It’s time to register for baby! Don’t you just love that bright pink, sparkly, flowery diaper bag? We do too! But, er, daddy might not. So, how do you decide between a bag you LOVE and a bag that you can both use? Do you go for one mutually agreed upon bag or one for each of you (OMG! I can have the sparkles?!)? Our Bumpies on the September 2013 Birth Month Board shared their thoughts on man bags.

“We almost got my husband his own (actually put it on the registry), but we ended up with one. It’s girly (it’s a Petunia Picklebottom), but he has no problem using it when needed.  t would be so much work to have two, I think. I keep an emergency diaper/wipe kit in each of our cars, but otherwise, we just use the one diaper bag.” – a2003tige*

“We registered for two and each picked out one. That said, the plan is to have one be the primary one and keep the other stashed in the car so we always have one.” – foxyroxy

“I saw an amazing “dad bag” at Burlington that we plan to register for him for. It’s made by fisher price and is actually a diaper back pack, it has a special slot for immediate diaper wipe access, it’s so cool!” -- LilPez

“We always two. You don’t want him to feel awkward if yours is frilly.” – luminousb

“We just have one. Mine is very girlie. My husband doesn’t really care. If he and our son are gong to go someplace for a long time where he would really need to be “carrying” my bag, he puts the stuff into something else. But a lot of times he will just take my bag and leave it in the car.” – RunningGal

“I would never want to try to keep 2 bags stocked and ready to go and switching stuff back and forth sounds like too much effort. My husband takes our one and only bag when he takes her places. It’s gray and yellow, but it is a more feminine print. He couldn’t care less.” – AshleyPT

“My husband will have a backpack with everything he needs. He would never carry a diaper bag!” – mgerman

“My husband is looking forward to his manbag!! I am going to going to get him one for father’s day this year.” – NicknShan

*Some names have been changed.

You tell us: Will you or do you have a daddy-friendly diaper bag?

Plus, more from The Bump:

How to Get Your Partner Involved (and Excited!) About Baby’s Registry

10 Fun Gifts for Your Registry

Skip and Splurge: What You Need and What You Don’t!

After making it through the first year, I can now look back on that inaugural visit and laugh. These days, I’m in Babies R Us approximately once every 13 hours, and I’ve had the layout of the infant section tattooed on my left forearm so I never need to ask where to find pouches of organic prunes or Dr. Brown nipples.

There are items that, urged by other moms, I registered for, only to have them languish in their packaging for months and months. Other items were procured in the first months after our daughter was born and were immediate winners.

Learn from me and be sure to snag the following:

1. A continuous sound machine. The “continuous” part here is key: Most popular baby sound machines shut off after 15, 30 or 60 minutes. In the beginning, we relied on the Sleep Sheep and the instant the rain stopped drizzling or the ocean waves stopped crashing, our baby stopped napping. My mother-in-law suggested the Sound Oasis, which you can set to a “Continuous” setting. Get one.  

2. Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes. A veteran mom (twins plus one on the way at the time) gave us this and promised us we would soon come to rely on it. I have since bought myself a 20-inch lightweight chain and looped it through the multicolored plastic handle so I can wear it around my neck like some sort of protective anti-wailing amulet. In the beginning, when the babe was freaking out in the backseat of the car and I had no idea what to do, I would switch on Baby Einstein and hurl my arm backwards, holding it inches from her face…and, like magic, the crying would stop. I only wish it had a continuous function (See above.)

3. My Brest Friend. This thing basically became a postpartum physical appendage. I loved it so much more than the Bobby, because the Brest Friend Velcros around your waist, acting almost like a lumbar support (and believe me, considering a new mom slouches more than a preteen boy hunkered over his Xbox 360 as he embarks on Hour 8 of Madden NFL, you will need lumbar support.) I wore My Best Friend pretty much 24-7; the look was completed by a half-open nursing tank and a Nick Nolte mug shot hairdo. Warning: You will come to associate the sound of Velcro with your baby crying for food, and the next thing you know, you’ll be letting down at the gym when the dude next to you straps on his weightlifting gloves.

