Reply to Massive paranoia about flame retardants in baby gear and hubby is angry! HELP!!

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Reply to "Massive paranoia about flame retardants in baby gear and hubby is angry! HELP!!"

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[quote=Anonymous]OP - I'm another neurotic mom! I don't regret it one bit and in fact, my complete neuroticism about this the first time around completely scared everyone around me about gifts for us and our baby, so we've received minimal plastic, toxic junk (which aside from the health and environmental concerns is ugly and bulky and frankly we don't have the space for). So relax, try to be calm around your husband so your relationship doesn't suffer, but view this as just the first of many mama bear battles you'll wage for your little one. These are REAL dangers whether other posters believe them or not. If you're a non-smoking household (which you should be if you're not now, because talk about toxins!), then your baby's risk of catching fire is virtually nil...so you do NOT need all those fire retardants that were mandated when smoking was much more common and fire a much more real threat.

Also...it's true that your baby will be exposed to all kinds of things in the environment outside of your home, so you can't put it in a bubble...but that's all the more reason in my mind to protect the environment that you can...and frankly, where the baby will spend the most time in the first few years of life (e.g., when most vulnerable).

Anyway, my specific recommendations:
1) cloth diaper. seriously, the chemicals in disposables are disgusting. even if you don't use organic cotton diapers (although for ease I recommend bumgenius organic all-in-ones), just having cloth next to your baby's sensitive parts is much healthier.
2) nature babycare disposable diapers - don't trust the mainstream "green" brands...they are not safe at all, it's just a marketing scam. even 7th generation has the nasty chemical.
3) detergent for washing clothes and diapers - use something natural...again, not a mainstream greenwashed brand. i love planet detergent. avoid scented anything.
4) stop using fabric softener if you use it. vinegar in the rinse cycle works fine and i found that if most of your laundry is natural fibers, you don't have static cling anyway. clean should smell like nothing, not nasty chemical laden fake scents
5) don't buy into the need for EVERYTHING possible for your baby. be miminalistic in your purchases and uses. it's hard and expensive to find organic swings, bouncy chairs, etc....because you really don't need most of that stuff. you need a place for your baby to sleep and a seat to prop him/her up to eat when it's time. really that's all the equipment. other things MAY make your life easier but they are not necessary and may just irritate you when you don't have room for them or cause more stress because they are toxic. 
- get used when possible
- air out when you buy new
- avoid plastics as much as possible (even if it's BPA free - there are many other chemicals that are bad in plastics)
- try to get things that will last as long as possible. it's likely these will be made with natural materials and avoid plastic as well. 
- use wool for moisture-resistance instead of plastic. or just cotton rags. again, even if not organic, MUCH better than plastic or disposable paper
- Baby Bjorn Babysitter bouncy chair (bought used on Craig's List, not organic but free of plastic and had been washed many times)
- Svan high chair
- Organic latex with wool and cotton cover mattress from organicgrace.com (once again beware of mainstream brands and what you can get at babies r us and the like - it's just marketing!! it will be more expensive and not better for your baby)
- Wool mattress pad. we also laid cotton cloth diapers under baby in the beginning just in case
- Organic cotton sheets

have to run, will add more things if i think of them...hope this helps.
one last thing...know you're doing the best you can and let go at some point so you don't drive yourself crazy (spoken from experience!). :)[/quote]

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