Right, I'm sitting here with my first baby who is now 7 days old, so I can give you some pretty fresh perspective!
Get as much stuff second hand as possible. Friends and family will be more than willing to dump their stuff on you so welcome it with open arms. We got our cot (which turns into a bed), moses basket, pram (mamas and poppas urbo, which is alright but fairly bulky. Does fit into our civic though. We just clip the maxi cosi car seat into it with some £20 adapters so we can lift it out and into the car iso fix), and we got all that plus mountains of clothes for £40. We spent more on new stuff like breast pumps, bottles and stuff.
Things we realised we needed more of: little vests and jump suits. These are the easiest things to change, and trust me that's a good thing. You'll probably go through about three of each per day, so get loads. Plenty of wet wipes and nappies.
One really handy thing: feeding pillow. It's a u shaped thing a bit like those airplane pillows. VERY handy for resting or freeing up your arms and resting your back (will get sore from holding baby and leaning over a lot). See below.
Moses basket is very handy so far. As long as it's a wicker basket with handles that lifts off of its base, I can't see what else you need from it. Want to go downstairs to eat lunch but don't want to leave baby upstairs asleep? Pick up the basket and bring them down with you without waking them up.
As far as changing tables go, we use a dresser with a changing mat on top. All the nappies, wipes and clothes go in it so it's all to hand when needed,and it's chest height so nice and handy. Also useful in the future.
Other than that, bring snacks to the hospital and be prepared for a long stay (we ended up being there 5 days, but hopefully things will go smoother for you.
It's going to blow your mind, mate. I'm excited for you.
And because we are doing baby pics...
