Strawberr-Wee Fruit Leather

from weelicious

A yummy homemade snack for little ones!



If you follow weelicious on Twitter or Facebook, you may have read about my recent fruit leather obsession. My kids love fruit roll-ups and while there are some great brands out there made with just fruit, I know can save a ton of dough making it myself. While I haven’t spent a lot of money trying to figure it out, I have spent a lot of time! As of today, I’ve made 15 (yes, fifteen!!!!) batches of strawberry leather in an effort to perfect the recipe. It’s been a frustrating challenge to say the least, especially when making fruit leather seems so easy in principal. It’s just fruit and heat, right? Yes and no.

Here’s a breakdown of my results:
Batches 1-4: I used juicy strawberries from the farmer’s market, baked them for three hours and the batch turned out perfect and chewy with a deep red color. I couldn’t believe how easy it was and was very busy congratulating myself afterwards. Kenya actually found one of the batches that I hid in the closet to save for his school lunch and ate the entire thing! At least I know he got his vitamin C for the day — I mean, week!

Batches 5-8: So much for being proud of myself. These attempts were total disasters. This time I used organic strawberries from the grocery that were much bigger and less juicy than the ones I bought from the farmer’s market. Sadly, each of these batches burned when I cooked them at different times right around three hours. I was left totally frustrated.

Batches 9-12: Back to perfection using berries from the farmer’s market. I kept the cooking time at three hours for each batch and I finally realized the juicier the berries, the longer they take to cook. You really have to judge the berry you are using before setting your cooking time.

Batches 13 & 14: Back to the organic grocery store berries, but this time I wised up and only baked them for only two hours, which produced one batch that burned a bit on the edges (because I didn’t spread it out totally even) but another turning out perfect.

Knowing that people will have varying results, I asked friends and a bunch of weelicious readers to give the recipe a try. Everyone’s outcomes were slightly different. Here’s what I’ve determined: you have to experiment for yourself with this recipe. Everyone’s berries and ovens are different, so there isn’t one definitive cooking time. My best advice is to spread the mixture as evenly as possible on the baking sheet and keep a close eye on the fruit while it’s cooking. Be prepared for a bit a trial and error and don’t lose your cool. Hopefully when you find your ideal cooking time, you’ll be knocking out batches of your own fruit leather with ease.

Strawberr-Wee Fruit Leather (Makes 8 Long Strips)
3 Cups Strawberries
1 Tbsp Honey
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Remove the stems from the strawberries and rinse.
3. Place the strawberries and honey in a blender and puree until smooth.
4. Pour the mixture on to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and spread with the back of a spoon or spatula in a large rectangle (my rectangle was 11 x 15 inches) making sure that the mixture is completely even.
5. Bake for 2-3 hours (or until it’s dry and not sticky to the touch). Remember, cooking times will vary depending on how thick you spread your mixture and how much water (juice) is naturally in the fruit. *Every oven is different, so the cooking time maybe less then 2 hours if your oven tends to be hot.
6. Allow to sit and cool at room temperature. It takes several hours for the fruit to soften up (when you first take the leather out of the oven the edges will be a bit dry and crispy, but if you allow it to sit overnight it softens up nicely).
7. Cut with a knife or pizza cutter into strips or use scissors, keeping the paper on, and then roll the leather into “roll ups”.
8. Serve.

Hurray, It’s a Giveaway! Nature Certified Skincare Products for Baby

Nature Certified is a brand new company created by a mom who cares, a mom who wants to put safe and natural products on our babies skin.  This line of products is100% natural and certified organic, using almost all edible whole ingredients.

I know there are several companies out there that claim to offer natural products for babies, but they really aren’t (just look at the ingredient list).  There are very few brands that I really love and trust, and since there are not that many choices I was definitely excited to learn about Nature Certified.
I love the philosophy that this company lives by, as stated on their website:

• To be consistent with the concept of natural products, and not compromise on quality.
• To take the best elements of natural care remedies from around the world, and introduce them to the baby-child personal care market.
• To use edible, whole ingredients, as well as organic ingredients whenever possible.
• To present the product in a consumer-friendly manner. The company is committed to identifying at least 70% of the ingredients in each product on its front label.
• To avoid any product that we would not use for our own babies.

Nature Certified offers a varying array of products, and a few products for baby that I have never seen or tried on the market:

• Organic Grapeseed Oil for Baby and Child: A combination of food grade organic oils, such as grapeseed and coconut.  This oil can be used in the bath, in place of lotion, of for massages.
• All Natural Lotion for Baby and Child: There are no artificial ingredients, fillers, or harmful substances. Even the preservative is natural. Use it daily for moisturizing yourself and your little one.
• Organic Oil Blend for Baby and Child:  Unique combination of food grade oils and cardamom for aromatherapy.  Great for massage or moisturizing.
• Organic Baby Bath Tea: One-of-a kind bath tea bags for children. Soothes, relaxes, and indulges. 100% organic. These tea bags dispense the correct amount of bath product required, so you don’t have to worry about how much should go into your baby’s bath.
• Foaming Body Wash and Shampoo: Delicate and mild fragranced foam comes out of the bottle foaming and leaves your baby clean from head to toe!

