Hellobee Boards

I looked at suggested lists and jotted down thing that we felt were necessary.

I also looked at baby bargains and Babbles Best of lists.
http://www.babble.com/products/baby-products-all/

I went through the baby bargains book!!!

I also browsed a bunch of registry lists and anyone's registry that I could stalk.

I made a spreadsheet of things we needed, broken down into categories, like furniture, gear, clothing, etc. I would just add product names, like I knew I wanted a Britax Roemer car seat and decided upon the style once I saw it in the store.

I also consulted Baby Bargains. That book is great.

I registry stalked other people's and looked at a TON of reviews for the big stuff. Otherwise I liked going to the store and looking at stuff to make sure it was of the quality that I wanted. I did add some online only stuff that I thought looked cute and had decent reviews.

@looch: I sooo need to make a spreadsheet! Great idea!

Lucie's List! Mrs bee also posted some good guides on the blog!

I made a list of general items I would want, then hit reviews and mommy friends up to ask them what they did/didn't like, then I took note of any hand-me downs we were told to expect (our family and friends all took it upon themselves to email me lists of what they had that they would be giving us) and removed those items from the list. We took the remaining list to BRU and looked over the items on the list, and checked out what was recommended and from that decided on what we wanted, and added those to the registry. I used BRU because I knew no-one would really use an Amazon/online registry.

I like the idea of the guides here on hellobee. I got pregnant before HB went live so I couldn't use it as a resource, and there are SO many things I wish I had registered for now!

Research - I researched all the baby products. car seats, strollers, bouncers, swings etc. I read reviews on several different sites. I'm glad I did, the items I chose, I love. The carseat I have is great and I'm so glad i took the time to research these products.

Also decide if you're going to have a strictly essentials registry, or also fun stuff. I had a separate registry for "fun" stuff but kept my BRU registry strictly for things I actually needed.
Also, consider using an online registry where you can register for ANYTHING from any site. I wish I had done that because I severely limited myself to what was only available in stores.

Also, some things aren't worth the retail price - so look on craigslist for some items. Bouncer, floor play gym, swing and all his toys/clothes were all craigslist or hand-me-downs, so that way I got nearly everything I actually NEEDED off my registry by eliminating some of the bigger-ticket items that don't need to be new.

As for things like bottles, register for a few different brands like Dr. Browns, Medela, and Playtex because every baby likes different things and you don't want to buy a whole system and have your baby reject it. I personally have had great success with Dr. Browns glass bottles.

Feel free to ask me any more questions and good luck. It's so fun!!