More Sleep Sagas

Naturally, the Babe slept for a full 6 hours the other night as I was blogging about his lack of sleep. He hasn't done it since and probably never will again, but I am going to start talking/writing about sleep constantly just in case.

Happy toxic-free New Year!

Now that the Babe is putting everything in his mouth I'm even more concerned about the manufacturing processes and ingredients of the products he comes in contact with - literally. Here are two great new finds that are definitely worth passing on:

1. Lovies by Bubbie Blue
Now this is a product I can get behind! First, my very dear friend Christa is one of the two co-founders, and secondly because their sweet lovies are crafted for the sleep-deprived like me! Lovies are "transitional objects" - a blanket or a toy - to help your child "make the emotional transition to seeking an alternate source of comfort." Bubbie Blue's Lovies are handmade - love that! - and made of 100% organic cotton jersey and non-toxic dyes.




2. Schoolhouse Naturals by Maple Landmark
Schoolhouse Naturals are a new spinoff from the Montgomery Schoolhouse line produced by Maple Landmark, a company based in Middlebury, VT. My Dad just sent the Babe three wooden baby rattles from the Montgomery line that are so sweet (thanks Dad!). One has bells, one has discs and another has beads. They are fashioned of hard maple and have no added chemicals and are finshed with bright, non-toxic whey finish. (The new Naturals line has finishes available in either whey or beeswax.) What I love best is how simple these "toys" are and what a lovely reminder of the fact that babies don't need tons of stimulation (have you ever seen how they stare at their fingers for seemingly hours on end?).

Sleep Sagas

© Rohit Seth - Fotolia.com

In my circle of mommy friends, it is widely known that the Babe is not a big sleeper. It now strikes me as ironic that when he was a week or so old, I almost paid good money for a book with a chapter on sleepy babies; when we first brought him home I was in a flat panic because he slept too much. Too much. I don't think I'll ever utter those words again. As he has become more alert, he has discovered that the world is entirely fascinating and doesn't want to miss anything. He's now approaching six months and we've tried every trick in the book (rocking, nursing, making weird sshhhing sounds directly in his ear), except crying it out. (You can tell which books I've read right? Baby Whisperer, Dr. Sears, Healthy Sleep Habits ...)

Naturally, I wonder how much our living situation contributes to his sleeplessness. The Babe is strong enough now to get into a push up position and throw his head back far enough so his little eyes peer over the crest of the crib. On alternate nights he'll either be in such a deep slumber he is not roused by an ambulance or he'll wake up at the sound of my typing. When he wakes I can sometimes pat him on the back and he'll doze back off. We did try not to make eye contact, but the moment he spies us, it's over. He lets out a winper that I swear means, If you're not sleeping, I'm not! Usually though once he's awake it starts the whole going to sleep process over again. Exhausting!

Here are some of the things we've tried to make the Pod as sleep-friendly as possible:

1. To substitute for black out shades, we draw our shades. It doesn't get pitch black during the day because the Pod faces East and is literally sun-drenched but it does get dim enough to induce a yawn or two.

2. At night when it is dark out, we keep one strategically placed light on near our bed by the kitchen. The fixture is on the opposite side of our L shaped studio from his crib so it doesn't shine directly on him. It provides us just enough light to eat dinner, check email and (maybe) have a conversation.

3. The hall light is another matter - that shines brilliantly into the crib like a police car's flood light. The crib is positioned in a little nook to the right of our linen closet, so when the linen closet is open - voila! - it blocks a good portion of the light. We use this trick when one of us comes home at night and doesn't want to walk into the wall.

4. We no longer watch TV with the sound on. (Are wireless headsets green?) And just lately we've taken to not watching at all because I was convinced the flashing lights emanating from the screen were flickering in his face.

These tactics have gotten us to month 5 and so far it's been liveable but we have taken for granted that young babies tend to sleep through the occasional ambulance, shutting door and other not-so ambient sounds. It means we can't have anyone over after 7 pm (bedtime) because conversations are limited to a hushed staccato of words. It also means I've been nervous to hire a babysitter because how exactly do you explain to someone that I might be paying you $15 to sit in the dark for a few hours. Just typing it sounds utterly ridiculous. (For the recond, I was typing very lightly.)