I received samples of all these products and I was so excited to give them a try!  I was very pleasantly surprised that the oils were not at all overly potent (as many can be), but were just the right smell of “relaxation.”   I especially love the Foaming Body Wash and Shampoo for children, because I love using shampoo where you don’t have to create your own lather, and I love the soft, natural scent of it.  My baby definitely came out clean and smelling nice!

I still put lotion on my two year old every day to keep his baby skin soft.  When I tried using the Grapeseed Oil and Organic Oil Blend instead of lotion I was reminded of the massaging component that I’m often forgetting when applying moisturizer on him.  Babies and children can greatly benefit from soft massages, both physically and mentally.  The oil blends worked great as a lotion replacement and my little guy actually liked his massage so much he kept asking for more !  I love that using oils reminded me to take the time to spend a little more skin-on-skin contact with child.  These oils are non-greasy and I truly would like some for my own skin!

I love, love, love that Nature Certified has created this great line of completely NATURAL products for our children – something that is so often missing from the mass retailers.  Right now they are only available online, but hopefully we’ll be seeing them in stores nearby soon!

Enter to Win!

To win a free sample kit, complete with travel size containers of the foaming body wash & shampoo, all natural baby lotion, organic oil blend, and organic grapeseed oil simply send an email to abby@littlemiraclesbabyplanning.com with the subject “Nature Certified.”  Contest ends Thursday, Aug. 2nd at 12 noon est.

Babies are teaching scientists much about the human mind

from The Oregonian



Problems like this arise constantly in life: You hit the "print" command on your computer and nothing happens. To get anywhere, you have to figure out whether the printer is broken or you're just doing something wrong, like forgetting to turn on the power.

Babies, it turns out, possess reasoning skills that make them adept at solving this kind of problem.

In one recent study, 16-month-olds quickly and accurately deduced whether a toy that failed to make music needed to be replaced or that they needed to ask for help because they did something wrong.

"Babies come into the world with a lot of initial knowledge and ways of thinking. They make rich, abstract inferences from just a little bit of evidence. They are the most powerful learners in the universe," says Laura Schulz, a professor in the department of brain and cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. She and hundreds of other scientists presented findings in Portland this week at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, a group including anthropologists, linguists, neuroscientists, psychologists and others striving to understand how our brains learn, create and make us who we are.

Many focus on the minds of babies, who are proving to have abilities far beyond what researchers long assumed. In the past year or two, studies have shown newborns grasp abstract numbers enough to link matching numbers of objects and sounds, they understand musical rhythm well enough to detect a missed downbeat in a percussion line, and show moral judgment by 3 months.

The mind in infancy acquires more abilities in less time than at any other age, making it an ideal time for studying the process of learning. And infants offer a window on basic workings of the mind, before culture and other experiences multiply the differences between people at older ages.

Delving into abstract reasoning, Schulz and MIT graduate student Hyowon Gweon showed a series of 16-month-olds how to push a button on a green toy to make it play music. In one trial, researchers handed the toy to the baby to try. In another trial, they handed the baby a yellow toy that otherwise looked identical. In both cases, it was impossible for the babies to make the toy play music. The green toy required activating a second, hidden switch while the yellow toy had no music maker.

When the switch failed to work, babies had two options: turn to a parent for help or reach for a third toy, colored red, placed just out of reach. The babies consistently made the right choice. When given the green toy that they had seen working a moment earlier they sought help from a parent. But when given the yellow toy, they assumed it was broken and grabbed for the red toy.

"They are able to attend to very subtle differences in the world," says Gweon.

Other groups are exploring babies' sophisticated moral reasoning. As early as 3 months, newborns show a preference for puppets or animated characters that help others over those that hinder, in one study. Kiley Hamlin and colleagues at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., showed babies scenes with puppets struggling up a hill. Some puppets helped while others pushed their struggling fellows down the hill. When offered a chance to play with the puppets, the infants picked helpers almost 100 percent of the time.

"And they make inferences about how characters will behave in the future," says Hamlin.

When a hindering character acts in a helpful way, infants register surprise by gazing longer.

In a related study presented at the Portland meeting, Korean researchers found that 16-month-olds not only prefer helpful behavior, but they also expect it. Woo-yeol Lee and others from Yonsei University in South Korea showed babies animated cartoons enacting hill-climbing struggle similar to the puppet show. One character, a square, easily climbed a steep hill but a circle character could not. In some scenes, the square helped the circle and in others, the square ignored its struggling fellow. When the square failed to help, babies consistently showed surprise by staring longer at the ignoring event than they did at helping events.

"They very rapidly develop awareness of moral obligation," says Tamar Kushnir, assistant professor and director of the Early Childhood Cognition Laboratory at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Kushnir and graduate student Nadia Chernyak presented studies on preschoolers' ability to reason about morality and other limits on free will.

