So, I’ve had this question for a while, and since I will be dealing with it sometime later this year, I thought I would let you in on a little secret….YES!!  You probably can!  

You just have to find the narrow type.  Yep, they do make narrow car seats! The best ones, and really only ones marketed for “3 across” that I’ve found are Sunshine Kids Radians.  They have great safety ratings as well.  There are two different seats available. The Radian65  is for a child 5-65 lbs. and the Radian 80 is for a child 5-80 lbs. You can read all the great ratings on Amazon.  Both of the Radians have  4.5 stars!  While these seats are a little pricey, they are definitely cheaper than a new car.

If you’re looking for a narrow infant carrier seat, Baby Cheapskate did some research and recommends the Baby Trend Flex-Loc. If you’d like to read their article on the infant carriers, search for “infant car seat guide” and choose the January 2009 article.

If you have some more questions about car seats, here are a couple of helpful sites:

Carseatdata.org

Car-safety.org

I hope this helps somebody out there!  It really wasn’t that easy for me to find information about fitting 3 car seats in a backseat.  Hopefully I did a little research for some of you out there!

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!

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

Is anyone else afraid of salmonella poisoning?  I think I might be on the edge of freakish about it.  I wasn’t before we had children, but now, well, it’s a different story.

When I buy chicken at the grocery store, I always get a produce bag and use it as a glove to pick up the chicken and then cover the entire package so I don’t have to touch it.  I mean, come on, I’ve seen that gross chicken juice pooling up in the bottom of the chicken refrigeration thingy.  It’s totally yucky!  The chicken stays in that bag until I’m ready to open it.

Every time we’re having chicken for dinner and I have to get that bag of chicken out of my fridge to place it into the sink, I have a great fear.  The fear is that one of my children is going to fall down or get hurt in some way and need immediate help while I am covered in chicken juice.  Am I crazy?  I guess I’m just a lit-tle overly cautious in this area because I’m from a very small town.  I’m talking 500 people.  And do you know that I’ve heard of two different babies in my hometown getting salmonella poisoning??!?  Hospital stays were involved!!  OK, so if you don’t think I’m crazy, then read on for my chicken preparation procedure.

• Get out spray bottle of vinegar
• Get out plastic baggies and open each one, kind of propping them up and open
• Get out a fork and knife
• Put the bag of chicken in the sink and remove the outer bag
• Use a knife to cut open the chicken package
• Use a fork to stab chicken and place very carefully into one of the propped open baggies, trying not to touch outside of bag at all
• After all the chicken is safely into baggies, pickup tray and plastic bag and throw in trash as quickly as possible
• Place fork and knife in sink and wash hands thoroughly with soap and water
• Close baggies and place in fridge or freezer
• Spray white vinegar like crazy anywhere chicken juice could have possible dripped – fork and knife, counter top, sink, etc.

That is my process.  Are you wondering why I use white vinegar?  Vinegar kills bacteria, mold, and germs.  A straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—the kind you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses).  And, as you might have guessed, it’s totally non-toxic.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my phobia.  We’re having chicken tonight, so I’m off to spray my vinegar.

First of all, can you believe that BPA is in formula? So yes, even if you’ve switched to glass or BPA free baby bottles, there is actually BPA in the formula you buy! I’ve got some tips here from EWG to help you minimize your baby’s exposure.

• avoid metal formula packages
• buy formula in powder form instead of liquid
• store your formula in a BPA free container – such as OXO Good Grips POP containers (which are also PVC and phthlate free!)
• buy the “better” brands (with BPA only in the top & bottom of the can) – Nestle, Enfamil, & Similac, or the “good” brands (with BPA in the entire container) – Earth’s Best & Bright Beginnings

You also need to avoid using the soft plastic bottle liners, as they also contain BPA.  If you are in a situation where you must use formula, I encourage you to write the companies asking them to stop putting this harmful BPA in their packaging!  If you can’t remember all of the harmful side effects of BPA, please see my other post Is There BPA in Your Baby’s Bottle?  What About His Toys?.

