No BPA or toxins in me!

Interesting article article from the Environmental Working Group about BPA toxins and newborns. A recent study detected an astounding 287 toxic chemicals in newborn cord blood including mercury, fire retardants, pesticides and Teflon chemicals. Of these chemicals, 180 are known to cause cancer, 217 are toxic to brain and nervous systems and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal developments in animal tests. Experts believe rising rates of birth defects, asthma, neuro-developmental disorders and other serious diseases in U.S. children are resulting from these early chemical exposures.

BPA is one of the world’s highest production-volume chemicals and is widely used in the production of:
- Plastic water bottles
- Plastic gallon milk bottles
- Plastic microwavable plates, overware and utensils
- Tooth sealants
- Canned foods and soda cans
- Baby toys, bottles, pacifiers and sippy cups

So, what can you do? Mercola suggests the following:
- Buy and eat organic
- Eat wild-caught and not farm-raised fish
- Eat whole foods and not processed foods
- Use glass rather than plastic food storage containers
- Have your tap water tested and install a water filter if necessary
- Use natural cleaning products
- Use natural toiletry products. Northern Essence is one of our favorites for our kids.
- Avoid using artificial air fresheners, dryer sheets, fabric softeners
- Replace Teflon with ceramic or glass cookware
- Search out and use toxin-free alternatives in all aspects of your home and life (cloth diapers, reusable menstrual products, non-toxic paints and floor coverings.)
- Replace your vinyl shower curtain

Good luck making as many of these changes as possible. Every little bit helps in keeping you and your family healthy.

Hug

While it might seem that our expertise is focused exclusively on the tail end of a baby, we care about the brain too!  We do talk about subjects other than diapers, wipes and Snappis.  We often get asked by new moms about our favorite children’s books for toddlers.  While we are absolutely NOT experts in kiddie lit, we have kids and we know what they (and we) loved.  So, in no particular order, here our our Top 10 Toddler Books

1. Hug

2. Goodnight Gorilla

3. You are My I Love You

4. Dear Zoo

5. Chuga Chuga Choo Choo

6. Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What do you See?

7. Wild about Books

8. The Going to Bed Book

9. Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb

10. Is Your Mama a Llama?

So, that is our list.  What is yours?