Picking out items for the newest addition to your family is worse than buying a new car or picking out your wedding dress. So many decisions and you want what's best. My first suggestion is to start with consumer reports. It will tell you what is the safest and best item for each category and each price point. From there talk to friends and family that have just had babies and see what they like and what works for them.
Books: Loved all books by Dr. Sears on attachment parenting (The Baby Book, The Baby Sleep Book, The Breastfeeding Book) . La Leche League The Art of Breastfeeding. Your Pregnancy Week by Week
Sleeping Arrangements: Whatever works for your family. There are many options and what works for one child may not work for another. We had a cradle, pack-n-play and crib set up around our house in different places to provide different sleep areas for different situations.
Breast Feeding: I recommend Medula brand breast pumps-double electric. I have the freestyle and love it. But whichever one you go with if you are pumping @ work I also suggest getting the la leche league pump and nurse bra. It makes hands free pumping a cinch. You can order them from diapers.com
Car Seats: Infant- Chicco Keyfit 30 and an extra base for your significant others car.
Toddler- Britax Boulevard 70 (2 of them) you won't need them right away but this way if people get it for you its one last thing you have to buy later.
Stroller- we purchased the set that came with the infant car seat and an umbrella stroller. For the umbrella stroller, you get what you pay for. The higher priced umbrella strollers are better balanced, the wheels are of better quality, and have higher height handles.
Baby Carriers- Slings/wraps/ structured carriers/frame carriers. We have them all. My babies liked the wrap the best. We used the baby k'tan wrap. I tried the moby wrap but could never get it right. The baby k'tan wrap it like the moby but so much easier to use. When JD got bigger he loved the frame carrier and still asks to be in it.
Glider- There are tons out there including gliding arm chairs. Sit in them all and see what feels comfortable for you. That's how I picked mine.
Swing- pick one that goes front to back as well as side to side. Some babies are picky.
Vibrating seat- can be included in the bouncy seat or swing. it is very helpful if the baby is colicky, has gas or constipated
Baby food- we started with gerber because it had the least amount of additives. I tried making my own baby food but JD was not into the texture and it is not as easy to do as people make it seem exp since we are working moms. When JD was ready for more advanced flavors (stages 2 & 3) we branched out to different brands to give him a more complex food experience.
Bottles & pacifiers- Don't register for them or ask someone close to you for a "sampler basket" babies are very particular so you may register for one and they hate it and now you have a ton you can't use. Bottle brands that seem to work the best. medula, nuk, dr brown, playtex drop ins. Pacifiers that seem to work best, advent, nuk, gumdrop.
Diapers are in the same category as bottles and pacifiers. Get a pack of pampers, huggies and luvs (we use luvs bc JD has fat thighs) see what he fits best into. If you are into cloth diapers. We loved g-diapers. They are sized and came with inserts. You could chose from cloth or biodegradable disposable.
High Chair- Whatever kind works for your space and is safe. We have a freestanding one for home and one that attaches to a chair for when we were visiting others.
Other toys- Exercise/tummy-time mat, extersaucer, and either freestanding or door frame johnny-jump-ups are all favorites of my boys and give them independent play time. We also love baby einstein videos. Both boys love them and they are really giving JD a jump on his preschool skills.
Hope this helps. If I missed anything, have suggestions of your own, or you have more questions don't hesitate to post.
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