I made the switch over to natural cleaning products when I was pregnant with my first child.  I started doing some reading and I knew cleaning products could be harmful to breathe or to be on your skin, so I decided to find some safe products to clean my home, and I’ve stuck with them ever since.

First of all, Johnny bought me this really cool book called Better Basics for the Home.  It is literally full of all kinds of recipes for things you can make yourself.  From furniture polish and window cleaner, to shampoo and toothpaste, to flea and tick powder!  There are usually several variations for any type of product you want to make.  I’ve used olive oil and vinegar to polish my furniture, and I’ve used tea tree oil and lavender oil mixed with water to do other cleaning.  I make my own soft scrub with castile soap and baking soda, and it works great!  I also use vinegar for lots of things.   I  highly recommend this book if you’re interested in natural cleaning.

I also use a few Method products to clean with.  For convenience sake I have some of their disposable all surface wipes, and I also like their window cleaner and I purchased the oMop recently.  I love all of these products and I bought one of their microfiber window cloths to use on my windows and mirrors.  It is wonderful!  And now I don’t go through all those paper towels anymore!  I have also used their laundry detergent for several years and really like it.

Speaking of microfiber, do you know what an awesome product it is?    Did you know that you can clean with only microfiber and water to clean and remove dirt and bacteria.  No chemicals needed!  Check out these two articles to learn more!  The Strange Case of the Missing Microfiber and Better Cleaning  Through Microfibers.

I hope you have learned plenty of new things about green cleaning!  Now I’ve got to go clean the bathrooms!

I’ve never really mentioned parabens here before, and since a lot of products carry the “paraben-free” label these days, I thought I’d give you a little information about them.

Parabens are a group of chemicals widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Parabens are effective preservatives in many types of formulas. These compounds, and their salts, are used primarily for their bacteriocidal and fungicidal properties. They can be found in shampoos, deodorants, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, personal lubricants, topical/parenteral pharmaceuticals, spray tanning solution and toothpaste. They are also used as food additives.

As you can see from this definition, parabens are in many, many products.  When I was pregnant with Gabriel, I began to do some research on parabens and began to throw out my main-stream beauty products.  You see, parabens have been linked to metabolic, developmental, hormonal, and neurological disorders, as well as various cancers.  The Environmental Protection Agency states that ALL parabens have been proved to interfere with the function of the endocrine system, and these endocrine disruptors are stored in our body’s fat tissues.  Endocrine disruptors have been suspected of contributing to reproductive and developmental disorders, learning problems, and immune system dysfunction in children. I didn’t want to put anything potentially harmful on my body, especially while I was pregnant.

Dr. Mercola suggests that if you wouldn’t eat your beauty products, you probably shouldn’t put it on your body either.  He says to seek out products that are so pure that you could actually eat them.  When you put anything on your skin, it gets absorbed into your bloodstream and becomes integrated with your body tissue.  Scary, huh?

How can you avoid these?  Read your labels and check out products at Skin Deep before you buy to find out if they’re safe.  According to the Safe Cosmetics Campaign, we should avoid the following chemicals, whenever possible:

Butyl acetate

Butylated hydroxytoluene

Coal tar

Cocamide DEA/lauramide DEA

Diazolidinyl urea

Ethyl acetate

Formaldehyde

Parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl and butyl)

Petrolatum

Phthalates

Propylene glycol

Sodium laureth/sodium laurel sulfate

Talc

Toluene

Triethanolamine

I hope this is helpful information that you’ve been seeking.  I think Skin Deep is invaluable, and I highly encourage you to use it, espcially if all this seems really overwhelming to you.

Great subject, right?  Well, since I’ve been doing a lot of this in the past week, I thought I’d share some techniques with you.  Nathaniel got hit with the stomach bug, then me, then Gabriel.  Johnny feels like a hunted man today since he’s the only one left.

