There are a few products that every woman loves, and will go so far as to buy you, confident of conversion.

For me, Mrs. Meyers cleaning products in Basil are one, Badger Balm is an another – and these Nature Babycare nappys are the latest.

I HEART these nappys. Though I also was nothing but satisfied with Earths Best nappys, I ADORE these.

First of all, they have a wider crotch (horrible word), which my boy, with Hun blood from both sides, needs – as he is just wider all round. Like Earths Best, they are 100% chlorine free – which is key. They are also free of icky dyes, and that scary “super absorbent” gel stuff that conventional nappys have.

But wait!

There’s more!

Nature Babycare nappys, are – shock of the century – Swedish, and based on biodegradable materials (corn), including it’s super absorbent insides. Our boy never, in all fairness, had a “blow out” in his Earths Best, but nor has he in these.  They do NOT leak, which you assure Pampers moms, and they aren’t covered in insipid characters, that are just there to get your child interested in brands as early as possible.

Statistics to consider (or share with a Pampers mom):

1) The average child will use 8000-10,000 diapers in his childhood. Thats 21 BILLION diapers in a landfill A YEAR! Source

2) Even healthy for the skin cloth diapers use water. And lots of it. (Not as much as golf courses, but hey…)

3) Chlorine, found in conventional diapers, is evil.  Not only do you not want it next t babys skin, the production of chlorine for those 10,000 diapers junior will need, produces dioxin. The Devils breath. Dioxin is not only a carcinogen, it’s also a mutagen and tetrogen and bioaccumulates in humans and wildlife. It pollutes the air, water and ground.  It’s also found in ALL of our bodies, including breastmilk. Lovely. So. Chlorine diapers: Rubbish.

So. If you are reading this blog, you are most likely a green mum – so do try one wee package of Nature Babycare – I hope you’ll love them as much as we do.

Tackar så mycket!

The chlorine in our water, and our babies bath can be dangerous. Very, very dangerous. Actually, the steam is the most dangerous bit – which was rather unwelcome news to me as I take scalding showers. And I quote:

“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

Armed with “WordPress for Dummies”, I will attempt to blog about all of the new baby products and nursery items that I have selected, and why. Hopefully, this will save new moms, (and her friends and family), from agonizing recalls, and from seeing their product on the nightly news with the words “toxic”, ”dangerous” or “surprising new research” in the headline. I hope that this will actually help moms create far safer baby registries. I’ll start with the product that started it all for me, three years ago: the carseat. My dear friend, a very busy and very pregnant lawyer, asked if I would help her find a carseat. Honestly, what could be simpler? Before lunch, I answered confidently.

Good thing I didn’t specify the day of that lunch.

What, I thought, could possibly more regulated, reviewed or safer than a carseat? I was honestly more concerned with finding her an adorable one – as they must all be terribly safe, and the ones I had seen had the style of one of Kim Jung Ils jumpsuits. I was wrong, and not for the last time.

During my search I came across www.HealthyCar.org.  These cats analyze cars and carseats to determine their levels of chemicals such as lead, mercury, bromine, chlorine and other scary sounding heavy metals, allergens and carcinogenens – all of which we breathe when we are in our (usually newer) cars and carseats, and which bioaccumulate in our bloodstreams and brains. (Warning: After you visit this site, you’ll never buy a new car again.)  HealthCar.org analyzes hundreds of carseats, and then gives them a rating, based on their toxicity.  (You just can’t make this stuff up.) So…after getting over the utter shock of realizing that our government allows these chemicals in carseats, into which newborns and children are placed every second of every day – as would be my godson – I called my friend and explained that she would need to choose a very ugly, but very safe carseat. And I never assumed children’s product safety again.

Lesson #1: Despite the struggle to accept how little government regulation there is for ANY product, including for our most vunerable citizens, and that the burden is NOT on the manufacturer to prove safety before it’s sold to trusting parents – know this: even if it is something you remember from your own nursery, do not assume that ANYTHING is safe. (Wait until I tell you about that baby oil that you and I grew up with…)

Carseat I chose: Because of it’s lowest chemical rating on HealthyCar.org, we chose the Sunshine Kids Radian 65.  (Link: http://www.healthycar.org/carseat.mostleast.php)  Available on Amazon.com for approximately $200.