4. Nose Frida SnotSucker. As Shelleybean3333 put it on amazon.com, this is “the grossest thing you will ever love.” While pregnant, I scoffed at the notion of sucking boogers out of an infant’s nose. Then, I tried that blue rubber bulb and realized it was like writing a term paper using the Dewey Decimal System when the internets are just a click away. Sure, the deep, sustained inhaling will make you sound like you are an extra in Dazed and Confused, but much like picking scabs or popping zits, you will love the rush of achievement that comes from clearing your kiddo’s nasal passages with nothing more than a good, strong inhale.

5. The First Years Breastflow Milk Storage Organizer. If your supply is good, once you start pumping, you will quickly begin filling bags to store. These bins squeeze the bags so they freeze flat and take up less room, then corral them so you don’t have breast milk packages obscuring your frozen pizzas or fighting for space with your ice cream.

6. Puj Hug Hands-free Hooded Infant Towel. Sure, it’s great if you have a partner nearby to help bathe the bambino, but sometimes baby decides to squeeze a packet of Justin’s Almond Butter into her palms and then rub her fingers through her hair when your partner is still at work. (Not that this exact situation happened or anything. Twice.) The biggest trick: How to extract a tiny, squiggling wet human from the bath and transfer her into a towel without dropping her or drenching yourself. Enter the Puj Hug. Simply connect the two tabs attached to the towel behind your neck with the hood facing out. You can now bend over, grab Squirmy McGee to your chest, then give the towel a quick tug to release it so it can quickly wrap it around the baby. (Note: I have not actually tried the Hug, as it’s just hitting shelves as we speak. But it sure would have come in handy on Tuesdays nights when my husband plays basketball and bath time is just me, baby, and Pandora Sesame Street.)

7. Wine. I wish I had registered for wine. Lots and lots of wine — after baby’s arrival.

Things you can do without:

1. Nail clippers. Save yourself $7 and use what you have at home.

2. Wipe warmer. Unless your nursery is located inside an igloo, Junior’s tush will not get frostbite from room temperature wipes.

3. Mittens. Much easier to use long-sleeved shirts with mitts attached.

4. Sterilizing bags. We used these starting around month 2, when my husband began feeding her a bottle at night, then quickly weaned off of them. By 10 months, I was letting her eat gooey wet banana slices off of the floor in Starbucks – kidding!

What were your must-haves? What did you skip?

Plus, more from The Bump:

10 Fun Gifts for Your Baby Registry

Registering for Baby?

What Baby Gear Is Worth the Splurge and What You Don’t Need at All

It’s an age-old issue: How do you get fasten all those teeny little snaps on a wriggling baby’s clothes without a struggle? Enter Magnificent Baby, the ingenious line of baby clothes created without snaps or zippers — but with magnets instead. No fumbling around to line up the snaps perfectly, and no pinched-by-a-zipper skin.

Two of the company’s newest products include a sleep sack — a safe substitute for blankets — and an adorable and super warm hooded jacket. (Aren’t the little ears adorable?) Watch this video for more details on why these are on our must-scan list.

Buy these items here and here, or register for them here.

What are your favorite products for keeping baby warm?

Plus, more from The Bump:

How to Buy Baby Clothes

Best Clothes for a Newborn

Baby Clothes Registry Checklist

I hesitate to recommend any breast pump but the Medela ones — I had two of them when I was breastfeeding, and they were practically my best pals. I used them religiously every day after I went back to work (I kept one at work and one at home in case I needed to pump at night). They were reliable, portable, efficient (my time was valuable!) and stood the test of time.

But there’s a new breast pump on the market, the Philips Avent Comfort Breast Pump, and it just might become working moms’ must-have pump. Here are a few reasons why:

It’s not attached to a bag. I get why the breast pump companies attach their pumps to bags — to make them easily portable and to make the time it takes to set up super easy (just unzip and unfold, and you’re ready to pump). But when I wanted to pack a suitcase for a trip or carry a more stylish handbag, I wanted to be able to just throw in the pump itself. Bonus: This one is small and light.

