Babies are really easy to care for and you don't need a lot of the 'stuff' they try to sell you.
One tip for the parents, stock up on pre-cooked food, and accept any offers of 'help' and have them bring you food. The first week or two, especially for new parents without 'live-in' parental help, this is a BIGGIE.

Babies need:
1. A breast to nurse from.
2. A dry warm bottom.
3. Lots of Love.

That being said, there are certain practicalities that need to be addressed.

Transportation

• Car seat, and bases (can't take the baby home otherwise). We got the Graco SnugRider, it was the only one to survive a 70 MPH collision in consumer reports. (REAL test was supposed to be 35mph, oops).
• We also got the infant head support to make it smaller around the head, and cute elephant (Ganesh) shoulder strap pads.
• Pick up the swing attachment while you are at it if you have Graco. Great for rocking baby down. We didn't buy a separate 'swing', just used this. I would wear her around anytime she wasn't in her sleeper or in the 'swing'.
• Make/buy some baby slings. Baby wearing prevents Colic. http://www.mammasmilk.com/pages/makeyourown.php
  
• We bought some 'wrist' toys to hang off the handlebar and provide interest.
• Get a baby mirror so you can ooh and aah at your baby while driving. It makes driving more fun.

Clothing

• Get a pack of Onesies, and a pack of 'footsies', sleeping one piece outfits with feet. Probably need like 5 or so of each.
• *A* pack of Baby socks. These are for his/her hands to keep them from scratching themselves. We got like 3 DOZEN pairs for our baby shower, so usually there's no worry about finding these.
• Some soft baby blankets.
• Some Burp rags we used some Gerber Cloth NON prefolded diapers for these. GREAT for general cleanup. Get a few packs. Great for use as a bib while nursing too.
• Some light baby blankets, We made a bunch of these from flannel that we bought on clearance and used a surger on the edges. They are around 2 feet by 2.5 feet or something around there.

Washing

• Some baby wash cloths.
• 1 bottle of Johnson's no tear baby wash you can use this as a shampoo and soap for baby too.
• We like using a squeezy bottle to 'jet' water onto the baby to rinse her hair, her 'neck flaps', etc.
• No Scent, no Dye washing machine detergent. Use this for the whole household and save yourself some hassle.

Sleeping

• Get some baby swaddles for bed. The velcro ones, SwaddleMe brand were GREAT. Get 2 or so of each size. You will need to cycle them because baby will puke or poop on them. These will help the baby sleep at night. Another brand we tried had WAY too much 'give' and our baby would break out of it all the time.
• We loved the Arms Reach brand Co-Sleeper. Nothing beats being able to roll over and being able to feed your baby without getting out of bed, but still have the baby safe and not in the bed.
• The baby contour pads to keep the baby from rolling over onto their front. (Anti SIDS prevention).
• A white noise generator. I used an alarm clock with 'nature sounds' and set it to 'wind'. Turn it up. I think it is estimated that it's as loud as a vacuum cleaner in the womb. They make 'baby' sound generators now, with night light and motion, didn't get that fancy thought you might want to.
• A selection of different pacifiers, never know which one will work for your baby. Ours preferred Latex Orthodontic ones at first and now prefers the funny silicone 'disk' ones since they are harder.
• Humidifier if you run a lot of AC or heating in the winter. Especially for the first few months. Get a Cool Mist type.
• Some baby books. Her favourite so far, The Belly Button Book.
• Useful, but we didn't leave our baby alone for the first 2-3 months or so since both of us were home, but we eventually got a baby monitor.

Feeding

• Two baby boppe nursing pillows. One for home one for the car.
• Don't let the hospital pressure you into bottle or formula feeding if you don't want to. Almost all hospitals offer a lactation consultant. Take advantage of them. It took us 2 weeks of an hour or two each feeding to teach our baby to nurse consistantly. It's worth the work. Healthier for YOU AND the baby. They have found that the baby can use YOU to produce antibodies for diseases that you don't have but the baby might have caught. That's why they nurse a lot more when ill, any bacteria or virus that pass into the breast cause antibodies to be generated and passed right back in the milk.
• If you go back to work and have to pump, get a hand pump to start, no recommendations here since it depends on your body, breast and nipple shape. My wife likes Mandela, others swear by Avent. Electric pumps are nice but cost a TON.
• Baby Bottles, Get the Dr. Brown's bottles or Avent. I like BOTH a lot. NO GERBER.
• Plastic Baby bottle Dryer.