Most nights we can go about our business as usual. I make dinner, but I'm careful not to clang plates and I don't dream of loading or running the dishwasher. Whispering sweet nothings has new meaning in my life! You certainly can't have an argument, let alone a heated conversation when you're whispering.

We were initially planning to stay in the Pod until 2010 but not sure if we're going to make it.

Great Article on Home Births

There was a really good article on the rise of home births in the city a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to share, which credits "The Business of Being Born" as one influence. That couldn't be more accurate. I blogged about the affect the film had on my husband and I several months ago, and I even got to tell Ricki Lake in person at a fundraiser for the New Space for Women's Health last month.

Tuesday Tangents ... Recycled Paper Stationery

© Ewa Walicka - Fotolia.com

One of my passions is stationery. This, naturally, runs counter to my goal of trying to reduce my overall paper consumption but I cannot resist a beautifully handwritten card or thank you note (don't get me started on my penchant for writing utensils).

So I was thrilled to learn that my friend/designer Tori Higa has incorporated recycled paper into her vintage line. Tori's inspiration comes from a bounty of vintage fabric she inherited, which she uses deftly to highlight her whimsical sketches - such a creative way to "reuse" if you ask me.

Tori has a great ability to capture personality as well so I asked her to design a custom set of thank you notes for my sister-in-laws recent birthday. I think they turned out great!



Congrats to Tori and her team for going completely green! All THS vintage fabric cards are now printed on recycled paper - even the envelopes!

Back to work

Today is my last day of maternity leave. I never quite imagined this day, what I would do with my time or how I would feel. Actually that's not true. As much as I love my job, I knew I would never want this day to arrive. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a stay at home mom. My mom was one; it's what I know.

Countless people have literally stopped me in the street to tell me to cherish each moment because it goes so fast. Somehow it didn't resonate. Then all of a sudden here I am. It went SO fast.

The Babe will be attending daycare. This is not something I ever imagined I'd do either. We contemplated hiring a nanny but I wanted to be able to work from home, and if you've been reading this blog at all you can only imagine how impossible it would be to get anything done with the Babe and a nanny hanging out in my makeshift office.

I went to the Babe's daycare today to mentally and emotionally prepare myself for his first day. His teachers are delightful. His playroom cheerful. His crib already waiting for him. I still cried the whole walk home.

I realized my sadness is not from fear or worry - he will be well cared for. I'm simply nostalgic. I want those first few weeks back when it was all new, scary, overwhelming and exhilarating. I wish I was sitting in the cab on our first ride home from the hospital when he was so small he wobbled around in his car seat. The special outfit we bought him to come home in was actually loose. It seems like an eternity ago.

Just another lesson in why it's so important to live in the moment and relish the small things I guess. So with that, I'm signing off to enjoy a few quiet moments with the Babe on our last precious day together.

What's lurking in that bottle of Kiehl's?

My favorite thing about bathtime is how good the Babe smells afterwards. We've been using Kiehl's Baby Gentle Foaming Hair & Body Wash for weeks. It smells, in a word, delicious. I had the good conscience to check out the ingredients today, a bit afraid of what I might find. Yep. You guessed it. Parabens, PEG and a few other multi-syllable chemicals I can't pronounce. Yikes.

I decided to check out the Skin Deep website to see what I could find out about the product. "Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group. Skin Deep pairs ingredients in more than 37,000 products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases, making it the largest integrated data resource of its kind. Why did a small nonprofit take on such a big project? Because the FDA doesn't require companies to test their own products for safety."


Turns out, nothing. Kiehl's baby products aren't (yet) in the database. But I was able to see the results of 33 other Kiehl's products and many received a hazardous rating, which does not bode well for my baby wash.

Skin Deep features a full section on baby care, which I found useful to identify some other options for bathtime. Here are my results for baby shampoos, ranked in order of toxicity.



I also had some Aveeno Baby on hand so checked to see if this product was better/worse for the Babe. Despite the "natural oat formula" this product receives a rating of 4 (out of 10). Full results are here.

I haven't decided whether I'll toss both bottles or what. I'll probably finish the Kiehl's until I can get a rating for it. The Aveeno hasn't been opened yet so perhaps I will donate to a women's shelter. If you have ideas for me, let me know.