You have probably heard that plastics contain dangerous chemicals such as Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, which mimic hormones in your body. They have been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Hopefully you’ve taken steps to avoid BPA, like using only stainless steel drinking bottles or glass food storage containers.

But did you know that there is BPA in the lining of food and beverage cans as well? Yes, it’s true. The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A. Canned tomatoes are likely to have even higher levels of BPA; the high acidity of tomatoes causes more BPA to leach into food.

Can-Free Tomato Solution? Pomi Tomatoes in a Box are BPA Free

Thankfully there is an easy way to avoid BPA from canned tomatoes: Pomi tomatoes come in a BPA-free box!

Pomi tomatoes come straight from Italy and they contain one ingredient: tomatoes. Italy’s standards for tomatoes and farming all fresh produce are much stricter than here in the U.S. Here are some more great reasons to choose Pomi tomatoes:

Why Pomi Tomatoes are a Great Choice

• All natural: The only ingredient is tomatoes!
• Pesticide free: Pomi grows their tomatoes without pesticides; many consider it to be an organic product because of this.
• Non-GMO
• Grown in accordance to the EU’s regulations for eco-sustainable agriculture
• Packaging is recyclable and BPA free
• No preservatives, water, artificial flavor, additives, or citric acid
• Low in sodium

You can read more by going to www.pomionline.it and clicking on the British flag at the bottom.

My Thoughts

When I first opened the box, all I could smell was fresh tomatoes! If I didn’t know any better, I would have said they were straight from the garden. Seriously, they smelled that great. And when I used them in a meal, they tasted as good as the tomatoes my mom canned from her garden! I was very impressed!

Where to Buy Pomi Tomatoes

I have seen Pomi tomatoes in my local Whole Foods. But if you aren’t fortunate enough to have a store that carries Pomi tomatoes, you can always find them on my favorite online store: Amazon.com!

Go to Amazon.com now and buy Pomi’s Strained Tomatoes and Chopped Tomatoes. You will have peace of mind from buying a safe tomato product and you will be very happy with the taste! Enjoy!

[Disclosure: I received some samples of Pomi tomatoes from the marketing firm Think Cannon.  With that being said, the comments and opinions above are purely my own.]

Read all the posts in the Healthy Living series by clicking on the icon on the left.

I am so pleased with my purchase! I no longer have to carry around my son’s snacks in plastic containers. These are just the perfect size for his snacks; they fit easily in the diaper bag. The lid stays on well and comes off easily. They wash up easily, too. I have nothing but good things to say.

Have you used your coupon code yet? If not, I urge you to look at their catalog today. With Earth Day approaching (4/22) now is a great time to think about conserving – and Kids Konserve has many products you can use.

The book is designed to be a step-by-step guide to help parents learn the new communication skills. The information is presented in seven chapters:

1. Helping Children Deal With Their Feelings
2. Engaging Cooperation
3. Alternatives to Punishment
4. Encouraging Autonomy
5. Praise
6. Freeing Children from Playing Roles
7. Putting It All Together

Each chapter is divided into two parts:

• Part 1 discusses the new topic, provides short exercises to help learn and understand the topic, shows cartoons that illustrate “ineffective” and “effective”methods, and ends with a quick reminder page that is perfect for reference.
• Part 2 is filled with common questions, comments, and parents’ stories to help understand the topic further and hear about real situations.

The book starts by addressing how important it is to respect and accept your child’s feelings. Empathy towards another person, especially a child, might be difficult for many people. The authors suggest reading the book slowly so you can practice one aspect at a time.

The book has a great section on problem solving and it focuses on involving your child in the process.

I was surprised to learn how they don’t agree with the common use of time-outs as punishment. Once they explained their reasoning, I agree with them completely.

What I Thought

The book was easy to read and I loved the cartoons they used to help illustrate ideas; the visual aspect really helped me learn the ideas. I did do all the exercises, as they suggest, and it really helped me understand why these ideas work so well. I was also surprised to learn the correct way to give praise; it will definitely take some practice!

This is easily the best parenting book I’ve read! It falls in line exactly with how I wish to parent my child. It will take some time for these new ideas and methods to become more natural, but I’m so glad I have this book to help me.

When Should You Read This Book?

As the authors say, it’s never too early or too late to read this book. I read this book now and my child just turned two. Even if he’s too young for some of the situations discussed, he’s never too young to have a mom that talks to him with respect. I’m glad I read it now; it gives me time to start changing the way I talk – and think.

