16 Clever Items to Add to Your Baby Registry That Aren’t Actually For Baby

One of the parenting upgrades I made in the early postpartum period was swapping our lights to these smart plugs. Five years later and I can’t imagine life without them. They come in handy when you’re nap trapped (or simply exhausted!) and forgot to turn off the lights. You control them right from your phone via the Kasa app and they also connect to smart home devices (like the next pick).

If you get a bunch of smart plugs, you’re going to need a smart home hub like this Echo to take the convenience up a notch. Instead of controlling the lights from your phone, have Alexa do it for you. A lot of parents on the Babylist team also love these for bedtime stories, dance parties and streaming white noise in a pinch.

A good night light is essential for middle of the night feeds and diaper changes. This one features an innovative flip design, so when it’s time to turn it off you simply turn it over and it shuts off. It’s got a soft, squishy design and is completely touch-operated (no buttons). Having a few plug in night lights in your bathroom or kitchen comes in handy, too.

Most of the prep during pregnancy revolves around getting ready for the baby. But it’s also important to remember yourself. This kit comes with some of the postpartum essentials you need to make recovery more comfortable like a peri bottle, disposable underwear, ice packs and healing foam. (If you’re having a planned C-section, they also have a kit perfectly curated for cesarean recovery.)

A showerhead attachment can be a real game-changer for new parents, particularly when it comes to bathtime and hair washing. They’re also helpful if you don’t have a bathtub in your home because you can detach them and bathe baby in your shower, whether they’re in a tub or a bath seat.

This is one of those products that if you know, you know. Many parents rave about how helpful a bidet is for freshening up during pregnancy and postpartum.

A waterproof mattress protector will save your mattress from postpartum night sweats, breastmilk leaks, formula spills, diaper leaks and spit up. Get one for your bed, baby’s bed, all the beds.

It took becoming a parent to really appreciate an easy yet delicious crockpot meal. Our Place’s Dream Cooker is a multi-cooking tool that does it all and has made making weeknight dinners less of a task.

Your baby will be on the move before you know it, and it’s amazing how good they’ll be at spotting the tiniest crumb, dirt or pile of dust on your floor. Let a robot vacuum help keep your floors tiny-explorer ready.

This little machine will save your couch from all the spills and accidents (think spit-up, breast milk, formula and blowouts). I also recommend stocking up on Folex spot remover and Miss Mouth’s Messy Eater stain spray for effortless spot cleaning and treating.

Many parents agree that they’ve never been as hungry as they were in the early newborn days. Having a healthy, filling easy breakfast makes mornings much easier after a long night with a newborn. I’ve been subscribed to Daily Harvest since my second baby was born (she’s now three) and it helped take some of the pressure and work out of feeding myself so I could take care of my baby. It’s a meal delivery service that offers a bunch of healthy, fruit and veggie-forward foods like smoothies, harvest bowls, oatmeal bows and more. There are a bunch of ways to customize your delivery—from the number of items per shipment to how often you receive them—so you can really tailor it to what works for your budget. I mainly used it for oatmeal postpartum because oatmeal is a common galactagogue (a science-y term for certain ingredients, found in things like lactation cookies and smoothies, that can help boost milk production).

I can’t express how much I looked forward to that first, hot sip of coffee in the morning after a long night of waking up with a newborn. If you too need your coffee after a sleepless night, consider registering for a nice machine. A single serve machine means you won’t have to wait for a full carafe to brew. And if homemade lattes are more your jam, consider a Nespresso!

If you’re planning on breastfeeding, this kit features eight products to help ease the transition and make things more comfortable as you and your baby learn how to do it. The Latch Kit includes a nipple cream, milk catchers, a supplemental nursing system, colostrum bottle and nipple shields—and they’re wrapped up in a cute reusable bag. There are helpful tutorials for each product, too. Simply scan the QR codes included with the kit for bite-sized how-to videos.

You will take thousands upon thousands of photos of your tiny baby—and you may have a hard time narrowing it down to your favorite once your phone memory maxes out (since they’re all the same but different enough). One of my favorite photo hacks was making monthly photo books with both of my kids’ first years. It’s super easy to upload your photos from your camera roll or Instagram and Chatbooks will compile it into a photo book for you. 

In the early, sleepy newborn days, you’ll likely be spending a lot of time doing skin-to-skin, bonding, feeding and contact napping. Which is also the perfect opportunity to catch up on your shows. 

Amazon is a go-to for late night panic orders and for the random things you realize you need along the way. Unfortunately, there isn’t a straightforward way to gift an Amazon Prime subscription, but what you can do is register for an Amazon gift card for the cost of the subscription—$139 for a year—and use it to set up a subscription yourself.