Organically Growing

I love a good deal. I can rarely pass up a super sale or bargain discount at my favorite retailers (like the final clearance at HappyGreenBaby.com), but I’ve never been too into digging for deals at consignment shops, used bookstores or big box closeout places like TJ Maxx or Ross. Not that I wouldn’t want to: I’ve seen some of the incredible buys my friend Dell Rae scores on designer shoes and clothes … but it all seems like so much work. I’m a mission shopper: I need jeans, so I’ll go out shopping for jeans. I’m not good at looking at a sweater and think, “gee – this would be nice to have for next fall.” So, when I walked into Moms ‘n Me consignment shop in downtown Ballard on a lark, I didn’t envision actually walking home with anything.

I stand corrected.

The store was packed with clothes, strollers and various baby miscellanea that I wasn’t overly intrigued by … and then I made my way to the back of the store, where there were shelves of “other” items … including the Munchkins Wipe Warmer I have had my eye on at Target. It’s one of those items I really couldn’t justify spending $30 on – I could just as easily use a reusable box we already have to make my homemade wipes in – I didn’t need to buy an electric plastic container for that. But here it was – the exact same warmer I put on my registry just a few weeks earlier … and for just $9.75! I snatched it up without a second thought.

Inspired by my score, I quickly scanned the rest of the items on the shelves hoping to find the next great deal before someone else moved in. Then I found one of those dishwasher basket things for pacifiers and nipples. It would NEVER have occurred to me to buy one of these new (why not just put them in the silver ware basket?) but here was a gently used one for only $3 … I had to have it.

While buying plastic crap isn’t really my thing, I know there are going to be a few items in the nursery that have to be plastic. Wipe warmer and dishwasher thing included.  I feel good about my consignment store purchases because I’m not contributing to creating more trash (all the packaging from a new item) and giving these perfectly good items a second life.

I’m heading back down this weekend to see what I can find in the realm of a diaper pail.

There are a lot of ways to save money when you’re building a green nursery: Hitting friends up for hand-me-downs, visiting consignment stores, shopping sales (like the amazing one going on at HappyGreenBaby.com now) and deciding where to invest in higher dollar items.

For us, the crib mattress was one of those items we just didn’t want to skimp on. Baby is going to spent a lot of time on that mattress … now and into his toddler years. Conventional crib mattresses are also one of the biggest sources of toxins that you can find in a nursery.

Things that come in a conventional crib mattress that I’m not keen on my baby sleeping on everyday include:

1. PVC – the surface material used in most conventional baby mattresses (and changing table pads). Widely considered to be one of the most toxic and environmentally unfriendly plastics today.
2. Phthalates – associated with asthma, reproductive effects and cancer. Often used in the PVC surfaces of conventional baby mattresses
3. Toxic fire-retardant chemicals such as antimony, arsenic and phosphorous.
4. Polyurethan foam - the main filling used in mattresses typically contains toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene, toluene. And because it’s essentially solid petroleum, it is extremely flammable. To reduce this, toxic fire-retardants are added.

(Thanks to Raising Baby Green by Dr. Alan Greene for the info).

Now imagine your precious little baby snoozing on a bed of chemicals? Not so relaxing, huh? But what’s so special about Green Crib Mattresses?

1. Made of organic wool, which is naturally resistant to dust mites and mold
2. Made with organic cotton, which means no pesticides in your baby’s bed. Always good.
3. If you’re worried about potential allergic reactions to the wool, you can opt for a natural rubber mattress like this one from Pixel Organics.

And depending on the brand and style you go with, you’ll also find companies using natural fire-retardants such as wool, baking soda, etc. Pixel Organics mattresses even feature recycled steel used in its coils.

Ultimately, there are widely varying prices in organic crib mattresses but all should meet federal requirements for firmness and flame retardance.

After much consideration, we opted to get the Naturepedic 2-in-1 Organic Cotton Mattress. The dual firmness design means that we can use it long into the toddler years and it’s made with organic cotton, a non toxic fire protection system and uses a food grade, non-toxic plastic film for waterproofing that has been recommended by environmental groups all over the world.

Now we can all rest easy!

After several weeks of UPS delays due to what is reportedly being called Seattle’s biggest snowstorm ever, we finally got our Baby Miro crib from Grandma & Grandpa Angelo. Add in a couple more weeks of delay due to our general laziness and personal scheduling conflicts (Flight of the Conchords is back on), and we finally got to assembling the crib last weekend!

Overall, the process was fairly painless. Here is daddy-o Marc putting together the handy storage drawer that goes underneath the crib. We are about to realize that the white front and back panels were put on too low and the drawer won’t fit underneath. This was the only part we had to re-do though (8 screws in all), so I feel like we did pretty good.

One thing I noticed is the total lack of smell associated with the crib! Most new furniture products you pull out of the box have a definite odor about them … but I am happy to report that this beauty did not off-gas any noxious fumes in our basement. Not to mention it looks really fabulous.

Now we’re just waiting on the organic crib mattress and organic crib bedding to get here!

Now that we’re coming up on week 23 of pregnancy, are settled in our new Seattle home and this growing bump has been confirmed to be a boy, we are ready to start building a green nursery of our own.

First stop: Crib

It’s estimated that a newborn baby will spend about 16 hours a day sleeping, presumably the vast majority of that in his crib. This makes it exceptionally important to me that we create the healthiest crib environment we can.

A number of factors play into our crib decision:

1. Eco-friendliness
2. Cost
3. Modern styling

What does eco-friendly mean when it comes to cribs? For me, it’s FSC-certified hardwood, no plywood or veneers laced with chemicals, non-toxic glues and low VOC finishes. 

I’m discovering, in our challenge to be green and budget-friendly, that the Rolling Stones are right: You can’t always get what I wa-ant. But I can get pretty damn close.

We decided to go with the budget-friendly Mercer Crib by DaVinci. It’s made with sustainably-harvested solid New Zealand pine, no veneers and has a non-toxic finish. It’s a 3-in-1 style that will allow the crib to change into a toddler bed and daybed without a bunch of extra accessories. Not too bad for $400.  And Marc’s folks generously offered to buy it for us, which is so incredibly generous and exciting, I know our baby is going to have sweet dreams resting in here.

Next on the shopping list: Crib Mattresses