re: Baby due next summer. Any tips or knowledge that can be passed on?

Others already mentioned the sleepsacks that velcro, those are so much better to work with than the swaddles. I woudl also had look into Hatch sound machines. Helps sooth them to sleep, can crank it up to drown out noises in other rooms, give a little light in the room so you can see.

In you breast feed, once the kid goes from the tap to the bottle, you do the last feeding before bed and the first in the morning and let your wife go to bed early and sleep in. Then your wife wakes up and do the middle of the night feeding (since she has to wake up and pump anyway). You get some solid sleep at night, and your wife has minimal interruption.
If you go the formula route, make sure you have a minimum of 1 month supply in house & ask for samples at every Dr visit. Helped a lot of parents not have to worry when all the shortages were going on. Also, get them used to drinking bottles that are cold, and you won't need to drag the bottle warmer everywhere.

When it's time to start introducing solids, frozen fruits & veggies bags are awesome. Get a machine to create purees and stock up.