MOM CONFESSIONALS

{disclosure: sample received}

Nobody obsesses over cleaning like I do in my household.  Especially ever since I had kids, the obsession has grown.  Having taken Micro-biology as part of my nursing school pre-requisites has only made it worst.  One lecture on mold had me running to home depot and buying new filters for our HVAC system and marking on my calendar with alarms to regularly change it.  Understanding cleanliness from a scientific and clinical level has opened up a whole new understanding of cleanliness.  There are levels of cleanliness that I had only begun to scratch at the surface.  In someways it made me understand why chemicals have become such mainstream and popular choices for homes despite their high toxicity — the fear of germs lives in all of us.

I have tried every natural and green cleaning product out there.  If there are new ones, you can bet I am going to try them as well.  I have to admit for certain things, the green products just doesn’t cut it quite like the toxic versions and it becomes a game of which of the lesser of two evils do you want to embrace.  What level of germs or cleanliness can you get comfortable with?  There is a reason why there are so many types of cleaners for everything under the sun — cleaners for your oven, cleaners for your shower, cleaners for you toilet bowl, cleaners for your carpet.  Not everything needs the same level or can be cleaned by the same type of cleaner as something else.  There are times you need something stronger, there are times you need clean, but still want less chemicals.  I’ve got my favorites such as Shaklee’s dishwashing liquid, Ecostore’s Lemon Cream Cleanser for cleaning my bathtub, Method’s Lil Bowl Blu for toilets and Shark’s Steam Pocket Mop.  I love that I have found safe and eco-friendly alternatives for almost every cleaning task in my house and now my new favorite all purpose cleaner is ActiveIon HOM.

I recently came across ActiveIon and I have to say I am in love… addicted… and in love.  It is about as GREEN as you can get, appealing the gadget loving side of me, it uses electrically charged tap water only!  It has been used for years in places like hospitals, schools, airports, stadiums, hotels and other institutions where people work, live and play.  ActiveIon has now made that very same technology available for home use with their ActiveIon HOM.  I cannot stop spraying it… on everything and anything!  To understand how it works, I’ll let the video starring Bill Nye aka the Science Guy explain it but basically using plain tap water and infusing it with both positive and negative ions, it breaks down dirt and germs, obliterating it!  I have had so much fun testing it.  After initially charging it for a few hours I was off spraying its fine mist everywhere!  What surfaces have I tried?

• dried pee stains on my toilet seat rim… it disappears instantly!
• apples, asian pears right before eating
• my daughter’s bath toys
• my daughter’s toys
• all of my daughter’s potty seats
• my daughter’s utensils when she tosses them on the floor
• the nursery changing table
• nail clippers
• my breastpump accessories right before use, even after sterilizing because it’s been sitting in the tray for a while
• watching the soap scum on my bathroom glass tiles melt
• my dining room table
• my beautiful wooden kitchen cabinets sprayed with cooking grease
• toothbrush before brushing
• shared toothbrushing cup
• door handles
• baby wipes warming case
• my favorite, and husband’s pet peeve the dirt on top of a soda can

There are probably a million other places you can think of using it.  For those with kids, especially infants, it is a dream cleaner.  No chemicals or even natural based cleaners at all – just tap water!  It even is effective on the H1N1 virus.  Now you still might need additional cleaners for those really tough stains, but it does cover most things.  It’s fun watching dirt dissolve literally right before your eyes.  It costs $169 for the ActiveIon HOM but replaces of 50 different types of cleaners in your home.  Just doing the calculations, over a life expectancy of 3-5 years, it’s well worth the money/investment in comparison to what you spend yearly on cleaners.  It also comes in two other versions EXP ($329) and PRO ($299) for more professional grade cleaning.

Check out Bill Nye aka The Science Guy as he explains ActiveIon

We’re thrilled to offer to (1) of our lucky readers a chance to win their very own ActiveIon HOM ($169 Retail Value).  To ENTER, from now until March 1st, fill out this FORM on the grossest stains you’ve come across and you’ll have a chance to win an ActiveIon HOM of your very own.  Get up to (two) bonus entry if you follow me on twitter @momconfessional and re-tweet this giveaway (Win an ActiveIon HOM – The Greenest Cleaner @momconfessional http://ow.ly/13myd) as well as becoming a fan on Facebook. DON’T FORGET to let me know by leaving a separate entry for each action. Giveaway only open to those with U.S. addresses. Giveaway ends on March 1st at 11:59 EST. A winner will be selected randomly by Random.org and notified by e-mail.

