I know this has been done to death but I was just putting DC3 to sleep earlier on and it got me thinking. No idea if this is the right topic for it either. I have the feeling it's not, so, sorry in advance!
I have just had 3 children in the past 5 years and this is my experience (this is just based on me, my personality and my children's personalities and our lifestyle).
The only things I needed in the first few weeks/months were a carseat, a sling, a million muslim squares and bodysuits, and some lansinoh.
I didn't have a sling for DC1 and 2 as they looked very fiddly and a bit hippy and I have two left-hands, so I thought I would never manage. Until i found the Mei Tai, which is incredibly easy to use. DC3 literally lived in it for about 6 months. She could breastfeed in it, sleep in it, go out, stay in, and was always happy.
Breastfeeding can be a bit tricky to start with but it's worth all the efforts, on a practicality standpoint. This makes my life easier every day, all day. You can feed, soothe, feed to sleep, distract, keep quiet etc... You can feed everywhere, at any time. It's just the most handy thing in the world. And I had 3 c-sections! I did struggle for DC1, and I am so glad I kept at it. It was only mixed-feeding, but based on this, it helped me for DS and DD2.
On this topic, based only on my experience, C-sections can be ok. I had very very little pain after the first 2/3 days for Dc1 and 2. A tiny bit longer for DC3. I was able to breastfeed the 3 of them and carry them immediately.
Co-sleeping saved my sanity for the first few months.
i shouldn't have listened to people too much as most people don't have a clue! DC3 contracted chickenpox aged 3 weeks and I was being told that this was impossible because of my antibodies following the pregnancy. DS only pooed every week or so, and that was normal as some BF babies do that (DD2 made up for it!) etc, etc...
Lastly, I bought a million parenting books, but I don't think it impacted any of my parenting. I think threads on Mumsnet were much much more meaningful for me as it seemed based on real life of real people.
That's it. Sorry for the ramble. Just thought I would share :-)