A few years ago, Parents magazine (the September 2006 issue to be exact) printed an article about how to do all sorts of different things.  One of those things was “How to Clean Up Throw-Up”.  I tore it out for safe keeping because I knew the information would be invaluable at some point in my life.  So here is what they said, along with my own helpful pointers – from experience, of course.

1. First, use a paper towel to lift away any solid remains.  For hard surfaces, cat litter works to soak up what’s left so that it can be scooped up and thrown away.  You don’t have a kitty?  Sprinkle baking soda or cornstarch on the affected area to absorb the throw-up (and the odor.)  Make sure to do the baking soda thing.  I did it one day, and forgot to do it a different day.  It really does make a difference in SMELL!
2. For carpeting and rugs, consider investing in dry-cleaning fluid (do a test run to make sure it won’t bleach out the color.)  After cleaning up the vomit, pour the fluid over the stain.  Blot with a dry, white cloth.  Rewet the stain with a squirt of mild liquid detergent, then blot again with the cloth.  Flood the stain with water and blot, repeating until there’s no soap residue.  I have never tried the dry-cleaning fluid, but I do have this Woolite POD, and it works great!!  In fact, I need to go buy another one.  I used mine up this past week.
3. If your child vomits on a wood floor, use a pH-neutral cleaner or a solution of white vinegar and warm water.  If you’re cleaning a mattress, car seat, or the living-room couch, sponge the stain with cool water, then cover the spot with baking soda and allow to dry, then vacuum.  We have wood floor in a large part of our home, and my white vinegar did the trick again!  But I will admit, there was a crazy weird fume when I cleaned up the puke with the vinegar.  My floor is still good, though!

While I hope this information will help you, I hope you don’t have to use it anytime soon.  Stomach bugs are NO fun!

Do you remember last year when dogs and cats were getting sick and dying from pet food containing melamine?  How about earlier this year when you heard about the babies in China who got sick, or even died from drinking formula containing melamine?  Melamine is an organic compound that has been found in dog food, baby formula, Mr. Brown coffee, and your melamine dishware. Yikes!

Melamine is a chemical that is used to make all sort of things; plastics, fertilizers, pesticides, and has been added to milk products to falsely increase the level of protein.  It can cause kidney stones, and kidney failure.

According to SafeMama, it is often combined with formaldehyde to produce melamine resin, a synthetic polymer that is fire resistant and heat tolerant.  A report from the National Toxicology Program states:

Melamine resin, a hard thermosetting polymer made from melamine and formaldehyde, is widely used in the US in the form of kitchenware, including plates, bowls, mugs and utensils. Reports in the literature indicate that some kitchenware based on melamine resin leach considerable amounts of melamine monomer. A migration of up to 2.5 mg melamine/ 100 cm2 was observed under conditions that simulate an exposure to hot acidic foods…

The FDA recently announced that there is no safe level of Melamine in baby formula, so I’m thinking I don’t want my kids to be eating off of it either!  So yes, I am again telling you that I’m riding my house of something potentially toxic.  Goodbye Melamine!

If you’re not ready to say goodbye yet, (or maybe your kids aren’t), then here are some tips to be a little safer:

• Don’t ever microwave, heat, or boil the dishware
• Always hand wash with mild soap
• Use them in the “play” kitchen, bathtub, or sandbox

Sources: SafeMama, Healthy Child Healthy World

Here are some very helpful checklists if you’re thinking about or already trying to get pregnant.

Preconception Checklist:

• Make sure you’re not taking any medications that aren’t okay for pregnancy
• Start taking prenatal vitamins 3-6 months before you plan to conceive
• Start eating healthy, if you don’t already
• Cut back on fats and sweets (you’ll be glad you did, trust me)
• Cut back on caffeine
• Make sure you’re exercising, and that it’s a safe routine for pregnancy
• Say good-bye to drugs, alcohol, and nicotine
• Sleep, sleep, sleep
• Minimize stress

Ways to Boost Fertility:

• Watch your weight.  Too much fat, or too little, can make it harder to conceive.
• Make sure to get enough protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin C.  Deficiencies in these have been linked to early miscarriage
• Stop smoking
• Watch your cycle (I highly recommend Taking Charge of Your Fertility, if you want to learn how to do this.  Plus, it is just great to know how your body works.)
• Stress and depression can make it harder to conceive.
• Research has linked alcohol consumption with a decreased ability to get pregnant. (Who knew!)
• Make sure hubby has a good diet and cuts out cigarettes, alcohol, etc.