The book is also great for improving relationships with anyone; it can help improve how you communicate with adult family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.

Other Books by the Authors

The authors have also written several other books that may be of interest to you:

• Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too
• How To Talk So Kids Can Learn
• How to Talk So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk
• Liberated Parents, Liberated Children: Your Guide to a Happier Family

We got the Fisher-Price Rainforest Peek-A-Boo Waterfall Soother for a baby shower gift. Friends had recommended having something like this and so I was happy to receive it. Little did I know at the time how wonderful it would end up being!

I think we put it on our son’s crib (on one end) when he was a small baby; maybe a bit older than newborn, but still really young. He slept in a bassinet next to my side of the bed during the night, but we did have him take his naps during the day in his crib. When we put him in there for his naps, we turned on the soother to the rainforest sounds since we had heard some babies like to have some sort of white noise while they sleep. I don’t know how he liked it at that age, but we enjoyed listening to the crickets over the baby monitor. I would say that a longer timer would be good, as the 18 minute timer seemed short; when it stopped, we would hustle back in and turn it on again. We would talk about the length of his naps in terms of how many rainforest cycles he went through; he slept for two cycles so that must mean about 40 minutes!

When he got older it was so much fun to see him enjoy the rainforest soother and it was so exciting when he could turn it on by himself! I did nurse him to sleep but sometimes if he woke up later, I would hear him and brace myself for the inevitable cry out for me. But to my utter delight, sometimes that didn’t happen. I would hear him moving around and then I would hear the soother turn on. I breathed a sigh of relief that he figured out a way to soothe himself back to sleep. You don’t know how many times at night I was singing the praises of this soother!

Our son and the soother, 9 months old

Once he was a bit older and able to fall asleep on his own, he would turn on the soother as soon as I put him in his crib. I tell you, it felt like freedom! After so many months of needing me to fall asleep, it was very freeing to be able to walk out of the room with him awake and content, just watching his soother.

So yeah, if you haven’t guessed it already, I am a big fan of this soother. I know it has several settings for different music, but we really just left it on one; our son didn’t seem to mind hearing the same song over and over. And it really was amazing to me how much he really liked watching this. You wouldn’t think it would hold his interest for very long, since it does the same thing over and over, but he sure loved it!

If you want to see what it looks and sounds like, I found a link to a demo of this soother on Amazon.com.

I mentioned how great I think a crib soother is in my post on Baby Products: What to Get and What to Forget. If you are looking for a crib soother, I highly recommend this one!

Our son loves this soother (9 months old)

What Does Luke Do in Heaven All Day? was written by my friend’s mom Beth Weldon as a way to deal with her grief after losing her grandson (my friend’s son) when he was an infant. In the book, written from the author’s perspective, a grandmother is talking with her granddaughter and trying to answer the questions about what her brother Luke does in heaven all day. The little girl sits on her grandma’s lap while they discuss all the things Luke might be doing in heaven: going fishing with the grandpas, playing with puppies, or riding a bike.

After reading the book we are comforted by the knowledge that children in heaven spend their days surrounded by the love of family already there, joyfully playing with pets, basking in the warm splendid sunshine, and looking down over us each day.

The book is written in a soft rhyming format that is both easy to read and pleasing to the ears. The illustrations, by Leslie Batt-Lutz, are beautiful, soft watercolor drawings that compliment the words and bring them to life.

This book is wonderful for both children and adults. In addition to talking about what children do in heaven, the book is also meant to bring comfort to those dealing with the loss of a child. I found it a truly precious book and would definitely recommend it to those in need.

Soap nuts come from the Chinese Soapberry tree and have been used for hundreds of years in India. When they fall from the tree the inner fruit is removed from the shell and the shell then dried in the sun, using no chemical processing. That outer shell contains saponins which act as water surfactants. Simply put 2-3 soap nuts into a small cloth bag and toss in your wash. The nuts release their saponins which reduces the surface tension of the water and frees dirt, grime, and oils from clothing. When washed downstream the saponins remain harmless to the environment. There are no synthetic chemicals, no fragrance chemicals, no foaming agents or other toxins; just nut shells grown by nature.

bag of soap nuts, which came with the small bag to toss in the wash

We have washed a few loads so far and have been impressed. The clothes came out clean and had no smell to them – which means they are clean! It doesn’t produce suds as it washes, but that’s OK as it’s not supposed to. Commercial detergents add sudsing agents to give the impression of more cleaning power anyway. And it’s cost effective as well, at about 15 cents per load!

