A couple useful thoughts:

- Don't get a "diaper bag." Instead, get a water-proof lined messenger bag. We got a basic Timbuk2 model that now serves a variety of non-baby purposes.

- You'll be changing diapers/nappies at night. Get yourself a red lightbulb, which will allow you to see without blinding you. (Although there is some controversy about optimal night vision light color.)

- Baby poop stinks something awful. There are all kinds of sealed trashcans you can buy. We got a model that had a goofy rotating piston contraption and took standard trashbags. There are fancier ones that take custom trashbags and generate diaper sausages. Our ultimate conclusion was that these contraptions were effective for pee diapers and useless for poop.

- Your stroller shopping decision is entangled with your carseat decision. Car seats come in "permanent" versus "docking station" models. The permanent models have the benefit that they are adjustable from birth all the way up to 40+ pounds (whereas kids outgrow the docking station models somewhere earlier, like 20 pounds). The "docking station" models have the benefit that you can connect or disconnect your kid from the car without unbelting them. You can also "dock" your kid with a compatible stroller or even flip those restaurant high chairs upside down and dock them with the base. (It really works.) We ultimately went with a "permanent" car seat and an extra super duper lightweight stroller; we got to be pretty good about getting our kid in and out of the car without waking her up. There were times we had the docking station varieties (rental cars, etc.), and the convenience was outweighed by the OMG heavy issue. Also, this is one area where you probably want something new rather than used. By the time our kid outgrew the seat and stroller, both were definitely "distressed."

TOP TIP: Look for how easy or hard it is to remove the cloth bits, since there will come a day when the seat is covered in something unpleasant and you'd just assume stuff it in the washing machine.

- Baby Einstein and other such things are now apparently proven to be pure, unadulterated evil to inflict on kids less than age 2. However, they're an effective way to buy yourself 30 minutes to get something useful done in a pinch.

- If you're going with disposable diapers/nappies, spend some quality time trying the various brands. Price is irrelevant. Good fit is essential so you don't have any, umm, leakage. Of course, there will come a day when it's time to potty train the kid. This won't be fun, regardless of what tactic you take.

- Traditional cribs (we got one secondhand) have this gate that moves up and down and makes a ton of noise, even if you lubricate all the appropriate bits. With Ikea cribs, you just lean over and pick up your kid. Plus, when they get older you can remove one of the walls and they can get in and out themselves. Ikea FTW.

- Baby gates. If you've got stairs, then you legitimately need baby gates on top to keep the kid from having a bumpy ride. If you've got a single story, it's not clear baby gates are all that useful. Better to go whole hog with cabinet locks and outlet covers and try to baby-proof your world as much as feasible.

- Eavesdropping devicesBaby monitors. We never got one. The false alarm rate with these things is crazy. Oops, a little gurgle! When there was a genuine thing that required our attention, our kid was quite capable of rattling the neighbor's windows with her screaming. Your mileage may vary.

- Cameras. This is the excuse you've been waiting for. "It's for the baby." I initially got a cheapo point-and-shoot to leave in the diaper bag, but my wife was unhappy with the picture quality. Okay fine. So I got a decidedly non-cheapo point-and-shoot (a Panasonic LX-3, since stolen and replaced with an LX-5). Also, expect that you'll be making lots of prints to ship off to the non-Internet-saavy grandparents.

- Pacifiers (late addition to my list). We ended up with one of these Wubbanub pacifiers. Highly recommended and cheap. If it falls out, your kid can (eventually) pick it up and put it back in without bugging you.