Greenbabyguide.com was featured on Better Portland’s Surfin’ with Steph segment as a cyber pick just a few weeks ago.  How exciting!   The February 15^th show included bits on G-diapers, eco-friendly cleaning products, and greener baby shower gifts, along with a very positive review of greenbabyguide.com.

If you would like a small brush with fame, please consider being a part of our website.  We would love to incorporate photos of your child eating, enjoying nature, or doing anything else green (composting, gardenting, recycling, etc) into our blogs.  Please email the photo to us at greenbabyguide@gmail.com and include your child’s first name, if you want it posted as well.  

We are also looking for articles written by green moms and dads who are up to their elbows in the adventures of early parenting.  Check here for our submission guidelines and look here to see an example of an article we’ve published.  We’d love to get your quick tip or green idea sent to us at greenbabyguide@gmail.com.  Or just post a comment—we enjoy the dialogue with our faithful readers. 

The more wisdom we can get from a variety of readers, the more helpful our site will be to everyone.   You may notice that we’ve now upped our postings to four times a week, so keep checking back for more of our adventures in green living.  And please forward our site onto anyone who you think could benefit from our frugal green baby tips. 

Although we hope that one day the Green Baby Guide will be chock-full of absolutely anything you’d ever want to know about raising an eco-baby, sometimes it’s good to branch out a bit.  We scoured the Internet for the best green baby blogs and found mothers and fathers discussing everything from the best organic products to musings on home schooling and breastfeeding.

Pirate Papa is “a journal of anarcho-green D(o).I(t).Y(ourself). Parenting.” It reminds me a lot of our site . . . except that we are not rock-n-roll pirates.  Or dads.

Soft Landing Baby Blog provides “Non-toxic baby gear news and reviews.” Need a BPA-free sippy cup?  Get recommendations here.

Organic Baby NZ has all you need to know about raising an organic baby in New Zealand.

Green and Clean Mom  and Eco-chick are each written by mothers aspiring to have a little fun with their eco-friendly lifestyle.  Both blogs were recently spotlighted by an article in the New York Times.

Green Boot Camp focuses on frugal solutions for a greener family lifestyle.  Each blog offers simple advice and small goals for eco-friendly changes.

The Cloth Diaper Blog is a great source for tips on cloth diapering. 

The Great Green Baby offers reviews of green baby products.

I read the Nature Moms (”a guide to natural family life”) blog all the time.  She reviews products and discusses parenting ideas, home schooling, and much more.

Read Mindful Momma’s ”adventures in living a green and healthy life.”  Check this site out for creative craft and other DIY ideas.

Natural Moms Talk Radio features commentary from Carrie, “a work-at-home, home-schooling mom of four who loves to discuss all aspects of pregnancy, natural birth and alternative birthing options, breastfeeding, alternative health, home schooling, nutrition and natural parenting topics.”

Sage and Sassy’s blog claims that it’s “not hippie . . . just hip!”

Zoë B Organic Weekly features “All the Latest Organic and Eco-friendly finds for Organic Moms and Kids.”

The Haute Nature blog is a great stop for eco-crafts, offering “Ecologically based creative ideas, art, and green products for your children, home, and lifestyle.”

Green Fertility contains a fascinating collection of articles about “saying NO to the pharma-medico-industrial-baby complex and discovering the possibilities afforded by focusing on wellness of self and earth.”

Read about a family who does its best to be green with a new baby at Mummy Musings.

The Eco Baby Blog discusses “eco-friendly family planning.”

The Green Mom is not updated very often but contains information of interest to environmentally-conscious mothers.

Tushbaby is for the stylish environmentalists among us.

Green Style Mom is another good choice for eco-moms who don’t want to compromise their sense of style.

The Crunchy Domestic Goddess not only has a great blog name-it also includes Haikus!

Jenny at Green-Mommy eats organically, lives green, and practices “gentle” parenting.

Kind of Crunchy Mama offers a refreshingly honest perspective on green parenting.  She had home births, practices extended breastfeeding, eats organic food . . . yet cleans with bleach and loves the Cake Mix Doctor!

Walking Upside Down is a New Zealand blogger who writes about everything from diapers to acupressure.

The following sites haven’t been updated in while, but they’re still out there on the Web to read:

Green Baby Blog

Ecobabe

Rocket Mom Blog

Are we missing a great green baby blog?  Please post a comment or email us with your favorite websites devoted to green parenting practices, and we’ll be happy to add them to our list.  We also plan to generate a list of the Web’s best diaper websites soon.  Happy surfing!

When you have a baby, you’re always hearing about the latest hidden dangers and toxins lurking in almost everything you own.  Since my baby was born, I’ve been learning more and more about harmful chemicals in plastics.  The most recent panic-inducing study, published in this month’s issue of Pediatrics, proves that using baby bath products increases the amount of phthalates in babies’ urine.  Phthalates, found in many plastics, can affect reproductive development and play a role in allergies, runny noses, eczema, and even the concentrations of your baby’s hormones.

Was I just awash in toxic chemicals?

Yikes!  This information is enough to cause even the most laid-back parent to freak out.  (MSN’s headline, “Babies Awash in Toxic Chemicals,” didn’t help.)  You may have been lathering the baby up with baby wash and sprinkling him with powder since day one.  Now what?  According to uwnews.org, “Parents who want to decrease their baby’s exposure to phthalates should limit the amount of baby care products used on the infant, and apply lotions or powders only if medically indicated.”  I have decided not to freak out over the possible phthalate exposure of the past–instead, I’ll just work on limiting possible future exposure.

