How to Create a Suburban Baby Registry

Are minivans what your dreams are made of? Do thoughts of a picket fence and a backyard BBQ warm your heart? Sounds like you’re about to become a suburban family—which means you’ll need the baby gear that’s just right for your life in the ‘burbs with a little one in tow.

Figuring out the best and most useful baby registry items for suburban family living will help you make the most of your gear and your lifestyle. We’re walking you through the ins and outs of creating a suburban baby registry and sharing expert tips to help you make the right choices along the way.

Baby Registry FAQ

While there are certain things you’ll need to keep in mind when building a baby registry that’s just right for the suburbs, there are still some universal truths about registry-building that are important to know regardless of where you’ll be living. Take a peek at our Ultimate Guide to Creating Your Baby Registry for a full rundown of some of the most commonly asked questions about building a baby registry—and the answers.

Building a Suburban Baby Registry

Whether it’s finding a monitor that works in your two-story house or making sure your stroller fits in the trunk of your car, there are certain aspects of family life in the suburbs that raise some pretty specific questions when it comes to baby gear. As you build your registry and wade through what can sometimes feel like an overwhelming amount of choices, keep these four expert tips in mind to ensure you’re creating a registry with the best gear for your suburban lifestyle.

1. When It Comes to a Car Seat and Stroller, Choose Carefully

Two big registry items—your stroller and your car seat—are important pieces of gear you’re going to be using frequently throughout the first year of your little one’s life and beyond. If you’re a suburban family, you’re going to want to give choosing the best stroller and the best car seat a little extra thought. Here’s why.

Unlike city families, who use public transportation or ridesharing options and often don’t even own a car, many suburban families rely heavily on a car (or two) to get around. Think about how many times you get in and out of your car on a daily basis…and now imagine doing it with a baby in tow. You need to choose a car seat and a stroller that are going to accommodate this type of use.

Here’s what you’ll want to keep in mind when selecting these important pieces of baby gear:

• Consider a travel system. A travel system is a car seat and a stroller that are designed to be compatible. The car seat clips right into the matching stroller, making it easy to transfer your infant bucket seat (and your infant!) from the car directly to the stroller and back again. This is an especially convenient option for suburban families who are in and out of the car a few times each day. It eliminates the hassle of buckling and unbuckling your little one again and again, and solves for the issue of disturbing your (hopefully sleeping) baby to a carrier or other piece of gear every time you need to leave your car. Keep in mind that even if you don’t register for a travel system, it’s still possible to find a stroller and a car seat that work together as one—you’ll just need to make sure they’re compatible and purchase a separate adapter to connect the car seat to the stroller. Check out our infant car seat and stroller compatibility guide to figure out which top rated infant car seats and strollers work together.
• Go light. The weight of both your car seat and your stroller are important to consider if you’re a suburban family on the go. Unlike city families who rely mainly on public transportation and may only use a car seat sporadically, most suburban families carry around their car seat quite a bit. Suburban car owners also need to deal with getting a stroller in and out of their trunk. Unless you’re looking for an upper body workout on the regular, we recommend keeping weight in mind when choosing a car seat and a stroller and going for lighter options when at all possible. (Of course, this becomes tougher when you switch to a heavier infant to toddler car seat.)
• Measure, measure, measure. This may sound basic, but the last thing you want to do is set your heart on a stroller that doesn’t fit in the trunk of your car. Before you register, break out your measuring tape and get to work figuring out if the dimensions of your car’s trunk are large enough to hold your stroller of choice when it’s folded up. And while you’re at it, watch some videos of how to fold the strollers you’re thinking about adding to your registry, or go to a brick and mortar store and test them out for yourself. You’ll want to choose a stroller that fits in your car, of course, but also one that’s relatively quick and easy to fold down as you’ll be doing it a lot over the next few years.
• Add a second base. If you’re a two-car family, or plan on using friends and family for childcare help, then you’ll want to add an extra car seat base or two to your registry. Having a few bases on hand means that you won’t have to deal with a seat belt installation every time you switch cars and instead can easily pop your infant seat in and out of other cars when needed.

