Preparing for New Baby – Green Style!

Wow!! I can’t believe I am almost 32 weeks pregnant. Yikes! I delivered the boys at 30 weeks so this is all a bit crazy to me. I guess I have been in a daze and just running around taking care of the boys, that I haven’t prepared one bit for this baby. We are not finding out what the sex is so I think that’s another reason I haven’t done anything yet. Well….I did pick out some fabric for bedding and that is about it.

So the topic of this blog is – now that I have completely procrastinated, what do I need for baby number three? Of course, this is keeping in mind that I want to create a nontoxic and green nursery. You may remember a post by fellow blogger, Tracy S. She did a fab job on what to reuse and what to buy new. For instance, when to replace a car seat. Her blog is going to be a great resource.

I have been extremely lucky to have friends who have offered several items to borrow. This is the ultimate green thing to do. There are some items I wasn’t able to borrow and I will have to search Craigslist, shop at the CMOMs sale or buy new.

Here is my list of what I will buy and why.

* No VOC paint- no fumes and no off gassing for your new baby to breathe into their lungs. I prefer Mythic paint. You can buy it locally at Hunter paints on Monroe Rd.

* I am reusing one of the boys’ cribs but they are still using their mattresses in their toddler beds. So I will need to buy another mattress. I LOVE the ones I have for them made by Vivetique. It’s a natural latex mattress covered in wool. It is naturally fire retardant from the wool and dust mite resistant in regards to the latex. A great option if you children who suffer from allergies. I ordered mine from Organic Grace. You can get it for $320 free shipping. They also carry some organic coil mattresses for less if you go that route. I LOVE this site. It’s a no frills website that gives you soooooooooooooo much great information. I know I have talked about this before but just want to remind you of the importance of a good organic crib mattress. Actually, this goes for every member of your family. Remember your baby will be spending hours and hours in this crib. This is where I do not skimp. The conventional mattresses are LOADED with fire retardants and chemicals, such as arsenic. Lovely. Need I say more? You can visit back to one of my first blogs, “It’s Being Green” for more information. It has some good info on why you should buy a non toxic mattress.

* A wool puddle pad. This sits right on top of the mattress and provides waterproof protection. No need for those nasty plastic pieces. Put your crib sheet over top and you’re good to go. Again, I have found Organic Grace to be a great resource with the best prices.

* I struggled with the crib bedding and decided to go new. I know, I know… I feel guilty about this but I figure this is probably our last one… Plus, the boys bedding was not gender neutral by any means so tgoing with that is a gamble. I have bought some non-organic fabric here locally but I have really had a hard time finding organic fabric here in Charlotte. I have been looking for over two years and haven’t had much luck. If you choose to go online like I did, then PM Organics and Near Sea Naturals are good options. You can of course, just buy organic crib bedding from a retailer as a set, but I couldn’t find the color scheme I was looking for. If you do this Coyuchi is fabulous!

* I may reuse the boy’s crib bumper with a slip cover or order an organic cotton or wool bumper.

*I will hopefully borrow a breast pump and some BPA free bottles but will have some new glass bottles on hand. There are so many options out there now. Check out the Life Factory Weego bottles at The Glass Baby Bottle. They even have some cool sippy cup options. If you are buying a new pump, Milky Way has a really cool pump, the Medela Freestyle, that is the size of a cell phone practically and allows you to pump on the go!! Great if you have older children or need to be doing other things while pumping.

* Car seat- I still need to do more research in this area.

* Stroller- hopefully will find one on Craigslist or at CMOMs sale. No need for the double stroller anymore! Any suggestions on a good single stroller would be greatly appreciated!!

* Diapers – The cloth diapers I have are too big for a newborn since I didn’t start cloth diapering the twins until they were around 5 or 6 months old. The Milky Way on East Blvd. has a great selection of cloth diapers! I had ordered most of the boys diapers online several years ago but it is much better to buy local and you get to see and feel the diapers for yourself. You can also check out Miss Monkey’s Boutique at Black Lion. This is purely a personal preference on which you decide to use. I will do a combination of Bumgenius organic all in ones and some really cool prefold type diapers at Milky Way (Kissaluvs, I think) with my wool soakers or a wrap. The all in one diapers are just like using a disposable. Remember Milky Way has a cloth diapering class along with all the other breastfeeding classes and more.

* Sling- If I can’t borrow one then I will head to Milky Way for one of their awesome organic slings. Wooten and her staff will be a great help!!

Wow, maybe I need to get on the ball. This list is starting to get a bit long! No really, babies don’t need as much as we think they do. No need to stress. So this is a start for me…..

Stay tuned for some great tips on how to create a non toxic nursery or bedroom for your children…..affordably!!! Organic and natural is the obvious way to go but cost can be a deterrent. Now that it is going more mainstream, it has become more affordable but yet still a setback sometimes, especially if you are buying for multiple children. Thanks for reading! Check out Smart E Place to buy or sell items. Remember this is one of the best things you can do for the environment. Reuse is a huge part of the 3 R’s!!!