To think your Baby Registry list should be limited after #1

This. Load of nonsense. We lived in west London for years, recently raised four kids there and have never heard of this nonsense outside of a few US friends - who also tapered their nonsense to match us!

whole event was essentially Instagram-able
Well that explains the batshit selfishness so, it's all about the "likes" - fucking ridiculous 🙄

I've never come across a baby registry before. I live in Ireland. I would buy a present if a close friend was expecting but i would be horrified to be given a 'wish list'.

I have never heard of a baby registry. When I was expecting DD1, my parents (who had been apart for nearly 20 years) clubbed together to buy the pram, PIL bought the cot and we bought the matching changing table/chest of drawers. DM bought DD1 a highchair for her first Christmas (at 3 months old she didn't need anything else). All of these did DD2 as well. We borrowed Moses baskets for both DDs and someone gave us their old steriliser
Twenty five years on, the pram is in the garage. It ended up in the attic of our previous house and we moved in February 2020 and didn't have a chance to donate it to charity before lockdown. DD1 is about to get married and they are very keen to have children so we have decided to hang onto it for them to use when they visit us (friends have also borrowed it for their grandchildren).

I have been to 2 or 3 baby showers over the years but they have always been in someone's house with everyone bringing a plate of sandwiches or cakes, and they have been used as an excuse for a get together and to play some silly games. We generally took a small token gift for either baby/babies (one was a twin pregnancy) or mum (e.g. toiletries, bibs, dribble cloths).
Someone I know is due soon and recently had a baby shower (I wasn't invited but saw the photos on social media and was gifted a left-over favour afterwards). It took place in an expensive hotel with balloon arches, a massive cake and a posh afternoon tea with an expensive pram in the background of photos.

💐Sorry for the loss of your little DD

Any sort of gift registry seems like very bad taste to me. UK.

I've even seen influencers put a wishlist /registry lists for their fans. It's really that common. This is why I wondered if it was general.

Say sorry what? People are trying to get total strangers to shell out for stuff the want for their baby? Please tell don't actually buy baby gifts for these grifters.

I’m mid 30’s. Never been given a baby wish list. Nor do I get a present for a baby shower. I give a small gift (like a baby grow and small toy/book) when the baby is born. Not a chance I’d be participating in a wishlist.

Ah. "Instagram -able".
This is what it's about.

Hey OP, I'd also love to understand what culture/sub culture you mean. You mentioned london. Can you shed any more light? I'm, London, early 40s and have friends /colleagues/relatives with new babies from a fairly broad range of demographis and have never heard of a registry.

@horseplay12

so sorry to hear that.

i must admit I followed the tradition for dd1 of no pram in the house before baby is born, i bought it from a local department store (before they all closed down in recent years) and you paid a deposit, they kept it and you collected after baby was born paying the balance, considered tempting fate to collect, I hardly bought anything prior and borrowed essentials

I’ve never seen a registry list ever, they are not mainstream in the uk. Generally people ask you what you would like if close family and friends just buy clothes once baby is born

Stop the world, I want to get off.

Ffs this is insane.

I never buy a gift for an unborn child - my DD died at 2 days old and it was hard enough having the things we’d bought for her prior to birth without other gifts to deal with too.
baby showers are nonsense IMHO, I certainly wouldn’t pay £60 for a set meal unless I wanted to go to that restaurant and could afford it anyway.
baby registry- absolutely no way.

I just bought what we needed, then relatives and some friends kindly gifted something that had caught their eye or appealed to them and gave it once baby arrived. Sometimes I already had it, but just said thank you - and most of it was lovely.

There was certainly no orchestrated masterplan of allocating acquisitions to others. I find that a bit unpleasant - and a slightly odd focus with a new arrival.

I always tend to think that with gifts on MN though. Within our immediate family we ask DC (and I ask DH) if there is a gift they would like, but other than that I leave it up to the giver. Otherwise it morphs from a gift to some kind of tax on the friendship I think. However, I know many on MN are in favour of explaining what they will happily receive - especially to their MIL. And woe betide the MIL who "veers" off-script ...

How greedy and wasteful. I’ve always bought things my children need. Not go begging. In laws bought us a pram as they offered and that’s about it! Was able to reuse most after number 1.

I've never come across this before, a kind of extreme generosity? Like pp, with my first, people gave clothes or toys when they came to visit. I can't say I was inundated.
Neither of us had parents, so we bought most of it ourselves. Not a complaint, just a fact.
I think over the years I've given babygros or towels or a blanket for friends' babies.

I'm sure it was easy enough to give baby clothes and toys to charity.

Who the fuck are you hanging around with? Never heard of this

YANBU. Personally I think it's rude and grabby to ask people for presents at all.

Probably the sort of people who have an event whenever there's a chance of making money, they'll no doubt be having 'gender reveal £££', 'baby shower £££', etc to monetise their totally original skill in the new fangled skill of having a baby!

What a load of nonsense. Baby registry? Money grabbing more like…