Baby Changing

• Changing Pads, I bought a few 2 packs of waterproof infant crib/bed liners.
• Diapers, cloth or disposable. We use disposables when out and cloth at home. In my opinion BEST disposable for newborns is the Pampers Swaddles in the yellow packages for disposables. Cloth diapers are NOT that much harder than disposables at home. You WILL be doing a lot of laundry anyway.
• A small tub of Calendula Ointment. Get it at a natural food store or something. AMAZING stuff, will heal the start of a diaper rash in a day.
• Some sort of baby bottom paste, they'll probably give you a tube or two at the hospital. Slather on at night before turning in, so you protect the baby from rash, and don't have to changer her for pee. Gets you more sleep. Called Flander's Ointment or Boudrauex's Butt Paste or something. It's basically white zinc oxide in a petroleum base.
• Baby wipes.
• A HARD sided folding padded baby travel changing pad . Will be useful for changing the baby while out and about without a good surface.
• Keep an extra bag of diaper wipes and diapers, and an extra set of clothes, or two, (BOTH for you AND the baby) in the car. Trust me.

Toys and misc.

• There is really no need for toys yet. Not for a few months yet. YOU will be your baby's best toy. Some people like to start the baby on a 'lovey' early. Basically a plush toy/blanket that smells like you (wear it against your skin for a few days) that will help comfort the baby.
• Just hang out together taking in the world. After a few weeks and your baby's Immune system develops, Wear your baby out on errands. Don't let others you don't know touch or mess with your baby :)
• We got a baby Einstein activity Mat, that was GREAT for when she was more 'alert' after about a month or so. But man... the songs.. I wish there were more than 3.... Going over and over in my head... It lasted for about 3-4 months until she became more 'mobile'.
• Sing songs with your baby.
• We are now looking at pack and plays since she's more mobile now at around 6 months. She's rolling around the floor following us from room to room. No tips shopping for one yet. We JUST got a walker too since we figure we'll help her get around to follow us instead of rolling.
• I THINK my wife got an 'excersaucer' around 4 months or 5 months when she started getting more 'tactile' and wanting to grab/touch/chew on everything. You DON'T need this for months yet.
• We got a baby 'bouncer'. The kind that she lays down in, not the ones where they 'jump'. It's useful to put her in when your hands are full dealing with something. It has a vibrate built in and a hanging bar for 'stuff'.
• Oh, one new thing I saw which would have been pretty cool at first is a 'Baby Timer' It had a separate timer for diaper changing, eating, sleeping, etc, and a left/right breast indicator. Don't get obsessed with a schedule, though it is useful for general ideas.
• Check out Amazon for cheap baby stuff, or go visit Toys R Us if you don't have a Baby's R Us.

BOOKS
As for books, my wife has a bunch of thoughts and suggestions. There is 'The Birth Partner", The "What to Expect ..." series, Caring for your Baby and Child Birth-5, but the best ones for infant care include the "Happiest Baby on the Block" and the "No Cry sleep solution" books I recommended earlier.

Here's her list from a letter she sent a friend:
----
recommended books for parents  -Elizebeth
I have several books for pregnancy, childbirth, newborns, and children that I would highly recommend to anyone who is trying to conceive, is currently pregnant, or has a brand-new baby. I put this list together for a friend of mine who is working on getting pregnant and who wanted to know what books I liked.

A tip on pre-pregnancy... assume you are pregnant all the time, starting now. Don't go binge drinking, stop smoking (if that's something you do), take your prenatal vitamins, and eat good food. Have your potential DNA donor do the same. If you start to feel a little like you have the flu, assume you are pregnant until you know otherwise, and don't dose yourself on all sorts of medication. I felt like I had a flu for a week before my test actually came back positive. If I had taken "flu meds," like Nyquil or pain medication, I could have caused a miscarriage. Thankfully, because of all the information I had already read, I knew that there was a good chance that I was pregnant and that the signs that I was feeling could confirm that. Even my morning temperatures told me that I was pregnant before any tests could tell!

I should note, before I forget, what our pregnancy/childbirth/childrearing style is and isn't. We are very hands-on, learn-all-you-can, no details spared, get down and dirty, and grow with your baby and child kind of people. There was NO question, for example as to whether or not I would breastfeed. Formula wasn't an option, UNLESS it turned out I had some serious medical issues that would make my milk dangerous for Carmen, or if I was one of the something like 2% of women who truly do not produce milk. (Even then, we would have looked into a milk bank.) We also strove for a natural birth, and while I'm sorry to say that it didn't happen for us, I think we could have passed a OB/GYN's final exam in medical school by the time we were done learning about the process. Lastly, we believe that there is no substitute for love and physical parenting. Carmen sleeps in our room next to our bed in a co-sleeper, and we carry her or "wear her" (in a sling) about 85% of the time that we're awake.