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I’m not exactly sure if I’m considered young or if I’m considered old.  There are definitely moments where I still feel quite young, even having hit that infamous hill called “30″ … and gone over it.  I look around me sometimes and still see some friend,  that are yet unmarried and still living the life that I once called norm myself.  I find myself living vicariously through them on Facebook.  In some ways I even envy their carefree lifestyles filling their passports with travel, eating at the latest hot spots and sipping expensive wine (that is if I actually drank).  Not that I was a big party animal or anything — a simple night of hanging out late, even at a friend’s house while the guys play poker and the girls watch chick flicks on the couch or watching a really great baseball, football game or boxing fight.  I miss the days of deciding to go snowboarding one moment and picking up our boards and hitting the slopes then next.  But when they do stupid things like get pulled over for drunk driving, or playing beer pong complaining of a hangover the next morning, the parental side comes out of me and I’m shaking my head in disapproval, wondering when they’ll ever grow up.  When I see someone my age and a fellow parent as well, wearing an Ed Hardy t-shirt or the word Juicy across their ass, I think to myself, oh dear, someone’s got a midlife crisis, a la Jon Gosselin — I want to scream, can you please put on some more age appropriate clothing?!  Those are my “old” moments even though I’m not wearing the cardigan sweater with matching pearl earrings and necklace.  Then there are days where my daughter and I can be found bopping our heads to Kanye’s Welcome to the Good Life and rockin’ to Lady Gaga (Ra Ra-ah-ah-ah Roma Roma-ma GaGa Oh la-la) and I think I’m still cool… then again I am doing this with my 2 year old and not at a night club.

I do love where I am in life RIGHT now.  A mom of two. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the whole world.  Though sometimes I ask myself, when did I get so old?  I am married, I have a house, a mortgage payment, car payments, things to worry about like filing taxes, working, etc.,  When did my life become about schedules, play dates and Gymboree?  While I may envy the younger versions of me — one taste of it, even for a little bit, makes me yearn for my own life again.  Maybe that’s the key… to every once in a while remind yourself that you’re still young.  To commit to still having those girl’s night’s out or enjoy date night with hubby at a fancy hot spot.  Even if afterward you retire from exhaustion and admit that you’re too old to being doing this.  So when do you transition from being young to being old?  One friend said it was the point where you became responsible for or to another person, but I guess that could really be subjective depending on who you define as being responsible for or to.  I could mark it by the biological clock age and say maybe 35 is the transitioning age since that’s when you begin the advanced screening when conceiving.  Although in this age, isn’t 30 the new 20 and 40 the new 30?

I don’t think its about still being cool, I think my cool factor went out the door a long time ago, about the time sweats became a regular staple in my wardrobe along with pulling my hair back in a ponytail on a daily basis because I’m too lazy to do it up.  I’d rather be a good parent than a cool parent anyway.

Maybe young is simply a feeling.  Today while making an errand run to Ikea, my daughter was skipping up and down every aisle with such glee.  The smile on her face was intoxicating.  I’m sure all mom’s say this, but I could live in this smile forever.  To her it was simply the best day ever even though it was just an errand run for mom and dad.  At one point as we were picking up our build it yourself furniture piece, she turned to me and said… “Momma, I like this song!” (indicating the song playing over the store loud speakers) — and proceeded to, as she said… “Shake your bootay! Shake your bootay!”  I had to stop in my tracks, grab my husband, shake my own bootay and all of us just started laughing so hard tears were coming out of my eyes.  I felt young in that moment, dancing in the aisle at Ikea with my daughter and husband.  While I still wanted chastise the kid in the elevator who asked his friend why they had no school today (MLK day), I hope to continue feeling that feeling until the next time she says she likes that song and I have no idea who or what group is singing it and wishing that “noise” would just stop.

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Having breastfed my daughter for over 2 years and now my newborn son, Bravado nursing wear has been and is a staple in my wardrobe.  With their 18 year history, Bravado is the name synonymous with quality nursing wear and considered the gold standard.  That’s why I’m excited to announce the launch of the new Basics by Bravado nursing wear collection which includes a sleep bra, t-shirt bra and nursing camisole, now available exclusively at a Target store near you.  Target is well known for its collaborations with top designers and brands making them more accessible to a wider audience.  Their newest partnership with Bravado is more of the same.  It offers women who crave Bravado’s high quality products and the 18 year history and knowledge of breastfeeding that come with them, at an affordable price that we’ve come to expect from Target.

