Organic & Natural Living Thursdays!

Green your Nursery!

I just read, "Sara Snow's Fresh Living," The Essential Room-By-Room Guide to a Greener, Healthier Family and Home. It's a great book for anyone wanting to know how to go Green and learn the basics of Green Living & what ingredients to stay away from. I first saw Sara Snow on Jon & Kate + 8, when she came on the show to teach Kate how to make yummy Organic food for the kids.

I won't cover How to Green Your (entire) Nursery, but will give a few tips from the book that I thought would be helpful when buying toys for your precious baby/toddlers, bottles, and pacifiers.

Toys & Plastic Precautions:
Most toys that are available at major stores are Plastic. I never thought about it much but after reading Sara's book I realized that I need to pay more attention. Many Plastic toys are made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic. PVC, as a gas, is a known carcinogen. Also, some PVC toys often will have lead in them as an additive (i.e. rubber ducks, inflatables, and waterproof books) and can have Phthalates to make them flexible. Phthalates are a hormone disrupter & can be released while a baby is sucking on them. Yup I'm pretty sure I am offender to all these things.

Also, stay away from Lead. Lead has been shown to be toxic if inhaled or ingested and has been linked to a number of additional problems, including ADD, learning disabilities, and memory loss in children under 6. Also, Lead has been shown in toys made from China & India. There have been numerous recalls on TV stating this.

How do I know if I have a PVC Toy?
Look for #3 on the bottom of the Toy.

Good news though, there are companies that are selling
PVC & Phthalate Free Toys:
Lego
Gerber
Little Tikes
Early Start
Tiny Love
Sassy
Brio
Ikea
Eco-Baby Buys (Sign up HERE to get Daily deals, they are worth it!)

I won't be throwing out my girl's toys but I will be making more of an effort to watch out for the #3, and start buying wood toys as an alternative.

Baby Bottles:
Some bottles contain BPA (bisphenol A), a hormone disrupter than can leach into the milk and to your baby. Sara states, that BPA has been linked to early puberty, hyperactivity, impairment to the immune system, and decreased sperm count. With that said, avoid bottles with the #3,6, or 7 on the bottom of the bottle, or which is labeled PC or polycarbonate.

What Bottles should I buy?
Bottles made from glass or polyethylene or polypropylene plastics, and #1,2,4, or 5 is safer.

Pacifiers:
When buying Pacifiers or bottle nipples, stay away from cloudy or brown nipples (made from latex) which can harbor bacteria and could lead to latex sensitives.

What Pacifiers should I buy?
Clear Silicone, and avoid silicone with synthetic coloring agents.

I'm hoping this information was helpful to you, and not too intimidating. I'm personally not going to throw away my daughters toys but will look threw them more carefully and distinguish which ones to keep & which to donate. Also, I like to trade things at my local resale shop. I got the above toys for my baby as an alternative to plastic to show you that it can be affordable to get wood toys. The rattle is Haba, and the other toy is from Ikea. I got both for $12 at Picconlina's!

Christina