Seeking Green Mom's Advice (Plastics, Toys, Cleaning Supplies, Ect)

TB, I used to heat in the jar. I see no reason why you can't use the jar. It's glass! On the subject of glass, I much prefer feeding my children on glass, ceramic, "real" adult dishes. Why? you don't have to deal with the issue of whether or not the plastic is harmful either to the person eating off of it or the landfill where it will inevitably end up. And then for a more selfish/practical reason, you will end up with many, many less messes to clean up. It is so easy for little ones to spill, tip, bump, throw plastic plates and cups. Plastic cups are especially ridiculous. Little ones don't have the coordination to navigate the minefield that is the dinner table without bumping into things. And then they spill. And we have to clean up. "Real" dishes and glasswear are much more stable. The glasses I use are small, heavy tumblers. My kids have never broken a single one and they rarely ever spill. What's the worse thing that can happen? If they drop it and it breaks, they are in their chair and won't get hurt. Believe me, you will have many, many , many fewer spills to clean up if you get rid of the silly plastic and get nice, heavy little glasses. The plastic cups are only used in the bathroom. Even when my kids (5 and 3) were in a high chair, I fed them with adult plates. I think children appreciate being treated like the rest of the family. Good luck keeping things green!

Hi TB,
Your question comes at a good time. There is now so much info available to make informed choices. Longstory-short... check out www.Mercola.com.

And my best advice to you would be to not use the microwave at all. Cold food is better than microwaved food.

Heating on the stove is easy and fast. A good bet....buy a small LeCruset pot. It will last for MANY years. My original set -twentyfive years ago- is still going strong. The outlet in Gilroy has great deals.

Heating suggestions: Glass jars in a cup of hot water (from tea pot is OK) and make a cup of tea for yourself too.
Also, fresh is best. Maybe you don't have to re-heat as much as you think. Steam small amounts and put in one of the little baby food grinders.

Warmly,
L.

When shopping for toys look for this toxic signs as well as household products like shampoos and cleaning products:

http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refID=77083

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpmE_b90XTU <click here to see video

And for Cleaning products just look for non toxic cleaning products... I personally love Melaleuca brand, but there are many others you can google them or get them at local health food stores like: Trader Joe's!!! Love, G.. :0)

Good for you! The very best containers to feed yourself and your child from are made from natural materials-- wood, ceramics, glass. Plastics in the microwave are super scary!! Heating plastic seems to be the worst for leaching toxins into foods and beverages. In fact, I would recommend heating all your food on the stove top or in the oven instead of a microwave, and using stainless steel or cast iron cookware. Non-stick coating on pans is super toxic. You could totally put an uncapped glass baby food jar in a little bit of hot/warm water on the stove top and the water will heat it right up. Or if you really want to microwave, yes, you can put the glass jar right in the microwave-- better than a plastic bowl.

A newer company, "Born Free", makes plastic bottles and sippy cups with plastics that don't contain Bisphenol A. Also, glass bottles are great.

Avoiding plastic as much as possible is a great great gift to the environment and your family's health. Of course, plastic is everywhere. But the more research that comes out, the more alarming the effects of plastic on the body (and earth) are appearing.

As for toys, wood or cloth are very beautiful, and usually handmade.

I think what you're doing is really wonderful!

