The huge amount of baby equipment that people want you to buy is almost overwhelming. There are things that are nice to have and there are things that you really need. In an attempt to cover some of the basics we figure that we at least need a car seat to get the kid home, and a place for them to sleep when they get home. I am torn between making my own crib, or just getting one from Ikea, but in the interim we got a playard so our bases would be covered. We chose the Combi Sport Desert Sun. It offers all the basic playard goodies including changing table, bassinet, light/vibration, and awful music. The colors on it are quite nice, neutral with a touch of modern. The lines are relatively clean without too much frilly stuff, and the construction is solid. It came in the mail yesterday, and we practiced setting it all up and taking it all down. It looked simple enough, but I admit after 5 minutes of flailing I did have to break out the instructions.

Available from Amazon for $89.