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Posts Tagged ‘organic crib mattress’

Keeping Your Baby Safe in the Sun – Some Sunscreens May Be More Dangerous Than the Sun!

Saturday, July 24th, 2010


If you’re going to the beach with a newborn, it’s easy to keep them out of the sun. But once they’re mobile, they want to crawl in the sand, play with their little pail and shovel, make mud pies and splash in the water. How can you safely protect your active little one from the sun? This new guide will give you the skinny on protection, and tell you the truth about sunscreens.

The Environmental Working Group has compiled info on sun safety for you your kids, including research on 1400 different sunscreens (don’t worry, you don’t have to plough through all that research) to help you figure out which are safe and effective.

The new EWG sunscreen guide (read or download the guide by clicking the link), offers the following:

o A list of the top sunscreens – by which we mean the least toxic while still being effective.
o A searchable database in which you can find out about the sunscreen you’re using or others you have questions about.
o Sun Safety Tips for every age – from infant to adult.
o The Hall of Shame – your worst options, and why. Some of this product info might come as quite a surprise.
o Sunscreens exposed: The truth about sunscreens, what’s proven and what’s not, and how sunscreens could be causing more health problems, including skin cancer, than sunburns ever did.

This is vital information for your little guys, and for you. Especially the specifics on sunscreens. After all, if you won’t let your baby sleep on toxic chemicals (that’s why we make organic crib mattresses); you’re certainly not going to rub them into their skin!

Summer’s already fun. Now make it safe!

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Check out Safer Chemicals Healthy Families’ New Video – By Moms, For Moms

Sunday, June 13th, 2010


Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, an organization dedicated to ensuring new safety standards for chemicals are established and met, has released a video made by Moms, for Moms to help educate families and organizations on the dangers of toxic chemicals. It’s called Moms Take Action Against Toxic Chemicals, and is available by following the link.

Safer Chemicals Healthy Families is a coalition representing more than 11 million people in the U.S. including parents, health professionals, advocates for people with learning and developmental disabilities, reproductive health advocates, environmentalists and businesses.

They provide a wealth of information and are working to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act. The Act was written in 1976 and has not changed since that time despite growing evidence of the link between toxic chemicals and health. Chemicals have been linked to everything from diabetes to learning disabilities.

Naturepedic is also a member of the coalition. Our organic crib mattresses are designed to help prevent exposure to toxic chemicals, but we would like to see everyone, not just babies, living safer lives.

Check out the video and, while you’re on the site, also check the list of participating organizations. You may find quite a few in there that would help you find the resources you need to further your personal quest and answer your questions!

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Posted in Kid-Safe Chemicals Act, Naturepedic, Toxic Substances Control Act, dangerous household chemicals, toxic chemicals | No Comments »

Mom is Baby’s First House. Is Your Body Kid-Safe?

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010


non-toxic chemicals in MomCouples hoping to start a family or have a new baby often start planning well into the future. Moving into a new place that has room for the baby, is in a safe, family environment, decor, clothing, even what school the kids will go to are sometimes decided years in advance. Prospective parents who are in-the-know would also be searching for the best organic crib mattress and other non-toxic furniture. But sometimes we forget to make sure the baby’s very first house – Mom – is up to par.

Many recent studies have shown that kids whose Moms’ bodies contain chemicals are born with those chemicals in their body. One study found 287 chemicals in newborns’ umbilical cords.

Many experts believe this is a real health hazard because children’s under-developed bodies are especially susceptible to toxins. Even the President’s Cancer Panel suggests that both parents should avoid exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and known or suspected carcinogens prior to conception, during pregnancy and throughout a child’s early life.

How can you safeguard your baby?

The first order of business would be, of course, to eliminate chemicals from your environment as much as possible. You can do a lot with just a few changes in:

Personal care products and cosmetics,
Household cleaning products and laundry items, and
Food that contains chemical additives or was grown (like chicken and beef) with added hormones, antibiotics, and so forth.