A personal suggestion of mine would also to be to avoid products with BPA or phthalates in them.  If you can’t remember why, please read these posts.

Also, after you do get pregnant, I suggest getting this pregnancy journal, and signing up for BabyCenter newsletters.  It is just SO amazing to see how life begins at conception and how your baby is growing from the very moment he or she is conceived!  Either of these, the journal or the newsletter, will help you appreciate this new life even more!

Sources: www.Parents.com

Since Nathaniel has had fever lately with his Roseola, I’ve been doing some reading on how to treat fever in children.  I always wonder if I should break out the Tylenol, or let him sweat it out?  Call the doctor or treat him at home?  Worry, not worry?  And a whole host of other questions.  Well, let me tell you what I found out.

Fever is a symptom of an underlying illness.  It’s a backup immune system, according to Dr. Mercola, and it shouldn’t be suppressed unless absolutely necessary.  Infections are the most common cause of fever. Let’s look at how fevers are rated:

• low-grade fever – temperature between 100.4 F and 100.9 F (37.2 C to 38.3 C)
• moderate fever – temperature between 101 F and 102.9 F (38.4 C to 39.4 C)
• high fever – temperature higher than 103 F (39.5 C)

Dr. Sears recommends taking your baby’s temperature when they are well, once in the morning, and once in the late afternoon, so you’ll know what your baby’s average temperatures are.  Any temperature above that average indicates a fever.  Dr. Mercola advises us to avoid using most of the anti-fever meds unless your child is absolutely miserable, or the fever is over 105 F.  WOW!  I would probably freak out before it got to 105 and break out the Tylenol.  He does say however, that he would be concerned if the temperature was above 102 F.  There is no risk of brain damage until the temp gets higher than 105 or so.  The reason to avoid taking Tylenol, or something similar is that this actually prolongs the illness since it inhibits the body’s immune response.

So are you wondering when you should worry and when you shouldn’t?

When to worry less:

• Baby not acting worse.
• Active, playing, responds normally to interaction.
• No difference in skin color other than flushed cheeks at height of fever.
• Smiling, alert, interested in surroundings, eyes wide open.
• Baby “back to normal self” when fever breaks.
• Cries vigorously but can be consoled.

When to worry more:

• Baby acting sicker by the hour or day.
• Increasingly lethargic, drowsy, less responsive.
• Pale or ashen skin color.
• Dull, anxious facial expressions.
• Baby seems no better when fever subsides.
• Cries inconsolably or moans and cry becoming weaker.

When to call the doctor:

• Any rectal temp above 100.4 or higher in an infant less than 3 months or for that persists more than 8 hours.
• If your baby is becoming increasingly drowsy, pale, and lethargic and doesn’t respond to fever-lowering methods.
• If your baby has obvious signs of a bacterial infection such as ear pain, severe cough, sore throat, or painful urination.

Make sure to give you child plenty to drink, if chilled – bundle in light breathable fabrics, if fever is low – dress snuggly and give warm liquids to assist fever production, don’t push food.  They’ll let you know when they’re hungry and what they’re hungry for.  This is a really great article that I recommend Fever in Children – A Blessing in Disguise.

Sources:  The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two (Revised and Updated Edition) and Dr. Mercola

As you may recall from my last post about the FDA finding lead in women’s and children’s vitamins, I found my very own prenatal on the FDA list.  Since then I’ve been on a search to decide if I should go ahead and switch to another prenatal or if lead is pretty much unavoidable.  I’ve found some interesting things.