As part of their launch, you have a chance to win $500 worth of must-have items for your baby in their Basics by Bravado “Spot a Mom” sweepstakes.  To enter:

• Find the nearest Target store in your area offering Basics by Bravado nursing wear.
• Visit the store and snap some pics of yourself finding the Basics by Bravado store display.
• Email your photo, along with your name and contact details to basics@bravadodesigns.com.

Bravado products are available in maternity boutiques nationwide.  For more information visit Bravado Designs.

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{ disclosure : sponsored event with samples received }

Yes it’s another product from across the pond.  I’ve said it before, but I love all things European.  Since it was a month before my due date I was so excited to attend the launch party for Tommee Tippee in the US, the UK’s #1 Baby Feeding Brand.  Little did I know I would be delivering later that week, see pic here of me ready to pop and at the event with @EuphoriaLuv.

While I was initially there to learn more about their Close to Nature line, I was surprised how much I was drawn to their Explora line.  I loved the color palette and the adorable swedish designs.  Having been given a generous goodie bag filled with samples,  I was eager to put the products to the test.  Not wanting my daughter to feel left out of all the new incoming baby items in our home, I was happy to see there were 2 samples of their Explora (Stage 5) Truly Spill Proof drink cups in her two favorite colors – pink and purple!  The colors are great and all, and if my daughter loves them, that’s even better.  But what I loved was the valve system.  An incredibly simple 2 piece valve system that was designed by a physicist to be both so sensitive that liquid flows on demand, yet truly spill and leak proof.  It snaps off easily, nice size parts, no little nooks and crannies that need special tools for washing.  Simply take apart for handwash or dishwash!  These cups have replaced all her cups.  She long outgrew her sippy cups but still was prone to spills.  This was a happy medium both her parents could live with.  They have 4 other stages of drinking cups for a truly progressive approach to proper oral development which I will be sure to use for my son.

I also loved the colorful food pots because they were just so darn cute.  But they are practically stackable, microwavable, dishwasher and freezer safe.  They are the perfect size, with a wide mouth for feeding straight from the pot for on-the-go feedings whether it be baby food or snacks for your toddler.  Their clever esi-mats sticks to all surfaces and works perfectly with their weaning bowls, esi-roll bibs and heat sensing spoons for a clean and stress-free eating.

Checking out their Close to Nature line, I wanted to know what makes them different than the bottles already on the market in the US.  Every bottle company seems to tout that they are closest to breast, so how exactly was Tommee Tippee any different?  What rang true with everything in their product line is that they didn’t just think about function, but took it one step further or as they say, “simply intuitive”.  Yes the basic functioning nature was met, but how could they make their product even better?  They took wide neck to a whole new level for a truly closer to breast bottle feeding.  I wasn’t too sure about the nipple but upon closer examination at home, I realized that the nipple was incredibly soft and supple as well as stretchable.  I have never seen a nipple stretch the way this one could.  It has the shape of a nipple that molds to a babies natural sucking pattern.  It has an anti-colic, anti-gas, advanced easi-vent™ valve and even a version for very sensitive stomachs.  I even noticed that their 5oz feeding bottle’s profile slightly resembles the star shape in the logo, anyone else notice that?

Everything in their line is BPA and Phthalate free.  Exclusively available at Babies R Us on January 19th, get in line with me as I stock up on our new favorites.  If you’re desperate to get your hands on them now, they are available for immediate shipping at Babiesrus.com, even better, they are 10% off for a limited time.  To see their full line of products including Sterilizing and other accessories, visit them at tommeetippee.us.

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Momconfessionals IS greenbaby-nyc.  It’s a new year with a new website and a new beginning.  Why the change?  If anyone had bothered to read my mini bio before, you might have seen something along the lines of:  a mother, living in the outerboros of NYC, trying to be greener every day.  Trying was the key word.  I always felt an obligation to keep my posts more green than not and some of my readers liked to point out whenever my posts weren’t green enough for them of course.  Not that I minded.  Many times they pushed me to keep trying, be greener, be a better parent and for that I’m grateful.  The only thing was that I itched to talk more on a broader level, about all aspects of parenting.