We do not believe in any method that involves letting her "cry it out;" I would even akin that to child abuse. We would not leave her alone in a playpen or her crib to entertain herself. We don't watch more than four hours of tv a week, and I hope that she watches even less than that. We read everything we can get our hands on, including lots of conflicting advice, and we decide what makes the most sense to us... we never allow ourselves to be spoon-fed information or to go what seems to be the path of least resistance. And we are definitely not parents who take the road of convenience. ;)

She barely cries, she started having baby babble conversations with us at 7 weeks old, and she is developing much faster, both physically and mentally, than the baby books tell us she should be. I really credit the one-on-one time that we spend with her and the choices that we have made for her mental enrichment. We are constantly learning and figuring out what works and what doesn't, but we've been incredibly lucky and blessed with a good start and a healthy and happy little one.

So here is our recommended reading list...

Books on Conceiving:

Taking Charge of Your Fertility
http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Charge-Your-Fertility-Anniversary/dp/0060881909/sr=8-1/qid=1172286241/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
This book changed everything I thought I knew about my body. I learned how it actually worked, how to really time for fertile periods of the month, what problems to watch for, what your options are if the typical way of conceiving isn't working out, etc etc. One GREAT thing was that when I finally did have to go into the fertility doctor's office, I already knew so much about my body and what seemed to be the problem that I had correctly diagnosed my problems. I was able to communicate with the doctor and know what the heck he was talking about when we discussed how the treatments would work.

Pregnancy books:

The Pregnancy Book
http://www.amazon.com/Pregnancy-Book-Month-Month-Everything/dp/0316779148/sr=1-9/qid=1172465267/ref=sr_1_9/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
If you only buy one book on pregnancy, make this it!! Unlike most pregnancy books out there, which seem like they are just out to scare the bejeebus out of you with all the things that could be going wrong, this book focuses on the positives.

The old standby... What to Expect While You're Expecting
http://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-Youre-Expecting-Third/dp/0761121323/sr=1-2/qid=1172286760/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
You have to read this because someone will give it to you as soon as they know you are pregnant. But be warned that it may make you paranoid. Read the Sears book mentioned above first! You'll be less scared about the whole process and more excited about the changes that are going on with you and the baby.

The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips and Advice for Dads-to-Be
http://www.amazon.com/Expectant-Father-Advice-Dads-Be/dp/0789205386/sr=1-1/qid=1172287055/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
This one was a lot of fun, and both my husband and I really enjoyed reading it! It encourages your partner to be a more active participant in the pregnancy. It will also make him much less frightened about what's going on with you and the baby (when you are a bag of raging hormones, you will be quite scary!)

Birth Books:

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
http://www.amazon.com/Ina-Mays-Guide-Childbirth-Gaskin/dp/0553381156/sr=1-1/qid=1172287146/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
This book is awesome. You will learn more than you ever wanted to know about how the female works during labor and delivery. It will tell you about how modern medicine has turned birthing into an emergency instead of a miracle, and, even if you are not considering natural childbirth, you will have a much deeper understanding and appreciation for your own body.

Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way
http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Childbirth-Bradley-Way-Revised/dp/0452276594/sr=1-1/qid=1172287372/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
This doctor teaches how husbands can help their wives (or partners, whatever) through pregnancy, labor, and delivery. If you have your husband read this, you will get many backrubs.

The Birth Book: Everything You Need to Know to Have a Safe and Satisfying Birth
http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Book-Everything-Satisfying-Parenting/dp/0316779075/ref=pd_sim_b_4/103-6277301-2755839
I didn't read this book before the baby was born, but I wish, in hindsight, that I had. If you only get one or two books, make this one of them (or it).

The Birth Partner
http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Partner-Second-Penny-Simkin/dp/1558321934/sr=1-1/qid=1172288113/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
We LOVED this book and passed it on to my Mom and Grandmother, who also attended the birth. It was very informational for everyone who read it, and made all three attendants ready to help me no matter what occurred. They all better understood what could happen and how to attend to me through each stage. My husband, who has obviously never had a baby, learned the most from it, and was much less afraid of the birthing experience because of it. Make this the OTHER book that you get if you can only get two!!