Hello!
Good for you for wanting to protect your baby from our toxic world!!
Basically no plastic should ever be put in the microwave - ever. There have been studies about the release of plastic particles in foods for several years now, and I can't undersatnd why there's not a higher collective conscousness about this in our society. All plastics react in the microwave and can release hormone-mimicking particles into our food. I don't use plastic for anyone of any age in the microwave. So, heat in glass (the best kind of container - no toxicity, fully recyclable, the least amount of pollution produced in the recycling if it, etc.)or you can use ceramic that says microwave-safe. Of course, these kinds of containers are breakable, so if you're worried your baby/toddler will sling the bowl to the floor, you can transfer the heated food to a plastic dish - just don't put it in the microwave.
A 7 month old is mouthing everything, as those important neural connections get made that govern fine-motor control (not to mention because of teething!) So, be aware not to give your baby any soft plastics which contain Phthalates. (It won't necessarily say on the label, just avoid ANY softened plastic) Phthalates are chemicals that are used to soften plastic, but can also release hormone-mimicking particles. (you can probably find more info online) And there are teething toys made out of this!!!! These products have been banned for use with babies in Europe for many years now, but our country is very slow in protecting our children!! My son teethed on a cold peeled carrot until he got both top and bottom teeth, then I didn't want him to bite off a chunk, and I moved to his all-time favorite teething toy, a leather strap. He loved it. You can also put a twisted wet cotton washcloth in the freezer and let him teeth on that when it's all hard and frozen. I used to keep several in there, because they thaw quickly.
There are many beautiful toys made of wood and cotton or wool. Look at catalogs like magic cabin dolls, the Playstore, or any Waldorf-type catalog for natural toys.
I had to make sure my mom and in-laws understood what we were trying to do and why, and they were delighted to buy these beautiful gifts that are more healthy for a baby. Just be sure to let people who love your child know.
Lastly, there are also glass baby bottles, if you will be using a bottle to feed your baby ever. I breastfed until my son was 2-1/2, but I would pump, too, and my husband could feed our son when I was away. We used only glass containers for breastmilk, too!!! We had a system where we froze the milk - it worked great.
I wish your baby a healthy baby- and child-hood, as low in chemical exposure as possible! You are a wonderful mommy for trying to minimize his exposure. Good luck, I hope this long email helps! This is a subject near to my heart.
Respectfully, GP

novanatural.com
There is nothing plastic that can't be replaced with wood or glass or metal.
Thanks for making the effort to make a difference.

I don't use plastic in the microwave anymore. I use my regular dishes, and cover with a bowl for a top so things don't dry out. I also don't microwave much anymore as I have read how the microwave actually produces a different chemical change in the food than regular cooking. I wish I could quote the source for you, but I don't remember where I read it. We used to make our own baby food with a baby food grinder (food processer or blender works great. That way you don't have to feed your child food that is older than they are.

This is a tough question. These are the things I'm doing to be "greener":
- Using gDiapers, a cloth cover with a flushable liner. Amazing! www.gdiapers.com - the company is green too.
- Bringing cloth bags to the grocery store. No more plastic bags all over the place, cluttering landfills, choking sea turtles.
- Buying much less plastic. I use the Born Free sippies, as my son is transitioning from bottle to sippy. He's almost 2, but still wants bottles at bed time. We didn't know about BPA when we bought our original bottles.
- Washing plastic items by hand instead of in the dishwasher. Heat causes the leeching.
- Paying attention to where toys are made. Even books are printed in China, so there's no way to really be China-free. But I think more about whether the object is one that Jack will really like, or just another thing for him to have. When I look for presents for him, I actively look for items made here or in Europe, and made from wood. A great resource is eBeanstalk.com. I have other toy sites if you'd like.
- Buying or receiving secondhand items. Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) enables you to give and receive useful items for free. I got an ExerSaucer, a dresser, a computer monitor, plus more, all free. Some friends of mine are in this circle of giving. The one with the oldest child passed clothes to me, I passed them plus more on to another friend, and that friend gave back to the first friend, who just had another baby.
- Choosing not to vaccinate. If you're worried about BPA, you should take a look at the ingredients in children's vaccines. I am not making any of this up - vaccines include formaldehyde, material from aborted fetal tissue, material from other animal cells, and chemicals that are used in or for disinfectants, weed killer, and other commercial applications. The mercury (thimerosal) isn't gone either. You can find the ingredients at http://www.informedchoice.info/index.php (click Cocktail)
and the actual package inserts that list the specific ingredients in each vaccine, as written by the manufacturers at http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/package_inserts.htm

A great resource is Z Recommends, a blog: http://zrecs.blogspot.com/
She reviews all kinds of products, including sippy cups and bottles.