But it is also a good idea to see a health practitioner and get tested for the chemicals in your body and, if needed, do a detox. There are many different types of detox programs – your health care specialist can recommend one that’s best for you.

A chemical-free environment for your baby to come home to is important – everything from clothing to crib mattresses. But a good detox for Mom and Dad gives your baby an excellent start right from conception.

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Posted in Green your home and nursery, dangerous household chemicals, expectant mother's health, pesticides, phthalates, safe bath and personal care products for kids, toxic chemicals | 1 Comment »

Finding Non-Toxic Cribs for Your Organic Crib Mattress

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010


non-toxic crib for organic crib mattressGetting an organic crib mattress is easy – just call up Naturepedic and it will be at your doorstep before you can say “where’s my stuff?” But getting a non-toxic crib is another matter. What is a parent to do?

A recent discussion on Debra Lynn Dadd’s (aka the Queen of Green) Green Living Q & A blog highlights the problems involved in finding a truly non-toxic crib. One reader even said they bought a crib that was allegedly non-toxic only to find out later that the glue used to hold it together contained three times the amount of formaldehyde recommended as safe. Boy, you just can’t leave any stone unturned!

What are the parameters to keep in mind?

* The crib should be made of solid wood – not particle board, a laminate or veneer. And not PVC or some other form of plastic.
* The glue used to hold the crib together should be non-toxic.
* Ideally, the crib should either be unfinished – which includes clear, colorless finishes, unless you know they are non-toxic – or, if painted, ensure the paint used doesn’t contain toxic solvents, dyes and so on.

For more info on specific brands others have found (and/or eliminated), check out Non Toxic Baby Cribs – the aforementioned discussion on Debra Lynn Dadd’s website.

Truthfully, it can take some research to find what you’re looking for. They’re also not the least expensive cribs on the market, so don’t expect to find one for $59.99 – although you can find one that converts to a toddler bed so you’ll have years of use.

But, it’s worth the time, effort and expense because you know your baby will be safe.

Organic cotton crib mattress from Naturepedic, non-toxic crib and toddler bed (check out our mattresses that convert to toddler as well), organic cotton sheets and other bedding – all you need is some nice non-toxic paint for the walls and some cotton throw rugs and you’ve got yourself a very nice, very safe, welcome home nursery for your baby.

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Non-Toxic Children’s Gifts for the Holiday Season

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

natural doll

No matter what your religion or culture, there’s a good chance you’re going to be doing some gift-giving this holiday season, even if it’s only to children. A lot of the big toy stores have an eco-friendly toys collection, but there are plenty of online possibilities as well.

Either way you go, if you’ve gone to the trouble of getting or even considering an organic crib mattress, you probably want to make sure your child is also playing with safe toys. So, what can you give a child that will be safe and fun? Here’s a brief list of possibilities:

  • Remember when trains were made of wood? You might think your kids want the big electric version but, really, kids still like making things move with their hands. A lot of wooden train sets are also built to be easily constructed by kids. What kid doesn’t want to build their own railroad? (Okay, I confess, I want to build one, too.) Have a look at these wooden trains to get an idea of what’s available.
  • Dolls and dollhouses are another great option. And if you want to teach your child how to live with environmentally sound materials and practices, you can even buy eco-friendly dollhouses. Here’s a luxury natural dollhouse that includes a wind turbine and solar cell panel, recycle bins and a rain barrel for collecting rain.
  • Online stores sell everything from non-toxic dump trucks to tea sets, and just about everything in between. For a list of websites that sell natural and environmentally safe toys, check out the sites on Debra’s List. Eco-Mall and Our Green House also has a great toy selection.

We aren’t familiar with everything on these sites so we can’t make any guarantees, but they’re a good place to start.

Organic and environmentally-safe toys also tend to last longer than the usual fare, so you can also pass them down to other children. And there’s nothing quite like knowing you’re doing the best for your kids.

Happy hunting, and happy holidays!

p.s. the photo is Nicki Baby Waldorf Toy from Three Sisters Toys. We found the store on Debra’s List.

