The Itsabelly Blog

DIY Non-toxic Playdough Recipe from Green Mom Finds

Our daughter really loves mushing her hands into and picking playdough apart into little pieces.  Makes a nice clean up job for mom after baby's done and on to the next toy.  I'm so glad we don't have much carpet in the house!  I was browsing through all of my favorite blogs today and was happy to stumble upon Green Mom Finds recipe for non-toxic playdough.  So, if you need a rainy day activity with your toddler try making playdough together - a fun, sticky mess.  Oh, and if she decides to eat it, it's non-toxic to boot!

From Green Mom Finds - Making your own non-toxic play dough is a super fun rainy day activity you can do with your kids:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups water with several drops of food coloring added*
4 teaspoons cream of tartar

Mix ingredients together in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and turn dough onto a plate to cool. Store in a covered container or plastic bag. Finished creations can be baked slowly in the oven until hardened, then painted.

*You can also add vegetable juices or mashed up vegetables, such as carrots, beets, or spinach for color instead of food coloring.

Imagine Having Eight Kids Where Six Are Sextuplets at the Age of Three!

I just had to blog about this after watching the Oprah Show (yes, I'm an admitted Oprah fan).  She interviewed the family of Jon and Kate Gosselin who are the parents of twins and sextuplets!  Their story just struck a chord with me today. Kate was being interviewed about how she handles taking care of EIGHT children.  She said she spends most of her time cooking healthy, organic meals for her family of 10. "My day is make a meal, serve a meal, clean up a meal, clean up everything, wipe this one, change that one, deal with this one," she says. On average, she runs the dishwasher two or three times a day. 

She doesn't give them any food options, what they see is what they eat or they don't eat.  She is not a short order cook, she is not a buffet - if they don't like it, too bad!  Personally, this is the motto I live by when cooking for my family.  She also said she lives for the present and just prays before her day starts that she has enough strength to get through the day.  She doesn't worry about tomorrow (how could she with EIGHT KIDS).  Kate also said after a bad day, they try to go to sleep knowing tomorrow is a fresh start. "We just really want our kids to grow up productive members of society," Kate says. "And be the best whoever they are that they can be."  I echo this same sentiment as a parent!

While watching the show I was truly in awe of how this mom and dad are able to handle all of the work that goes into caring for their large family not to mention making ends meet financially.  It puts me to shame when I complain about not having time for myself, going nuts when Isabella throws a fit over not wanting to eat her food or not having time to fold the two mile high pile of laundry on my bed but I guess it's all relative, right?

Kudos to Kate and her husband for surviving and just living.  All in all, when in comes down to it, what matters is that you have each other because when every material thing is stripped from you, what you'll have left is the bare essentials, your loved ones.  In this family's case there is a presence of abundant love to go around!  Hopefully, this post will keep things in perspective for you when things get really challenging at home and you're about to pull your hair out because you just don't have enough time to get that one last thing checked off your to-do list!  Don't worry it will be waiting for you tomorrow with open arms :)

Finding Paraben and Phthalate Free Baby Care Products

Since the news about phthalates and baby care products came out a few weeks ago I've been thinking about how to help moms find the safest products out in the market.  I personally use Earth Mama Angel Baby and Mama Rose's Naturals products on my child which are 100% organic.  They are also made locally and I've gotten to know both company's business practices fairly well. 

Rosetta of Mama Rose's Naturals created her company out of a critical need to use products that were safe and healthy for her own child.  I love Mama Rose's Lala Baby Wash & Shampoo and Earth Mama Angel Baby's Diaper Rash Soap which I also use on myself like regular soap.  Mama Rose's Naturals Melody Lotion hypoallergenic & no scent) is also a great lotion for babies with sensitive skin or eczema.  It's scary to think about bad chemicals seeping into our children from toxic products.  If you're like me you try not to get too paranoid about it but you do the best you can to provide a safe environment for your child.  As I think about it further the products our parents used on us when we were babies were probably similar products containing phthalates (not a good thought).  It's just more recently that research and news has spread about toxic chemicals being in skin care products.  Overall, it's still a very positive thing that we're now doing more research and finding out how to keep our children and ourselves safe from harmful chemicals.

To help parents find the best non-toxic products Safemama.com has done a good job of starting a complete list of paraben and phthalate free products.  Safemama also provides tips below on how to find products free of these chemicals as noted below.  Itsabelly also provided an earlier entry about research on phthalates titled Recent Study Provides Research that Baby Shampoo May Expose Children to Phthalates.

Safemama.com Tips:

Read labels carefully.  This article from The Daily Green is a great intro to helping you identify and avoid phthalates in your products.

Shopping at a “natural” store doesn’t mean everything is paraben and phthalate free.  Read labels, know how to decipher the ingredients and don’t be fooled by the word “natural” on the label. If it says -paraben in any form, it contains parabens!

Be wary of the term “fragrance”. Synthetic fragrances are a phthalate culprit so if you can, try to use products with organic or natural fragrances or choose “unscented”. (NOTE:  See Itsabelly's blog entry as mentioned above regarding research on "unscented products" because this does NOT mean products are free of paraben or phthalates.  Some unscented products use synthetic ingredients to mask fragrances).

