The Baby Registry Chronicles, Part 1: Things That Seem Frivolous But You Actually Need

The first in an ongoing series on Baby Registry Must Have and Have Nots! The products below (one at the low end of the price spectrum, the other at the high end) at first glance may sound unnecessary, but have proven invaluable at our house. Both are still being used regularly a year after Teddy was born!

Skip Hop Moby Bath Kneeler

Sounds silly. Like you really need a cushion for your knees. But before you get smug, spent 20 minutes wrestling a slippery infant away from an eyeful of soap while kneeling on TILE. Mama’s too old for that. This knee pad is cute, compact, and keeps those knees pain-free, night after night.

Skip Hop also makes a Bath Kneeler in Gray exclusively for Pottery Barn (which is the one we have) if bright colors offend you as much as they offend me.

Hatch Baby Grow Smart Changing Pad and Scale

Oh my God I could talk about this thing forever. I actually DID talk about it forever during a Mommy & Me class a few months ago, and one of the other Moms actually went home that day and ordered it, if that tells you anything. Essentially, this is an amazing multitasking product which functions as a traditional diaper changing pad with a built-in, wireless smart scale. Yes that’s right, it’s a changing table that weighs your baby.

As any brand new Mom knows, one of the scariest things about a newborn is making sure they’re gaining enough weight (most babies actually LOSE weight after they are born). The Hatch Baby Grow has an app connected to your smart phone, so you simply place your baby on the pad, the scale weighs them, and then records the number into your phone. If you weigh your baby before and after nursing, it will actually tell you how much milk the baby consumed. I know. I am blowing your mind right now.

But wait! There’s more! After recording the weight, the app will tell you what weight percentile your baby is in. You can enter their length and find out the same information. Gone are the days of anxiously waiting between doctors appointments to find out how you baby is growing.

The app can be shared with multiple smartphones, and also has functions to record sleep and diaper counts for your baby. So if you’re a working Mom whose baby is with a nanny during the day, you can literally log into the app on your phone during a boring meeting and see if your baby has pooped yet, or how long their nap was.

In terms of functionality as a changing pad, the Hatch Baby Grow is sleek and cool looking, and is made of soft, wipeable foam. So you don’t need to waste money & time cleaning those silly covers that people put over traditional changing pads. If (sorry, WHEN) your baby pees and poops all over the changing pad, you can just wipe it with a baby wipe. Easy Peasy. I can’t say enough good things about the Hatch Baby Grow. If they make a new version, I’ll probably buy it. That’s how much I love it.

What items have you loved from your registry? Share in the comments!

You could be sleeping through the night
next week.