In my experience summer brings with it a plethora of baby showers. I’m always on the lookout for a great gift and don’t often buy the same thing twice. (Variety is the spice of life - and gift giving!) If you prefer all-natural gifts and have already done the beechwood teether or bamboo onesie, try the Wee Wild Baby Gift Box.

The Wee Wild Baby Gift Box features all-natural, organic baby products from A Wild Soapbar. A Wild Soap Bar’s products are biodegradable, cruelty free, minimally packaged and do not contain synthetic fragrance oils, preservatives, petroleum products, FD&C colorants or dyes, parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl or laureth sulfates, antibacterial triclosan, TEA or other harmful chemicals. You can’t have too much “pure” when it comes to infant bath and body products!

Included in the Wee Wild Baby Gift Box is their Wee Wild Baby Soap, a pure and mild organic castile soap infused with healing organic calendula, organic aloe, and organic yarrow and lightly scented with a relaxing lavender essential oil blend. This smooth, creamy soap is perfect for baby’s delicate skin. You’ll also find their Wee Wild Baby Balm, a balm enriched with wild yarrow and organic calendula and used for diaper rash, chapped cheeks, dry skin and flaky scalps. Like their soap, the balm is scented with a lavender essential oil blend. To finish off the set they’ve included an organic 8x8-inch hemp washcloth.

The Wee Wild Baby Gift Box is only $26, a mild price for a shower gift compared to some of the wildly expensive gifts out there. You can purchase the Wee Wild Baby Gift Box from A Wild Soap Bar’s website. - Emily H.

Normally I wouldn’t bother to feature something as simple as a children’s hairbrush and comb. You can find a soft-bristled brush and infant comb down any store’s children’s aisle. I have a light blue soft-bristled baby brush tucked in my daughter’s dresser and it probably cost less than $4. When would I spend $20 on a hairbrush and comb set? When it’s the Hare Baby Comb & Brush Set from Skip Hop. I love it when form meets function, and this little bunny does just that!

I have lost that light blue hairbrush more times than I can count; it even went missing for about two months. If we had Skip Hop’s super cute Hare Baby Comb & Brush Set atop the dresser my daughter would’ve suffered from far fewer bad hair days. It’s not that we didn’t have another brush in the house; it’s just none are as soft as those baby-specific hairbrushes.

The Hare Baby Comb & Brush with its cute rabbit base is an all-in-one grooming set. The brush and comb, each with soft-grip handles, double as bunny ears and are the perfect size for parents. The brush features soft bristles so they’re gentle on your little one’s scalp. The comb has wider teeth to help with untangling hair. (Unfortunately even at almost two years old we don’t have to worry about tangles in our daughter’s hair!) As cute as the “hare” set is, my favorite part is the hidden shatter-proof mirror on the base of the bunny!

The Skip Hop Hare Baby Comb & Brush Set is BPA-free, phthalate-free and PVC-free and would look great in any nursery. You can purchase the Hare Baby Comb & Brush Set for $20 from Amazon.com. - Emily H.

Registering for the real basics

A friend recently asked me what to register for. Now, my list of recommended items is probably more bare-bones than most, so I am likely to neglect things other people would want. So I thought I’d review some baby registry lists I found online to see what I thought of them. My assessments of six lists from leading parenting websites and retailers are below.

Good lists

Parents.com: I was impressed by this list. Sure, the quantities are off (8 pairs of socks? We had two, and we had a winter baby, and that was enough) and some things are not truly necessary (like a crib bumper, which is not recommended because of small increase in SIDS risk) but really, it is a good list. [Link]

Babyfit.com: A nicely organized, non-overwhelming list. Some things were a little odd (belly casting kit?) but most things were practical and safe. [Link]

Decent lists

Giggle.com: A good list. Again, too many of some things (seriously, how is a stroller blanket different from a crib blanket?) but not overwhelming and not very materialistic. [Link]

Target: Target’s Newborn and 0-3 month lists are comprehensive - overspendy but a good start to whittle down from. For instance, you do not need a diaper stacker, diaper disposal system, or diaper disposal refills, in my opinion. But that is your decision. And according to roughly 95% of the internet community, you can skip the wipes warmer. I know I did. [Link]

Bad lists

Baby/Toys R Us: Totally insane and overwhelming, this page would have made me cry. Unless you love to shop (and thus spend money), avoid. [Link]

Walmart.com: Whoa. Do not follow this list. Far too long, lots of unnecessary things, and at least one thing that is unsafe (sleep positioners). Finally, they completely lost me at “elbow cushion” for the bath list. Are they serious? I did not know such a thing existed. I think the "elbow cushion" of choice for 99.9% of moms is called a "towel." [Link] - Leigh G.

I’ve always known about baby-friendly laundry detergent and fabric softener, but I had no idea you could buy baby-friendly dish soap! Dapple Dish Liquid is an all-natural dish soap that is phthalate-free, paraben-free, and dye-free. It features award-winning "green" technology that targets milk residue (all too common on bottles and other feeding gear) and baking soda to fight odor. The ingredients list is rather impressive only because I can actually understand each ingredient, from purified water and baking soda to tree oils and natural amino acids.

Dapple rinses quickly and uses essential oil for a light lavender fragrance. It is also biodegradable, environmentally safe, free of detectable levels of dioxane (a known eye and respiratory tract irritant) and has not been tested on animals. Kind of makes me wonder just what's in the current bottle of dish soap sitting on my sink…

You can purchase a 16-oz. bottle of Dabble for about $6 from Amazon.com or a case of six 17-oz. bottles for about $42 from Dapple's website. - Emily H.

Products that are good for several things at once save time, space and effort. One favorite item of mine is Weleda Calendula soap. It’s a regular bar of soap, but in our house it has served three important purposes.

When I was pregnant, and for the first two months post-partum, I developed several horrible full body rashes. Itchy, miserable… I shudder to even recall the torture. This soap was suggested to me by an herbalist at a local natural body product shop, and I have to say it definitely was soothing. It didn’t cure the rashes (that unfortunately required prednisone) but it did make me feel better.

Once the baby was here, I noticed the soap was labeled for use with babies. Sure enough, it is great on my son’s skin, and works really well for a shampoo as well. As a bonus, it smells great.

So there you have it - balm for rashy moms, soap for newborn, and nice-smelling shampoo for baby’s hair. All for a reasonable price considering it is a very long-lasting bar! - Leigh G.