apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Does anyone have tips regarding putting together a baby registry? One challenge I've run into is that many of the sites that seem to have cute, well-designed gear have a limited selection, necessitating registry and multiple sites if one chooses to go that route. In the interest of having just one registry, I decided to use Amazon, but am daunted by the sheer volume of products there are to wade through. Where to start? Are there certain vendors people recommend so that I can narrow the search? Any must-have product recommendations?

Tsubaki, one place to start might be Meredith's "Registry Paralysis" thread, here:
http://nursery.apartmenttherapy.com/nursery/good-questions/good-questions-baby-registry-022306

I had my baby shower a couple of weeks ago and ran into a surprising issue. About half of what I registered for could only be purchased online. Most of my friends and family are last-minute shoppers so I got everything that could be bought in-store and only one gift that was online only and that's because it was a gift from someone who wasn't attending the shower! I ended up with gifts that I didn't register for - most of them I returned and then used the credit to purchase what we actually needed.

My sister helped me registered since she's a mom and could give me advice on what we would need and what we really do not need. Do you have a friend who could help you out with your registry?

there's always www.thethingsiwant.com where you can create a wishlist of items from any site. you set up a button on your toolbar and when you're looking at products on a website you simply click the button "add to the things i want". so if you like a crib from ikea, bedding from modernseed and toys from mahar drygoods you can convey that to friends and family in one convenient list.

I think this must be a fairly American thing - we don't have baby showers or 'registries' in England (or not that I know of). Whilst it's probably a very practical thing to ensure that people buy you the things you really need or want I personally prefer the surprise of receiving a gift that was chosen by the giver. If it's totally hideous it can usually be returned to the store and exchanged but I was very lucky - everything I received when I had my daughter in 2001 was gorgeous - from cute little Baby Gap outfits and cuddly toys right through to a simply amazing Baby Dior outfit from my parents (which I most definitely would never have had the nerve to ask for). Friends and family were extremely generous and kind and I would have felt very awkward indeed providing a list of gifts for them to choose from - it would feel rather cynical to me but maybe I'm old-fashioned (or stupid!).

I've just re-read my post and it might seem rather judgemental - I think what I was attempting to say was that rather than stressing over where to have your registry and what to have on it why not just leave people free to buy whatever they choose?