It seems like every brand I decided to look into cost much more than my Rainbow Light Just Once Prenatal.  I looked at Megafood Baby & Me, New Chapter, Synergy Group, Juice Plus, and Garden of Life.  Some of these companies don’t make prenatals, but I thought I could add in more of whatever I needed.  Anyway, they were all much more expensive.  But while searching for these brands, which are all very high quality, I found a few of them on the FDA list.  WHAT?!  This made me start to question the whole lead thing even more.  I was especially surprised to see a Garden of Life product, so I emailed them to find out why.  Here is what they said.

Thank you for your email and interest in Garden of Life’s products.
Garden of Life has been a recognized leader in innovative, whole food
supplementation.  We firmly believe that this approach is best for our
bodies and our customers’ have come to depend on us for these quality
nutrients.

Among the challenges we face when sourcing the raw materials for our
products, though, is that they originate in natural and organic
ingredients.  It’s not uncommon when dealing with natural or organic
products and foods, derived most frequently from organic soils, to see
traces of all kinds of elemental ingredients.  Lead is a natural
component of the soil that the plant materials are grown in.  No lead is
added to the soil or to the products during manufacture; rather, the
lead is taken up by the plants from what is already in the soil.  The
amount of trace minerals and variable content from lot to lot are beyond
our control and are just part of the nature of the product.

With regard to Living Multi, the FDA clearly noted that the trace
amounts of lead found in the lot it tested did not present a safety
issue.  The Living Multi product line is another way that we, at Garden
of Life, endeavor to deliver quality supplements to our customers.

Now, to me this really makes it seem like lead is unavoidable.  I mean, if it’s even in soil, then it’s in our fruits and veggies, right??

From there, I moved on to this post at Treehugger, and I read the comments.  These two really stood out to me:

Baah, as a chemist, this article makes me want to smack some people upside the noggin’.

A pill contains something like a few billions of trillions of molecules. That is a lot. A big number with lots of zeros. Lead is a naturally occurring element. It is in everywhere, in everything, simply because it has billions of trillions of chances in each pill or apple or piece of pumpkin pie.

You know what? Pretty much everything you touch, eat, or drink has ~1 parts per billion lead. It would have lead on this order of magnitude if no person besides you had ever existed. Get over it.

The only thing this article demonstrates is how powerful our analytical techniques have become…detecting ppb levels is quite a trick.

And this one…

Any lead level safe? Like it or not treehuggersville, there will NEVER be a case where there is not trace amounts of lead in materials, especially those containing other metals. It isn’t like picking bad seeds out of your pot. We go through great lengths trying to eliminate certain metals from semiconductor materials and packaging – and trust me, there’s big money in doing it, and can’t get rid of it all. It isn’t possible. So, less is better, but if you are looking for none, you’ll never see it, and the more you want out, the more it’ll cost you, because purification to parts-per-million (ppm) or ppb is very very expensive.

So there you have it.  I feel much better after digging a little deeper into the “lead in my vitamins” issue.  I’m not worried anymore, and once again, for now I’m sticking with my Just Once-Rainbow Light Prenatals; at least until I can afford something better.  If I don’t get lead from my vitamins, I’ll just get it from my food anyway.

Yes, I’m here to tell you about some more of the bad stuff that’s found in your home.  It’s depressing that we just can’t seem to escape all the junk in this world.  But, don’t despair.  We can at least try to better our environment inside and out, which helps a lot!

I wanted to talk about fire retardants, (PBDEs and Deca), since we’ve already covered phthlates, BPA, and other ways to go green.  PBDEs are a type of flame retardant found in electronics, furniture, mattresses, futons, foam carpet padding, children’s car seats, automobile interiors, foam pillows, and other foam items.  According to a new EWG study, toddlers and preschoolers have three times the level of toxic fire retardants in their bloodstream as their mothers.  It’s very sad to me that children in the US have the heaviest burden of Deca pollution in the world.  Deca is a neurological and hormone disruptor and children are more susceptible to it’s effects. All of these different things leach chemicals into the air and onto your skin, where they get in your blood stream and even your breast milk.