They asked 4- and 5-year-olds to draw a picture and gave them two choices of what to draw. A puppet presented the kids with varying pressures to draw one shape and not the other. In some trials, the puppet explained that triangles, for example, were sad and made him cry. In others, the puppet told the children they "have to draw a squiggly," or exerted pressure to conform by saying "all of the other boys and girls" drew a line. One puppet told kids to draw the shape "you like best."

The moral pressure and the pressure to conform showed the strongest effect: Thirteen out of 15 children said they did not have a choice to draw the picture that would make the puppet cry, or to draw a picture other than the one everyone else drew. The children felt freer to ignore orders or to draw a picture other than their favorite.

When asked to explain why their choice was limited, the children were able to do so consistently only in the case of the moral pressure to avoid hurting the puppet. While pressure to conform limited just as many children, only two out of 15 were able to name that reason. The strength and sophistication of moral reasoning surprised researchers.

"It was just whopping," Kushnir says.

-- Joe Rojas-Burke

Recall Alert: Baby Hammocks Recalled by MamaLittleHelper Due to Suffocation Hazard

from CPSC




WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Infant and Toddler Hammocks

Units: About 500

Manufacturer: MamaLittleHelper LLC, of Frisco, Texas

Hazard: The side-to-side shifting or tilting of the hammock can cause the infant to roll and become entrapped or wedged against the hammock's fabric and/or mattress pad, resulting in a suffocation hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received three reports of the hammock becoming unbalanced, including one report of a two-month old who rolled to the side corner of the hammock and was found crying face down. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall includes MamaLittleHelper Hammocks with model numbers 1010, 1020 and BL222. They have a steel frame and a fabric hammock with a mattress which are connected by a large spring, safety rope and a metal hanger. Model BL222 has a computerized rocker device. "MamaLittleHelper" is printed on a label sewn onto the hammock models 1010 and 1020. Model BL222 does not have a label.

Sold exclusively: Online at www.mamalittlehelper.com from May 2008 through February 2010 for between $100 and $230.

Manufactured in: Malaysia

Remedy: Parents and caregivers should immediately stop using the hammocks and find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby. Contact MamaLittleHelper to receive a free repair kit for hammock models 1010 and 1020. Consumers who own model BL222 should return the hammock to MamaLittleHelper in exchange for a new hammock. There is no repair available for model BL222. Repair kits can also be ordered online at www.mamalittlehelper.com/recall.htm

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact MamaLittleHelper toll-free at (866) 612-9986 between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, visit the firm's website www.mamalittlehelper.com/recall.htm or email the firm at recall@mamalittlehelper.com

Recall Alert: Williams-Sonoma Recalls Baby Bottle Warmers Due to Burn Hazard

from CPSC



WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Beaba Express Steam Bottle Warmers

Units: About 11,000

Importer: Williams-Sonoma Inc., of San Francisco, Calif.

Hazard: The bottle warmers can overheat liquids and baby food, posing a burn hazard to adults and babies.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received 10 reports of the bottles overheating, including one report of an adult who received a finger burn from touching a hot bottle.

Description: This recall involves the Beaba Express Steam Bottle Warmer which uses steam to heat baby bottles or baby food. The bottle warmer is green with an orange temperature dial. "Beaba" is printed on the base and model number 9602 is printed on the underside of the warmer.

Sold at: Williams-Sonoma stores nationwide, online at www.williams-sonoma.com and through Williams-Sonoma catalogs from June 2010 through July 2010 for about $65.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled bottle warmers and call Williams-Sonoma for instructions on how to return the product for a full refund. Additionally, consumers who return the bottle warmers will receive a $25 Williams-Sonoma merchandise card.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Williams-Sonoma toll-free at (877) 548-0850 between 4 a.m. and 9 p.m. PT seven days a week or visit the firm's website at www.williams-sonoma.com

Add diet soda to the list of things to avoid while pregnant

from LA Times

There are so many things you're not supposed to eat or drink when you're pregnant -- sushi, Caesar salad, blue cheese, lox, coffee and, of course, alcohol. Now researchers have added a new item to that list -- diet soda.

It seems that regular consumption of carbonated beverages made with artificial sweeteners significantly increases the risk of preterm delivery (defined as giving birth after fewer than 37 weeks of pregnancy). Women who drank at least one diet soda per day were 38% more likely to have their baby early compared to women who abstained. For women who drank at least four diet sodas each day, the increased risk was 78%, according to a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

These risks were calculated based on data from 59,334 pregnancies that were tracked in Denmark between 1996 and 2002. Women in the study were asked to complete a food frequency questionnaire about halfway through their pregnancies. The timing of their births was recorded in the Danish Civil Registration System.

About one out of every eight babies is born preterm, according to the March of Dimes. "Babies who are born preterm are at higher risk of needing hospitalization, having long-term health problems and of dying than babies born at the right time," according to the group's website.

The researchers found no link between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of preterm delivery, suggesting that some component of artificial sweeteners is to blame. Noncarbonated diet drinks also weren't associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery, probably because those drinks contained much lower levels of artificial sweeteners (only about one-half to one-third as much aspartame and acesulfame-K as in carbonated diet drinks, according to the study).