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You Have a New Organic Crib Mattress – But How Do You Get Your Baby to Sleep?

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009


living_sleeping_babyPeople have come up with literally hundreds of ideas on how to get babies to sleep through the night. Everything from teddy bears that breathe and vibrators that make a crib feel like a moving car to just letting the baby “cry it out.”

Some experts feel that these techniques – called ‘sleep trainers’ – actually undermine your relationship with your child and prevent you from understanding what’s really going on with them. If a baby is crying, for example, it could be because he’s hungry, needs changing or something’s too tight. Or, he’s frightened. Maybe he has nothing to be frightened about, but that doesn’t mean he’s not frightened. Or he might be lonely.

He might even be reacting to something in his environment (an allergy to the latex in his crib mattress, new paint or carpeting that’s off-gassing), or a sense of turbulence in the home.

He could also have a medical condition that hasn’t yet been diagnosed.

Whatever the case, the question remains – do you want your baby to get used to turning to a ‘sleep trainer’ machine when he’s hungry, lonely or in pain? Or do you want to learn about and understand the problems your child is having and show him he can trust you to do so and help him through it?

No question there, really. All parents want that with their child.

That said, how do you get some sleep??!!! Read 31 Ways To Get Your Baby To Go To Sleep and Stay Asleep Easier for some great ideas.

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Q & A: Creating a Toxin-Free Nursery – What’s After Getting an Organic Crib Mattress?

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009


Q: I am going to be a new mother in about two months. I am now the proud owner of a Naturepedic crib mattress, but I’m not sure what my next priority should be to make sure our nursery is free of toxins.

A: Congratulations on the soon-to-be new arrival! And on your new Naturepedic organic crib mattress. Your next step to creating a toxin-free nursery really depends on your current environment. If you have just installed new carpeting or just painted the nursery, your first priority right now would be opening windows and/or installing a heavy duty air purifier.

To hasten the off-gassing process, you can also ‘cure’ your nursery – to see exact steps, read the Curing a Sick House section in our recent blog.

You also want to make sure the baby’s bedding and clothes are free of toxic dyes and other chemicals. Organic cotton is your best bet. Fortunately, more and more stores are selling organic cotton clothing for babies so they shouldn’t be too hard to find. By the way, if you’re looking for info on natural products, check out Debra’s List. She’s the Queen of Green – knows just about everything.

I seem to be referencing materials from Debra Lynn Dadd quite frequently of late. No, she’s not paying me. But she does excellent research and has volumes of helpful info on living without harmful chemicals.

Also, it’s very important to make sure your cleaning products aren’t toxic. See our blog on non-toxic cleaning products for more info.

Gloria
The Naturepedic Blog Maven

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An Organic Crib Mattress is Great – But What About the Nursery Walls and Floors

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009


Although there’s no question that it’s better for everyone if our homes and the environment are completely free of toxic chemicals, it’s just not always possible. To resolve the issues across the globe, it’s going to take a big team – industry, government and our concerned friends everywhere on the planet. But we don’t need anyone’s help to take care of our child’s nursery or, for that matter, our own home.

How do we do that? In addition to using non-toxic products whenever possible – starting with an organic crib mattress and going straight through to cleaning products – you might also consider ridding the walls, floors, carpeting and so on of any residual off-gasing potential.

A step by step process for doing this is in a book called Home Safe Home, written by Debra Lynn Dadd, green maven extraordinaire. I recently had the good fortune to get Ms. Dadd’s permission to re-print the process in its entirety. The section is called Curing a Sick House. See below. And, by the way, I’d love to hear anyone’s feedback after they’ve tried this out.

Curing a Sick House

There are many building materials that have some toxicity when being applied, but cure to a nontoxic finish. This is because the toxic part is the solvent used to keep the material pliable (as in the case of caulks, paints, and other finishes) or that residual chemicals used in manufacturing have not completely dissipated (such as adhesives used to hold together wood floor tiles). Once these chemicals outgas, however, the resulting product is nontoxic.

