Baby Steps was founded by Jill Tanner and Jackie Levine. We've been friends for a long time, and when we each became pregnant with our first children at the same time we turned to each other for support during our babies' first year.

As working moms (we are both producers in the film and television business), we craved information about our new babies but had limited time to search through the myriad books and websites out there. Ironically, we all felt (our husbands too!) that we'd come home from the hospital with less information about our newborn babies than we had from our weddings with instructions on that new cappuccino machine!

We approached motherhood with the same focused intensity as we did our jobs, and we wanted to know what toys would best stimulate our children's brain development - but still the right toys and books eluded us. After countless purchases, and a whole lot of toys filling up our houses, we still felt unsatisfied with the quality and usefulness of the toys we found.

And, we were frustrated with the amount of time we spent doing research to find helpful tips on raising our babies.

We vowed to help other new parents navigate the waters of new-parenthood, and when the Hollywood writer's strike hit in the fall of 2007, we used our free time to take action - and created BABY STEPS, INC.

Parenting is a challenge for everyone at every stage of your child's development. We hope we can make things a bit easier that first year. The market is flooded with loud, plastic toys. We really believe in getting back to basics, so our toys are handcrafted of wood and organic fabrics. Feel free to get on the ground with your baby and our toys, and just play. There is so much to feel lost about as a new parent, but playing on the ground is instinctual and even better with the right toys for your child's development.