It was made with mom’s comfort in mind. The flanges have “textured petals” that are soft and cushiony and move more like a baby sucking, so you’re less likely to experience discomfort. I’m also happy they put the necks of the flanges at an angle, so you don’t have to awkwardly lean forward to get the milk to flow into the bottles.

It works with “natural bottles.” I had a heck of a time getting my breastfed son to want to take a bottle, and ended up  buying ones shaped more like a breast, which he took to much more easily. Of course, this made one extra step for me when pumping, since my boob bottles didn’t fit my pump, so I pumped into other bottles and had to re-pour everything. This one fits Philips Avent’s new Natural bottles and nipples, which are a lot like the boob bottles I used. Just pump right into them. Easy!

The Philips Avent Comfort Breast Pump retails for $275 at Amazon.com. Register for it here.

What breast pump do you use? What do you like about it or wish was different about it?

Plus, more from The Bump:

How to Buy a Breast Pump

7 Best Breast Pumps

Best Buys for Breastfeeding Moms

It seems like there are always new, wacky baby products coming onto the market  – some are just weird, but some we really want! The latest, greatest (but kind of odd) products for baby include a booster seat that turns into a backpack, a babywearing shirt and a teething toy that looks like an iPhone. Check them out in our video!

What are your favorite baby products?

Plus, more from The Bump:

Products to Make Moms’ Lives Easier

Best Travel Gear for Baby

10 Fashionable But Totally Functional Baby Products

Traveling with baby over the holidays and need gear to make the whole process easier? (Or just working on your baby registry and want to know what to put on your list?) We’ve  scouted out the best new travel products for babies. Check them out!

Plus, more from The Bump:

10 Best Travel Cribs and Playards

Holiday Travel With Baby

Baby Travel Checklist

This squeaky giraffe teether toy probably looks familiar, so why are moms snatching them up? Our own Lusanna explains what makes Sophie a must-have baby registry item and why babies really do love it.

Buy Sophie Giraffe at Amazon.com or register for it here.

Plus, more from The Bump:

11 New-Mom Must-Haves No One Tells You About

Top 10 Teething Toys

Wacky Products That Actually Work

In case you didn’t already know, The Bump has a pretty nifty registry zone — you can register for baby gifts at multiple stores and sites, and give your guests just one link to find all your registry info: TheBump.com/registry. And now, we’d like to announce that we’ve added an awesome new registry partner, Right Start.

Right Start has bricks-and-mortar locations in northern and southern California, Denver, Chicago, Dallas and Houston. It’s also got a website with free shipping on orders of $49 or more. We love that it carries chic baby gear with great design — and the practical stuff too. Just look at all the awesome items (above) we found at Right Start. Enjoy!

What is your favorite item on your baby registry?

Plus, more from The Bump:

Register for Baby Gifts at TheBump.com

How to Register for Baby Gifts

Baby Gear Guides

All diaper bags are ugly and embarrassing right? Nope! Evidence is the photo above of the lovely Jessica Alba (with not a child in sight) wearing a cute, designer handbag that (gasp) is actually a diaper bag.

Want to know who where to get this stylish tote? It’s the timi & leslie Charlie bag, and it retails for $160 at ShopTimiandLeslie.com. Bonus features include that you can wear it as a cross body if you have your hands full and that it comes with a bunch of cool stuff for inside, like a changing pad, insulated bottle tote and zipper pouch for dirty clothes. Oh, and it’s vegan and PVC-free too.

What was important to you in choosing a diaper bag?

Plus, more from The Bump:

Top 10 Diaper Bags

How to Buy a Diaper Bag

Checklist: Packing a Diaper Bag

Skip Hop has the cutest animal themed stuff for babies and kids. Now they’ve come out with adorable luggage in animals like monkey, dog, bee and of course, the trendy owl. You might be thinking, “Why would my baby need luggage now?” But these are perfect for day trips to grandma’s house or play dates. Pack everything and wheel it (there’s a shoulder strap for parents!). It will come in handy once baby becomes a big kid, too.

Purchase the Skip Hop zoo luggage at giggle for $38 and register for it here.

Plus, more from The Bump:

What You Don’t Need for Baby

Top 10 Strollers

Travel Supplies for Newborn