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.

Though not one of things that mamas dream of buying, you will need a basic baby care kit. Seems easy enough, no? No. Most of the baby kits that you will find use BPA , PVC and Phthalate riddled plastic and bits. Yuck. But this kit, which I ordered from www.Giggle.com, is free of those evil lurkers.

You may also get (modern looking) safe baby care kit products from www.zo-li.com.  They have a BPA, PVC, Phtalate free battery operated nasal aspirator – though I am going to wait and see if I can’t manage with the old fashioned bulb that comes with my Giggle kit.

This is the perfect shower gift for a Pisces. They have that whole Florence Nightingale thing going on.

Have you ever wondered why Pixar or Disney hasn’t re-made the “Princess and the Pea” story, though the Princess category is one of the most profitable for licensing?  I’ll tell you. Because that Princess was too damn ill from polyvinyl chloride, diethyl hexyl phthalate, formaldehyde, and flame retardant exposure from all those mattresses, to sign over the rights to her life story.

After you read this, which describes the malevolent tetrogens that are in a conventional baby mattresses, you’ll buy an organic one (you will, you’ll see): http://www.healthychild.com/toxic-sleep/part-i-toxicity-analysis-of-baby-mattresses/

I think that the Princess, now married for the second time,  to that adorable stable boy, is also too upset to speak to producers after discovering that her breast milk (and yours, and mine), most likely contained flame retardant levels 10 to 20 times that of our European sisters.  How the boll#$%^ have we been so exposed to flame retardant chemicals? Our mattresses. Every single one we have ever slept on: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-09-22-breast-milk_x.htm 

(Note: Mattresses are not the only culprit, sadly. Flame retardants are now found in most household dust – as a result of the chemical saturated foam in furniture, textiles and the plastics in TV’s, etc. VACUUM!  ALOT! And get a non-ozone producing air purifier. I’ll talk about vacuums and air filters next.)

And of course, the Princess was less than amused to discover that that pile of mattresses also contained PVC’s that will never, ever, ever leave her system: http://www.safemilk.org/article.php?list=type&type=55 

Alright. You get it. I know you do. The good news? Organic crib (and adult) mattresses are everywhere today. Buy one. If nothing else, just do this one thing, and reduce your child’s chemical body burden and statistical chances of suffering from asthma, allergies and SIDS, among other diseases and conditions. http://www.healthychild.com/toxic-sleep/has-the-cause-of-crib-death-sids-been-found/

Understandably petrified to buy anything else, I now have several organic mattresses in the house (which use naturally flame retardant wool): one for the crib, one for the bassinet and one for the toddler bed, all from http://www.naturepedic.com/ The least expensive organic mattress that I have found that is kosher INSIDE AND OUT is here: http://www.babyearth.com/naturepedic-mattress-naturepedic-no-compromise-organic-crib-mattress-150-seamless.html  When looking for a mattress, please be VERY CAREFUL of “Greenwashing” – it’s when part of a product may be organic, but other parts are not, the latter not being mentioned in it’s promotion - as an example – the very inexpensive Sealy “organic” mattresses actually have a non-organic FOAM core.  Most foam is evil. Repeat after me….MOST FOAM IS EVIL. That’s the bit that they usually treat with the most chemicals. So do NOT go by cost alone. Again, when it isn’t perfectly clear what is IN a product, either don’t buy it, or contact the company and ask.

This recent article from The Chicago Tribune on choosing a crib mattress may prove helpful: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-tc-fam-cribs-0806-0802aug02,0,4564480.story

Lesson #3: Your child is breathing in whatever he is on, or is on him. And as he breathes in TWICE as much as you do, he will absorb in TWICE the toxins.

PS: No matter how toxic your breast milk, it is still the best for baby. That’s how good the stuff is.

PSS: The Princess is actually fine. She’s Danish and Denmark is part of the European Union which has already banned most of the insidious chemicals that we are happy to expose our children to. http://chemicalwatch.com/2553 and http://www.euractiv.com/en/environment/relaunches-controversy-children-exposure-chemicals/article-166009