For the sake of comparison, using the same dataset the researchers calculated that women who smoked every day were 21% more likely than nonsmokers to deliver their babies early.

-- Karen Kaplan

ThredUP: Free Children’s Clothing Swap Online

So have you heard of ThredUP?  Clothes don’t grow, but kids do.  ThredUP lets you save money on children’s clothing by swapping with a network of parents across the country.   You pack up your clothing in a box and then you pick out a box of clothing online that you want to receive.  Sounds simple?  All you pay is the $13 per box shipping fee.

Simply navigate the gently worn clothing listings on their website the way you would on eBay, iTunes or Amazon.com. Sort by gender, size, brand, season and type of item. Find baby clothing, toddler clothing, or pre-teen clothing. Find a box you like, pay for shipping and it's yours!

As we all try to do more to Reuse and Recycle our belongings, ThredUP sounds like a great way to get rid of outgrown clothing without buying new stuff.

Of course I’m very curious to know if anyone has tried it, because I haven’t.  Are people getting rid of cute clothes or only the no-so-cute stuff?  Send me an email if you’ve tried ThredUP, I’d love to hear your experience!  abby@littlemiraclesbabyplanning.com

10 Tips for the Natural Parent-to-Be

By mjb - December 9, 2009 (www.seventhgeneration.com)

1. Naturally healthy babies come from naturally healthy mamas! Take good care of yourself.

2. Newborns don't need a lot of gadgets. Get the basics and add as your baby grows.

3. Breastfeeding can be a lot harder than you'd think. Not all babies, nor all moms, are "naturals." It often takes work, and in some cases, doesn't work at all. So don't beat yourself up if it just isn't happening.

4. If you do breastfeed, don't worry about working in some feedings of bottled formula. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing proposition, especially if you'd like a little time to yourself. You can also pump and freeze breast milk.

5. Feed your baby veggies, and he or she will grow up to be a good veggie eater.

6. Trust your instincts.

7. Stick to your guns! Lots of people will tell you that natural doesn't matter.

8. Instead of off-the-shelf teething gels, find a local aromatherapy shop to create a blend of essential oils for baby's sore gums.

9. Make your own baby food and freeze it in ice cube trays.

10. You don't have to be Super Mom. Let your husband, your parents, and your friends take care of you.

What is Baby Sign Language?

from Nature Mom Blog




Baby sign language is American Sign Language, only cuter. And there’s often some drool thrown in for effect.
Seriously though, American Sign Language is the official language of the deaf community in the United States. You probably learned the American Sign Alphabet at some point in school.

The baby version of American Sign started in the 70’s when Joseph Garcia observed that the hearing babies of deaf parents learned to talk at an earlier age than the hearing babies of hearing parents. This intrigued Garcia, and prompted him to start a program that trained hearing parents to teach their babies sign language.
And Garcia’s original observation held true. Babies who learned to sign learned to speak at an earlier age than those who didn’t learn to sign. But that wasn’t all. Many other, unexpected benefits popped up. Babies and toddlers who signed showed less frustration, seemed to enjoy closer bonds with their parents, developed larger vocabularies early on, and even learned to read faster and more easily than their non-signing peers. I know, crazy right?

And it’s so simple! It is easy to teach your baby to sign. You don’t have to be fluent in American Sign Language. You can take it one sign at a time (or two, or three)!

A baby’s cognitive development is always ahead of his speech development. Many babies show proof of understanding what we say long before they are able to speak. Baby sign language can bridge this developmental gap. Signing with your baby will help her to communicate her thoughts long before she is able to verbalize them.

Many parents and caregivers choose to only teach a few signs, and that is fine! Some parents teach their babies to sign “diaper,” “down,” “eat,” and “milk” and stop there!

Imagine how much easier it would be if every time your baby wanted to nurse, she simply signed “milk.” She could sign before she cried. Wouldn’t that be great?

And many parents and caregivers teach their babies dozens of signs, so your baby could actually sign, “More applesauce please!”

Speaking of which, baby sign language is a great way to teach manners early. The signs for “please” and “thank you” are very easy to teach, and just as easy for your baby to learn.

A popular misconception is that babies who learn to sign will have no need for speaking, but this just isn’t the case. Study after study has shown the opposite to be true. Baby sign language encourages a baby to communicate, and fosters the skills and builds the confidence that he needs to do so.

It is easy to teach your baby sign language. The signs are all available for you at Baby Sign Language. If you are even thinking about it, you should give it a whirl. Your baby will thank you. She might even do it with a sign.

Guest post by Misty Weaver, Chief Editor, Baby Sign Language

Top 5 Baby Safety Tips

from Healthy Baby Happy Home

1. Do a neighborhood Search for Sexual Predators. If someone is convicted they must be registered and you can find this out at www.familywatchdog.us/. If you find any suspected sexual predators, be extra careful.