I wanted to give you this information, because some of you are unable to avoid feeding your babies formula.  A close friend who is in the adoption process reminded me about BPA in formula, so I wanted to bring you this helpful information.  Please check out EWG’s Guide to Baby-Safe Bottles and Formula.  It’s a great reminder of all of the important steps in ensuring your baby’s safety.

The CDC has launched a new campaign to protect kids from skin infections.  According to the CDC, MRSA is a type of staph bacteria that’s resistant to certain antibiotics.  It can cause severe infections in people in hospitals and other care facilities, and can also cause skin infections in healthy people who haven’t recently been hospitalized.

MRSA is spread through:

• direct contact with an infection
• sharing towels & razors that have touched infected skin
• touching surfaces contaminated by MRSA

The signs and symptoms of MRSA skin infections appear as a bump or infected area on the skin that may be red, swollen, painful, warm to the touch, or contain pus or other drainage.  Fever can also be a symptom.

So, please help your kiddos keep those cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage.  And wash those hands!  If your child develops any of these symptoms, please contact your doctor to get the proper treatment.

Did that title get your attention?  Boy, it sure did get mine a few weeks ago when I first read about it on ZRecommends.  I quickly thought about the clothing we have.  We actually don’t have many of the tagless items because our clothes were mostly purchased a few years ago when Gabriel was a baby, before tagless was popular.  But I did find a few tagless items from The Children’s Place, Carter’s, Old Navy, and Gap.

If your child has a rash or lesion caused by these labels, ZRecommends says you need to:

• Call Carter’s at 888-782-9548
• Call CSPC 800-638-2772
• Email ZRec’s with pics and information for them to use when talking to Carter’s
• Email ZRec’s with pics and information concerning other brands you’ve had this problem with.

Here is some addition information from ZRecommends with a response from Carter’s.  And, some pictures of a child who has suffered a burn.  There is no need to freak here.  My kids have not had any of these allergic or sensitive reactions to these tagless clothes.  I just want to make you aware of this so that you can be on the lookout if your child has a strange “burn” on his or her back.  Share this information with friends!

We have a few things on our baby’s bed that are a little different than what most people have. With all of the SIDS hype, it is very important to have a safe bed; so we’ve done our research and tried to make it as safe as we know how.  Here is what we have done.

Mattress Cover

I can’t remember how we ran across this product or information, but it didn’t take long to prove itself to us.  We read about  Dr. T.J. Sprott of New Zealand who has done some great SIDS research that you really don’t hear about here in the States.  Dr. Sprott has been researching cot death, (SIDS), since about 1981 and has come up with some very interesting facts.  He has concluded from his research that SIDS is not caused by a baby breathing in their own carbon dioxide, but by breathing in the “hightly toxic nerve gas which can be generated from mattresses and other bedding used in babies’ cots.  The gases are generated by action of common household fungi on compounds of phosphorus, arsenic and antimony present in the mattress or bedding.”  In other words, common fungi in your house feed off of the chemicals in your baby mattress and emit toxic gases.  When your baby is sleeping, their little face is right next to where the toxic fumes are being emitted! If that got your attention, then go and read Dr. Sprott’s FAQs page!  There is also another interesting article on the toxic gas theory here.

The way to prevent your baby from breathing in these toxic fumes is to either buy a BabeSafe mattress, or a BabeSafe mattress cover.  We went with the cover since it was cheaper and because it also protects the mattress from “accidents”.  The mattresses are only available for purchase in New Zealand.  All of the details on measuring your mattress and “wrapping” it can be found here, just click on FAQs about mattress wrapping.  If you’re still not convinced, please look at this statistics page.  There have been NO reported deaths (in about 11 years) of any babies sleeping on a BabeSafe mattress or BabeSafe mattress cover!!  Isn’t that amazing??!?

