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Your baby’s due date is just around the corner and you’ve just finished putting the final touches on a dream nursery to welcome home your precious little one. You’ve selected the perfect shade of paint for the new room, put in plush new carpeting and the most darling draperies and bedding you’ve ever seen. Everything is new and scrubbed clean. Your baby will be so happy here! But wait, did you use green products? Otherwise your dream nursery could be a nightmare for your newborn baby. Many parents put a lot of care into selecting the right color scheme and the perfect theme for their child’s room but don’t think about what all of the chemicals from their interior decorating are doing to a set of delicate newborn lungs. Even after the new paint smell is gone, off gassing (emitting chemicals into the air) from paints and floor coverings can occur for up to two years. The problem can be even worse in newer homes where the house is so energy efficient and airtight that there is little air exchange. According to eartheasy.com, indoor air is three times more polluted than outdoor air. The EPA rates indoor air pollution as one of the top five hazards to human health. Babies are especially sensitive to poor air quality but they are unable to say, “hey Mom and Dad I can’t breathe in my new room.” It is up to us to provide them cleanest air possible. Every parent wants to do what is best for their child. Until recently it wasn’t widely known what the harmful effects of fumes from household products could do. Luckily there is a whole new industry dedicated to supplying building products and décor that are non-toxic. Today consumers can buy paints that have no VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) or even are chemical free, such as clay or milk based paints or pigments. For a concise explanation of the different types of paints go to www.eartheasy.com. A number of specialty stores provide a full line of green building products such as Green Building Supply (www.greenbuildingsupply.com). The owner of Green building supply says he has seen an influx of pregnant women in his store recently. He attributes this to a mother’s natural instinct to do what is best for her children, her nesting instinct. A local supplier of green home products is Natural Built Home (www.naturalbuilthome. com) located in South Minneapolis. Many local paint stores also carry no VOC paints, be sure to ask your salesperson when shopping which paints are no VOC. Floor coverings can also lead to poor air quality. Synthetic carpeting can be a source of chemical toxins. As an alternative to chemically produced floor coverings consider natural fibers such as wool or jute or hardwood flooring with non- toxic finishes. There is a wide variety of nontoxic flooring available today such as linoleum made from natural oils, cork or bamboo. The products that you use to clean your baby’s room could also be contributing to poor air quality. Even scented detergents can cause irritation to baby’s delicate lungs. There are a number of food co-ops and natural food stores that sell environmentally friendly cleaning products that don’t contain harsh chemicals. Non-toxic cleaning supplies can also be made at home, the following website gives recipes for common household cleaners www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html. Using items that you probably already have at home, such as baking soda and vinegar, you can create your own green cleaning products that are easy on the environment, your lungs and your pocketbook. It used to be that only specialty stores carried green products, but more and more mainstream stores are carrying environmentally friendly products because consumers are demanding them. Amazon.com Baby now has a line of green baby products with organic cotton clothing and toys. A lot of toy stores carry toys made of natural products such as wood or natural fibers; my personal favorite is Wonderment in Linden Hills, Minneapolis and Grand Avenue in St. Paul, www.wondermentshop.com. They have all kinds of whimsical toys that are non-toxic and also lots of fun. If you want to get an overview of all of the green products available in the Twin Cities area visit the Green Expo, held annually in the spring at the State Fair grounds. Hundreds of exhibitors show the latest developments in earth-friendly products. More information on the expo and local living green ideas are available at www.livinggreen.org. Decorating baby’s room in an environmentally friendly, green way doesn’t mean that you’re limited to beige and gray. There are so many options out there for products that look great and don’t pose any health risk to your little bundle of joy. Your decorating prowess doesn’t have to be stifled. Your nursery can be just as creative and delightful as you had planned and you can sleep well (when the baby is not crying) knowing that you did indeed provide a dream nursery for your little green one.
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Green Babies