Environmentally friendly and organic baby gear

[jddo]

Hi, although I have been reading this message board for a few weeks, this is my first post, so I appreciate any feedback!

I am 33yo and 17 weeks along with my first baby, so I have lots of questions about gearing up for baby. I'm especially interested in chemical free, organic, and environmentally-friendly baby stuff, but having trouble finding such things. We're going to do cloth diapering for as long as we're able, I'm going to breastfeed, and we're going to feed organic solid foods once the time comes, but other than those basics, I have so many questions! Sheets, towels, baby lotions and soaps and wipes, clothing -- what do you suggest?

Thanks so much!
Michelle

[Rachels]

Michelle, have you checked out Mothering.com? They have whole message boards devoted to natural family living and you'll find a ton of info there. There's some cute organic clothing at www.granolathreads.com and there are lots of WAHMs that make organic baby care products. Welcome to the BBB and be sure to check out Mothering also.

-Rachel
Mama to Abigail Rose
5/18/02
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif
Nursed for three years!

and Ethan James
10/19/05
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/bf.jpg


"When you know better, you do better."
Maya

[jhrabosk]

Hmmm...never really thought about the soft goods (sheets/towels/clothing). We just have what people have given us. Although, a lot of the Hanna Andersson stuff (visit the Reality Layette area for more info) is made from organic cotton.

Many of the CDing mamas here use cloth wipes as well with homemade wipe solution or just plain water.

We've had good success with environmentally-friendly laundry detergents...I think we're currently using Ecos.

As for lotions and soaps...we used Dr. Bronner's at the beginning and California Baby a lot since then. You can buy them on drugstore.com or Whole Foods, among other places.

HTH!

[holliam]

Michelle, there are so many products like that available! Definitely subscribe to Mothering magazine and check out the forums on http://www.mothering.com like Rachel said.

We mostly used (and still do) use WAHM-made lotions, soaps, wipes, towels. I know I have seen organic sheets too. Are you co-sleeping?

Feel free to PM me if you want some specific resources or links on Mothering, but those mamas (and dad's.. my hubby is on there :) ) know their stuff!

Holli

[jddo]

Yes, I like the idea of WAHM-made products too. Any specific names/websites on this?

I hadn't heard of Mothering magazine yet, so thanks to Holli and Rachel for that tip! I checked out the website and will subscribe immediately.

As for co-sleeping, I'd like to, but I'm deciding between the different options. So far, we've gotten a pack n' play (from a friend who never used it) which has a bassinet and changing table, so I was thinking of putting that right next to my side of the bed. (My husband likes that idea better than the Arms Reach one, probably because it was free!) But I've also heard mention of the Snuggle Nest on this forum, so I'm considering that.

Thanks so much,
Michelle

[lisams]

Michelle, welcome and congratulations! It sounds like you have already made some excellent choices on your way to natural parenting and being environmentally friendly!

As far as baby lotions and soaps, we've been using California Baby products and have been very pleased with them.

For clothing we stuck with mainly 100% cotton stuff, and did not use pajamas that contain fire repelant. It's hard to find affordable organic clothing, especially when they go through so many sizes that first year!

Have fun getting ready for baby!

[holliam]

Here are some companies, but definitely become active at Mothering. When you are there for a certain amount of days with so many posts (forget the numbers) you gain access to the Trading Post where people re-sell things and host co-ops, which give you good prices to many organic, WAHM, etc. products.

Here are a few organic baby clothing:
http://www.bluecanoe.com/
http://www.speesees.com
http://www.underthenile.com/underthenile/index.php
http://www.greenbabies.com/
http://www.sagecreeknaturals.com/
http://www.farmerkids.com/
http://www.hannaandersson.com -- large site but carries sleepers in organic cotton

There are many more but I'm blanking on them.

My daughter got very bad ezcema when using Burt's Bees and California Baby, but most people can use them without a problem. Weleda is another popular, easy-to-find brand. We use products from NorthernEssence.com (WAHM-made) and JacksMagicBeanstalk.com I LOVE the northern essence diaper cream.

We adopted our daughter and we weren't sure if she'd like co-sleeping or not so we did get a crib with an organic mattress.

TONS of WAHM-made stuff at http://www.hyenacart.com

Holli