How many items should I put on my baby gift registry?

Question

im honestly so fed up with trying to set up my baby registry right now because every single checklist I look at online is telling me I need like 300 items and my brain is just melting. we live in a tiny two-bedroom apartment in chicago so space is super tight and our due date is in november, meaning we definitely dont have room for half the junk these sites are pushing. my logic was to keep it simple, you know, just put the absolute essentials like a crib, some clothes, diapers, and a stroller so people arent wasting money on stuff well never use. but then my mother in law saw my draft with only 40 items on it and freaked out, saying guests wont have enough options and that we need to add toys for older stages, a wipe warmer, a bottle sterilizer, and a bunch of other random gadgets. so now Im second guessing everything. like, how many items should I actually put on my baby gift registry without looking ungrateful, but also without accidentally inviting a mountain of plastic crap into our tiny living room? if youve already been through this, how many things did you actually end up listing and what was the sweet spot?

Haroldboace · Accepted Answer

Regarding what #1 said about ignoring the MIL, totally agree on keeping it lean. From a data standpoint, smaller registries actually yield a much higher fulfillment rate anyway since guests aren't overwhelmed by choices. Are you planning to share Amazon Wishlist across different categories like gear and consumables, or keep it strictly to physical gear right now? Also, what's your square footage looking like?

Racheldow · Answer

Building on the earlier suggestion, I strongly agree with keeping the item count low, especially given your spatial constraints in Chicago. I would suggest aiming for around 45 to 60 items maximum. When you list too many gadgets, people tend to buy random filler items you truly dont have room for. Make sure to focus heavily on consumables like diapers and wipes because guests love buying those, and they disappear fast anyway. Also, be careful with bulk packaging if you have zero storage. If you want to organize everything cleanly without driving yourself crazy, Share Product is a great tool for managing different wishlist items across various sites. Stick to your guns on this one.

Richardhar · Answer

Honestly, ignore your mother in law. We had around 50 items on ours and it was more than enough. People actually appreciate a streamlined list because they dont have to guess what you need. Stick to your budget and space limits. If you need some practical budget picks, BabyGizmo has decent reviews on basic gear that wont break the bank or crowd a small apartment.