You are getting all prepared for that new little bundle and think about what color you might want to paint the nursery.  Before doing that, look into the safest of all paints available that do not give off any VOC’s or at least very little.  We want to keep our babies as healthy as possible and keeping the wrong type of paint away from them is essential.

VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) are given off in the air from paint unless you choose a particular paint with very low or no VOC’s.  Many companies today do carry healthier paints. Real milk paint is another alternative.  Stores such as Sherwin Williams also carry healthier paints for the nursery.    

Many parents are concerned with what the nursery will look like, what design they will use, the paint, the furniture etc.., but the most critical thing for your baby is having a healthy home/nursery.  Of course moms want it to look nice also and be ready for the new bundle, but before spending a fortune in choosing the items, think about what will be the healthiest. You can still have a beautiful nursery, but a healthy one as well.

New rugs and paint are some of the worst items you can put in before the baby arrives unless you are choosing non-synthetic rugs as well as healthy paints.  Furniture should also be non-toxic and organic if possible. 

 http://www.mommasbaby.com/cat–Furniture–Furniture.html

Only healthy paints should be used on your furniture. Fabric should be organic in nature as much as possible.  The bedding as well as the baby clothing should all be the healthiest possible.

http://www.mommasbaby.com/cat–Crib-Sheets-Bumpers-Skirts–112.html

Bedding for your baby is one of the most critical of all decisions other than the food we provide for them.  They will spend countless hours sleeping in the beginning. Having an organic crib mattress (and organic futon for a moses basket) as well as organic blankets and sheets is very important. 

 http://www.mommasbaby.com/cat–Crib-Mattress-Futons–250.html

 They will be breathing this in and you want the air they breathe to be the healthiest possible for them.  There are also stuides out that I will write about that will discuss SIDS and the bedding we choose for our children.

Recently we had our fourth baby and I received yet another bag from the hospital when leaving.  I hadn’t opened it up until I returned home.  When I did, I realized there were cans of infant formula in there.  It’s just such ashame that they give this out to many new moms that are just starting out breastfeeding their little ones. 

Many women give up on nursing in the beginning and with formula given out so easily even from the hospitals, it’s no wonder they don’t try nursing their baby longer.

Breastfeeding is always the best for your baby.  The benefits of breast milk for both mom and baby are amazing!  I’ve written an article on my site under resources discussing all the wonderful benefits. 

 http://www.mommasbaby.com/ccp51/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?&pg=breastfeeding

 In addition, you can read many wonderful articles found on the La Leche web site:

http://www.lalecheleague.org/

La Leche leaders can be found throughout the country and are a wonderful source of information and help for moms just starting out breastfeeding.  I know they were very helpful to me when I began to first breastfeed my children.

If you know of a mom that is just starting out breastfeeding, a wonderful gift for her would also be the breastfeeding support kit by Earth Mama Angel Baby:

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–Breastfeeding-Support-Kit-Earth-Mama-Angel-Baby–BreastfeedingSupportKit.html

I love the Earth Mama Angel Baby line and a  gift such as this may provide encouragement and support for her to continue to nurse her baby.

Almost everyone has heard of Lavender.  You will find more and more products on your supermarket counters that contain lavender.  You will find it in cleaning supplies (including laundry cleaners), teas, cookies etc… 

Why is lavender so popular and widely used?  For one reason, lavender is very calming.  It is especially helpful in calming a fussy baby.  Many of our California baby skin care products contain lavender.  From shampoo and body wash to diaper area wash, calming sprtizers, non-talc powder and calming massage oil, they smell so nice and are also calming for your little one. 

To view some of our California Baby Products, please click on the following links:

California Baby Calming Massage Oil: http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–California-Baby-Calming-Massage-Oil–cbCalmingMassageOil.html

California Baby Diaper Area Wash: http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–California-Baby-Diaper-Area-Wash–CBDiaperAreaWash.html

California Baby Diaper Rash Creme: http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–California-Baby-Diaper-Rash-Cream–CalBabyDiapeRashCream.html

California Baby Non-Talc Powder: http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–California-Baby-Calming-Non-Talc-Powder–CB-CalmingNonTalcPowder.html

California Baby Shampoo and Body Wash: http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–California-Baby-Shampoo-Body-Wash-Regular–sbwr.html

Lavender calms and help reduce irritability while calming nerves.  It’s also great for adults. I’ve had parents tell me that after spraying the lavendar calming spray they purchased, their children were calm and fell asleep much easier.  Spraying your pillow and bed linens at nighttime can also have a calming affect for adults. 

In addition, Lavender was used as an anticeptic in ancient medicine and today is know as the “first aid” in a bottle.  According to Earth Mama Angel Baby, “It helps everything from headaches, burns and boils to insect bites, arthritis and minor cuts. Because it contains 12% tannins, it is also an astringent and is moisturizing to the skin.”

Our line of Earth Mama Angel Baby products also contain lavender in many of their products.Some of the products that contain lavender are:Angel Baby Bottom Balm: http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–Angel-Baby-Bottom-Balm–AngelBabyBottomBalm.html

I get calls all the time about cloth diapering and what should be used for a newborn baby.  I thought I would write a few suggestions here for moms and dads starting out cloth diapering.