2. Smoking Rule of Thumb: If you smoke, quit! If you can’t quit, smoke outside, away from the baby. Second-hand smoke can cause a number of childhood illnesses or make them worse. These include asthma, ear infections and sinus infections.

3. Watch out for Lead. If your house was built before 1978 have it tested. If you are buying a house built before 1978 have it tested. The following are websites recommended for lead testing:

• www.leadlisting.org
• Leadtesttoys.com test toys for lead
• Leadcheck.com test heavy metals for lead
• Leadlisting.org leads testing professional search
• Healthhometest.com test water at home for lead
• EPA Labs www.epa.gov/lead

4. Use natural pesticide. Speak with your Pest Control Company and be very cautious about using pesticides in the baby’s room. See recommended websites for natural pesticides:

• www.panna.org
• www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pcos/findapco.htm
• www.ecosmartprofessional.com
• pesticideswatch.org
• Battlethosebugs.com for safe pest control made from limestone
• biconet.com for Bio Control Network Alternative Pest control products
• Bugsrdone.com for natural pest control made from orange peel extract

5. Use low VOC carpet or no carpet. There are more than 25 different types of low and no-VOC carpets available at general home stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot, as well as at specialty flooring stores. Also, consider other flooring options, such as bamboo, linoleum, and tile. See shawgreenedge.com for available low VOC carpets.

Organically Raised – Conscious Cooking for Babies and Toddlers

from Nature Moms Blog



Ever tried the little jars of baby food from the store? Yuck! Even before I knew much about whole foods I knew that those little jars were nasty. Not only do they taste quite bad IMO and not at all like the like real foods they are imitating, they are not fresh foods and they are packed with preservatives usually. From the beginning of my career as a mom I bypassed those jars as much as possible and opted to feed my babes what the rest of us were eating… pureed of course. I have a video of my youngest eating his first real meal at about 8 months old (breastfed before that). He devoured a puree of 13 bean stew… and I mean devoured. On the video he is trying to dive into the crock pot and he screams when the food is out of his reach. This is significant because this was just after my cancer diagnosis and my release from the hospital. My family was taking care of the little guy while I couldn’t and the breast milk bank was now permanently closed. They tried to feed him some store bought baby food and he did NOT like it. But the 13 bean stew? The boy was screaming (literally) for whole foods.

Recently I was sent a copy of the book Organically Raised – Conscious Cooking for Babies and Toddlers and I can’t say enough good things about it. Not only is it a beautiful book with tons of gorgeous pictures that had me drooling for baby and toddler food… the concept is so important for parents of young ones to grasp. Chemical laden baby food from jars is not really easier and more convenient than making wholesome organic, baby food yourself from whole foods. In my experience the opposite is true. I also believe that the BEST way to get your kids eating healthy whole foods, and tons of fruits and veggies as kids is to start by feeding them these foods as a baby in the freshest forms available. Is it any coincidence that my kids all ate REAL food as babes and that I now have zero problems in the getting kids to eat veggies department? I don’t think so. We went to a buffet recently and attracted much attention when my kids filled their own plates with broccoli, green beans, peas, mushrooms, and various fruits. Around me I saw several kids eating Jello and drumsticks for dinner… nuff said.



Also because they are so little and vulnerable, they benefit greatly from organic foods. They don’t need any more chemical exposure than they already get from their environment. This book gives lots of advice for feeding kids consciously with many delicious recipes. The toddler food is also great for encouraging adventurous eating. Greek falafel bites with cucumber-dill dipping sauce and quinoa primavera are healthy foods sure enough but they are also FAR from what kids who eat the SAD (Standard American Diet) are used to and that is a very good thing. Kids who are exposed to many different and unique foods as children will try more foods overall and have a more diverse diet as adults. That is code for saying they won’t be picky eaters. We all know those picky adult eaters don’t we? The ones who think anything but meat and potatoes is exotic and foreign.

I can’t wait to make some of these tasty toddler dishes for my youngest and thankfully there were lots of non meat recipes in the book because the boy isn’t big on eating things with faces. I know we will all love the food and I especially loved reading the book. The pictures alone made me sad that my young kiddo days are almost gone. If you are prone to baby fever you may not want to read it… the pictures of the babies and toddlers are just as delicious as the food ones.

This is THE cookbook for parents who want to feed their babies and toddlers organic, real, nourishing, whole foods. Thank you Anni Daulter for an amazing book!

New Britax Convertible Car Seats Coming Soon

I had the privilege of receiving one of these brand new, redesigned (not in stores yet) Boulevard Britax car seats to test out.  I have used two of Britax's seats so far with my own child -- the infant Chaperone seat and the convertible Diplomat seat.  I may have had a few suggestions for improvements on both of those seats, but this newly remodeled Boulevard stands alone as a seat of perfection.  Britax's focus on safety is incomparable with any other car seat manufacturer.  But besides the fact that their car seats are possibly the safest car seats out there, they are also brilliantly designed for ease of use for the parent and comfort for the child.  I can't say enough about Britax right now and what great new products they are putting out there.  If you haven't checked out their awesome new single and double B-Ready stroller, check it out too!

