The only thing that we had to rush out and buy was a breast pump. I assumed insurance would provide one, but since I was on Medicaid, they referred me to WIC to rent one. That idea eeked out my husband way too much so we just bought one. The LC at the hospital told him to get the Medela Pump In Style Advanced, so he did. If I would have handled it myself and researched it beforehand, I would have gotten the Spectra S2. Be careful about pumping in the early weeks, though. You’re technically not supposed to pump until 6 weeks after the birth so you don’t give yourself an oversupply, which can cause medical issues. I had to though because my son was a preemie. Now he nurses fine, but I do indeed have an oversupply. 
We loved our Boppy pillow. I used it for nursing, and my husband used it for giving our son a bottle when I felt like my nipples were gonna fall off. I don’t know if this is necessary, but it was nice in the early days. Nowadays I just use a pillow and when baby passes out on me, I can sit at the desk and get things done (or surf Nameberry ) and not worry about him sliding off.
A SWING! Omg. Our son lived in his swing. If he wasn’t being held, he was in his swing. He was a super chillax newborn, too, and he was perfectly content to swing all day every day. He’s 3 months old now and still spends half the day in it. It’s where he takes his naps.
We didn’t want or need a bassinet. Our son slept in his crib, in his room, from day 1. We were given a hand-me-down bassinet that lived in the living room as a sort of play-pen. But honestly, we still just put him in the swing…
The only thing that made him sleeping in his own room possible is our double baby monitors. We have a video monitor that we can view from our phones and the computer, and a sound monitor. The video monitor is laggy, hence the sound backup. That video monitor brought me so much peace of mind though.
Although I didn’t use it much, my husband loved the [name_m]Moby[/name_m] wrap. He would wear it with the baby and do housework so I could sleep. Yes, my husband is awesome. <3
Everyone has their own opinion on sleepers and swaddles. In my experience, sleepers with zippers are WAY BETTER than sleepers with snaps. The last thing I want to be doing is finagling snaps at 3am in near-darkness. Half of the time my son just sleeps in the onesie that he wore that day, and I still wake up in the morning and find the snaps buttoned in the wrong spots from the midnight changing. As for swaddles, I love the Aden & Anais gigantic muslin blankets. They’re nice and big and still easily swaddle my 14 lb baby. I also use them for nursing covers and car seat covers and on the sofa and bed to put baby down on. The Carters swaddle blankets are made with a stretchy jersey, and they are great when the baby is small because you can wrap them up nice and tight. But I feel like I get way more use out of the A&A ones. Everyone always suggests the wearable swaddle things with the velcro, but I could NOT figure it out for the life of me. So we stuck with traditional blanket swaddles.
As for things for you, stuff like nipple cream if you’re nursing (I used coconut oil), Motrin for postpartum cramping or pain, a good book (or 12), your favorite shower gel or bubble bath (or anything else that makes you feel a little pampered), air freshener plugins (your house is going to be a disaster but at least it will smell nice!), and snacks and drinks. If you’re going to be nursing, be mentally prepared to be topless a LOT. The world is going to get to know your boobs well. I lived in a nursing bra and a cozy button-down shirt of my husband’s. In the early days, though, my nipples were still so sensitive that I couldn’t wear a bra so it was just the open button-down or a robe. Neither my husband nor male roommate complained. LOL.
