Any Suggestions?

Friends,

It is time for us to start making some decisions and I would like to make decisions that are as informed as possible. I am kind of independent and not great at asking for help (I am working on this issue) so my first choice would be to read up on everything. However, I fall asleep very quickly when reading and its inefficient when I know I am surrounded by a great community with a wealth of knowledge and experience that I can draw on. So I am looking for suggestions in some of the following areas to help get us started with some of these decision making processes.

1) Environment: How to make eco-friendly baby decisions that are not too spendy. Any specific suggestions or books you recommend or could loan out? Any helpful tips for using cloth diapers or services you would recommend?

2) Registry: I feel kind of guilty expecting that people are going to want to buy us baby things, but I have been assured that this is how friends and family like to support our growing family. In light of that, we should probably create a registry to provide some guidance since I get a little overwhelmed with lots of things and would like to just have what we need. However, we would like to avoid using a registry at a store that encourages purchases of new items when used will work great, be more cost effective and recycling is always a good thing. Any suggestions as to how to make my own registry to guide people in the search for used items on craigslist, garage sales or second hand stores?

3) Childcare: Brandon and I plan to continue working after our baby is born which means we need to decide what we would like our work schedules to look like and explore some childcare options for times when we both will be at work.  Any books you would recommend to help think through this decision, what is a healthy balance between parent care and child care, is there such thing as too much change if we have 3-4 different primary child care providers for the week (mom, dad, grandparents, daycare)?

4) Maternity Clothes: Any suggestions for good places to find used maternity clothes? I had some success at Bellies to Babies in Richfield, none at Savers, and just received a recommendation for a place at Centennial Lakes (can't remember the name).

5) What else??: I am sure there are other decisions you need to start thinking through when your baby is due in 4 and a half months. What am I missing?

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions you may have. I am sure I might get a little overwhelmed with all the different opinions.  But I know it will be good to be informed and tap into the knowledge you all have gained through your experiences instead of trying to start from scratch ourselves.

A few quick notes for the week (week 21)...today I had my hand on my stomach and could feel the baby move on the outside! I can not wait for Brandon to be able to feel this, just need to make sure he is there at the right time. I finally got maternity jeans from Gap that fit perfectly. I had to go to three different Gap stores but I think it will be worth it, I plan on wearing them every day from here on out. Also, I have been having super funny dreams - I'll tell you about them if you ever need a good laugh. One involves an auditorium full of urinals.

Thank you in advance for your help!
Love, Clueless New Mom