2. Treat Yourself

Suburban life has its perks, and more livable space is usually one of them. Use it!

Unlike city families who often need to create their baby registry with an eye on minimalism, space-saving items and multifunctional products, suburban families usually have a bit more room to spread out. That doesn’t mean you should add registry items just for the sake of adding them—but it does mean you can be a bit more lenient when it comes to the size and quantity of baby gear you may have your eye on—and you may choose to add a few extra splurges to your list if you have the space.

A few ideas:

• Add more storage items. Babies and toddlers come with a lot of stuff, and storage items are great for organizing toys, gear and more. From bins to baskets, you can never have enough storage to tame the mess. (Understatement of the year—trust us.) Definitely add some extra storage items to your registry if you have the space.
• Get a glider. A rocker or glider is a big investment, but if you have a nursery that’s large enough to accommodate one, we strongly recommend adding one to your registry. These comfy chairs are just the right spot for nursing or bottle feeding, extra cuddles or reading time. And they go well past the baby years, too—they’ll have a spot in your kiddo’s room for years to come.
• Skip the minis. Space-saving baby gear that’s designed to collapse, fold up efficiently or leave a smaller footprint is great for city families who need it, but it often comes at a price. If you’re a suburban family with room to spare, don’t hesitate to register for full-sized items like playards and baby bathtubs, as they’ll last longer and often cost you less.

3. Think About Your Space—and How You’ll Use It

And while we’re on the topic of space…It’s definitely a luxury to have some extra room when it comes to life with a new addition, but you need to think through how you’re going to use that space once baby arrives. Do you live in a larger home? You’re going to need a monitor that goes the distance. Have multiple floors? You may want to invest in duplicates of a few key pieces of gear.

A little strategic thinking around what types of items to add to your suburban baby registry can go a long way. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re creating your wish list:

• Look for baby gear that’s either light and portable or on wheels. A lightweight bouncer, a small floor seat or a playard on wheels are all great for suburban homes since they can be moved easily from room to room. The easier your gear is to move, the more mileage you’ll get out of it. And don’t forget a baby carrier—they’re perfect for calming a fussy baby while you’re walking around the house getting other things done.
• Set up a diaper changing station on every floor. If you live in a home where the bedrooms are on the second floor, climbing a flight of stairs to your little one’s nursery six times a day to change their diaper doesn’t sound like our idea of a fun time. Consider setting up a mini changing station on your first floor, too. You don’t need to go all out—adding a simple changing pad and a basket filled with diapers, wipes and diaper cream to your registry will do the trick—but this little effort will go a long way.
• Register for a monitor with a long range. If you live in a larger home, or if your room will be far away from baby’s, you may want to use a monitor to keep an eye on your little one when you’re not in the nursery. Make sure the range of the monitor you choose is long enough to go the distance.
• Don’t be afraid to double up. There’s no need to go overboard, but you may want to think about adding a few extra pieces of gear to your suburban registry to keep in separate rooms or on different floors of your home. A light, inexpensive bouncer, for example, is great to have on hand on the second floor of a home so you’ll always have a safe place for baby to hang out. Same goes for an affordable playard. Having more than one of a few practical items can make your life a little bit easier.

4. Give a Second Thought to Safety

It’s hard to imagine it before your baby arrives, but soon enough you’ll be thinking about crawling and walking instead of newborn coos and those first baby smiles. You’ll want to make sure your home is a safe space for your little one to play in and explore. Since you may be dealing with more space than a city family might be, spending a bit of time thinking about what types of safety items to add to your registry is smart.

A safety essentials kit is a good place to start when it comes to home safety; it has a little bit of everything and covers the babyproofing basics. Here are a few other items you may want to add to your list:

• Extra outlet covers
• Baby gates, depending on the size and layout of your home
• Cushy protection for hard edges and other risky spots, like corner bumpers and door slam guards
• Something to keep window blind cords out of reach
• Knob covers for the stove
• A multi-use latch for babyproofing cabinets, drawers and anywhere else you’d like to keep secure