We did a lot of research, and didn't actually pick any of the stuff up to bring home (other than the car seat) until I was already overdue!

I think it's worth asking lots of Q's so you can order stuff that has a long delivery time, and waiting to see what pressies you get - we ended up with 3 carriers, 2 were gifts and one we bought.

If I could do it again, I would have done a "baby register" at a big store to get the furniture etc I wanted!