My original intention wasn’t to be solely GREEN oriented, rather that it was one of many facets of my parenting style.  Like all mothers, it was simply about my lifestyle choices, whether right or wrong, that I was making because I wanted a better, more meaningful and fruitful life for my children.  Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed, met some wonderful people who I now can call my friends and learned so much from my affiliations with all things green.  That unto itself was an eye opener as well.  There are so many resources and “green” spokesmodels out there and that was never my intention to be, despite the expectations.  In order to expand my conversations beyond the “GREEN” topic, I decided to make a transition to a moniker that was more fitting.  Why mom confessionals?  Well, quick frankly because I’d be the first to admit I make a fair share of parenting mistakes.  While I toyed with I’m a bad mother.com and terrible mother.com — hahah!  I often find myself saying, ” I have to confess…”  and there it was… mom confessionals.

Mom confessionals is my blog where my journey as a parent is charted for all to see.  I’m still trying to be greener everyday — it’s not just good sense for the present, but for my children’s future as well  — but like myself, its a work in progress.  You’ll see the usual product reviews – many green focused, but some are not, chronicles of our family roadtrips, glimpses of moments in my life and things I just want to share that I’ve learned on the job.

Here are a few confessions for the record:

1. I didn’t learn about BPA until my daughter had been using BPA leaching bottles for 2 months and have  been racked with guilt ever since.
2. I was a failure at composting despite an earnest attempt.  My Chinese is hardly fluent and my in laws simply couldn’t keep track of all my composting rules.  It was too complicated and what I had in the end was disease causing compost because it simply became a mini garbage can in my kitchen.
3. I care more about what my kids consume and what touches their skin than my own.  They’ll get all the organic foods and toxic free skincare.
4. If you ever come to my home, you’d be shocked to see some non-green products sitting right next to green ones.  My in-laws are addicted to shopping clubs and can’t seem to kick some habits.
5. I had a REAL Christmas tree this year which will live a second life as my garden mulch.

My parenting philosophy is simple.  Short of putting my kids in a bubble, I can’t rid the world of phthalates, make sure every bite they intake is organic and never let them watch a drop of TV until they are older – but I can certainly try.  If they do occasionally, I won’t try to kill myself, it is not the end of the world.  Being green to me is also not being wasteful.  I’m not going to dump everything in my house because it isn’t green.  They’ll live the life they have, some living way too long I admit, and when they’re done, I make the “greener” choice.  Before making the switch to all green cleaners in my house, I had two shelves.  One with the “dangerous” chemicals, and one with their green alternatives.  As I finished off the “dangerous” ones, I hoped never to see their return (although my in-law’s trips to the wholesale clubs sometimes yields a lingering bottle or two) and replaced with my “greener” alternative.  My home is lighted with energy-efficient bulbs and we’re recycling maniacs that police each other (maybe that’s why they can’t seem to remember the rules of composting, they’ve retained every recycling rule out there).  My daughter may sample cheese puffs outside of her home and I’ll find the organic equivalent, pulling a bait and switch (amazon.com is my friend).  We’ll got to McDonald’s occasionally, but at home, Chicken Nuggets are Ian’s Organics with DHA.  I’m still trying earnestly to cloth diaper my son as well as breastfeed him as long as I did for my daughter (2 years) if not longer.  When my husband built my son’s nursery, the custom furniture piece he built was made with reclaimed timber and the walls were painted with Benjamin Moore’s Natura Zero VOC paints.  I’ve got a playroom filled with Fisher-Price, Mattel and Legos, right next to toys from Plan Toys and Sprig Toys.

I am always aiming to be greener, safer and a better mom, but like I said before, just like me, it’s a work in progress.  This site is still has much transitioning to do from GREENBABY-NYC to MOM CONFESSIONALS, all the posts have been transferred, but I hope you’ll enjoy the journey with me.

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{ disclosure: sample received }

There is nothing sexier than good clean design… I am instantly drawn to it.  While I do love my share of cutesy baby items, but usually only up to a certain extent.  That extent is for the beneficial entertainment of my baby.  Otherwise if the majority of usage is by me or my DH, well good design usually wins.  I first saw the Puj tub at a Big City Moms event and was intrigued.  When the opportunity came up to review the Puj tub with a newborn on the way, I jumped at the chance.

My DH’s response at first was, we already have a baby bathtub that we practically NEVER used.  We found it easier and less of an ordeal when A was a bit more sturdier, to simply take a shower with her.   But when he saw it, it was more like, what the heck is this contraption?  And what fancy useless thing did I just bring into our house.   At the same time, he embraced it without a fight.  After all bath time was his designated (contributing/quality time) task since I’m doing all the feedings (on the boob) amongst everything else.    Figuring out bath time with our cumbersome old, and gently used tub didn’t seem appealing.

