After reading about all the contaminants – including cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel, titanium and chlorine (not to mention pharmaceuticals, PCB’s and rocket fuel!)  that were in the water – all American city water – I nagged my husband into putting a whole house water filter on our water system before my first son was born. Honestly, it was the best gift he ever gave me.

I am frequently asked by women what they should register for. And my first recommendation is always a whole house water filter. Your child bathes and drinks this stuff daily – and it just isn’t clean or pure enough for your babies highly absorbent skin and vulnerable developing system. He needs clean water more than cute onesies, stuffed rabbits and silver rattles. I know that water filters aren’t adorable, photogenic or engravable – but the benefits to your child’s immediate and long term health are inestimable. THIS is one of the top ten best gifts you’ll ever give your child. All for the price of one really nice handbag. Not including installation.

Why am I mentioning this again now? Today the Chicago Tribune featured an article on lead in Chicago drinking water …

High lead levels were found in drinking water in seven of 38 Chicago homes tested by federal regulators this spring, according to records obtained by the Tribune.

Why should you care?

Experts say there is no safe level of exposure to lead, which has been known to cause diminished IQs in children, even at low levels, and heart attacks and strokes in adults.

This is bad stuff, ya’ll. And very easily kept from your child’s system.

If you are preggos you honestly want to think about registering for a whole house water system.  Our water isn’t safe enough for you or anyone you really love (maybe for a despised boss – but that’s it). At first, other moms will roll their eyes and think that you’re a right nutter – but ask them to Google “water quality” and let’s see who is rolling their eyes then.

Note: Champagne has none of these contaminants.

Cheers!

This beautiful contraption, is a part of out Aquasana whole house water filtration system. We have two of them, for both of our homes water tanks.  Basically, when I was preggos I read about all of the chlorine and other toxic chemicals that would get into my baby (via his baths), were I not to take drastic measures (like getting this Cousteau like looking thing). By investing in a whole house system, I could also avoid storing his drinking water in plastic Brita like filters, which was a major plus (we also placed under sink systems in the kitchens.)

So. Every three months, just as you do with your air filters, you change the pre-filter.

Keep in mind, we are a wee family of two adults and one seven month old. It’s hardly the 6 by Design gaggle.

This week we changed out pre filters after 3 months – and I thought that I would share the images with you of a fresh filter, and the vile 3 month old filter.

I don’t even WANT to know why that looks like the largest ciggie butt in the world – or what in heavens name made it that tar color. Nor do I want to know what all the bits and crystals were that we washed out of the filter holder.

What I DO know, is that I now realize that the most beautiful gift my husband ever gave me was not my engagement ring – but this water filter. Because whatever that stuff is, it’s not on, or IN, our son.

Another photo:

I know that when women register, they want lovely togs, bits and bobs – but honestly – I think all new parents should STRONGLY consider getting a whole house water filtration system,

To help you compare filters – here is a helpful link: WATER

To check out your water (by city), click HERE and HERE.

If you are in Chicago, reading about the drugs and sex hormones in our water may be of interest – HERE.

The economy is bollocks, I realize that. But if there is one thing that you should try to scrimp and save for – it’s clean and SAFE water.

Cheers!

“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