Archive for the 'safe products' Category

Stroller Review: Cosco Juvenile Altura

Published
by
Albert
on February 12, 2009
in Outdoor fun, review, safe products and strollers
. Closed


With some good weather upon us here in Bethesda, Maryland, my daughter and I went to Target earlier this week and purchased a Cosco Juvenile Altura stroller. It cost about fifty dollars and was middle of the road in terms of price.

It took about fifteen minutes to assemble, which was a little bit less time required compared to the Graco stroller I’d put together in the past.

Here’s a picture of the completed product:

Cosco Juvenile Altura

Review
I’ve taken two longs walks with this stroller and it works fine for me. The handle grips are a little lower quality than I wanted. I doubt that they will last very long, but handle grips are not essential and are relatively easy to replace or do without. The wheels work fine and one thing I like about this stroller as opposed to the Graco I’ve used before is that the foot brakes don’t lock when accidentally kicked while walking.

My daughter seems comfortable enough, though she can’t talk yet so I’ll have to wait to ask her what she thinks of the stroller!

One thing that isn’t directly related to the function of the stroller that bothered me was the strong chemical smell that emitted from the unit components after I opened the box. The smell I’m talking about is the “new car smell” which some people like, but is considered by some to be toxic. I realize that plastics are a cheap way for manufacturers to produce durable goods, but if they put our health at risk, is it worth it?

Dry Skin

Published
by
amy
on January 13, 2009
in healthy ideas, review, safe products and skin care
. Closed


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Every winter my daughter starts scratching, dry winter skin is back. Her skin gets so dry, especially on her back. At 3 she’ll ask me to scratch her back for her, “a little up, a little to the edge”. I hate to do it because, while I know it feels good for a moment its is making it more sore in the end. While I don’t use much on her throughout the year, every winter I have turned to my two favorites to help combat the itching- California Baby Calendula Cream and Weleda Calendula Cream. This winter, I found we were out of California Baby and had a little Weleda left, and everywhere I went (3 different stores) they were out! I ended up having order more online. I guess everyone is battling with dry skin right now!

The first winter it happened, she was a newborn, and her cheeks were chapped and her back had little spots of dry skin. I asked her doctor and he said just use Aquaphor. That got us thru the first winter but I wasn’t so sure about putting a petroleum product all over her skin. The next year I bought Weleda Calendula Cream, and it seemed to help quite a bit but it was a little greasy. I went back to Whole Foods and tried California Baby Calendula Cream. (I had been using a calendula gel for years for cuts, sunburns and scrapes on myself, found it worked really well in healing, so I was attracted to the products with that in it). It was great, I applied it before bed and there was a huge difference overnight and on two days it was gone.

While I use California Baby all over her back, I put the Weleda cream on really bad spots, elbows and knees. I find a little every other day keeps her skin without any dry spots. Both products unfortunately register with some low to moderate hazard at Skin Deep, but they work well and until there is a safer one that works just as well or better, I’ll have to stick with them.

Safe Toys for the Holidays




Published
by
amy
on December 2, 2008
in Uncategorized, healthy ideas, phthalate-free, safe products and toys
. Closed

Safer Toy Guide 2008Can you have a lead-free, BPA-free, phthalate-free, worry free holiday season?? God- I hope so. With all the ability to test, research and procure we are bound to have a safer gift giving season. In my house, it means I am researching the toys we give my daughter, limiting what we are giving her, looking for wooded toys, buying US and European and hoping our generous relatives follow suit. We’re in the same boat with everyone- you can’t have total control over what other people pick out for them. So I have hit the internet to check out where to look for reviews and tests, who is carrying the good stuff, and maybe even how to get a deal!

Check out: Fawn and Forest~ one of my favs with lots of natural and eco friendly products, even many handmade. They have a bunch of giveaways with purchases with month too!
Etsy’s Natural Kids section features handmade clothes and toys that are carefully, naturally and lovingly made. You’ll be dealing right with the creator so their standards are especially high.
Palumba~ a beautiful selection of all natural toys and gifts
Oompa Toys~ Lots of nice wooden toys, they have a link that you can see where all the manufacturers of the toys they sell are made.
Craftsbury Kids more handmade, high quality toys and items for kids.
Want to support us? Click on Earthy Birthy Mama, Nubius Organics, Baby Earth or Wild Dill on the right for your safer all natural toys and we’ll get a percentage of the proceeds! (albeit a small one but everything helps support the site!)
Last but not least~ Cool Mom Picks for a great safe toy gift guide and a bunch a deals listed, too! Click above.