My first suggestion would be to start out with 3 dozen prefold or fitted sytle diapers for newborns along with approximately 6 diaper covers. It is a little more economical and you will always find uses for prefold diapers.  I use them for everything from burp rags to cleaning rags or for spills around the house.  They really are great!  Even cleaning companies will often use them because they work so well.  I once had a call from a cleaning company to purchase prefold diapers!

You can check out the prefold and fitted style diapers as well as diaper covers on the following pages:

 http://www.mommasbaby.com/cat–Cloth-Diapers–51.html

 http://www.mommasbaby.com/cat–Cloth-Diaper-Covers–64.html

 Newborns will use the most cloth diapers at this stage.  As they get a little older (usually by 5 or 6 months of age), they will need less diapers - especially once solids are started at around 6 or so months of age.  In addition, if you are using prefold diapers (also referred to as Chinese prefolds or Diaper Service Quality Prefolds), I would suggest using a snappi fastener.  These fasteners are great!  They are so much easier to use than pins and less chance to poking yourself or your baby. 

Snappi Fasteners can be found by going to the following link:

 http://www.mommasbaby.com/cat–Fasteners-Pins–85.html

As your baby gets a little bigger, you may switch to an all in one style diaper for convenience such as Fuzzi Bunz Stay Dry Diapers.  Fuzzi Bunz Stay Dry Diapers are easy to use and easy to clean.  The diaper and cover are built in together.  All you will need is a pocket stuffer (in hemp or micro terry) for absorbancy.  For nighttime use, I would suggest using a prefold diaper along with a pocket stuffer.  This will increase the absorbancy.  During the day time, a pocket stuffer is only needed.  You may also use a prefold for the pocket.  Some parents prefer the pocket stuffer over the prefold for a trimmer fit. I use both when using a Fuzzi Bunz Stay Dry diaper.

The Fuzzi Bunz Stay Dry Diapering System can be found here.  Everything you need to start out with Fuzzi Bunz Stay Dry Diapers is found here:

http://www.mommasbaby.com/cat–Fuzzi-Bunz-Stay-Dry-Diapering-System–55.html

Some parents also prefer to use a wool soaker for a diaper cover. Soakers are also terrific for night time diapering. These are a beautiful woven cover made out of wool and are made in Canada.  They are very soft (not the scratchy material you may think of when thinking of wool) and very absorbant.  They are very natural, breathable and easy to care for.  I love using the Aristocrat wool soakers. 

http://www.mommasbaby.com/cat–Cloth-Diaper-Covers–64.html

For more information on cloth diapering and how to wash cloth diapers, how many you will need when starting out, please see the resource section of our web site. I’ve helped parents around the world start out cloth diapering and would love to speak to you if you have any questions.

The resource section on cloth diapering is found at the following link:

 http://www.mommasbaby.com/ccp51/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?&pg=whyclothdiapers 

Virtually everything we put on our skin is absorbed directly into our body.  Little ones, especially newborns and young children are especially vulnerable to the chemicals and pesticides found in much of the skin care available today.  If you just take a look at the labels found on many of the skin care items found on the market, you will notice many ingredients listed that will not even be familiar to you. 

An excellent source for information on the products you are using is a web site called Skin Deep.  The URL is found at: http://ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/index.php  Here you will find information on most any product you are currently using on you or your baby.  You may look it up by brand and it will give you safety ratings on over 14,000 products.  The following is a news release on Skin Deep:

http://ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/newsrelease.php

The Earth Mama Angel Baby line is an all organic line of skin care products designed especially for moms and babies.  Everything is all natural and good for you and your little one.  You will find everything from Pregnancy and labor support to all natural baby skin care items and an assortment of beautiful gifts.  

To view some of our Earth Mama Angel Baby products from Mommas Baby, click on the following links:

The Perfect Pregnancy Pampering Gift:

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–Pregnancy-Pampering-Kit–ThePerfectPregnancyGift.html

The Perfect Labor Support Kit:

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–Labor-Support-Kit–Labor-Support-Kit.html

In addition, you can find Earth Mama Angel Baby Stretch Oil and Body Butter for use during pregnancy:

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–Stretch-Oil-Earth-Mama-Angel-Baby-4oz–StretchOil120.html

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–Body-Butter-Earth-Mama-Angel-Baby–BodyButter.html

For breastfeeding, choose from Milkmaid Tea and Natural Nipple Butter:

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–Milkmaid-Tea–milkmaidtea.html

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–Natural-Nipple-Butter–natnipb.html

And a perfect Gift - The Earth Mama Angel Baby Breastfeeding Support Kit:

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–Breastfeeding-Support-Kit-Earth-Mama-Angel-Baby–BreastfeedingSupportKit.html

For your baby, choose from the following Earth Mama Angel Baby items:

Angel Baby Bottom Balm

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–Angel-Baby-Bottom-Balm–AngelBabyBottomBalm.html

Angel Baby Kit

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–Angel-baby-kit–angelBabyKit.html

A Little Something for Baby

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–A-Little-Something-For-Baby–lsfb.html

A Little Heavenly Salve-ation:

http://www.mommasbaby.com/item–A-little-heavenly-Salve-ation–Salve-ation.html

These products are wonderful and offer natural and organic skin care for both you and your baby.