Green Baby: List of Good Stuff

As promised, I have put together a bit of list of Green Baby things I have been using and liked for Lincoln.   I did so much crazy research while I was preparing for him.  I had no idea what I was doing or what I needed and wanted everything to be as eco as possible and also to fit in our small house.  I am really trying not to have baby stuff stacked to the ceiling.  It’s funny that most of the stuff the magazines say you must have is complete bull and very little is eco at all.  I found that simple was usually best and cheapest, although we spent money where we found it important to for safety.  One of the biggest things I can say is look for things that are washable.  It. Gets. Messy.  You would be amazed how many baby things aren’t washable.  Yuck.

Here are some of the things that we used and liked.  I hope it helps all the soon to be moms out there!

Registry: We went to a wonderful store in New Jersey, NessaLee Baby,  to see the crib in person and were treated to some of the best customer service I have ever gotten.  Seriously. We showed up right before closing and they stayed there for another hour and a half pulling things off the shelf for demonstrations and answering any questions we had.  They have a track with different surfaces to test strollers on (one for grass, one for boardwalk etc.) They were very helpful with the eco thing (and reasonable priced) so I wanted to give them a shout out.  We also did the online registry at Amazon.  I thought it might be harder for the non computer savvy set but it worked out just fine, especially since a lot of it was free shipping.

Crib: Babyletto Hudson – Cribs are expensive.  Cribs with the “green” label even worse.  Some of the higher end ones cost more than my first car.  This one is pretty affordable.  Babyletto is made from sustainable New Zealand pine,  as in real wood instead of mdf with all the chemicals.  It’s lead & phthalate free and the finish is nontoxic. Yes I know New Zealand is far away and that is this crib’s downside.   I did give serious consideration to refinishing a crib but I couldn’t strip anything while pregnant and even if I could, all those spindles would have driven me batty.  So far we really like it’s mid century vibe and it looks like nice furniture.  At nine months plus its held up well so far.

 

Mattress: Naturepedic No Compromise Organic 150 – Babies spent a lot of time sleeping with their faces right next to the mattress.  If there is a lot of brand new plastic smelling up the joint they are right there breathing it all in.  With that in mind I thought the mattress was one of the things where the organic version was worth the money.

 

Car Seat: Cybex Aton 2 – This car seat features a load leg (metal leg that goes from the base to the floor to help with impact in a crash, standard in Europe), a side impact system and less toxic fabrics and stuffings.  The carrier part only weighs 8.8 pounds which is awesome for small people.  It also has higher thresholds for weight and is roomier for taller babies so he can use it for longer.  With an adapter it is compatible with a lot of strollers.  It’s won a bunch of awards for innovation.  I am a big fan of this and feel that the safety factor makes it another thing that it definitely worth the money.  We have loved it so far, even though carrying my bigger child around is heavy!

Stroller: Baby Jogger City Mini GT – So this one isn’t an eco innovation. There aren’t a lot of those options on the market.  We definitely couldn’t afford the Orbit system at close to $2,000.  With that said, this is one of my favorite things we have for Linc.  It is so smooth and easy to push, the wheels go over everything and best of all it is a one handed fold up.  This is awesome when your baby is born during a terribly cold winter and you don’t want to stand there fussing with folding a stroller.  Also good for the valet line at the hospital for moms group.

Swaddle Blanket, Crib Sheets, Bibs: Aden & Anais Swaddles, Sheets & Bibs – These are recommended on every website for a reason.  They are great.  The swaddle blankets are big and stretchy enough to wrap around the Houdini baby to at least slow down the escape. The crib sheets are soft and wash clean.  The bib/burp rags have stood up so well to Linc, the spit up champion. When used as a bib it covers a lot and I use them when he’s in the carrier so I don’t get puke down my boobs.  They also offer organic options.

Diapers – Disposable: Earth’s Best – I really wanted to try cloth but knew that it might be a lot to learn all about that while getting 40 minutes of sleep in the first few days.  I found a lot of great reviews that not only did these have less chemicals but that they also worked better than the other diapers.  Check out a great disposable diaper review here.   They felt very dry and we haven’t had any problems with rashes.