There are many great reviews out there already on these newly redesigned Boulevard and Marathon seats, but here's my favorite from Spilling the Beans:

from Spilling the Beans

Britax is a company that is totally obsessed with car seat safety. A few years ago, research started coming out that revealed head injury to be the leading cause of death for children in automobile accidents. Britax took a good look at those findings and then took their existing line of car seats to the crash test lab, wondering if they were doing enough to protect kids’ heads. While all the older seats already exceeded the federal standards for head excursion, the Britax engineers still thought they could do better.


After many hours at the drawing board, the results are really impressive. The new seats look better and perform better than their predecessors. They offer better features and higher weight limits but (surprisingly) there will be no price increase.

Here are some of the highlights:

~ New contours - the shape of the new car seats is really different. The center of gravity is lower, to create a downward rocking motion in a crash, instead of a forward thrust. The shell is more enclosed and protective.

~ Steel reinforcements - the new models have steel bars running down both sides of the seat for extra strength.

~ Crumple zones - Britax has introduced a new SafeCell technology - a honeycomb-shaped plastic zone at the base of the car seat that’s designed to crumple, absorbing and dissipating the impact from a crash.

~ Foam galore - the sidewalls of the new seats are fully lined with energy-absorbant EPP foam.

~ Versa-Tether - it’s not a new feature, but now’s a good time to point out the thought behind the design of this safety feature. The webbing is sewn so that , in a crash, it releases its seams in stages, slowing the forward motion.

~ Easy to clean - the new seats (except the Roundabout 55) have an Easy-Remove cover that comes right off without having to uninstall the car seat - so you can dread those spills just a little less from now on.

~ Quick adjusting - all the new models (except the Roundabout 55) have a quick-adjust harness, which allows you to change the height of the harness straps without needing to rethread the straps.

~ No Slip - there’s a rubberized strip on the base of the car seat, which prevents it from slipping around - a small but very nice touch.

~ Simplified LATCH - the LATCH connectors are now “one handed” meaning they’ll work fine in either position, so you don’t need to switch them around when moving from rear- to forward-facing.

~ Improved lock-offs and belt path - the location of the built-in seatbelt lockoffs has been moved to the center of the seat, and the belt path is more open, so you can comfortably pass through the seatbelt and lock it off even if you’re standing outside the car.


Take a look at the full line of next-generation Britax seats for 2010 and pre-order now.

Safe school supplies 2010

from greener, healthier living

It’s back-to-school time again! Time to shop for those school supplies and of course you want them to be safe from ickies like PVC. Kids are going to be using school supplies and lunch boxes on a daily basis and kids are more greatly affected by toxins than adults. So we want to make sure we are sending them off with items that are safe.



So, what should you all avoid this back-to-school season?

1. PVC – polyvinyl chloride. PVC causes cancer, and is notorious for containing lead which can cause irreversible brain damage with too much exposure.

How to avoid PVC, the poison plastic. The CHEJ gives these quick tips:

PVC products are often labeled with the words “vinyl” on the packaging, such as vinyl 3-ring binders

PVC packaging can be identified by looking for the number “3” inside, or the letters “V” or “PVC” underneath, the universal recycling symbol, indicating the product is made out of PVC. Just remember – bad news comes in #3’s, don’t buy PVC

Some products are not properly labeled, making it tough to determine whether they contain PVC. If you’re uncertain, e-mail or call the 1-800 number of the manufacturer or retailer and ask what type of plastic their product is made of. You have a right to know.

While sadly, some safer school supplies are harder to find, if you keep looking, you should still be able to find PVC free supplies. Here is a pocket guide to help you along and a full list of PVC-free school supplies. Though, for many of these supplies on the full list, you will have to do your shopping online and those sites are noted on CHEJ’s guide, which is certainly more appealing to me than battling the back-to-school crowds in stores. Luckily, I have 1 more year before I need to worry about that.


Some of my favorite PVC-free items for back to school are:

Fleurville backpacks I love the designs!

Crocodile Creek lunch box I am not kidding when I saw these are stinkin’ cute and I want one for myself!

Kids Konserve Waste Free Lunch System for something more sophisticated. Comes complete with 2 stainless steel food containers, a napkin, sandwich wrap, stainless steel water bottle and a nice recycled cotton sack to carry it all in. There is also a nice thermos for sending soups or other warm items and an ice pack for helping keep things cool.

Affordable, iPlay raincoats

So, where can you find PVC-free school supplies? If you are like me and prefer not to battle the last minute back-to-school shoppers, check out the eco-friendly selection at Amazon for

Binders

Bags, backpacks and notebook protectors

Writing instruments and crafts

Or consult CHEJ’s well researched list with websites of manufacturers and how to buy.



2. BPA – bisphenol A. Common in Polycarbonate (PC) #7 plastic. A hormone disruptor that interferes with the developing breast and prostate in the womb and out, as well as affecting brain development and behavior. Has also in recent studies been linked to cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

See my BPA-free list here to find BPA-free water bottles, dishes, snack bowls, etc. or shop at The Soft Landing.



