I agree with the others that lots of seams can be painful to hand quilt. I also would not bother to hand quilt in the ditch. I do use W&N when I hand quilt and don't seem to have a problem. Then again, I've not tried others so don't know any better <g>. The type of batting you decide will determine how densely you will need to quilt.
I do generally use a hoop while quilting although sometimes do not. I probably would with a baby quilt only because I find it's easier to find where I've stopped next time I go back to it.
If you decide to do traditional vs big-stitch hand quilting, just make sure you use 'hand quilting thread'. Get yourself a good thimble. If you decide to do something more decorative than say 1/4" away from your seams, try to use a 'continuous line' quilting pattern. The one I'm working on currently really isn't and it's really frustrating me with all the stopping/starting. And I need to get this thing done in the next few weeks - yikes!