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Baby Product Must Haves 

Having a new baby can be overwhelming. Especially when you are tasked to create a baby registry and you don’t even know what you need yet. One step into a large baby retailer can make you want to break out in a cold sweat of overwhelming perspiration. So here’s the thing. You don’t need all that stuff. Remembering to keep it simple can often alleviate the overwhelming sensation and allow you to enjoy the experience of just being a mom. I’ve created a simple checklist of things that I feel are necessities for every new mom wanting to go green.  

  1. Stroller: Next to your baby furniture, the stroller purchase is probably going to be one of your higher end purchases. Because this will be your trusted friend, you will want one that is easy to maneuver, you can take with you where ever you go, and will allow you to enjoy the stroll along any sidewalk or terrain. Therefore, I recommend the Phil and Ted because it is a stroller that grows with your child and can turn into a double stroller with the doubles seat (estimated retail: $395). You only have to buy one stroller for the duration of your parenting years. Resources: www.rightstart.com or www.amazon.com
  2. Car seat: Transition car seat (one for all stages)-There are a variety of options and brands that now sell the convertible car seats. It’s a green idea because you don’t have to buy multiple car seats as your child grows; making it more environmental. A high quality brand that I like is Britax. The Diblomat model is particularly ideal for smaller cars and transitions with your child from 5lb to 40lbs. Its compact size makes it ideal for airplane travel (estimated retail: $249). Resources: www.rightstart.com, www.amazon.com, www.babiesrus.com
  1. Bottles: There’s a lot of discussion about Bisphenol-A (BPA), a component of polycarbonate plastic, often used in plastic products like baby bottles. Research suggests that these harmful chemicals can leak into the substance within the bottle. To read more about BPA, please go to www.thegreenguide.com/reports/product.mhtml?id=55. To feel better about the whole thing, I’d recommend using Born Free baby bottles or Adiri bottles.
  2. Sippy Cups: If BPA concerns you, then consider using a sippy cup that is stainless steal.
  3. Baby furniture: Consider buying your baby furniture used. This is a great way to limit your footprint and save money. Some good resources are www.craigslist.org, your local newspaper classified ads, or a children’s consignment store.
  4. Bouncy seat, exersaucer, swing, etc: These items can be purchased second hand at a fraction of the cost. Consider going to www.craigslist.org, garage sales or a local consignment store for these items. My friends and I share items amongst each other and in between babies.
  5. Organic Sleep Sack: www.babiesrus.com (estimated retail: $24.99)
  6. Organic baby bibs
  7. Swaddle Blanket: www.babiesrus.com (estimated retail: $15.99)
  8. Crib Sheets
  9. Cloth diapers: See my section on “cloth diapers.”
  10. Newborn disposable diapers: A new mom can get overwhelmed quickly. The idea of moving to cloth diapers is admirable. However you might not have time to do the laundry every two days. Consider buying a pack of newborn, non chlorine diapers to have by your side. Or, if you opt to use just disposables, then Seventh Generation has great diapers. Go to www.seventhgeneration.com.
  11. Cloth diaper accessories: wipes, pail, and the pail liner can be purchased at www.babycottonbottoms.com or see my section on cloth diapers for additional resources.
  12. Organic hooded bath towel
  13. Baby Products: California Baby, Aroma Baby, Earth Momma Angel Baby are lines of baby products that had low scores in relation to harmful ingredients under review at http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com.
  14. Carrier: There are several great carriers. The organic cotton baby carrier is a good solution. Another one is an organic sling.
  15. Organic Clothing: I found the kimono style shirts worked great while I was cloth diapering with my newborn. The shirt, combined with the swaddle blanket, worked well. Don’t forget second hand clothing. Here are some resources:
  1. Natural toys/gifts: Second hand toys work well. For new toys, go to:

      Nova Natural (www.novanatural.com)

      Organic Gift Shop (www.organicgiftshop.com, 800-895-6045)

      Turner Toys (www.turnertoys.com, 802-888-3375)

  1. Organic nursing tops: Make it easy on yourself and get a tank top made for nursing. Depending on the season, you can always throw a cardigan over yourself if you are cold.
  2. Nursing pillow: Transition this pillow from pregnancy, to nursing, to baby play.


 

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