Diapers – Cloth: In Progress – This is a long post in itself.  It’s a whole website actually.  We switched when he was a maybe 2 months old and have never looked back.   The disposable diapers just didn’t hold up to the abuse.  You haven’t lived until you have taken a poop covered onesie off over someone’s head.  Do that twice a week.  I have never had that happen with a cloth diaper.  Stay tuned on this topic.

Bottles: Lifefactory –  The big thing in plastics now is to announce there is no BPA.  I believe it’s been outlawed in baby bottles.  My thinking is what else is in the plastic to leech?  I mean they replaced the BPA with something “safe” but BPA was “safe” once too. (And a new study just came out saying it impacts fertility.)  I just cut out all this and went with glass.  I love these bottles so much I got the big 22 oz water bottle myself.  They hold up well, have a silicone sleeve for grip and protection and are really easy to clean.  They are also modular with other caps to turn the bottles into sippy cups and snack carriers.  This means they have a much longer life and save me room in the cabinet.  The only downside to glass is they are a little too heavy for him to feed himself. (My post about it here.)

Cradle/Bassinet: Baby Bjorn Cradle – This is very compact which worked great in our tiny bedroom.  By the time he grew out of this it was the right time to go to his own room anyway.  The bassinet is ultra light so you can move it around postpartum but nearly impossible to knock over.   The sides are a see through mesh which can be taken off and washed.  All fabrics used have been tested and approved in accordance with Oeko-Tex ® Standard 100 Class I. This means that the textiles are free from health-hazardous substances and allergens.  It also folds up flat which means you can store it easily under a bed.

Bouncer: Baby Bjorn Bouncer – This was a must for us.  It’s a very simple bouncer that is adjustable to recline more or less.  It’s just fabric over a metal and wood form.  That means when some grossness gets all over it, you can take the fabric off and wash it. So easy.  The fabric is again  Oeko-Tex ® Standard 100 Class I.  We used this with Lincoln from birth through now.  When I am cooking dinner I will stick him in it and he hangs out with me without being able to crawl over to the stove.  There is a wood toy thing that attaches that is very helpful.  Oh, and it folds flat so you can shove it behind a chair if your house is small like mine. This isn’t the cheapest but I found mine at a consignment sale – score!

Baby Carrier: Becco Gemini Baby Carrier – I read a lot of reviews (surprise!)  and although not well known this one was well liked.  I have the organic version.  It isn’t for very tiny newborn people without at least the insert and in the beginning I used the Baby K’Tan (not green at all I’m sure).  The perk of this is it’s adjustable so both TB & I can use it.  It also faces in toward you, out toward the world in front (most don’t) and on your back.  It gives a lot of choices.  I haven’t used it a ton over the summer since the kid is like a generator and no one needs that in August.  It is very comfortable so I see it being used a lot more this fall to help corral the moving kid.

Baby Wash: Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild Soap – Just like in my own beauty routine, I was worried about what might be in a lot of the baby lotions and potions.  Since I have no interest in picking up a biology degree in my spare time to figure out what all the long words on the label mean, I try to stick to simple. I know what all the things on the label are.  We use the peppermint version for ourselves.  It also doesn’t have artificial fragrances which would irritate me and possibly him.

Baby Food Storage: Ball Mason Jars – While looking for some kind of food storage I found that tiny containers labeled “baby” are very expensive.  As with the bottles I was trying to avoid plastic.  Low and behold I come across the 4 oz jelly jars which are perfect for a day or three’s worth of food.  The rest of the batch gets frozen.  It’s also good for those yogurt cups with the foil tops for when they don’t eat enough to finish.  A set of 4 was $4.99 at Target.  A set of 4 Wean Green Baby Food containers are $19.99, with plastic lids.  These are simple and cheap and can use them for all sorts of things later.

 

I will continue to add to this list as there are a ton more things we use of course, but these are the basics.  The links to Amazon are my affiliate links, since I have always told you I would be upfront with all of that.  If you have any questions or suggestions of other great baby things, tell us in the comments!