Best Newborn Toys and New Baby Gifts

Vulli's Sophie Giraffe teether toy is made of natural rubber, and the toy's features are created with food paint, so there's nothing toxic for baby to chew on. For very young babies, the giraffe's spots provide enough visual contrast to be interesting. As babies learn to grab and chew, the toy's squeaker and textures give baby new playtime opportunities. I like Sophie's retro look. Babies will enjoy the fun simplicity of this toy.

Instead of a plain nightlight for baby's nursery, try out this plush sea turtle that can project stars onto the walls and ceiling of the nursery. Three colors of lights shine through the turtle's shell, which has five endangered sea creatures highlighted on it. The lights will turn off after 45 minutes to save the batteries. A storybook is included so you can eventually tell baby about endangered sea animals, and a star guide will help older kids pick out the stars they see projected from the turtle when they go out and look in the night sky. This is a cool gift that will be fun and useful for several years.

Bright colors, patterns and interesting textures make this peacock toy from Lamaze a great choice for small babies. There's a music feature and a little mirror, too. Though newborns are a little young to do this on their own, you can use this toy to play with baby, moving the peacock around as the music plays and letting baby learn to follow the sounds. This toy is easily stashed in a diaper bag, too, for instant distraction when necessary.

Many parents steer clear of baby lullaby CDs for fear of not liking the music. With Rockabye Baby! CDs, you can choose your favorite music group and listen to soothing renditions of your favorite songs. A few of the groups available as lullabies are: Nirvana, Beach Boys, ColdPlay, The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Radiohead and U2. Baby can go to sleep to soothing sounds and you can secretly sing along in your head to music that doesn't irritate you! If you're a country music fan, look for the new Hushabye Baby CDs from the same company that feature lullaby versions of popular country music songs.

Unlike a lot of gift sets with tiny sample-size products, this baby basics set from MD Moms features full-size containers of the company's fantastic hair & body wash, baby skin lotion and diaper rash cream. I love the clean-rinsing hair & body wash. Since you don't need to use much at a time, these products will last for quite a while. Even the packaging is thoughtful - the products are in a sturdy, flip-top box with a magnetic catch that you can use to store small items or baby keepsakes.

These soft, versatile muslin blankets will quickly become a parent and baby favorite. Aden and Anais blankets go beyond traditional pastel pink, blue and green, with a variety of cool patterns and modern color combinations, whether you know baby will be a girl or boy, or even for a unisex baby gift. Use these wraps to swaddle your newborn, throw a wrap over the top of your car seat or stroller for shade or to block the wind, use the blanket as a burp cloth or even a changing pad. These wraps are machine washable, so there's no worry about getting them dirty. The breathable material keeps baby cozy but not too hot.

The real intrauterine recordings on these CDs will help soothe baby to sleep because it comes so close to the sounds your baby heard while snug inside the womb. Using low-frequency noise, like you would hear underwater, Sound Sleep for Babies recreates that womb-like atmosphere in the nursery with resonating sounds that you can almost feel physically. Unlike some other soothing CDs, this one fades gradually rather than just cutting out, so your baby has a better chance of staying asleep instead of being jarred by a sudden stop. The sounds are soothing to toddlers and adults as well, so this CD may be particularly useful if you want to induce a family-wide nap time!

You have to touch a Little Giraffe chenille blanket to understand why parents go crazy over them. The chenille is luxuriously soft and thick, so it's comfortable for baby whether you tuck the blanket into a stroller, bundle baby up in it against the cold, or use it as a floor covering for play time. The chenille duo blankets feature a classic baby pastel chenille on one side - you choose from pink, blue or soft green - and the flip side is a rich mocha color. The blanket is trimmed in coordinating satin. Little Giraffe blankets are the ones that started the luxury baby blanket trend!

The amazing textures on the Deglingos plush rattles are fun for babies to touch, plus as soon as baby learns to grasp and shake, that rattling noise provides another reward. These rattles from the Deglingos series are modern and eye-catching, each with an animal character that you can use to interact with your little one. These rattles are easy to clean up, as well, after they end up in baby's mouth.