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.

It's Not Easy Being Green

Ok, Ok, I know you've all been bombarded with all the news about all of the toxic chemicals out there that are slowly killing our precious babes. And if you are like me, on the other side, you have the grandmas, the plastics industry and other well meaning friends of another generation pointing out how we all survived, so we must be over-reacting by spending our hard earned money on organic this and that.

Well, between worrying about the pesticides in our food; the PVC, phthalates and bispenol-a in our plastic... there doesn't leave much time to worry about all of the harmful chemicals in our beauty products, right?

When I first fell pregnant, I read an article in Fit Pregnancy about Parabens and Phthalates - two compounds in many U.S. beauty products (but banned in the E.U.). The article linked these two compounds to reproductive problems and in particular, pointed to a study where the results revealed that exposure to high levels could result in smaller male genitalia in a pregnant woman's offspring. Now, who knows how much exposure we really have through our shampoos and moistures, BUT, knowing that if I had a son, only 8 days into his life he already was going to have a "coming off party" (read: Bris), I decided that I needed to give him every other chance possible in that department.

Unfortunately, it's very tricky to find out whether or not products contain phthalates and parabens, as most cosmetic or beauty products simply contain the words "fragrance." But I came across a very helpful website that allows you to search cosmetic and beauty products (for adults and babes alike) for numerous potentially harmful chemicals. It's called the Cosmetic Safety Database - and if, like the Mommish, having a baby makes you want to not only reduce your post c-section tummy bulge, but also your family's chemical exposure - it's a must check!

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

We all deserve a little pampering...

There are some fleeting thoughts that we have pre-baby relating to how we want to raise our kids, but no matter how sincere these thoughts are, they just aren't practical for our individual situations. My case in point - diapers. While pregnant, I got really into the idea of cloth diapers. The new models are so soft (they feel just like that baby blanket all the celebri-babies have) and surely it would be so good for the little bum, not to mention our landfills. But it's funny how quickly seeing a demonstration of a shower-head for your toilet can snap you back to reality (I hate cleaning my own toilet - now I'm supposed to clean a baby poop toilet, no thanks).

My older sisters and our friends with kids all recommended Pampers as the most comfy and least leaky of the disposables. So about 4 weeks before my due date, we went out and stocked up on Pampers Swaddlers. We have sinced progressed up to Pampers Baby-Dry. All the while, the Z man has had very limited diaper rash, leaks, spills and up-the-back explosions [for my pregnant friends -- you'll soon learn about these - Jenny McCarthy in Baby Laughs recommends you just keep a scissors handy to cut off the onesie and chuck it].

But still... I have always been so intrigued by more eco-friendly disposable diapers (i.e. the chlorine free, semi-biodegradable variety). So for the last month I have been doing some test-runs, thinking surely this will be even better for Z's little bum and I'll have some eco-cocktail conversation starter should I ever run into Leo DiCaprio or Al Gore. I have tried two "green" brands and you know what? I'm still devoted to my Pamps. Brand #1 swelled so much and got so bulky that Z's clothes didn't fit right and brand #2 got so stiff that Z started chafing -- AND he got a diaper rash. Back to square one.

So today my nanny asked me if we were ready to go back to Pampers full-time (I guess she has been ready for a little while now :). I said sure. She then proceeded to fill me in on a little secret club that-- believe it or not - I didn't know about! The Pampers Grow and Learn Program. Super-cool. All you have to do is register for free on-line, input codes from your bags of diapers, wipes, etc. and you earn points towards free toys and books. Plus, the Pampers website has a wealth of information on all things baby, tot and kid. Check it out at http://www.pampers.com/

I figure, if I'm going down the path of putting more chemicals near my precious son's arse, I might as well contribute to mass consumerism too by getting him even more toys!!