3. Polystyrene #6 plastic. Styrene can cause nerve system damage and is listed as a probable human carcinogen (causes cancer). Commonly found in Styrofoam containers, as well as other food containers, cups, cutlery, CD’s, packing peanuts, etc.


4. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Kids and alcohol just don’t mix, so opt for something safer such as CleanWell Hand Sanitizer.

5. Triclosan and items labeled with “Microban Technology.” Triclosan is the common ingredient in many antibacterial products, including most liquid hand soaps, and is toxic. Really anything labeled antimicrobial, antibacterial, keeps food fresh longer, and other such claims could contain Triclosan. Avoid it. SafeMama has a good article on Microban and I agree with their stance that it seems unnecessary and because there is not sufficient evidence one way or another, it’s best to steer clear if possible. I make my own foaming hand soap and love it!


Does your school make the environmental health grade? Use the CHEJ’s environmental checklist to find out.


That should you do if your school list has items on it that you feel strongly against (i.e. alchohol based hand sanitizer like Purell)? Tiffany at Nature Mom’s Blog did a write up last year with a letter she sent to her son’s teacher explaining some of the deviations she provided from the required list.

Hope these tips make your back to school year a little healthier! Happy shopping!

Pesticides and ADHD

 By Dr. Austin Abramson

Pesticides are chemical substances used to prevent crop destruction by insects. They have positive effects by decreasing crop losses and increased food per acre farmed. However, they may come with a steep cost to your health. Pesticides are powerful substances that are absorbed or ingested and may cause potential harm especially to infants and children, who eat more fruits and vegetables than adults relative to their body weight and who are still developing.

Additionally children play more on the ground where they have the greater potential to come in contact with pesticide residues. Children also may place contaminated hands and objects in their mouths.
Fruits and vegetables contribute essential nutrients, including fiber to the diet. However, it is very important that parents understand that certain fruits and vegetables named the “Dirty Dozen” may have a greater risk of pesticide contamination than other varieties due to the nature of the plant and how they are grown. This list includes:

•Celery
•Peaches
•Strawberries
•Apples
•Blueberries
•Nectarines
•Sweet Bell Peppers
•Spinach
•Cherries
•Potatoes
•Grapes
•Lettuce


A recent study from Harvard in the journal of Pediatrics1 examined the association between ADHD and urine metabolites of organophosphates. Organophosphates are a common pesticide spayed on fruits and vegetables. The conclusion of the article was that children with higher levels of organophosphate metabolites in the urine were more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.since high levels of organophosphates are purported to disrupt brain neurotransmitters More research is needed to study the effects of diet on conditions such as ADHD.

The obvious and simple solution is to avoid pesticides and all chemical agents in the food supply wherever possible. Washing fruits and vegetables may not always be sufficient. Therefore, organic foods, including fruits and vegetables that are made without the use of these pesticides may be one way to help protect our families.

Concerned About BPA? Check Your Receipts!

There's been a lot of talk about BPA in cash register receipts lately, and lots of articles stating the dangers from these new findings.  I for one know I won't be letting my son hold the receipt as we leave the store anymore!  I've posted a few more links to other articles on this subject at the end of this article.

From Science News

By Janet Raloff

What's the charge?

Some — but not all — cash-register and credit-card receipts can be rich sources of exposure to BPA, a hormone-mimicking pollutant.Christopher BakerWhile working at Polaroid Corp. for more than a decade, John C. Warner learned about the chemistry behind some carbonless copy papers (now used for most credit card receipts) and the thermal imaging papers that are spit out by most modern cash registers. Both relied on bisphenol-A.

Manufacturers would coat a powdery layer of this BPA onto one side of a piece of paper together with an invisible ink, he says. “Later, when you applied pressure or heat, they would merge together and you’d get color.”
At the time, back in the ‘90s, he thought little about the technology other than it was clever. But when BPA exploded into the news, about a decade ago, Warner began to develop some doubts.

Research was demonstrating that this estrogen-mimicking chemical was leaching out of polycarbonate plastics, out of the resins used to line most food cans and out of dental sealants. In the womb, this chemical could disrupt the normal development of a rodent’s gonads — or evoke changes that predisposed animals to later develop cancer.

Warner recalls that these reports piqued his curiosity about whether the color-changing papers that were increasingly proliferating throughout urban commerce still used BPA.

By this time, the organic chemist was teaching green chemistry at the University of Massachusetts. “So I'd send my students out to local stores to get their cash register receipts.” Back in the lab, they’d dissolve the paper, run it through a mass spectrometer and look for a telltale spike in the readout that signaled the presence of BPA.

And they’d find it, Warner says. Not in every receipt. But in plenty. And the paper used in the receipts that contained BPA looked no different than papers that didn’t.

But that was then, before he co-founded the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, an organization that works with industry to develop safer products and production processes. So earlier this week I asked Warner whether he had evidence BPA might still be present in those papers. Yep. He turned up BPA-based receipts in use the last time he looked. Which was last month.