Here are a few ways to avoid PBDE’s in foam according to EWG:

1. Inspect foam items.  Replace anything with a ripped cover or foam that is breaking down.
2. Use a vacuum fitted with a HEPA filter.  These type of vacuums are more efficient at trapping small particles and will likely remove more contaminants and other allergens from your home.
3. Do not reupholster foam furniture.
4. Be careful when removing old carpet.  The padding may contain PBDEs.
5. When purchasing new products ask the manufacturer what type of fire retardants they use.  Avoid products with brominated fire retardants, and choose less flammable options like leather, wool, and cotton.
6. Buy furniture from Ikea!  Theirs is PBDE free!

And, ways to avoid PBDEs and Deca in electronics:

• purchase brands which have publicly committed to phasing out all brominated fire retardants, such as:  Acer, Apple, Eizo Nanao, LG Electronics, Lenovo, Matsushita, Microsoft, Nokia, Phillips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony-Ericsson, and Toshiba

Now I want to tell you a few more ways to help clean up your indoor environment.  Johnny and I have this great book, How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office.  I think that title is pretty self explanatory, but I’ll name a few plants mentioned in the book.  If you’d like to add some of these great plants to you home or office to purify your air, think about rubber plant, bamboo palm, or peace lily.  I think that seems like a pretty easy (and a great looking) solution!

I don’t want to weigh you down with one more thing to worry about.  I just want to try and help you be informed on ways you can change your envirnoment for the better.

As you may know, we try to avoid giving our children OTC and prescription drugs as much as possible.  And since we’ve been the house of sickies lately, we’ve had to rely on some old-fashioned home remedies to help us through.  Our three-year-old, Gabriel, got a cold at a play group we went to and was generous enough to pass it on to Nathaniel and I.  Unfortunately for Nathaniel, his turned into croup and he’s had some pretty tough days, and nights.  We all have.  When I ran across this list of safe home remedies, I knew I had to share them with you.

1. Honey – it coats and soothes the throat and helps tame a cough.  In one study, parents rated honey better than cough syrup for treating children’s nighttime coughs.  Your child has to be at least a year old to try this.  For children 1-5, 1/2 teaspoon of honey.  Children 6-11, 1 teaspoon. Don’t forget to brush their teeth after taking it, especially at bedtime.  And no drinks of water afterward.  I can’t say enough about this remedy!!  We have been using this with our boys and it has worked wonderfully!  One night I even forgot to give Nathaniel his honey before bed and he was coughing and crying and couldn’t get settled at all.  I went in and gave him 1/2 teaspoon of honey and it worked like a charm.  He stopped coughing and fell fast asleep within minutes.  And would you believe this is the only “medicine” he doesn’t resist?
   
