Kiss My Face has developed a gorgeous line of non-toxic, bio-degradable soaps that can be used as prolifically as Dr. Bronner’s.  You can wash your body, clothes, dog, dishes and floors with this stuff. It’s inexpensive, 10% of the profits go to help children in war-torn countries and the scents are far milder than the the nutty Dr.’s.  Plus, the packaging (though slightly influenced by that peppermint stuff, ahem) is fresh and fun.

At $16 for 34 oz, it would also make a cute shower favour if pored into smaller vials. Soap never goes to waste.

The “Peace” blog is quite good, and will make you feel even happier than a good soak in the tub. You may need a few of their soy based Peace candles for that soak.

Even the wick is natural cotton for Petes sake!

They aren’t Jo Malone or Maria Santa Novella candles – but this is the price that we green mamas pay….

Enjoy!

Like many mums, I found myself using my sons body wash as it was already in the shower and, quite frankly, smells delicious. However. Sometimes mama wants to smell more “grownup”, whilst still staying clear of petrochemical products, sulfates, parabens, fragrance, synthetic colors, etc.

REN to the rescue.

Free of all the nasty bits, REN body washes are distinctly adult in “flavors” such as Moroccan Rose, Lavender, Grapefruit and Sea Weed & Sage. If you balk at the overly refreshing zing of Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint wash – this milder stuff is for you. Safe enough to have in the same shower that you wash junior in, you’ll be left feeling pampered and adult – while not smelling like a baby. Which, less face it, you aren’t.

REN makes a great shower (geddit?) or hostess gift.

Happy Suds!

In searching  for a BPA, PVC, Phthalate free baby toothbrush, I came across Soft Landing, which is a brilliant company that sells plastic wares (for you, baby and pet), without PVC, BPA or Phthalates.  Ah, the face of the future. Watch and learn MBA students….

For the indesisive and those who like “samples”, they have perfect little baby packs of things like safe bottles…

eating service

or bath toys…

Honestly, these cats have everything you could possibly need. And any company that realizes that furbabies need safe toys too, I heart…

This is one of my new fave sites - and I hope you’ll forward it along to new and seasoned mums alike.

Bookmark for stocking stuffer time.

Happy Monday!

When I was a wee girl in London, I had a coconut shell in my bath to wash my hair and play with.  As I am trusting less and less in anything that feels plastic, no matter it’s PVC or BPA claim, I thought that I would have to have my cousin in Panama send me one – as who the heck would have half coconut shells to buy? Amazon.com, that’s who! And each one is $1.29! Genius.

You can always use non-toxic paint to tart up these shells (buy a few at this price), and they are safe, natural and float. The perfect bath toy methinks. 

Try them – they are sure to make a splash.

This is not a torture device – it is a bathtub, inspired by the tubs used by those eccentric Europeans.

Needless to say, it’s BPA, PVC, phthalate and lead free (yes, those things are in conventional plastic tubs), but, most importantly, it seems that babies love being in warm water up to their chests, and in the fetal position – both of which are accomplished in the Spa Baby.

I haven’t bought one of these space age looking things, but they are also BPA/PVC free. (My only concern would be that baby might reach up and touch a still warm spout.  I still have a scar from having done just that.) I do love the name: the Puj Tub (it makes me lust for a curry). It doesn’t seem that anything larger than a baby or Shih Tzu could fit in one, though.

And what to wash the dear one with?  Natural sea sponges (best brought back from the beach holiday you should squeeze in before the baby), and any soap (when he is old enough), that has a “0″  rating from the Skin Deep database.

For a yummy and cozy dry off, organic towels  from Under The Nile are just the thing.

Note: For those of us having winter babies, rather than worry about creams and lotions, just consider using extra virgin olive oil. It’s been the safe choice of mother’s for 4ooo year - and soaks in gorgeously apres bath. (Any oils that contain nuts, such as almond or sunflower, are to be avoided until they are cleared by the Doctor of not having nut allergies.) 

Let me know if you use the Raj, and love it.

“Expectant mothers can expose themselves to the higher risk by drinking the water, swimming in chlorinated water, taking a bath or shower, or even by standing close to a boiling kettle, say researchers.

The finding, based on an analysis of nearly 400,000 infants, is the first that links by-products of water chlorination – chemicals known as trihalomethanes, or THMs – to three specific birth defects.

Exposure to high levels of THMs substantially increased the risk of holes in the heart, cleft palate and anencephalus, which results in the absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp.”

Sometimes I wish I had never been taught to read.

So. Now what? Well, luckily you can buy water filter shower heads for less than a bottle of wine. Whole house filters, like the one my husband and I are placing on our water system, can be more spendy – which is again, why you should have this perhaps be a parent, in-law, or rich uncle gift.  After a month of research, I chose the Aquasana whole house filter. Here’s why: Why. If you live in an apartment, you can always buy one of many under sink systems, which hover about $100.

Either way, a great shower gift, as well as an essential part of  your baby’s bath, are chlorine balls, which I order from one of my favourite green stores www.Gaiam.com.  These balls will rid the bath water that washes your baby’s highly porous skin of 95% of the chlorine that flows from the tap. They last about a year and cost about $50. (And yes, they fit over faucet protectors.)

Learn More: Check the water quality rating in your city here