To buy organic, that is the question!

Re: To buy organic, that is the question!

• kettlekitten member

  July 2015

  I think if you can readily avoid environmental waste and minimise the chemicals in your home, then why not?
  
  We don't use any strong chemicals for cleaning in our house anyway as I don't think they're necessary, healthy or good for the environment. For our first baby I made an effort to avoid things like hand sanitisers containing alcohol, didn't use any soaps in baby's bath, and cleaned the bath with vinegar and baking soda. I used cloth breast pads instead of disposables (once my supply levelled out). Most baby bottles and sippy cups are BPA and phthalate free nowadays.
  
  Some people on here have talked about off-gassing from things like mattresses and chemical leaching from waterproof bedsheets and whatnot but I don't know too much about that.... Should look into that a bit more.
  
  I failed at using cloth nappies, it was all just too hard at the time, but will give it a better try this time, and will try cloth wipes as well. I doubt I'll get DH on board but will do my best despite that. If you feel you can do things in such a way that your baby's exposure to chemicals and toxins is minimised then go for it - just don't kill yourself trying to get every little thing 100% 'right.'

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• melanier26 member

  July 2015 edited July 2015

  if this is something you haven't looked into before it can be quite overwhelming. for me, I'm doing what I can/what we can afford and not worrying about the rest (ha I say this now before LO is here, I may feel differently then). but little things like using water & vinegar to clean instead of harsh chemical cleaners are easy to do and actually more cost effective. we also did the off-gassing that the pp mentioned...we just left the furniture & mattress outside for 5-7 days (until a lot of the noticeable smell was gone), which again is easy to do.

  
  

  but I would say do your own research and make the decision that you think is best for your LO. people usually have a pretty strong opinion one way or the other on an organic lifestyle so you may want to do research to form your own opinion.

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• Miz_Liz member

  July 2015 edited July 2015

  It is a lifestyle change/commitment. I personally like others have said do what I can with some stuff (we have an organic mattress for the crib, I limit products in the bath for baby, etc.), but I personally am not willing to make that drastic of a lifestyle change if we are being honest. I am not willing to give up the convenience of my target wipes, disposable diapers, etc. I personally would be a bit annoyed if an instructor was telling me I should be doing this. If they want to suggest some alternatives and talk about some benefits, fine, but other than that Infeel like they are taking advantagevof vulnerable FTM's (by vulnerable I just mean FTM's are already making so many new decisions and trying to get used to becoming a mom, etc.).

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• emmacake08 member

  July 2015

  I also pick and choose my battles with organic. I try to buy only organic varieties of the foods on the dirty dozen pesticide list (like strawberries, apples, potatoes) since we would ingest those chemicals. I don't buy organic clothing because the toxic impact isn't as big versus other things like food. Some cleaners I do buy all natural if they work well and have contact with my LOs but I won't give up my blue dawn dish soap because it works better than any of the natural products I tried. In some instances, the most simple product does work. Hydrogen peroxide is a great cleaning agent as are lemons but when the job gets tough, I personally will pull out oven cleaner.

  

  

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• cosplaymom member

  July 2015

  Organic mattress is supposed to be much healthier/less risk of SIDS and baby spends half their life on that thing so I think it's pretty important.
  
  Organic grains and milk products are good choices too and easy to find (whole milk at age 1, rice cereal at 6M, baby food pouches).
  
  BPA-free is also important, just make sure to buy bottles new and avoid dollar store plastic toys and dishes.
  
  The last thing I might spend more on for ORGANIC would be products you rub directly onto baby like diaper rash cream, lotion, sunscreen, shampoo and bath wash. But for many of those products I start with research to make sure I am still getting what I need. I use Babyganics sunscreen, Honest Co shampoo and wash, but I like Desitin because it seems to work faster than organic butt paste, and I use doctor-prescribed ointment instead of lotions to help dry skin issues.
  
  

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• mariafordon member

  July 2015

  We already use natural products in our home and avoid disposables so it's kind of a no brainer to continue to do so with the baby. But if it's not part of your lifestyle already I would just say you don't have to go all or nothing. Pick a few things that you think will work for you and if you want to switch to more natural products later you can. And don't get burnt out trying to make your own hand sanitizer when there are so many really easy ways to incorporate natural products.

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