2. Neti Pot – A neti pot flushes a mild saline solution through the nasal passages, moisturizing the area and thinning, loosening, and rinsing away mucus.  Gotta have a cooperative child for this one.  Not for babies or young toddlers, and older children might not go for it.  You have to kind of learn how to do this, and a friend of mine recently told me it’s a little tricky at first.  Try practicing on yourself first.  I have never tried this myself.
3. Nose Blowing – Helps your child breathe and sleep more easily, and probably feel more comfortable.  Many kids can’t do this until 4, but some can by 2.  Hold one nostril shut and practice blowing out one side.  Gabriel can do this very well at age 3, and has been able to for a while.  It really does help.
4. Bulb Syringe – Clears the nose of little one too young to blow.  Don’t suction your baby’s nose more than a few times per day or you might irritate the lining of his nose.  Of course Nathaniel hates this, but it does help him breathe easier.
5. Vapor Rub – Supposed to help kids sleep better at night.  Research suggests that the ingredients really don’t effect congestion, but they make you feel like you’re breathing easier by producing that cool feeling in your nose.  Now you can buy these made for babies 3 months and older.  Or try making your own.  Massage into chest, neck, and back.  [Update: Here are a few more ideas...Take four ounces of jojoba oil and stir in fifteen to twenty drops lavender oil, 30-35 drops eucalyptus oil, and eight to ten drops wintergreen oil. Shake well in a closed container and warm the whole thing by running it under hot water. Just make sure to test on your own skin prior to use. Or either of these look like good options to me...Sniffles for Kids Eucalyptus Rub, or Congesto-K KiddieRub]
6. Gargling with salt water – Soothes a sore throat and helps clear mucus from the throat.  Mix 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water and stir.  Try to gargle 3-4 times a day while sick.   Your kiddo has to be able to gargle, so probably school age.
7. Elevating the head – Elevating their held while they rest can help them to breathe easier.  For babies, place some towels or slim pillows between head of mattress and crib springs.  NEVER put towels and pillows in the crib with your baby.  They could suffocate him.  For older kids, try and extra pillow.  Shoot for a 45 degree angle.  My kids toss and turn too much for this to work.  Half the time their head are at the end of their beds, in which case this would definitely not work!
8. Lots of rest – Watch videos or bring toys to the bed.  Books, puzzles, crayons and paper.
9. Steamy air – Breathing this moist air help loosen mucus in the nasal passage.  You can do this with a humidifier, cool-mist vaporizer, or a steamy bathroom.  Use the humidifier or vaporizer in your child’s bedroom when they’re sleeping or resting.  Add a few drops of menthol, eucalyptus or pine oil to the vaporizer to help them feel less congested.  You can also close the bathroom door and turn on the hot water.  Sit in your steamy bathroom for 15 minutes.  We always use a humidifier or vaporizer in their bedrooms at night when they’ve got colds.  It does make a difference.  Since Nathaniel has had croup we’ve also been doing the steam treatments in the bathroom with him.  We just bring along a few toys and books.
10. Extra Fluids – Drinking lots of fluids help prevent dehydration and it also flushes and thins nasal secretions.  Water is great, but maybe not very appealing to you child.  Try fruit smoothies and other healthy beverages, and popsicles made from 100% juice.  If your baby is less than 6 months old stick to breast milk or formula. We do smoothies for breakfast a few times a week, and one morning as I was making them I noticed the package of frozen strawberries I was adding had 90% vitamin C!  Organic juice popsicles are also great.
    
11. Chicken soup and other warm liquids – Very soothing and help relieve congestion.  Studies show that chicken soup actually relieves aches, fatigue, congestion, and fever.  Warm tea that your child likes, such as chamomile, is another idea.  (Make sure any herbal tea you want to try is safe for children.)

Update : Just to clarify for you, there are 4 different types of cough and cold medications, and NONE of them are okay for children under 4.  They include nasal decongestants, anti-histamines, cough suppressants, and expectorants.

Sources: babycenter.com

If you remember from earlier this year, the FDA issued a health advisory that cough and cold medicines should not be used to treat children under the age of 2.  Earlier this month the FDA held a public hearing on using cold medicines for children between ages 2 and 6.  They didn’t come to a conclusion and said they needed more data.  Well, guess what. The makers of these medicines, acting “out of abundance of caution”, say the medicines shouldn’t be given to children younger than 4.  I think I’m going to go with the makers on this one.

Did you know that the recent debate on all of these medicines resulted from a citizens petition by a group of pediatricians who felt that cough and cold medicines were unsafe?  Hmm.  I’m not feeling any better about these medicines if pediatrician felt they were unsafe.  Research even suggests that these medicines can do more harm than good.  Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore’s health commissioner and a leader in the push to stop marketing these medicines for children says, “There is no evidence that these products work in kids, and there is definitely evidence of serious side effects.”

Wondering which types of medicines?  They include decongestants, expectorants, antihistamines and cough suppressants.  I’m thinking we need to learn what Grandma used to do, and find some good home remedies.  Well, I have some for you in my next post.

Update : Just to clarify for you, there are 4 different types of cough and cold medications, and NONE of them are okay for children under 4.  They include nasal decongestants, anti-histamines, cough suppressants, and expectorants.

Sources: babycenter.com