Bumper Pad

The other product I wanted to tell you about is similar to a bumper pad.  In the past we had always used a standard bumper pad in the crib. You know, the tall, padded kind that you tie to the rails. But we never liked the fact that it could limit the airflow for our babies to breath; especially when they snuggle right up to it. When Nathaniel started using his regular bumper as a step stool of sorts, I decided to take it out.  But, since he likes to snuggle up to the side of his bed when he’s sleeping, he couldn’t get comfortable without the bumper there as a cushion.  That’s when I found this awesome CozyWedge at Mom4Life.  It is short enough that he can’t use it to give himself a boost, but it protects his little head from hitting up against the edges of his crib so he stays comfortable.  Even more, its unique wedge shape makes sure your baby is always getting fresh air.  We love it!

I just had to share this important information with you.  Hope this information will have your baby’s bed in a  SIDS free zone too!  Please, let us know what you think.

We have a certain bath tub progression at our house for newbies. We start out with this tub from The First Years. It’s great for newborns because it comes with a soft sling that reminds me of a hammock. They can lay in it while they’re still tiny and it’s easy to keep them up out of the water when they still have their umbilical cord stump. One side of the tub is inclined and great for when they’re a little stronger and ready to move out of the hammock. After they can sit up, the other side of the tub is made to help support them in a seated position. We don’t use this tub much after our babies can sit. We move on to the best tub of all!

The Duck Bathtub! Both our guys have loved this tub! It’s a great move from the baby tub because it’s not too big and it’s soft. They have enough room to play and it even quacks!! It has a suction cup on the bottom of the tub and we just hang it up on the shower wall when we’re done.

When they out grow the Duck, we do the regular old bath tub. But, not without a bath mat! It suctions to the bottom of the tub and I hang it on the wall of the shower to dry when we’re done with it. It’s also machine washable and stays looking clean and nice for a long time.

So there you have it, our bathtub progression. We haven’t made it to the regular bathtub without the mat yet. But I’m sure we’re not too far away.

Maybe we should start here with pronunciation.  You say it like this \ˈtha-ˌlāt\, the “ph” is silent.  OK, so now that you can actually say the word, let’s discuss what it is. Phthalates are a chemical used in PVC plastics, solvents, and synthetic fragrances. Here’s a cheatsheet at Environmental Working Group to give you some of the basics.

I thought we’d talk about Phthalates since I mentioned last week in the BPA post.  This chemical is another serious concern for our little ones, especially boys, and pregnant mommies.  The above cheatsheet says that “Phthalates are endocrine disruptors linked to problems of the reproductive system, including decreased sperm motility and concentration in men and genital abnormalities in baby boys. (Oh, and did you know that average sperm counts have decreased significantly since the 1940’s?) More recently they’ve also been linked to asthma and allergies.”  YIKES!  We’ve got boys at this house, so let’s chew on some wooden toys!  Thank goodness congress passed the ban on phthalates recently!

Wanna know how to avoid phthalates??  Start by avoiding…

• Nail polish with DBP in it, (check out EWG’s Skin Deep to find some that are okay)
• microwaving your food in plastic
• Vinyl toys
• Paints (choose non-VOC paint)
• Fragrances, like perfumes, air fresheners, detergents, body wash….choose fragrance free whenever you can – and here is a safe air freshener
• Vinyl – that plastic-y smell on new shower curtains or rain coats
• Cosmetics
• Hair color

One fairly easy way to avoid phthalates is by checking all of your body products on Skin Deep.  I threw out almost everything I owned and started fresh with new brands and products.  I stopped coloring my hair, and I try to be as careful as I can.  I buy products that are paraben and phthalate free.  And here is an article you should read if your thinking of getting pregnant and would like to avoid these chemical toxins.  Since there are no labeling requirements, it’s really impossible to know which products are risky, so again, just use Skin Deep to help you out.  Concering teethers and bath toys, you can check the same Z Recomments list that I referenced in the BPA post.  And here is a wonderful cheatsheet from SafeMama on Paraben and Phthlate free baby products.

I hope I’m not overwhelming you with all of this chemical information.  I really like passing it on to those interested.  It’s very important to me to avoid being around harmful things.  I want our home to be as clean, safe, and toxin free as I can possibly make it.

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