Where to go if you’re worried: HealthyToys.org will be available on Dec. 3rd with loads of info on dangerous/safe toys. Consumer Safety Product Commission, Recalls.gov and the CDC Lead Program are all sites that will have recall information.

Still worried about that toy your kido got from your aunt in the midwest- which he/she loves and will flip if its suddenly “missing”? Buy a lead testing kit, they can be found at most big hardware stores and online.

Sound advice: remember always buy for your child’s age group, some toys are meant for older kids because they are age appropriate but many times it’s for safety reasons.

Safer Deodorants for you Mamas, et al

Published
by
amy
on September 30, 2008
in Uncategorized, healthy ideas and safe products
. 2 Comments

So I am back on my what seems to be on a never ending search to find an all natural deodorant that really works. Back in college (more than 10 years ago, and I’ll leave it at that) I heard a few reports about talc/aluminum, the number one ingredient in deodorant being tied to cancers, alzheimer’s and many other sad health affects. One report highlighted ties to breast cancer, think about where you put your deodorant and you put it on generally right after showering when you pores are open and most vulnerable to absorption. So I stopped using regular brands that contained aluminum and switched to all natural deodorants. Well, I smelled. No really, I spent a lot of money testing all sorts of brands, including Tom’s of Maine, Kiss My Face, Dr. Hauschka, Nature’s Gate, etc. And they didn’t work. Some had really nice light natural fragrances, but by mid-day trekking around campus, left me smelly. I have to point out that I am not an unusually sweaty person, but I work out (and in those days ran) and just couldn’t find one that worked. So I gave up after a couple of years of earnest effort and went back to wearing Secret.

Fast forward, when my daughter was born I almost entirely stopped wearing deodorant while I nursed her for the first year, I was more worried about some getting on her than I was about myself. But in the last 6 months or so I decided to give my search another chance. I figured with all the time that has passed surely someone has found the winning combination of ingredients that can match what aluminum does. So I went to Whole Foods where they have the best selection in my area, and asked lots of questions of what was new and worked well. First one I tried was a beeswax based formula and it worked ok, but it was yellow and anything it touched was stained yellow. That was no good, then I tried Tom’s of Maine Long Lasting Roll-On, I just felt like it never dried. The last one I am on is from Nature de France, le Stick, it has a nice light scent and works ok, I feel like if its an especially active day, reapplication is a must. I was going to try a rock crystal but was advised by a friend that they work pretty well but stings like crazy on a post shave application. For now I am using what I have but will probably try something else again. But I am going to try to stick with the safer all natural varieties. Do you have one you have tried and works? I’d love to hear about it and might even give it a try.

Finding a Safer, Less Toxic Mattress




Published
by
amy
on September 16, 2008
in healthy ideas, mattresses and safe products
. 1 Comment

organic-mattress_.jpgSo I mentioned it in my finding a safer crib article, and I am back on it today because we are in the process of buying a new mattress for my daughter. She’s going to be 3 in a few months and we decided to move her into a twin size bed. We settled on using the bed I had growing up, a nice solid oak twin made by Vermont Tubbs. If you don’t know about them, check them out, their products are well-made, on the greener side, use water base glues, and use finishes that do not contain formaldehydes or metallics. They don’t make my exact bed anymore, but it is a timeless style and still beautiful at 25 years old.

Anyway, back to the mattress search. I’ve been reading so many articles lately about mattress safety and fire retardant chemicals as I am sure many of you have been as well. You want a fire-safe, but chemical-free safe place for your little one to sleep. Let’s face it, many of the chemicals added to products to help us, in the end may be hurting us. The chemicals in mattresses have been linked to cancers, hormone disruption, thyroid problems, cognitive delays and more. So what you’ve likely seen is that organic mattresses are expensive, and unless your lucky to live near a showroom that has them, you’re buying them sight unseen online. That is tough when you want something you’re investing in for 10 years, that’s not cheap- you might end up safe but uncomfortable. Your head spinning yet?

There are many organic/natural mattresses to choose from online, but as mentioned earlier, very expensive. One of the most reasonable ones we found in made by Naturepedic, starting at $599 for a twin. Another affordable option, while it’s not organic, seems to be Ikea, where company-wide their furniture, including mattresses are PBDE-free. Other mattress companies that have ceased using PBDEs: Sealy, Serta, Simmons, and Spring Air. But bear in mind they are using some other chemical fire-retardants that conform to US regulations.

Some articles that I have read that were informative and helpful:
About PBDEs fire retardent
Cornell Study on PBDEs
Reducing your exposure to PBDEs
The European Union has banned the use of the most toxic PBDEs. To avoid PBDEs, choose furniture made with natural fibers such as cotton, wool (no fire retardant is necessary for wool) or natural latex.- The Green Guide

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