I COULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED without a bouncy seat or a swing, these are especially helpful on the sleepless gassy nights; those two items were the most used things I had when my daughter was a baby.  She also had a bear that lit up & played classical music that she loved, I haven't seen them anymore I bought hers at K-mart when she was little. 

I'm an Apple fan, but actually just got my 1st iPhone. The only big plus I've noticed so far, is that it interacts well with my other Apple products. A top of the line smartphone is going to be pretty good no matter which one you get IMO. 

I have noticed with my Apple computers that they last and perform at a high level for a longer time compared to windows computers I have purchased (plus less annoying updates). I haven't owned the iPhone long enough to say if that is the case with their phones as well.

You will always have to take reviews with a grain of salt because of the hard core Apple fanboys and the hard core Apple flamers. They definitely bring out extreme love and hate. 

Yeah, the Note would be too big for the husbeast, he needs something that's shirt-pocket sized. He's absolutely over Apple, especially after this last update, and will be getting an android based phone this time around.

Yep, the battery life on my Droid has been the single biggest irritant! I've seen reviews that the Maxx has hugely improved battery life than previous Droids.

One thing I always get new moms in addition to whatever toy or equipment may seem handy is a stack of receiving blankets. Like, two dozen. They're inexpensive, and I remember that I used them for EVERYTHING! Wrapping/covering baby, drying off after baths, wet clean up, changing pad in public places, nursing cover-up, you name it. They're all purpose, and never go out of style.