When it came time to registering for LittleFit, I was seriously overwhelmed. Having been to many showers, I knew to stick to the registry but never thought about what went into creating said list. Here are my five top tips for making it less painful and more enjoyable when deciding what to get for your expanding family.

1. Register with a friend that is also a mom with lots of mom friends, if you can.

I went with my sister to register who has two kids. Her most recent was born in August and has been to more showers than anyone I know. Heading to the nearest Buy Buy Baby with her left me with more questions. While it was nice to see the products on the floor and be able to test how heavy or smooth items were, I wanted to look at online reviews for the ones that I liked. You kind of needed to go in already narrowed down to two options. Smaller stores like Tadpole and Magic Beans are much more helpful than BBB from experience.

2. Look at a friends’ recent baby registry online

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Another one of the best tips I received was to look at friends’ recent registries but the control freak I am, I needed to do my own research. Where did she register for this and not that? It was helpful for sure and since I registered on Amazon, it was easy to just click a product on another registry and add to mine.

3. Crowd source using social media

I used this one on my Facebook fan page but you can do it on your own personal page, too. I found that when someone recommended a great product, other mom would go and give the item a thumbs up making it easy to see which ones were the most popular. Instagram and Facebook are probably your best bets. Don’t be like me and forget to write down the top recommended items. I also had friend’s email me suggestions after seeing my call for help on social media.

4. Check out websites like Lucie’s List and Baby Gear Lab

Lucie’s List is great and sends out regular emails with sassy attitude and helpful information. They often give product reviews that are unbiased and provide suggestions for different price points. Baby Gear Lab pits products against each other and ranks them in addition to what appear to be unbiased reviews. I found this website through google and used it for a variety of products but mainly my pack and play.

5. Attend a Baby Expo

I wish that I had been able to go to an event like the Biggest Baby Shower before my own shower to see the products in action, demonstrated by experts. .

I snagged a ticket to the Biggest Baby Shower hosted by Big City Moms last week. It features 100 of the best companies in the baby industry. It’s a one stop shop to test out, touch, feel and get educated on everything you can possibly need for your growing family. You also get to mingle with other expectant and new parents while enjoying sweet treats, mocktails and more in an elegant setting.

I did not register for a high chair and was able to check them out from Stokke and also OXO. You don’t need one until your baby is about 6 months so I have a while to get one, but living in the city, we prefer to get things as we need them.

OXO has a really cool high chair which of course is out of frame of the picture below but can be seen here, and it is coming out in a bunch of new colors! I never would have known if I hadn’t gone to the event.

Since I plan to travel with LittleFit, a travel friendly crib is really important for me. The Baby Bjorn pack and play is the lightest in it’s class and finally I was able to see it in action, learn how to fold it and how compact it really can get for flying.

I also couldn’t decide between the Momaroo and Rockaroo and side by side was able to compare the two items and ask the brand reps for their take on what would be best for us. I registered for the Rockaroo but may switch to the Momaroo… but ultimately, LittleFit will decide which one is king.

I was slightly surprised at how many people were at the even held at the Back Bay Events Center. I got there right at 5:30pm and there was already a line! This is mostly because VIP tickets gave you early access in addition to a killer swag bag that included big ticket items like strollers! Ticket prices range based on swag bags and access.

I also learned more about Cord Blood Banking as well as how to “wear a baby” and test out a few carriers. We didn’t see the snack room filled with cupcakes, sweetgreen samples and more until the end but it all looked delicious!

There were also plenty of seminars including discussions on things like registry must haves and how to survive the first year. I wanted to go to the later but it was at 8:15pm and I was starving by 7:30… when you’re pregnant, you listen to your hunger.

I pretty much have everything or know everything that I want except for what rocking chair I should get. Any suggestions?