If you don’t have to install or apply these products yourself, once cured they can be safe for you and your family to live with (though in the larger scheme of things, we should also be considering toxic exposures to the people we hire and the pollutants released into the environment.)

To speed up the curing process, you can do what is commonly called a “bake-out.” In my experience, it has been a cure-all for many toxic homes, as it bakes off the volatile gasses that are present in materials and finishes and cures the materials into an inert form.

The procedure I recommend is this:

1. Close all doors and windows.
2. Remove people, pets, and plants.
3. Turn up the central heat as far as it will go (or use space heaters).
4. At the end of each twenty-four-hour period, open the doors and windows and air your home out completely. Use a fan if necessary.
5. Sniff around to check for odors. Determine if they are gone, or if you need another day of baking.

Baking can take from one to five days. I’ve never needed to do it longer than five days.”

Gloria
The Naturepedic Blog Maven

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Could Your Baby Be Allergic to the Wool in Crib Mattresses?

Monday, August 17th, 2009

As more and more people become aware of the dangers of chemicals and the public demands safer products, more mattress companies are coming out with an ‘organic’ crib mattress line. Many of these products contain some organic materials, but still have other toxic materials in them. Some, for example, contain organic cotton but combine it with polyurethane foam, PVC/vinyl and other toxic materials. So, as I’ve mentioned in earlier blogs, you have to make sure you really do your research. But, beyond that, is the problem of allergies and sensitivities.

 

Could your baby be sensitive to wool?

Could your baby be sensitive to wool?

Wool, for example, a common ingredient in natural or organic crib mattresses, is one of the biggest offenders.

 

Some experts say that a ‘true’ allergy to wool – an immune system reaction that can result in rashes, swelling of the airways and eyes, asthma, and a lot more – is pretty rare. But sensitivity to wool is much more common, and often the symptoms are similar.

 

A study done on over 2,000 wool textile workers showed that 9% of the workers had persistent cough and phlegm, 31% were wheezing, 10% experienced breathlessness, 18% had persistent cold symptoms, 10% had persistent conjunctivitis, about 2% had persistent chills, 2% had 10 or more nosebleeds a year, and 5% had one or more chest illnesses per year. They aren’t necessarily allergic to wool, they’re just sensitive to the wool dust.

 

Wool also harbors dust-mites and other potential allergens like cat dander. In fact, if you have cats and wear wool sweaters, you’re exposed to 10 times the amount of cat dander than if you were wearing nothing at all – according to a study mentioned in about.com.

 

We also wonder how wool is cleaned. It may be ‘organic,’ but how do they get all the dirt, sweat, grease, waste products, fleas, etc. etc. out of the wool? We don’t know. We’ve asked a few manufacturers and, frankly, they just don’t seem to want to tell us.

 

Your baby not might be allergic to wool at all, and may not be or become sensitive to it. But, from our viewpoint, it’s better to be safe than sorry – which is why we don’t use wool in our crib mattresses.

 

Gloria
The Naturepedic Blog Maven

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Is There Such a Thing as a Vegan Crib Mattress?

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

 

First of all, let’s clear up the term ‘vegan.’ A lot of people think it’s just a short form of ‘vegetarian’ – someone whose diet consists primarily of plant-derived foods, although some also eat eggs and milk products (lacto-ovo vegetarians), but no actual animal flesh.

 

Vegans, however, take things a little further: not only do they not eat meat, they also don’t use animal products in any way – they don’t carry leather purses, wear leather boots or coats, no furs, no wool, and so on.

 

Consequently, vegans can have a tough time trying to find a crib mattress: even a lot of the ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ crib mattresses out there still contain animal-derived materials like wool, horsetail hair or mohair, for example.

 

At Naturepedic we don’t advertise our crib mattresses as vegan, but when a vegan is searching for something that meets their standards, they come to us. If you’re a vegan, or just concerned about animal rights and conservation, check out our products.

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