In my previous post Baby Products: What to Get and What to Forget, I mention that there is no need for special laundry detergent for baby’s clothes. Soap nuts are another great option for your baby’s and child’s laundry, and all the laundry in the house.

We ordered our soap nuts from Better Life Goods, but you can get them from many other places online including Maggie’s Pure Land.

So you can imagine my pure joy (yes, I really was ecstatic) when I found this natural hand sanitizer from CleanWell. It said it was safe for kids and all natural, so I picked it up and looked at the ingredients; and I was blown away (in a good way)! The active ingredient is thyme oil and the inactive ingredients all pass my tough criteria.

You can read their website yourself for all the information, but this hand sanitizer is amazing! It kills 99.99% of harmful germs on contact, including MRSA (resistant staph), E. Coli, and Salmonella. It is alcohol free, non-toxic, and safe for kids. It’s also 100% biodegradable and is made from renewable resources. The company also sells wipes and hand soap.

This is a fabulous solution to the hand sanitizer dilemma; it’s a safe, non-toxic product that will kill germs and keep your family safe in the process. We’ve been using this hand sanitizer for a few months now and are completely happy with it. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a safer alternative to mainstream hand sanitizer. You can find CleanWell all natural hand sanitizer in Whole Foods, Target, and even online at Amazon.com.

And yes, I realize that all a new baby really needs is something to eat, something to wear, some sort of diaper, a roof over her head, and lots of love. But I know there are other things that you will want to get and with the abundance of “stuff” available, it’s pretty overwhelming to sort through it all.

When I was pregnant I asked all my friends and family with kids (which was all our friends and family) for their opinions on baby gear. I also asked other mommies online. I asked anyone who would listen to me! I read books about baby gear. I wanted to be smart about this. I’ve compiled a list of what I found out; that is, recommended baby products and products you can live without.

Of course this is all subjective; what might be a ‘must have’ by one person could be a ‘live without’ by another. I formed these lists based on the most common answers I got; along with a bit of my own opinion! I understand that what works for your family might be completely different. So with that disclaimer out of the way, here is what I recommend:

WHAT TO GET

Dresser as a Changing Table
Many people, myself included, like to have a dedicated spot to change diapers. My husband and I wanted to be more practical about it so we purchased a dresser for our child; we found one that he could use until he leaves the house. Right now it’s used as a changing table; we place a changing pad on one end of it and diapering supplies on the other end. When he is no longer wearing diapers, it will become his dresser for clothes as he grows.

dresser as a changing table

Bouncy Seat

If you ever want to take a shower, or just need to put the baby somewhere for a few minutes, these little seats work so well. Babies can bounce, play with toys, or snooze. I brought ours into the bathroom and that’s where I put my son while I showered; we could see each other and all was well. There are many on the market, ranging from simple to fancy. I think a simple one would do just fine; at least get one that has a cover that is easy to take off and wash.

I had this infant-to-toddler rocker and was happy with it. But check out how neat this zen infant seat looks; I love the colors!

G having fun in his seat: 6 weeks

G sitting up: 6 months

Nursing Bra

If you’re going to breastfeed (and I sincerely hope you are) you will need good nursing bras; ones without underwire and that fit you well. If you go to Motherhood Maternity, they can help you find the correct size. Don’t forget about sleep bras; they are important too! The girls need support at night; especially in the early months! And when you find a nursing bra you like, buy several. Although I didn’t see this organic cotton nursing bra until recently, it sure looks great to me!

Ultimate Crib Sheet

It’s a fact, babies have accidents in the middle of the night. And I can tell you that it’s not much fun to change sheets in the middle of the night. But once I found the ultimate crib sheet, that part of my life was easier! This sheet fastens on top of your crib sheet and there’s no need to remove the bumpers. It is waterproof so it protects your mattress as well. If baby has an accident, just take this sheet off and you have the regular sheet below it.

Baby Monitor with Dual Receiver

It really is nice to have two receivers for the baby monitor. We keep one in our bedroom and one around the house. The one we got has a clip so you can clip it to your waist and walk around with it. It lasts many hours before needing recharging. The lights on it are nice, too, if we want to turn the volume down. We got this one from Fisher-Price and have been happy with it.