And the amount receipts carry isn’t trivial.

“When people talk about polycarbonate bottles, they talk about nanogram quantities of BPA [leaching out],” Warner observes. “The average cash register receipt that's out there and uses the BPA technology will have 60 to 100 milligrams of free BPA.” By free, he explains, it’s not bound into a polymer, like the BPA in polycarbonates. It’s just the individual molecules loose and ready for uptake.

As such, he argues, when it comes to BPA in the urban environment, “the biggest exposures, in my opinion, will be these cash register receipts.” Once on the fingers, BPA can be transferred to foods. And keep in mind, he adds, some hormones — like estrogen in certain birth-control formulations — are delivered through the skin by controlled-release patches. So, he argues, estrogen mimics like BPA might similarly enter the skin.

Maybe, maybe not. BPA and real estrogen don’t have the same structure, so their permeability might vary. Moreover, there are all kinds of materials in the skin that might selectively degrade or alter this hormone imposter as it passes through.

More importantly, I asked: Have you published your data? “No,” Warner says, “that’s not my goal.” His research organization “is dedicated to not preaching about the bad but about diligently trying to invent the good,” he says. Moreover, he says he lacks the resources to do a thorough job of quantifying the prevalence of BPA-laced receipts.

Perhaps. But for his research to have an impact, it must pass peer review and appear in journals that can be cited. His analytical techniques need to be articulated so that others can try to replicate his findings or shoot them down. And somebody has to go the distance and investigate how much BPA can rub off onto fingers from receipt papers, does it get through the skin — and if it does, how much gets into the circulation, where it can reach organs throughout the body?

Warner, a patent-toting inventor, has set his sights on developing some new analog to the old litmus test. He envisions something that could be rubbed across a receipt, or perhaps the fingers; when it sensed the presence of BPA it would change color.

Of course, a simpler caveat-emptor approach would be to just mandate labeling of any and all products that contain BPA at their point of sale — or in the case of receipts, at the cash register. At least pregnant women would know to wash their hands after picking up a BPA-laced receipt. And we’d all know to keep such paper out of hands of kids. We might also want to store those receipts in some zip-it-closed plastic baggie, not our wallets.

Greenpacks article

Denver Examiner

USA Today

AOL News

Environmental Working Group

Tips to reduce exposures to BPA in receipts


•Minimize receipt collection by declining receipts at gas pumps, ATMs and other machines when possible.

•Store receipts separately in an envelope in a wallet or purse.

•Never give a child a receipt to hold or play with.

•After handling a receipt, wash hands before preparing and eating food (a universally recommended practice even for those who have not handled receipts).

•Do not use alcohol-based hand cleaners after handling receipts. A recent study showed that these products can increase the skin's BPA absorption (Biedermann 2010).

•Take advantage of store services that email or archive paperless purchase records.

•Do not recycle receipts and other thermal paper. BPA residues from receipts will contaminate recycled paper.

•If you are unsure, check whether paper is thermally treated by rubbing it with a coin. Thermal paper discolors with the friction; conventional paper does not.

Little Miracles Baby Planning on Charlotte FOX News!

Check us out in the segment below that aired twice as a top story on FOX NEWS last week here in Charlotte.  We are so excited to be able to help promote a better understanding of the baby planning industry!

http://www.foxcharlotte.com/news/top-stories/Parenting-Trend-Hire-a-Baby-Planner-99600699.html

Little Miracles Extreme Discount Extravaganza!

It's Summer Madness!!


In honor of our one year anniversary we want to say THANK YOU to all the parents and expecting parents out there.


Little Miracles Baby Planning (http://www.littlemiraclesbabyplanning.com/) is offering half off the cost of ALL our services if you contact Little Miracles for a FREE consultation anytime between now and August 31st! We help clients in any city or state with everything from the smallest details (which type of diapers are best?) to the biggest details (how can I find the best nanny for our family?). Everything we do is personalized just for you, and we also pride ourselves in educating our clients along the way (everything from car seat safety to swaddling techniques). Unlike your sister or best friend, we have tried all the products out there and we are not just going to recommend what we like best. We are here to help save you time and money as you prepare for baby's arrival. This special one-time offer of 50% off can't be beat! 


If you are an expecting or adopting parent or know someone who is expecting or adopting, this is the perfect gift idea (**we offer gift certificates!**).


Since baby planning is still a relatively new business, most expecting parents aren't sure what to expect when hiring a baby planner. Like a wedding planner, we are here to help you plan for one of the biggest days of your lives. However, unlike a wedding planner, we are not here to take control of your day or the events leading up to your big day. We are simply here to help as much or as little as you need. Sorting through everything there is to learn and buy when you are becoming a parent (whether for the first or fifth time) can be completely overwhelming. We are here to offer advice when you need it, point out products you may not have seen before, and to be that person who doesn't give you a one-sided opinion on everything. We want the process of preparing for baby's arrival to be as fun and exciting as it should be!


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