Baby Books:

Happiest Baby on the Block
http://www.amazon.com/Happiest-Baby-Block-Crying-Newborn/dp/0553588729/sr=1-1/qid=1172462562/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
You should get and read this book before your baby is born. If you do that, you will amaze the nurses in the hospital (if that's where your baby is born) at how well you can soothe, calm, and put your brand-spanking-new baby to sleep. If your baby ends up being colicky, which happens to one in 5 babies, you will NEED this book. But even if your baby does not have colic, you can use the techniques in the book to help calm her when she does get a bit fussy, or to help her get to sleep.

The No-Cry Sleep Solution
http://www.amazon.com/No-Cry-Sleep-Solution-Gentle-Through/dp/0071381392/sr=1-1/qid=1172462537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
Speaking of getting to sleep, we got Carmen to sleep in 3 to 4 hour stretches after two days of trying the techniques in this book. She was happy, there was, indeed, no crying involved, and we're VERY happy. Before we read this book, the most sleep we got in one stretch was about 45 minutes. Now she goes down to bed at about 9 and only wakes up twice for feeding until 6 AM. It's a miracle!

Caring for Your Baby and Young Child
http://www.amazon.com/Caring-Your-Young-Child-Revised/dp/055338290X/sr=8-1/qid=1172462505/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
This was written for the American Academy of Pediatrics. It has a ton of information in it on how babies develop, what you can expect month per month, and lots of medical help for everything you can think of. Not only does it help us to understand what's going on with Carmen and her milestones, it also has great, quick medical references in it.

Happiest Toddler on the Block
http://www.amazon.com/Happiest-Toddler-Block-Well-Behaved-Four-Year-Old/dp/0553381431/sr=1-2/qid=1172462562/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
This one will help you survive the "terrible twos" through four years old. It compares a child's developmental stages with that of human kind's developmental stages. I'm looking forward to seeing how well the techniques work with Carmen, but my friend, who has a 2.5 year old, swears by it!

Breastfeeding Books:

I urge you to try breastfeeding your child. So does the American Academy of Pediatrics. There is no better food for your baby – I'm sure you've heard it all before. Breastfeeding is also not as hard as people will tell you it is… it just takes a bit of research, help from people who know it works, and patience.

This first reference isn't a book, but a website. It's very technical in nature and is quite a "dry read." But it will answer just about any question you have and is easy to navigate!
http://www.kellymom.com/

La Leche League also is not a book, but an invaluable resource. You can find out everything from state legislature on public nursing to how to find a lactation consultant in your area.
http://www.lalecheleague.org/

The Breastfeeding Book
http://www.amazon.com/Breastfeeding-Book-Everything-Nursing-Through/dp/0316779245/sr=1-2/qid=1172463713/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-6277301-2755839?ie=UTF8&s=books
This is another one you should read before your baby is born! If you know how your body works, it will work better for you. You can also nip potential problems in the bud and will have a MUCH easier time getting started with breastfeeding. And just remember that the first few days are the hardest, especially with the crazy people at the hospital making you chart feedings and diapers while you're there. Don't let them scare you into thinking that your baby is starving, and don't let them give your new baby a bottle unless she actually has low blood sugar. Without meaning to, they can sabotage your breastfeeding attempts.

My last piece of advice is to learn everything you can about breastfeeding and make sure that you have a lactation consultant visit you ASAP after the baby is born. She will help you and your baby form a good latch and make you so much more comfortable about your ability to feed and nourish your baby. We had a lot of problems in the beginning, but Carmen and I toughed it out, and it was so worth it. She's very healthy, happy, and we have a great bond.

This might sound weird, but when I found out that my Mom had cancer, I hung up the phone and sat in shock and with a lump in my throat. Tyme brought Carmen to me, and I nursed her. It calmed me and cleared my head, almost like meditation. I credit this physical bond with her with keeping my depression to minimum while we deal with my Mom's illness. On a lighter note, nursing moms also burn 500 extra calories a day, and I was 5 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight only 8 weeks after she was born.

Books I would NOT recommend:
ANYTHING by Ezzo. He's uneducated, has weird ethics, and, in my humble opinion, insane. Someone may say that you should get his "Becoming Babywise" book so that your child will be trained to sleep through the night quickly. Just smile and nod, and don't get the book. If you're more aggressive, tell them why you won't get the book, and hope that they will stop recommending it to parents who don't know any better. http://ezzo.info/