A friend of mine is having her first baby, a girl, in a few months and I was wondering about what to get the little doll. My friend is definitely a girly-girl and I’m sure she’ll have plenty of fluffy pink bears and bows for her hair. But I was thinking of getting something a little less conventional, and maybe a lot more empowering...

But what the heck is empowering for a baby girl? A duckie with a Rosie the Riveter t-shirt? A pacifier with a feminist symbol? I don’t want to rock the boat and I don’t want to make my friend upset, but I also want to give them both something that will help foster a lifelong strength—or maybe a little girl power.

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Even if he doesn’t have giant ears, a cool top hat, or the amazing ability to crawl immediately following birth like Rudolph’s friend, every baby New Year deserves some cool gear. If your friend or loved one just had a baby, you might want to get the little decade-starter one of these presents.

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One of the best gifts you can give a new parent is the reassurance that he or she is doing a good job. When we start out, we’re all the same—a mess of confusion, worry, and the deer in the headlights look. That’s fine; how many parents do you know who start out feeling 100% confident and continue every step of the way?

Since January is Baby Safety Month, you may wish to give the gift of a worry-free state of being: tell your new mama or daddy that he or she is doing a good job, that at least half of those baby safety products out there are unnecessary (or even a joke), and to keep up the good work.

That said, there are plenty of legitimate baby safety products that you might want to invest in for your new parent friend. Here are a few ideas.

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If your loved one has a brand new baby this Christmas, it’ll probably be one of the most memorable—and tiring!—yuletide holidays he or she will ever remember. For a truly memorable gift for both baby and parents, you could give the family a set of baby Christmas photos this year.

You don’t have to pay for a sitting, but if you do, make sure that the baby is safe. Bring some sanitize wipes to wipe down anything used in the photo shoot—or, better yet, bring your own from home. Get the package you can afford; you don’t have to get enough for the entire family. Most parents would be thrilled with a single eight by ten and a few wallets to show off.

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A good three or four year’s worth of diapers, free medical care, no germs to ever touch her child, sleeping through the night during the first week after giving birth… There is probably a list a mile long of things that a new mother would love to have.

But this week, while I was harried and going nuts between work, school and some family matters, a dear friend remarked, “You need a mommy day.” She then proceeded to offer me one herself, which I nearly cried upon hearing.

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Every new parent wants what’s best for his or her new bundle of joy. From safety latches to outlet covers, baby monitors to toy size-checkers, most parents don’t find any investment too costly when it comes to protecting their children.

That’s why it’s so important to protect kids while bathing. Not only can babies be scalded by the water, they can also slip and drown. Then there’s the shampoo and washing products themselves, which claim to be so kid-friendly and “tear-free,” though, as their ingredients have been found to cause health problems like hormone disruptions and cancer, they must cause tears in the long run, right?

Help out the new parents in your life in doing their new number one priority—protecting their baby—by giving the gift of bath safety. Here are a few products you may want to invest in.

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I know what you’re thinking—a notebook? There is this cute little bundle in my friend/sister-in-law/coworker’s womb practically pleading for a rubber duckie, a soft velour blanket covered in Pooh Bear print and gobs and gobs of stuffed animals—and you want me to give her a notebook?

Well, yes! I remember when I was a new mother and I received more stuffed animals and blankies than I’d ever need; many of them were quickly donated. Plus, though I wasn’t very fond of pink, I ended up with over forty pink outfits for my daughter. Her closet was one sea of Pepto Bismol, folks. Not that I’m ungrateful—on the contrary, all of that help was much-appreciated!—but people usually have all of the fluffy things that they need.

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Everyone's favorite solar powered lamp just got even better, with two new baby-friendly colors.  The Sun Jar is a small solar lamp inside a traditional frosted glass mason jar.  It combines new technology with old fashioned design and is a beautiful and practical nightlight for any nursery.  Once only available in a natural yellow color (hence the literal meaning of the Sun Jar),  the manufacturers have now introduce pretty pink and cool blue versions. 

It might sound old fashioned, but I still think it would be a cute idea to give a blue lamp for a boy and pink for a girl.

Nightlights are one of my favorite gifts for new moms as they are both thoughtful and unusual, practical yet pretty.  The Sun Jar is especially nice as it is sophisticated enough to look stylish anywhere in the home, but with a warm suffused light that babies are sure to find comforting.

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Looking over a recent baby shower registry list at Target I noticed a different type of gift this time around. When you think of baby showers and what to get the baby and expecting parents to help them cope and care for the new child would you think to look at a Nintendo Wii? Gaming systems now also have a place on the gift list and there is actually substance and not all selfish want behind it.

The Nintendo Wii is known for being an active gaming system. It's gets you up, involved and moving around. One of the biggest Christmas hits was not just the gaming system, but the Wii Fit starter kit to add on to it with the Balance Board accessory that acts as a scale and reads real life movement just like the hand held remote. It's a combination of fitness and fun designed for everyone including new moms wanting to drop the pounds after having baby.

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Community and harmony is very fashionable these days..Barely mid June at around 7:30pm, I am traipsing along a forest trail behind three new girlfriends I've made here at The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee. We have been bunking together at the Eco-Hostel for the last two weeks throughout our month long apprenticeship in Natural Building. We are on our way to a ladies' clothing swap at Caroline's house, where we will meet the other women of The Farm, the longest running American intentional community and ecovillage, to swap clothing and stories and songs, some fine dishes of food, wine and tequila.

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