The problem with using the glass jar is that, if your child doesn't eat the whole thing, you need to throw the rest of the jar away because of bacteria. I didn't do that with things that were eaten cold, like apple/sweet potatoes and fruit, but with foods that were warmed, if Jack didn't eat it all, it went down the garbage disposal. I tried using regular plates and Jack smashed them, so I do use plastic. I contacted the companies to see what their policies were.

I hope that this helps! Good luck going green!

I agree with the other moms about never putting plastic in the microwave. Also, heating food in the microwave does destroy some of the nutritional qualities of the food, in addition to creating 'hot spots'. We heat our food in the glass jar, in the bottle warmer. You can also just heat up some water on the stove, take it off the burner, and set the glass jar in there.

Yep, use the glass jar. If he doesn't eat the whole jar, use a cleaned out old one and put a serving size (for him) in the jar and heat it. Or just use a regular bowl to heat and serve it in one of his bowls. Yes, it is more water/soap but you could reuse the bowl to heat your food before you eat and then wash the bowl. Good luck and keep up the good work! I don't know about the toys - other than the recalled ones :) Oh, I wouldn't heat the baby food in the jar, feed baby from the jar, and then reheat it again at another time. It increases the risk of bacteria growth. Not usually a problem, but all it takes is one little sniffle.

We have always made our own baby food from fresh produce. We just heat it in glass bowls in the mircrowave. You can find storage jars that you can re-use instead of buying more and more baby food from a retailer. When you're done with the jars, you can freecylce them or give them to another new mommy with a baby food cookbook.

hello,

it's always good to hear that other moms out there are concerned about the environment! I don't think it's a good idea to heat baby's food in the microwave because it heats unevenly so they could get burned (there's also evidence that using a microwave damages some properties in the food). As for plastics, I stay away from them as much as possible. I've found some great little Pyrex glass containers (with plastic lids) that work both for food storage and as bowls for serving food. In fact, I've gotten rid of all my tupperware and bought a selection of glass storage containers instead.

The main problem with plastics leaching is when they are heated so definitely stop heating his food in plastic. I wouldnt use the micro anyway- it kind of kills food. I would use glass or bamboo for him. The bamboo is nice because its light and you can get them on line or at Whole Foods. When I started my son on solids I got a food mill($12.00) and a stainless steam basket from Target and I steamed his veggies then groung them. Its healthier and more cost effective than baby food in the jar. ANd it tastes better and has all the vitamens still intact. It may sound like a pain but its pretty easy. I just cut down on plastic toys all together and then nothing from China b/c of all the recalls. Good luck!

Heat your child's food on the stove. I know it seems it would take a while, but it really only takes a few minutes to heat baby food. You probably know this, but in all honesty you shouldn't nuke your baby's food at all, and especially not in plastic. Have you considered switching to organic cloth diapers? Washing them may sound like a royal pain, but once you get in the rhythm of it, it's so much better for baby and the environment. And from what I've heard it makes potty training infinately easier!

I use Melaluca cleaning supplies and laundry products. It is very safe for children.
They have amny different things for the household and personal.

B.

Hi I am also concerned, I do detoxifying of peoples homes and lives by going through cabinets and pantries, I always suggest Corelle ware-you probably had it as a child it is a glass product that doesn't break kind of like bakeware It has plastic inside so it is covered with glass, but plastic is inert so really the surface is glass, the great thing is you can drop it an it won't break-it can also go from oven to fridge- I however would never heat food in a microwave -maybe water-it changes the molecular structure of food maybe even causing it to become toxic try Kmart and Target on line for Corelle -good luck with your healthy home. Liza Silverwalker, Healthy Happy Homes
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