Every kid should have a map. Actually, I believe that every kid should have several maps and a globe, perhaps a map puzzle and a place mat. As you can see, I think the world (ha!) of maps!

Since I’ve found that just having things around me helps me to remember them, I find maps a great way to introduce a child to the greater world. Our house is filled with them. And every time we mention grandma in another country or our old friend in another state, my son walks over to the wall and looks for the place about which we are talking.

Maps help a child understand from where penguins come and from where his or her family emoigrated. It helps him understand where exactly that war we are fighting is taking place and where Santa is supposed to live. It helps her to follow the trail to the Little House in The Big Woods and helps her figure out where the space shuttle lands.

Maps are easy to hang – a bit of tape will do to display this US Map and the compact size means an empty wall in a child’s room or in the hallway will do just fine.

After awhile, they get out of hand – the stuffed animals that is. You start with a small collection gathered at baby showers and given to your child a few days after birth. And it continues from there. Birthdays- how about a stuffed animal? A trip to the zoo? Bring home a plush beast. Valentine’s Day brings heart embellished friends and Christmas brings green and red cuties with darling Santa caps. And lets not even talk about eatser when stuffed bunnies bloom like flowers.

A bit overwhelming don’t you think? Yes, they are cute but what do you do with them. One child can only sleep with so many furry friends and if you have a few of the live kind as well…then there is little room for your child.

A basket or bin works for awhile but at some point the stuffed animals threaten to take over the room. That’s when a toy storage net like this Teddy Bed Hammock comes in handy. Big enough to hold a mountain of toys and easily mounted in the corner of a room, it frees up both floor and storage space and keeps stuffed friends handy for the middle of the night lonelies.

Since changing tables are one of those items that you only need for what seems a nanosecond in a child’s life, I’m always on the lookout for ones that are sturdy enough to last a long time and stylish enough to be used for some other purpose.

This Graco Sarah Dressing Table seems to fit the bill, which is of course why it caught my eye. Sturdy and well made, it’s not wobbly like many of the cheaper changing tables and will hold up well when you’re juggling a toddler and a baby and perhaps the phone while trying to execute a diaper change. Yet, it has all of the necessary features- two safety rails on top and two shelves underneath.

The classic sleigh style means it can be easily converted to a shelf for toys or moved into a parent’s bed or bathroom to hold linens or sundries. It can even serve time as a knick knack shelf in living room or dining room!

The dark espresso color is a popular choice now for furnishings throughout the house, yet because of the open design, it’s not overwhelming in a baby’s room which may be decorated in lighter colors. I like that!

The Melissa and Doug Birthday Cake is a ubiquitous toy in crunchy circles and why not? It has lots of play value and is appropriately made of natural materials. The wooden slices attach together with Velcro and enable children to practice their cutting skills with the wooden knife.

Because this toy has a number of pieces, it can be played with in a wide variety of ways. Children take the candles and make towers. The cake slices are integrated into their pretend play as pizza, or pita bread or what ever they can imagine. The cake goes into a play oven and comes out as something totally different.

Because of that flexibility this toy can last a long time. Aware parents keep it around long after one would think that a child had tired of it. As a child ages it is played with in a whole new way. It’s OK if some pieces get lost along the way as the child just fills in the missing pieces. I’ve found that this cake gets pulled out every year at birthday time and helps a child process the new year of his or her life. A nice memory for him or her and the satisfaction that a toy for a young child is being used even by an older one.

Mmmm…the sweet smell of lavender! The time tested properties of lavender are no longer in question. The mere smell of this luscious herb has medicinal properties which are time proven. It is soothing and calming. It promotes sleep and works wonders with a fussy baby. That’s why it can be found in many natural baby products and even products for bigger people.

This Cloud B Lavender dog brings those calming properties right into baby’s crib. Made from soft Velboa fabric, there are aromatherapy packets of lavender integrated into the cute Labrador body that emit the fragrance into the air. A gentle squeeze releases additional scent and the packets last up to five years.

This cuddly companion can be moved from crib to bed to car seat for calming aromatherapy action when baby is fussy or just when it’s time for sleep. You’ll love it too for those times when exhaustion makes it just too had to get to sleep.

I’m a big fan of lavender and use many products myself including packets under my own pillow. Having a cute, cuddly way to have lavender in the air makes it easier to calm a fussy child – even a bigger one. Toddlers will love this one too!

Spring is coming and it’s time for stomp rockets. At least that has been my view. Some time between last summer and this spring, our set of stomp rockets has disappeared, left at a park or outside too long in the yard, subject to aggressive clean-up efforts.