We both admit, despite this not being our first child, it felt so at the same time. Neither one of us was confident enough to give our premature son a shower bath and the Puj bathtub seemed just the right tool for us.   It fits perfectly in any bathroom sink with a few quick folds.  The foam is incredibly soft and shockingly “warm”.  I thought that was just a marketing tactic but in contrast to other baby tubs, it really is non-slip and extremely comfortable for an already awkward and nerve-racking baby bathing experience — picture mommy standing curbside wringing her hands while daddy tries to get a confident grip on a flappy newborn.  Made for babies ages newborn to 6 months, I love that it is anti-bacterial because ever since I took Micro-biology, I’ve become a germaphobe, and my little guy pees and poos whenever he feels like it, usually when we’re changing him or bathing him.

Once you’re done, it can be hung dry and stored flat just about anywhere.  I spied that it will also come in a variety of colors soon, although white is pretty sleek and chic.

Check out the Puj Tub for yourself at the new web site exclusively for baby bath tubs!

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As a mother of 2 – a two and half year old and most recently a newborn, nothing needs more simplifying than my life.  Between juggling my blog, tweeting, running my online store, going to nursing school all the while juggling the family’s complicated calendar, nursing what seems like 24/7 and making sure my toddler doesn’t feel neglected, my life is chaos.  Always trying to juggle way too many things at once, this laptop would come in handy when I need to study most.  That can  be anywhere, anytime — while the DH is in the grocery store picking up the weeks food needs, I can be found with my microbiology book and notes in hand.  While I’m nursing or washing the dishes, I’ve got my textbooks on audio being read to me aloud.  What an amazing thing it would be to have this gorgeous, portable laptop with me to take practice quizzes on the road as DH drives us to run errands, catching a wi-fi connection, checking on my class discussion boards, replying to tweets and processing inventory and orders all at once.  In those rare moments when I’m able to go to the library and get some intensive studying done, I will no longer have to wait in line to use the library computers at 30 minute intervals.  I can take advantage of their free wi-fi and let another person have a chance at the library computers.

Although I can be found with hubby’s work issued (yikes!) laptop at all hours of the night and day, in the nursery on facebook, catching up on emails with friends with one hand and nursing with the other.  It’s quite a skill I tell you and the only way I get to stay connected at the moment.  Being the digital person that I am, a computer in every room would be a dream, although not very green I know.  With my computers all around me dying some sort of death (age-related I assure you, not because I’m computer incompetent, although Windows 7 promises to be for those people as well), having an HP Mini 110-1100 by Studio Tord Boontje would be the perfect solution!  Not only is it small enough and light enough (at 2.35 lbs) for me to tote from room to room, I can even pack it in the diaper bag for those on-the-road – okay more like trips to the doctor’s, grocery store etc., – tweets and blog entries.  A sucker for designer items, it has a unique HP Imprint 3D of endangered animals overlaying Studio Tord Boontje recognizable flower and lace design.  It appeals to the eco-friendlier side of me with its 10.1 inch mercury-free LED backlit display for higher energy efficiency.  In addition all its packaging and user guides are printed on 100% recycled paper with soy ink.  It touts handy features like HP QuickSync along with Microsoft’s new Windows 7 OS with features like Jumplists, Shake, Snap, and Pin to make organizing even easier.

Enter to win one of (3) HP Mini 110-1100 by Studio Tord Boontje PCs simply by leaving a comment on this post and Mom Bloggers Club will randomly select a winner from all comment posted regarding the HP Simplify My Life Sweepstakes.  Deadline for entries is January 20, 2010 at midnight ET.  Reader winners will be randomly drawn using Random.org and will be based on the order in which bloggers (like me) enter the sweepstakes and post on Twitter. Winners will be announced on Friday, January 29, 2010. For additional chances to win, visit http://www.mombloggersclub.com/page/simplify-my-life-sweepstakes.