Crib Soother

We received this Fisher-Price rainforest waterfall crib soother as a gift and it’s been one of our favorite things. When our son was a tiny baby, we just turned on the background sounds, which were forest noises. As he got older, we changed settings for different music and motions. He loved it! He would watch it and it helped him go to sleep on his own. And when he wakes up in the middle of the night, I hear him turn this on and it soothes him back to sleep. We are fans!

Many of my friends have said the same thing about crib soothers; here are a few other crib soothers I found on Amazon.com.

G engaged with waterfall soother: 9 months

Medela Breast Pump

If you are going to breastfeed, even if you are staying at home, chances are you will need to pump at some point. (Mama’s gotta have a night out sometimes, right?!) Many friends have told me to skip a manual pump or a cheaper brand – and get a Medela! I took my friends’ advice; I have the Medela Pump in Style breast pump and have been very happy with it.

Stroller Frame

When your baby is tiny and still in an infant car seat, I highly recommend getting a stroller frame instead of a big stroller. You can use one of those down the road if you like, but when everything was new to me I loved the ease of using this lightweight frame. The infant car seat snaps into this frame and it has lots of storage below. You will want to be sure your infant car seat fits with this frame; there are several stroller frames on the market.

Sling

Another great option for keeping your hands free with a little one is to wear them in a sling. There are many wonderful slings on the market and babywearing is a growing trend. Here are some of my favorites:

• I have the Moby Wrap and love it! I didn’t get it until my son was four months old and I wish I had it sooner. The baby stays so snug and close to you in this wrap; your hands are free to do what you need to do. I used this wrap to help him fall asleep. Once I was wearing him I would sing and pat his bottom. Once he fell asleep, I would unwrap it and transfer him to his crib. Magic! It also makes a great baby shower gift.

• Another popular option is the Hotsling. There are several ways to wear this sling as your baby grows. It’s great for out in public; easy in and easy out! Plus there are many great colors and designs; it’s a new fashion accessory!

• Many of my friends had the Maya Wrap. This sling is easy to use, comes in many colors, and is great for nursing. Many slings are great for nursing.

me wearing G in Moby wrap: 4 months old

Exersaucer

Another popular item is an exersaucer. Once the baby is old enough to use these, they are another great option if you need to free up your hands for a few minutes. There are many toys for the baby’s entertainment and they rock a bit if baby pushes with his feet.

Infant Tub

We really liked this infant tub, and we liked having a tub in general. This one had a sling for the early days, a recline position, and a sit up position. When he was about eight or nine months old, we moved this tub into another tub for baths before graduating to just a regular tub. It served us well over the months and I recommend it.

Nursing Pillow

I almost didn’t add this one to the list; mainly because I didn’t use one and was fine. But I know MANY friends who used one and loved it, and since I am all for anything that helps a mom with breastfeeding, I decided to add it. I would recommend the My Brest Friend nursing pillow, since it’s flat and easier to use (I’ve heard). But many people like the popular Boppy. (Did you see that they now have an organic cotton slipcover for the Boppy? Awesome! If you saw my previous post on organic cotton, then you know how great this is!)

Note: I did have a My Brest Friend pillow and used it for a day, but then I got breastfeeding help from a lactation consultant and was able to nurse successfully without needing the pillow at all (20.5 months and counting)!

WHAT TO FORGET

Wipes Warmer

This item was one that was almost unanimous. It dries out the wipes and let’s face it, it’s another gadget to have cluttering up your house. If you are concerned about the temperature of the wipes, hold them in your hands for a few seconds to warm them up before wiping the baby.

Big High Chair

I give you permission to skip buying a big high chair. You may think you need one, but there is another option. The big high chairs take up room in your kitchen and are hard to clean, especially if the padded seat is made of cloth. What we did, and so did several of my friends, was to use a booster seat strapped to a chair at your table. The booster seat is adjustable in height and the tray is adjustable too. Also, the tray is small enough to wash in the sink. Once we introduced solids to our son (at eight months) this is where he sat – and he’s still there today!

G in the booster seat: 12 months old

G in booster seat : 20 months

Expensive Diaper Pail System

Forget the Diaper Genie pails and the like. The pails themselves are expensive but don’t forget about refills; those will add up! And I personally think they are a bit complicated to use. We have this simple diaper pail and it’s been great. We use grocery sacks in ours since we have many of those and they are free. You can put an air freshener in it if you like. Or better yet, put some baking soda or essential oils in it for the odor. Be sure to change it often; at least once a day. (You can see our diaper pail in the picture of the changing table above; it’s on the left of the table.)

