Re: I have a question...
Oh, I'm so happy for you guys, but I know how frustrating it can be dealing with extended family. With baby stuff, I feel you can never have too many clothes and things, and hand-me-downs are great. But don't feel obligated to take them. Especially things like car seats - those are updated all the time with new safety features, and there's no reason you should compromise your baby's safety just to save a little money. We are due in April, and my sister-in-law gave us an infant car seat that is only about a year old, so I feel okay with it. But anything older than that, I probably would have turned it down.
I personally do like changing tables, as they usually have a few shelves for different things. My s-i-l also gave us one, but I still registered for one that matched the crib I like, since I thought, 'one for upstairs, one for downstairs.' But don't let your m-i-l push you into taking it. If someone's feeling are hurt because you didn't want their used stuff, and weren't planning on using that particluar item anyway, I say too bad. Anyone that sensitive is probably used to disappointment, haha!
Also with car seats, sometimes the manufacturer recommends a certain size or model for a particular car. I have a Dodge Neon, so I need to be sure the seat isn't too big for my backseat. If you really don't want the carseat, you could always tell your m-i-l that you'd rather have the model recommended for your car, then register for what YOU want. Not really a lie... more like a much needed excuse, har har!