Nuts over Allergies!

I know some of my friends would disagree, but I really don't think I'm an anal person... I just have to be careful when it comes to certain things. And one of them is baby bath and skin products. Now, the hubbish is even more anal than I am when it comes to baby hair and skin products! And why may you ask? No, he's not a metrosexual, even though he takes twice as long as me to get ready in the morning (those of you who know him can confirm this). You see, my husband has a nut allergy. That, coupled with the fact that the babish inherited my fair, sensitive skin has us checking ingredients on skincare lines more closely than an Olsen twin reading a tic-tac label (sorry - maybe I've been reading too much Perez lately).

You can imagine how excited I was when I came across the California Baby line of products. Highly rated on Skin Deep, the line touts itself as being free of many allergens, including tree nuts. I was such a fan I even started using the products on myself. Well you can imagine how freaked we were the other day when my son's skin got all blotchy and red. The grammish was in town visiting and she had just tried a new California Baby lotion. When we scrutinized the ingredients - we noticed that it contained coconut. While there is debate over whether coconut is a nut, seed, fruit or drupe (and Wikipedia is really little help here), my husband is still allergic to it, as are many others with tree nut allergies. So... after a quick dosing of Benadryl (ummm... can we try this more often, I just got my two best naps ever) my son's skin is back to its usual peaches and cream complexion. And the California Baby stuff is in the trash (the Hubbish even threw my secret stash in the trash because I'm still nursing and he doesn't want it on my skin or absorbed in my body - talk about anal!)

Back to the drawing board. Almost every natural and organic product uses some sort of coco derivative because it mimics the chemical emulsifiers... But on the other hand, we have wonderful sulfates, pthalates and parabens in our traditional lines... So if you see my son and he's a little stinky, don't blame us for our water-only bath and skincare regiman.

Fru-gal

I love to shop. What gal doesn't. But those who know me well know that the one thing I love more than shopping (in addition to the babish and the hubish, natch) is bargain shopping.

And what stores are the bargain bins for bargain shoppers? The sisters in saving - TJMaxx and Marshalls. Now don't get me wrong, I love me some Tar-zhay too, but my motto has always been to never sacrifice quality for a deal - and if you really scout and scour, at these stores you can always find diamonds in the rough for the price of coal.

But because I have some friends and one brother who seem to think that these stores are a waste of time, I decided to post a little blog about some of the fabulous baby finds there. So if you are of the mindset that you'd rather not sift through racks and racks to maybe find that one designer cast-off, I would encourage you to take another look at the baby section. Most TJs and Marshalls have a wide selection of toys, books and baby gear that is easy to find and look through.

Here are some of my recent finds: 1) JJ Cole Bundle Me Urban - retails for $39.99 found on clearance for $22.00; 2) Peg Perego high chair - retails for $169.99 on sale for $129.99; 3) Maclaren Triumph stroller - retails for $179.99 on sale for $119.00; 4) Halo Sleepsack (various colors, styles and sizes, including organic cotton) - retails for $19.99 - marked at 12.99. My son's entire library of Eric Carle and Karen Katz books are from these stores too!

Of course, the find that really got me excited was an all wood kitchen set - on clearance for $40 bucks. But alas, even though it was in blue - the Hubbish vetoed it for the Babish... so if anyone is near the TJMaxx/Homegoods in Bloomingdale Illinois - you have yourself a great find.

Happy shopping.