How to Register for Your Baby Shower

Much like when you're getting married, creating the registry is one of those things that sound like so much fun. Creating a huge master list of all the things you'd really like to have sounds wonderful, right? That is until you get to the store and realize how completely overwhelming it is to figure out what colors, styles, and accessories you want for every area in your home. Same goes for registering for your baby shower--it's a mammoth task! Now for the first time motherhood bites you and you realize that you are solely responsible for this little baby's very being. You need to find every item that they could ever possibly need, and you don't even know where to start.

I remember the first time my husband I stepped into one of the infamous baby superstores. I was so excited and though it was early on in my pregnancy, I just wanted to see what it was all about. I also remember that as I stood in front of the bottle area that literally had an entire wall of different brands, types, sizes, and colors of bottles that I began to cry. Of course part of it was the hormones being out of control, but I realized just how overwhelming the task of registering was going to be. I had no idea what I was doing, this was not about picking out plates but rather all of the things that would help my baby's development and allow me to take the best care of her possible. Wow, I was in overdrive!

Here are a couple of things that helped me, and I've passed on these tips that seem to help other moms to be that come across that overwhelming moment.

*Register in phases--don't try to do it all at once. First of all you are already exhausted as a huge pregnant woman, and standing for any length of time can be hard on your feet. If you live relatively close to the store you will register for, go for certain items and do the registering process in phases. Bite off little bits of it at a time so as not to get way overtired or overwhelmed in trying to do it all at once.

*Do some of your registering online. Once you've done a walkthrough of the store and begun the process, keep adding to your registry online. This not only saved me trips and wear and tear on my growing body, but it allowed me to do some research. I looked up comparisons and reviews so that I was sure to add the best items or the most valuable items in each category. This worked wonders for me!

*Take a recent mom with you on one of the trips. I took my mom with me to register initially and she was very helpful and patient to get the process going. I also found that taking my friend who has three young children of her own was a big help. She could look at each item or category and honestly tell me what the must have items were versus the nice to have--and also the items that I would surely never use and therefore would collect dust in the nursery. If you have any friends or family with young children, take them with you to help the registering process.

*Determine a theme or color scheme ahead of time. Even if you are not finding out the gender of your baby, figure out what you plan to do with the nursery. If you are going with green, pink, blue, teddy bears, little bugs, or whatever theme or color you choose, knowing this ahead of time can make the registering process so much easier. You can select accessories for the nursery and fun little items that will match or complement your selected palette or theme. This is a great way to pull everything together. My daughter will either love or hate pink and chocolate brown when she gets older--it's everywhere!

*Think of the big and small items, and use a checklist whenever possible. Sure you will think of the stroller, crib, and high chair--but will you remember that the baby will need an extra set of crib sheets, or even bath toys. I heard the rule of thumb when we were registering to put everything on the wish list that the child would need from birth to age three. This sounds crazy but it's so nice as my baby gets older to pull from the surplus of items that we have to take her through potty training.

People are so generous when it comes to baby showers, and they truly want to get you items to make your transition to motherhood an easy one. If you go into registering with some ideas in mind and use these tips, this once overwhelming task can become a fun and easy one.