best deal. And to keep you completely in the loop, Babylist’s price comparison feature will send you email alerts whenever prices change or something becomes available (or no longer available) on your registry.

Non-material gift options: Let’s be honest — some of the best gifts you can get in the days, weeks, months and years after welcoming a new baby into your life can’t be purchased in stores. That’s why Babylist created a Helps and Favors feature, which allows you to add non-material items to your registry so your village can support you with more than just physical gifts. Add-on options include a home-cooked meal, help with house cleaning, preloved baby books and clothes, and dog walking and babysitting assistance, or you can simply create your own with a blank coupon. It gives you the chance to get creative and ask for whatever it is you really need. Babylist also allows you to create cash funds, like a college or adoption fund, so friends and family can contribute any amount they choose towards these important big-ticket costs. They pay with a debit or credit card and Babylist transfers the money to your PayPal account.

Link to other registries: Already registered at another site? No biggie. Babylist allows you to add other registries to easily link or transfer them to your Babylist registry so they’re all in one place and easy to find for those giving you gifts.

15 percent registry discount: Babylist offers a one-time 15 percent registry discount, something you’re eligible for in the 60 days before your baby’s estimated due date. Once you’re eligible, a redemption link will appear on your registry that's valid for up to six months after your baby’s expected arrival. While it’s worth noting that the Babylist registry discount only applies to items sold on Babylist, it’s still a much-appreciated perk.

How to create a Babylist baby registry

When you get to Babylist you will immediately be given the option to either start a new registry of your own or find a registry. And if you already have an account, there’s a quick and easy login link. Once you click on “Start Your Babylist,” you will be taken to a page that asks you details about your adventure, whether you’re pregnant, going through an adoption or surrogacy, or still trying to conceive.

If you select “pregnancy,” you will be taken to another page that asks your due date. From there, you’re guided to a sign-up page where you’ll share your first and last name, email address and a password you’ll choose. And boom! Your registry has been created.

Using your Babylist baby registry

Using the Babylist registry is the easiest part. Don’t know where to start? Take their checklist quiz, which will give you a personalized list of baby gear that’s tailored to your specific lifestyle and needs. From there, you can simply add individual items to your registry or add them all with the click of a button.

While you can, of course, add anything to your Babylist registry, their store can be super helpful too. It’s broken up into categories (i.e. strollers, car seats, carriers, playroom, nursery, etc.) and they also have a “Popular Registry Items” list that features some of their best sellers.

If you need a little 411, they have a Baby Registry 101 section that gives you the scoop on all the baby essentials. They have dozens of guides that inform new moms and dads about what they should be looking for when it comes to each individual baby gear item.

Pros

  • Freedom to add registries together
  • Free samples in the Hello Baby Box
  • Price comparison makes it easier to save

Cons

  • More strict return policy than some retailers

Our review

There’s a reason most of your expecting and new-parent friends all rave about Babylist. It’s easy to use and there’s pretty much nothing it doesn’t allow you to do. It makes the whole registry process seamless, as it should be.

We’re not going to lie, it’s hard to find a drawback when it comes to a registry that allows you to do pretty much anything. Perhaps if you’re a huge fan of a particular store, you may find it more efficient to register there. But again, you can do that and still have a Babylist registry by adding them together on Babylist.

We think their return policy is fair, but it’s worth noting that you’re unable to return gifts purchased on Babylist past nine months of purchase.