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If you have a big support system, I'd say get essentials and wait on a lot of the little stuff. We had the carseat/stroller system, a cradle (the one my sister and I both slept in as a child, which had been reinforced and fitted w/ new hardware for my nephew), diapers, a few bottles, receiving blankets, a few basic onesies, but that's it. I had ordered the crib, but it was custom made, so it wasn't ready for a few months. The room was emptied out and clean, but not painted or otherwise ready, which was frankly no big deal because he slept in our room in the cradle for the first 3 months anyway.
I wanted to put together a nursery for this specific baby, and because we were open to any race, I wanted to be able to incorporate cultural elements into the room to speak to the baby's heritage. Also, as others have said, I didn't want to look at an empty room.
The hospital gave us formula, and within an hour of coming home, my sister, my parents and a couple of friends went and bought out Target and BRU. Dh's parents showed up with even more stuff, and the doorbell rang all weekend with friends and neighbors dropping off gifts. Everyone's different, of course, and if you're a private person this approach might not be for you. My outlook was that we have lots of wonderful friends and family, and I was so happy to have all of these people take an immediate interest in this new addition. It was really the "village" coming together for the child. Do what you're most comfortable with. My advice is not to go TOO nuts---you'll find that you only wind up using about half the stuff anyway.
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