When we registered before Mary Joyce came home, we registered at both Target and Babies R Us. Both places had good checklists to go by. We had to pick and choose because she wasn't a newborn and some things just didn't apply, but it was still helpful to have some kind of a guideline.

On car seats, we have a Britax Marathon for our daughter, which we love. It has the highest safety rating by Consumer Reports and is a convertivle seat. It is a bit pricey (we got ours due to a generous gift), but it is well worth the cost for peace of mind. We have an infant carrier style seat for the coming new baby. This was highly recommended by other moms of newborns, as you can go from the car into the stroller, into the house or a restaurant with the baby still in her seat. Later, we will invest in another convertible seat. I think our infant car seat is an Evenflo. The big full-sized Babies R Us stores generally have a "sample" car seat so you can get an idea of how the baby seats will fit in your vehicle. Some seats are quite large and may not be a good fit for every car. Also, make sure you can fasten and unfasten the straps easily. One couple we know just returned their seat for another brand because the mom could not undo the harness easily and feared for what would happen in an actual emergency.

On strollers, go to the store and try them out. Push the stroller a bit to find out which one works best for you.

The newborn stuff is new to me, too, so I'm not a lot of help there.