Raising Baby Green - A Guide to Green Pregnancy

So you have received the exciting news that you are expecting! Now its time to start researching on how to green your home. The thoughts can be overwhelming and I was there myself last year! You want to have all the knowledge to prepare for your new arrival all while keeping your house as natural as possible. With all of the books that were out there the one I found with the highest reviews, and can personally recommend is Raising Baby Green: The Earth Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care.

The content is clearly organized which made it for a very easy read. The topics addressed in this book range from the womb, and move on to labor & delivery room, the nursery, the kitchen, the bathroom, your garden and a summary of the entire house. Depending on which area you would like to focus on "greening" first you can skip ahead to that section. As a first time parent this book was very helpful in describing how everything that surrounds your baby can in someway impact him or her. For example, you can bring in your own organic sheets and sleepwear for the baby to wear in the hospital after it is born, an option I never knew was available to me! Though as the book says, be sure that you sheets have some sort of pattern so that they stand out from the typical hospital sheets.

Five Tips I Learned From This Book

• Pumping Gas - Though this is probably an obvious one for some greenies, this was one thing I hadn't thought about. The toxins from pumping gasoline into your car easily are absorbed into your skin and through this can be carried to your unborn baby.

• Babies have more taste buds in the womb than any other point in life - Studies have proven that your unborn child can actually taste the food that you are eating through drinking the amniotic fluid. Therefore it is critical to maintain a healthy mix of foods, including a fair share of fruits and veggies to help you down the road have a healthy child with a love for a well balanced meal!
  
• Produce Report Card - This may be one of the most helpful charts in the book. This illustrates a variety of fruits and veggies and ranks them so that you can see which ones have the highest and lowest levels of pesticides.

• Painting the Nursery - Zero VOC paints are no readily available in most areas!! This is the best kind of paint to use as it does not contain the harsh chemicals that most traditional paints do, but it gives the same color and quality expected from traditional paints.

• Everything has an Impact - Be sure to keep in mind that everything has an impact on your child. From the food you eat, to the environment you are in (even if you are not a smoker, just standing next to one you will still inhale some of the smoke), to all of the toys you child will come in contact with. Ensuring that the toys are organic, and if they are plastic ensuring that they are PVC and BPA free will help your child live a healthier life.
  

Greening Your Baby Nursery

When you're having a baby, you'll want only the best for them. If you could avoid the chemicals if you knew it harmed your child, wouldn't you avoid them? It turns out, pound for pound, that babies are much vulnerable to chemicals than we are as adults. If you're saying "nah, that bleach doesn't hurt me, why would it hurt the baby?" Everything from an increase in allergies and asthma to increased sexual reproduction organ failures can be blamed partially on an overuse of chemicals.

When you're setting up your baby's nursery, going green and organic is more than just about the environment, it's about the health of your baby. Think of the things that your baby will be in the most contact with - the bedding, their toys, and their bottles. Buying chemical-free with these nursery staples is a great service to your baby.

Read more about greening your baby nursery on this guide which features recommended products, what to avoid, and what items are must-haves for your little one that's on the way.