So we are without. This has put me on the hunt for them once again. Why? Because this simple kid-powered toy is a hit all summer long. It’s an easy system - a pump, a three foot long plastic tube and a launcher. Place one of the 9 inch long rockets on the launcher and then stand back. Your kids will leap into the air and land on the pump, shooting the rocket up to 100 feet in the air!

This is, of course, endlessly fascinating. Kids will create multiple iterations – running and jumping;  jumping with one foot; two kids jumping at once, etc. There seems to be a fairly large age range for this game too! Yes, I admit, we adults in the family can’t resist leaping onto the pump and seeing how high we can make them go too!

Since I’ve had this toy before, I have to say, it’s very simplicity makes it pretty sturdy. There aren’t many pieces to break and those that can are well made. The only issue is…with these high flying rockets, they do tend to get lost on rooftops and in trees. Fortunately rocket replacement sets are available!

One of the most important choices you’ll make as new mother is your choice of breast pump if you choose to nurse. In general, unless you have an excellent milk supply, which is rarer than you might imagine or the time and fortitude to nurse exclusively, you’re going to need a breast pump.

I was one of those women who said, “Hey people have been doing this for thousands of years, how hard can it be.” Unfortunately I was also one with a limited milk supply so it didn’t take me long to go scurrying for a breast pump.

It isn’t always necessary to run out and buy a breast pump right away, but it is worthwhile to do you research and decide which one will work best for you if it turns out you need it.

This Medela Pump-in-Style is one of the most popular breast pumps on the market. Though a little pricy, it is similar to hospital style pumps with adjustable speed and vacuum control and does one of the best jobs of mimicking baby’s speed and suction. It includes everything you need for pumping at home or on the go, including a shoulder bag, battery pack and lots of accessories.

Face it. It’s tough to bathe an infant. It doesn’t actually get much easier until a child can sit up and safely get out of the bath tub on his or her own. Even then we worry about accidental drowning until age…oh 18?

Seriously though, it’s difficult to bathe an infant or toddler in an adult size bathtub and infant bath tubs only last so long. This Summer Infant Newborn to Toddler Bath Center seems to solve many of the problems we parents have bathing our little one.

There are lots of cool features to this set. Since this tub grows with your child, it can easily be used from infancy through the toddler years. The soft foam pad at the bottom is perfect for keeping baby from slipping out of your hands and under water – something that tends to happen with alarming frequency minus some sort of non slip surface.

I particularly like the infant sling – the flexible slanted piece that baby lies on. This, I have found makes washing so much easier as you don’t need one hand just to hold baby steady. And the shower attachment is perfect! I’ve struggled often with rinsing and usually settled on a bucket of water. This electric shower though had just the right strength for a small child. No more struggles turning off the shower massage adults like so much and turning down the water pressure!

Here’s a secret! This little bottle with the funny label is awesome. It’s gotten me through many a winter when my hands have suffered from dryness. O.K. at one time they called it “dishpan hands”. But these days, the more correct term most likely has something to do with managing a household, which, of course, we all do.

Between baths and laundry and those ever present dishes, plus playing outside with the kids and just generally living life, hands can get pretty dry. And Corn husker’s lotion is one of the best kept secrets for keeping them moist.

Cornhusker’s Lotion has been around a long time. It was developed in the early part of last century for, of course those who husked corn. I was introduced to it awhile back by a dentist, you know, those folks who wash their hands 20 times per day? Now I swear by it.

As a parent, especially of a young child, you know that tender young skin seems to get scratched and bruised easily and complaints of scratchy hands abound. This is one way to keep hands soft and smooth for both you and your children. And, of course, for any significant other too!

If you’re looking for a gift for a new baby and are shying away from the traditional blue and pink, here’s one to consider. It seems to me that many parents today are moving away from the traditional to accessorize their children’s gear in colors that are, well, more practical and more stylish. I of course, ever on the look out for gear that will last beyond a few months, have always been a fan of this approach.

If you’re also buying for a new mom interested in going green and equipping her child with organic and natural materials, then this Tadpole Organic Hooded Towel and Mitt Set will meet that need too! Made from soft, 100% organic cotton, this comfy towel set is perfect for a tender newborn’s skin. Large enough to wrap baby up tight, the towel has a hood to keep a tiny head warm and the soft mitt is perfect for bathing a slippery baby.

I like the mitten mitt offered with this set as often mitts without a slot for our opposable thumbs, slips off mid wash and ends up sloshing around in the tub rather than firmly attached to an adult hand!

Include a bottle of California Baby, Baby Wash for the perfect bath time gift.