Use less products. This seems like a no-brainer but many people use way more than they need. Babies are born with the most perfect skin (usually) and it will never again be as perfect as it is when they’re babies. They don’t need to be slathered in lotions and powders. A little warm water and a washcloth is all they really need. When kids get older and grimier (like mine) a little soap and warm water does the trick and spot treat any dry skin problems or rashes.

The Non-toxic Feeding Series Review - Part 3 - Cabo Trip & How the Foogo and Sigg Saved Our Travels with Baby

We just returned from our vacation in Cabo San Lucas and had a wonderful time but when traveling with baby I'm always going through a long list of things I need to make sure to pack.  One very important thing I make sure to have handy is the precious white liquid called milk.  Our 19 month old LOVES her milk!  I was also chatting with a friend about traveling with our babies and sharing different tips on how to make our travels easier.  She mentioned that Trader Joe's carries small milk cartons that don't need refrigeration so she takes these on the plane with her.  I thought that was a great idea as long as security decides to let you keep the cartons.  Personally, I haven't had a problem at all with carrying milk through but I've only traveled  within the US and MX so far with our toddler.  I wanted to offer some tips for parents wondering how they can have that precious white liquid on hand.

Special Notes About Travel to Cabo:  I decided to add this blurb in for those parents interested in learning more about what to expect when traveling to Cabo with their baby.  Cabo is an Americanized and modern town due to tons of tourism with lots of options for feeding your baby.  We fed Isabella milk which we bought on site at our resort in their general market.  We also ate at credible restaurants that offered rice, beans, chicken etc.  We even shopped at the local market and bought veggies and fruit which were fine.  Drinking bottled water with an American label or a local label that is credible (ask your hotel receptionist) is usually fine.  We had no problem.  We had a shuttle pick us up at the airport called Transcabo and they offer car seats for an extra charge.  Our car seat straps weren't working properly though so beware and if you're paranoid about this then bring your own and be prepared to carry it!  There were no laws enforcing car seats there and drivers didn't seem to care. We did share a shuttle to avoid the expensive cost and it was a bit of a bumpy ride sitting in the back of the van.  Note that there are two terminals in the Cabo airport which are about 1-2 miles away fr each other and walking with luggage and kids if you get dropped off at the wrong one is totally inconvenient - this happened to us!  So, make sure you ask the taxi or shuttle driver if the terminal you are dropped off at has your airline!

If you are traveling to Cabo and you want more tips from Itsabelly I'd be happy to help you.  So, just shoot me a comment through this blog entry or email me at info@itsa-belly.com and I'd be happy to share my experience and give you some valuable info to make your trip even more fun!

Here's what I do when traveling with milk:

• I take the Foogo sippy cup and fill it with milk.  The Foogo is insulated and keeps milk cold for several hours.  It's also a non-toxic container which is plus!  It also fits nicely in the side pocket of our backpack.
• I take a Sigg bottle and fill it with extra milk.  The Sigg is a non-toxic container as well! 
• Here's some Info on how long you can keep milk at room temp - It depends on the temperature that the milk is stored at. To be safe here are some general guidelines for time and temperature for milk:
  - At room temperature of 60 degrees F milk will stay safe for 24 hours.
  - At room temperature of 66-72 degrees F milk will stay safe for 10 hours.
  - At room temperature of 79 degrees F milk will stay safe for 4-6 hours.
  
• If for some reason security asks me to dump the milk I don't worry because I can also purchase milk from the coffee shops or cafes after passing through security.
• If for some reason you don't find a coffee shop or cafe to purchase milk you can always asks your flight attendant while she's serving your drink to give you a glass of milk.  Voila, you can fill your child's sippy cup with the precious white liquid!

These options should help you avoid bursting your ear drums from a screaming toddler who knows milk does her body good!  At least until her sippy cup is sucked dry again :)

Overall, from Itsabelly's review based on form, functionality and frugal-ness (is it worth the money I spent) we give Foogo and Sigg 4 out of 5 bellies (5 being excellent). 

Announcing Itsabelly's iPod Shuffle Giveaway - The Contest Has Started!!

CONTEST RULES

To enter our contest you must do one of the following and your name will be entered into our drawing.  You can receive an entry for each item that you do. You must have an email so we can contact you if you win.

1)  Sign up for the Itsabelly Newsletter (by entering your email address in the space provided at the bottom of our website's home page)

2)  Leave a comment here or on any Itsabelly post that interests you

3)  Add your favorite Itsabelly blog entry to your del.icio.us account

4)  Add your favorite Itsabelly blog entry to your digg.com account

5)  Purchase an Itsabelly product or service on-line through our boutique

Deadline: This contest will end April 30, 2008 at midnight, PST.  We will announce the winner on May 1, 2008 through our newsletter and blog. 

Good luck!

                                                           

 

Froose - An Organic Beverage for Children (the perfect alternative to juice)

Mom Central provided Froose for my review.