Crib Mobile

Everyone thinks they need a crib mobile to complete their nursery, but trust me; you don’t. They kind of get in the way and are hard to store. If you want something in the crib for baby’s entertainment, get a crib soother (like I mentioned earlier).

Expensive Crib

Unless you have lots of money to burn, you really don’t need an expensive crib. If you like the cribs with storage underneath, there are many other ways to incorporate storage into your nursery. Perhaps some storage baskets underneath the crib would work well. You might also want to skip the crib that doubles as a toddler bed. Yes, it might be convenient but for many people who have more kids, you will need it as a crib again before you could use it as a toddler bed.

Small Clothes

There are several recommendations I have for baby clothes, especially in small sizes (0-3 and 3-6 months):

• Don’t buy too many clothes in sizes 0-3 and 3-6 months. We didn’t have to buy any in this size as we received many for gifts. This is a time of rapid growth for your baby and they may grow out of the clothes faster than they can wear them out.
• Skip the infant jeans or jean overalls. They may be cute, but they are not comfy.
• Forget the baby shoes. Socks are just fine for this age.
• You don’t need many dress-up outfits in this size range. Let’s face it, babies just want to be comfortable; and chances are they aren’t going to many fancy places.
• Skip the baby bath robes. A nice towel is sufficient. And at this age, we pretty much want to dry them off as fast as we can and get them dressed and warm again. I don’t know how much they want to lounge around in a robe!

Fancy Infant Bedding

I know how tempting it is to see all the pretty infant bedding sets for sale; you want a beautiful room for your beautiful baby! But the truth is that babies don’t really care if they have a complete nursery set from the most expensive store. Babies will poop and spit up and vomit all over it no matter what it cost or where it’s from. You can still have a nice nursery with a simple crib sheet, breathable bumper, and nicely painted walls, with maybe a few pictures.

Speaking of bedding, books recommend getting eight crib sheets. You don’t need that many; two or three is plenty. Especially if you have them in rotation with the ultimate crib sheet, like I mentioned earlier.

Sleep Positioners

I don’t have much to say here except that these are not necessary. We got by just fine without them.

Special Laundry Detergent

You don’t have to buy that special laundry detergent for baby’s clothes. We already used a laundry detergent that is non-toxic, hypo-allergenic, and free of dyes. There are several kinds of similar laundry detergents on the market; you can find one you like and use it on the whole family’s laundry.

Disposable Changing Pad Covers

Let’s help out the environment and try to buy less disposable things when we can. I just put this portable changing pad on top of a changing table when I need to.

Swing

We had the swing that was low to the ground, and although that seems to be the way to go (versus a large one), we just didn’t use it. We had plenty of other ways to entertain our son. I know many people love the swing, but I would say that you can forget this piece of equipment.

I hope this list has given you some information you can use. Feel free to use it as a guide for what to register for. Or a guide for what to buy a friend.

Wendy - Parenting Tips 365

Luckily a friend of mine had already been looking at these Laptop Lunches bento lunchboxes for her son, so I had them in mind. The reason she liked them, and knew I would too, was for all of these wonderful features they have (that we care so much about):

• The product is phthalate free, bisphenol-A (BPA) free, and lead free.
• The materials used are the safer plastics: polypropylene (#5) and polyethylene (#2).
• It is eco-friendly since it’s reusable – nothing to throw away after each lunch!

As you can see from the picture, one container has a lid and there is a small container (with lid) for dipping sauces). G is too young for dipping sauces (messy!) so we haven’t used that one yet.

I know my son is a bit young to appreciate it, but it’s a cool lunch box that will be appealing to him when he’s older! Here is the lunch system, with water bottle and carrying case:

I forgot to take a picture of the ice packs I purchased from them as well; they are non-toxic. And something I was very excited to see included was this user’s guide. Yes, it has lunch ideas for us not-so-creative types!

To read more about this company, visit their website: www.laptoplunches.com. They have several colors available, so check out the options; you will be able to find the perfect one for each of your kids! Here is G’s lunch for his first day of “school”:

clockwise from top right: chicken in olive oil, mozzarella cheese, peas, and cheddar bunnies.

So if you can’t tell, I am a fan of this lunchbox system! I know I am not the most creative with my bento-ing, but give me some time!