Limiting Baby Care Products.  Most pediatricians recommend using just water to wash a baby.  The great thing about this advice is that it’s easy and actually cheaper than using all those creams, soaps, and potions.  It’s difficult to know which products contain phthalates and which do not–at this time, companies are not required to include this information on their labels.  Burt’s Bees is one known safe choice.  Mama Rose’s Naturals produces baby care products from organic ingredients and essential oils which can be ordered online.  Although I haven’t purchased many baby toiletries for my daughter,  I am happy to know that my Earth-saving parenting tip to bathe your baby less often has another advantage: I am limiting her exposure to toxins.

For parents, there is always going to be something to worry about.  Maybe next year a new study will reveal that phthalates aren’t as terrible as everyone suspected.  Still, I figure it’s not a bad idea to reduce the amount of phthalates swimming around in my daughter’s urine.  Not only am I protecting her health, I’m looking out for the wellbeing of our planet, which doesn’t need another chunk of plastic filling up a landfill–phthalates or no phthalates!

Originally I didn’t think organic baby food would be such a priority for me. No one in my very frugal extended family had considered purchasing organic food because of the extra expense. The turning point came when I read in Consumer Reports, the ultimate thrifty guide, that organic baby food was worth the extra cost not just for the sake of the environment, but for baby’s health.

As if I wasn’t already convinced, last Wednesday’s issue of The Seattle Intelligencer drove the point home with an article entitled “Harmful pesticides found in everyday food products”.  The article describes a recent scientific study of 21 children between the ages of 3-11.  Researchers kept careful records of their dietary habits and found that those who ate mainstream produce showed signs of organophosphates in their urine and saliva samples. These findings are a bit upsetting considering that organophosphastes were developed from nerve gas during World War II. During the winter months, the detected pesticide levels were higher in the children, which most likely showed that they were eating more imported fruits and vegetables.  Now, before you get too worried, doctors aren’t sure what effects, if any, organophosphates have on children.  Still, it feels pretty great not to take the risk.  

When I first did research about pesticides, I was shocked to find that the foods with some of the highest levels of pesticide residues are family favorites such as apples and peaches. I wasn’t sure I could afford to buy only organic foods, so I focused on buying organic for the foods with the highest pesticide residue.  The environmental working group has developed a printable wallet-sized card that lists the top 43 fruits and veggies with the highest pesticide load.  If you simply can’t afford to buy organic, Tiny Footprints, the website of the Oregon Environmental Council, recommends cleansing produce by mixing one teaspoon of dish soap into a gallon of warm water.  Then thoroughly wash and rinse before consumption.  The  photo below shows one of the fruits with the sixth highest pesticide residue: the humble strawberry.

Once I had procured my produce, I was off to become a baby food Betty Crocker (organic-style).  I bought a fifteen dollar baby food grinder when Roscoe started on solids, thinking that it was the only method for mashing his food.  It very quickly ended up in the back of the cupboard when I realized that our blender and some ice cube trays were all we really needed.  I peeled and boiled or steamed the food, tossed it in the blender with some extra water and poured it into ice cube trays.  Then I dumped the frozen cubes into Zip lock bags for storage with labels and dates. Mainly I did large batches at once—which was quite convenient but sometimes backfired when Roscoe decided that he hated my four large Ziplock bags full of sweet potato puree.  You can find some simple directions for home blended baby food on Wholesome Baby Food’s website.  Here Roscoe has decided to use his dinner as a facial treatment rather than an actual meal. 

In the beginning, I was determined to make every drop of baby food myself. When I complained to my daycare provider about exhaustion and the stress of preparing Roscoe’s food, pumping breast milk, and writing lesson plans, she suggested a revolutionary idea: buying a little sanity in the form of prepared baby food. In the end I made some of Roscoe’s meals myself but also found deals on prepared organic foods.

The best discovery I made on prepared food for Roscoe came outside of the baby food aisle.  I bought large jars of organic applesauce and boxes of frozen organic pureed squash that worked great as baby food.  I also used cans of organic pumpkin and as my son grew, I used cans of organic beans and as finger foods.  Here Roscoe considers the complex flavors of pureed squash. 

Earth’s Best was our standby in jarred baby food and teething biscuits. Roscoe always loved their food (much better than anything that emerged from my blender) and we appreciated the fact that their whole line of baby foods are certified organic.  By buying large boxes of several dozen jars of Earth’s Best at Costco, the cost was just a few pennies more per jar than standard baby food.

When Roscoe started to be able to feed himself, we discovered Healthy Times puffs.  They are wheat-free, dairy-free, and soy-free but Roscoe never seemed to notice that they were missing anything.  They had much less packaging than mainstream puffs and were very fairly priced. Healthy Times was started by a mom over twenty years ago who was looking for organic, healthy alternatives and now has a whole line of foods including jarred baby foods and teething biscuits.

Annie’s Homegrown is more of a kids brand than a baby food label, but we’ve started Roscoe on the bunny crackers and would love for him to grow up with the brand name.  Annie’s has been around for a decade and were far ahead of the mainstream organic food movement.  They offer crackers, cereal and even organic macaroni and cheese that are appealing to children and much more nourishing than the mainstream alternatives.

The lesson that parenting seems to teach over and over again is, “be flexible.”  If you’re planning on making every drop of baby food from scratch, be open the fact that exhaustion may occasionally trump your plans.  Or, if you think it’s utterly impossible to make your own baby food, give it a whirl and see what you think.  The decision to feed our son organic food has raised my family’s awareness about the quality of our produce and the contents of our fridge are now reflecting our move toward organic foods.  We have the youngest member of our family to thank for propelling us much further on our green journey.