Recently, Isabella got to try an innovative new children's beverage called Froose.  It's made of the best organic whole grains and fruit which is a perfect alternative to juices loaded with sugar.  Froose comes in small beverage boxes with a straw attached so it's easy for your little one to handle.  Isabella's favorite flavor was Cheerful Cherry.  She kept asking for more, more, more!  Of course, being the good mom that I am I limited her to one serving.  Even though Froose is naturally low in sugar I still want to make sure her sugar intake is minimal.  I even had to try a few sips myself and thought it tasted pretty good!  It's comforting to know that I can give Isabella an organic and healthy beverage full of fiber that she actually likes to drink besides MILK (she LOVES her milk)!  Not to mention the packaging is cute - definitely catches the eye of any toddler or pre-schooler.  The icing on the cake for me is that Froose was created by a mom inventor, Denise Devine.  I love it when moms come up with great inventions inspired by their own children and personal passions!  Inspired now?  So, what's your million dollar invention going to be? :)

Each Serving of Froose Contains:          

• Whole organic grains and fruit
• Complex carbohydrates energy
• Good source of fiber - 3 grams (soluble & insoluble)
• Naturally low in sugar
• Organic rice syrup, a complex carbohydrate (which means no sugar highs and no empty calories.)
• Whole organic brown rice
• Wheat and gluten free
• Pasteurized
• Kosher Certified
• Unique whole food innovation
• Made with organic ingredients                                   

INGREDIENTS
Water, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Apple Juice Concentrate, Dark Sweet Cherry Juice Concentrate, Organic Brown Rice Flour, Inulin, Xanthan Gum, Natural Cherry Flavor (WONF), Citric Acid, Eldeberry Liquid (For Color), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)

 

Recent Study Finds Baby Shampoo May Expose Children to Phthalates

by Jennifer LoPrete, Itsabelly Marketing & PR Manager (and Mama)

A recent study published in The Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics found elevated levels of chemical phthalates in babies’ urine who had been recently exposed to baby care products (shampoos, lotions and powders).

Phthalates are chemicals that are added to cosmetic products to stabilize fragrance within the product. Phthalates can also be added to toys and other products to make plastics flexible.

Studies in animals suggest that phthalates may cause reproductive harm and birth defects. Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a University of Washington pediatrician and lead author of the study, said, “The bottom line is that these chemicals likely do exist in products that we’re commonly using on our children and they potentially could cause health effects.”

Currently, the state of California has restricted the use of phthalates in toys. Mexico and Europe have banned the use of phthalates in toys. The FDA does not restrict the use of phthalates and seems to deny any harmful link. 

Even more frustrating, is that it is nearly impossible to know, as a consumer, what products contain phthalates. Currently, consumer products are not required to list individual ingredients of fragrances, a common phthalate source. Some products may label phthalates as DEP and DEHP.

As a precaution, I have always limited by children’s exposure to lotions and shampoos. When we do need to use a baby care product, I opt for products from companies like Earth Mama Angel Baby, Mama Rose's Naturals, California Baby and Burts Bees.  You can find some of these non-toxic baby products at the Itsabelly Boutique.

To research more about skin care product ingredients and your health, check out Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep site and Health Care With No Harm.

Links:
The Study
EWG
Health Care With No Harm

Going Greener - Simple Things You Can Do to Decrease Your Ecological Footprint

We've really tried to become greener in our lifestyle since Isabella was born.  Our personal plight to make sure our family is living in a healthier and more eco-friendly environment is important to us.  Although we haven't become completely green we definitely strive to do what we can.  If you're trying to become a little more green in your household maybe some of these things are simple enough for you to do too.  Remember, every bit counts!! 

Here are the items we've incorporated in our household as we continue to get greener:

• Installed compact fluorescent light bulbs everywhere we could and purchased them through our local Costco
• Changed out all of our inefficient windows to save energy
• Placed recycle bins in rooms through out our house for paper items this includes recycle bin in kitchen as well for glass, plastic bottles etc.
• Cleaned out all bad plastics (referred to this great article on Safe Mama for help:  How to Avoid BPA Leeching Plastics and Containers
• Currently using Seventh Generation diapers for Isabella
• Purchased Klean Kanteen re-usable water bottles
• Consuming organic foods where we can.  We buy organic milk, veggies & fruits at farmer's markets, check out Local Harvest
• Turning off all lights when not using them
• Unplugging unnecessary electrical cords when not in use
• Purchased re-usable shopping bags
  
• Using recycled paper for printing needs
• Using recycled boxes and shipping material when shipping goods
• Taking shorter showers to reduce water consumption
• Using Shaklee green products for cleaning and laundry
• For Isabella's bath essentials we use all organic products from Earth Mama Angel Baby and Mama Rose's Naturals, see Itsabelly Boutique for product info
• Recycling our baby gear, see this post for more info: How to Recycle Your Baby Gear
• Using cloth napkins instead of paper towels during meals
• Purchased recycled baby clothing at local consignment stores and events like Baby & Me and Pass it On Sales