My biggest lesson learned is to not change a sleeping baby! We had quite the exhibit at the Easter gathering at the Bruns'. After telling everyone how sweet and good our little Kaylei has been, I went to change her diaper. The end result was her, the couch, the floor, and of course me covered in POOP! Later my sister informed me that you should give a sleeping baby a few minutes to clear their bowels before removing the diaper. Some advice that wouldv'e been helpful earlier.
Some helpful things to have at home for the first few days would be a medicine/eye dropper, a syringe or two, breast pump if you're going that route. These are all for help during feeding. If you breast feed you may get engorged breasts and the baby will have a hard time latching. This is where the eye dropper, syringe, and pump come in. Feed pumped milk or colustrum through the dropper or syringe. A bottle that early, even if it's just one or two will put a huge damper on breast feeding. Do NOT introduce bottles to a breastfed baby until breastfeeding is going VERY well. The first day your milk comes in can be very traumatic on mom and baby if baby doesn't latch. Don't worry, the next day should be better :) Some lanisoh creme/gel was nice too for cracked nipples. Apply after every feeding. A+D cream for baby works great on dry skin, diaper rash, and craddle cap so I've heard.
As for recovery , I recommend having a good stock of pads and tucks. I used the generic tucks and bought the huge jar. If you get stitches I would recommend a can of pain reliving spray such as Dermoplast. You can spray it on ANYTHING! Also ask for a stool softener for the first week. You will be glad you did!
The thermal receiving blankets are great. If you don't have any I would recommend a few. They are bigger than normal receiving blankets and they bundle baby much better!
On cold nights we put a onsie on under her jammies, along with a hat. We wrap Kaylei in a thermal blanket and then tightly tuck a second blanket under her, keeping the blankets away from her face. A blanket sleeper would be better but I haven't found any.
Don't feel bad for telling friends and relatives that you're too tired for visitors. They may say they'll only stop by for a few minutes but once they see that baby, it'll last longer a few minutes! Make sure to learn to nap. I still haven't adjusted to sleeping during the day and it's draining.
They say baby should be fed every 2-4 hours, but I can not wake Kaylei when she's not ready. If the baby's hungry, they'll tell ya. I let Kaylei sleep until she wakes up on her own, it saves us lots of sleep and endless feeding struggles.
Be prepared for baby to loose some weight. Kaylei lost almost a whole pound in the first three days. That's when the doc said to supplement with formula and we used a bottle and we had to retrain Kaylei on breastfeeding. It was HORRIBLE! If you need to supplement, use the syringe or dropper.
The most important advice I can give you I learned from my sister, mother of two. You are baby's parents and only you know what's best for your child. I'm sure lots of people have given you advice. Feel free to try anything but only you and baby will know what works for you.
