Trying to dechemical our world, one sippy cup at a time

Holy heck! I've entered the land of hazardous materials that are going into my kids rapid fire! I've got to stop it now! Let me start at the beginning.

To help my 30 minutes of exercise fly by when I'm at the Y, treadin that treadmill on my 5.5 incline, 15 minute jog (that part is embarrassing, but whatever) I typically hit the magazine rack. I've recently discovered this wonderful magazine donated by some kind soul called, Mothering (www.mothering.com). It is a wonderful host of sound advice, and natural alternatives to everyday living with kiddos. Being the greeny I try to be, I naturally love it. I've found wonderful products by scouring the adds in the magazine, and have obtained great advice from the articles. One article in particular that I read about three weeks ago has changed my life forever. To read THE article, you can go to http://www.mothering.com/green-living/natural-selections.

This article really focused on what chemicals are harmful for humans in general, but children in particular, and even more specifically, what commonly used children products these harsh chemicals are in.

The three main chemicals the article targeted, and I'm now hypo-aware of are bisphenol A (BPA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and phthalates. Let me put it simply. There is staggering research that proves these chemicals have harmful effects such as cancer, negative effects on reproductive systems in males and females, such as decreased fertility rates in females, early breast development in females. Studies have even found that exposure to these chemicals can lead to negative behavior alteration in children.

One leading reason why children are so susceptible to the effects of the chemicals is that a lot of the products that are used solely for children, more specifically infants, have these products in them. Until recently, most bottles were made with BPA, PVC and phthalates. Many still are. What is more, many of the formula containers are lined with this stuff. You hear that people? That means every ounce of food babies who are formula fed have the potential to be poisoned with this stuff! If that isn't enough, these chemicals are being found in teething rings, sippy cups, bibs, baby silverware, dishware, bathing products, and more!

16 other industrialized countries such as Greece, France and Japan have banned phthalates and PVC since 2005 due to the undeniable harmful effects it has on children, and yet, it is still legal here in the US. What this tells me is that these other countries are getting it, listening to the research, and our country just doesn't get it [yet] (I hope). The FDA hasn't even come up with what they would consider a "safe" amount of BPA exposure, so there are therefore NO regulations. Bottom line: Don't buy anything that has these plastics in them because there are no regulations for them to help keep your child safe.

This can be a difficult thing to do because it all seems so confusing, and hard to know by looking at something if it has harsh chemicals in it. Well, the easiest way to determine if it's safe or not is to look at the bottom of the container if it's plastic. A basic rule of thumb is #1 (PETE or PET) #2 (HDPE), and #5 (PP) are safe. If it has a #1, #2 they are not known to leech any products that release chemicals which cause cancer or disrupts hormones. #5 is hazardous while in production but is not known to leech any chemicals that are harmful. #5 plastic isn't accepted in recycling in as many places as #1 and #2 which is a bummer.

#3, #4, #6, #7 are all BAD. Don't go near them. They all leech toxic chemicals into our foods. Last week, as I was going through as many plastics in my kitchen that I could think of, one of the biggest shockers was my pretty pink Starbucks sports water bottle that had a #7 on it. Tossed. So sad. It's not like we have disposable money to replace everything I tossed. So, we will just go with out until we slowly build back stock of what I DID toss. Which, was anything remotely unsafe for our family because I couldn't live with the guilt of feeling like I was knowingly slowly poisoning any one of us. Dramatic, I know. Just kinda how it is in my mind.

And so, I've used three great websites to help me navigate my way through all of this.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/which-plastics-are-safe.html

This website gives detailed yet easy to understand explanations of the different numbers of plastics that you find on the bottom of all plastic products you purchase (unless it says Made in China, and for that, I have no idea how safe it is; anyone have a clue let me know..PLEASE).

www.safemama.com

This website is amazing for anyone with children. It lists items children commonly use, (sippy cups, bottles, binky, teethers, toys, shampoo, lotion, sunscreen, bugspray, forks, bowls, etc) and then brands that are BPA, PVC, and phthalate free. The website is easy to navigate through, and gives easy to read lists of safe brands for each product. There are also great links to other websites that have further reading.

http://www.thegreenguide.com/

This website has a wealth of knowledge, and for that reason can be intimidating because of the pure volume of material. The section of the website I've found most helpful for, and return to regularly is the link at the very bottom called "buying guides". In this link there are easy rules to follow about how to purchase sustainable and safe products for the entire household. Anything from paint, to cosmetics, to household cleaners. Ladies, seriously, check out the "personal care" section. What I've done is typed up easy to follow guidelines for myself and put it in a wallet size piece of paper and keep it in my wallet for whenever I'm buying stuff at the grocery store. Too much to remember all the time.

The last thing I want to share is that I've read that there are retailers out there who are beginning to commit to selling PVC and phthalate free direct-to-mouth products (such as teethers, binky, bottles) for children under age 3. Some of these retailers are Target, Sears, Wal Mart and K Mart. There are also lots of companies beginning to commit to not only eliminate BPA, but also PVC and phthalate such as Chicco, (who are most commonly known for their car seats) Sassy, Brio, Evenflo, Lego, and Gerber.

It seems virtually impossible to protect our children from all of these things all the time. But, as with most large tasks, a strong commitment and marathon approach will work wonders. I'm just beginning my marathon battle against these nasty hazardous materials! Please join me in my marathon, because as I see it, two heads are better than one, and so on.

The joys of siblings

When my youngest was born, my oldest was only 12 months. Certainly not old enough to have any real outrage towards his new sibling taking over some of the attention; at least I didn't think so. I think having that formed opinion that things WOULD go well has payed off, to be honest. We were asked many a time, "SO.... (I could hear the cackle in their heads) how has Morgan (the oldest) adjusted to a new brother?" and we were always happy to reply, "great!". He really has done great! We've made every effort, very intentionally, to refrain from correcting any negative behavior he does exhibit towards his brother, in a negative way. So if he's being rough (read hitting) we will say, "Morgan, use gentle touches on Landon (the youngest)" instead of just saying, "no, don't hit". Then, we'd show him HOW to touch him gently. Not that I'm against the -n- word, I think you HAVE to use it sometimes. But I also believe the less we associated anything negative with his brother, the better off things would go.

We're now 5 months into it. Things are going so well! Morgan dotes on Landon. He brings him toys, snuggles his head in his lap, ask for him in the mornings if he's not in his crib (they share a room and it looks like I have twins because we have two cribs in there) and he reaches for him when we're holding him. If Landon is laying down on the ground, Morgan will more often than not join him. If Landon is in the Johny Jump Up, Morgan will stand by him for 20 minutes straight just patting his head. How is that for attention span for a 17 month old! All for the L-O-V-E of Landon. The latest skill Morgan has learned is how to blow kisses and who do you think gets the majority of blown kisses? Why Landon of course.

This is not to say my child is perfect. Of course we always have to monitor them together, and step in from time to time when Morgan is being too rough. Like yesterday morning when Morgan tried to sit on Landon and ride him like his rocking horse while saying, "neigh Lada, neigh". Lada is what Morgan has taken to calling Landon, and has fondly became his family nick name as well.

At any rate. Morgan is teaching me that I may have more control over my child's sibling rivalry than I'd thought. Morgan has taught me how important it is to always demonstrate what I expect of my children. And damn it, that even means I have to stop swearing (yes, you can laugh Kristen!). Mostly, Morgan and Landon have already shown me that having them so close together is something they're really enjoying, which gives me great pleasure and satisfaction as a parent.

I reserve the right to eat my own words as they get older, by the way! But am hoping I don't have to.