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Perhaps its simply my personality but I am completely neurotic about breastfeeding.  I know all the benefits – breastfeeding is best.  That is why, when I had my daughter, breastfeeding wasn’t just an option, it was the ONLY option.  I would succeed at it – PERIOD.  What resulted was a lactating cow.  From the minute Ava was first able to nurse, I obsessed over her ability to latch on.  Then it was her ability to stay awake during feedings – we often had to strip her down naked, place her skin to skin to wake her – and even that didn’t always work.  Eventually we got into a rhythm.  That rhythm was more like a frenzied dance.  It became a competition with myself.  I would feed and pump… eventually I mastered feeding and pumping at the same time… and later advanced to feeding on one boob, pumping the other and switching each feeding.  It took me 9 months to get the right stride.   This time around, I was thrilled that my son was an even better feeder than Ava could ever be.  He took to the boob right away.  He could get a let-down within seconds.  He had a BIG appetite for a preemie!  and at just less than 2 weeks old, I am producing milk like he was 9 months old.  That amounts to 30-40 extra ounces of milk a day!  I wince when I think of all the milk that I pumped with Ava, only to throw out months later because I simply didn’t need it.  I nursed my daughter until a little after her 2nd birthday – and I intend to do the same for my son.  So what to do with all this excess milk?!

I recently discovered milk banks.  While there is much controversy and stigma surrounding shared breast milk, it really is a time old tradition, formerly called a wet nurse.  Actress Salma Hayek recently caused a stir during a trip to Sierra Leone where she nursed an infant that was not her own.  It was said she did more for humanity with her left boob  than many have in a lifetime.  In this case, you are providing milk for needy infants.  I am currently qualifying for the International Breast Milk Project, a non-profit international humanitarian aid organization dedicated to finding solutions to help infants in urgent need get donor milk. In the past, IBMP has provided donor milk to infants in emergent need in South Africa, where an estimated 1.4 million children were orphaned due to HIV/AIDS in 2007. By the end of 2009, IBMP donors provided over 64,800 bottles of breast milk to infants in need in South Africa and an emergency shipment the Philippines after the catastrophic typhoon in October 2009.

In addition, there are non-profit milk banks such as the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, that work with IBMP, that distribute milk throughout the US to hospitals and other facilities that aid sick and premature newborns whose mother’s cannot provide breast milk but desire to.  HMBANA is the only professional membership association for milk banks in Canada, Mexico and the United States and as such sets the standards and guidelines for donor milk banking for those areas.  They have a list of non-profit milk banks across the United States who are all willing to accept surplus breast milk donation.  Due to the holiday season, milk banks in the U.S. are at extremely low levels and need your help to meet the needs of recipient babies.  Give the greatest gift this holiday season – Give Milk.  Give Life.  Give Hope.

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It always amazes me to talk to first time pregnant moms and find out just how lost they are.  I think I just forget that I was also that same way my first time as well.  While some are bombarded with unsolicited advice or outdated advice, some never even know where to begin.  I was lucky to be internet savvy and handed a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting: Fourth Edition by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel, the staple of any pregnant mom-to-be’s bookshelf.  I read this book cover to cover with each of my pregnancies, even purchasing the revised version this time around.  My original copy was a hand-me-down from my sister-in-law.  Despite having done this before, its a nice refresher, after all its been a while since you’ve done the whole pregnancy thing.  Many critics are harsh about the revised version, saying it is a bit threatening with all the concerns that can arise with pregnancy but it’s a fact that is hard to ignore in this age.  These are real issues that many have to deal with and while it might not relate to you, it can provide guidance and comfort to those that it does relate to.

I recently received a copy of YOU: Having a  Baby: The Owner’s Manual to a Happy and Healthy Pregnancy by Michael F. Roizer and Mehmet C. Oz when I attended a taping of the Martha Stewart Show.  Co-written by Mehmet C. Oz, also known as Dr. Oz, this book was surprisingly an easy read.  I enjoyed the scientific and yet easy to understand, full of funny anecdotes, approach to pregnancy.  It looks at it from a different perspective, not a week by week, by rather a bodily understanding of pregnancy. A truly, surprisingly, fascinating read.

A book I often gift my girlfriend’s is The Modern Girl’s Guide to Motherhood by Jane Buckingham.  It’s written in a very friend to friend manner, with little hints and tips that only a girlfriend would share.  It is definitely more opinionated than most books, but it is geared to a certain type of parent… the urban mom.

Since I fully advocate and support breastfeeding, I highly recommend this book,  The Nursing Mother’s Companion: Revised Edition by Kathleen Huggins, R.N., M.S. I initially came across it, ironically, in an excerpt form, in a gift bag from Enfamil, entitled “Nursing the First Two Months”.  Despite successfully feeding my daughter until the age of 2 and having no problems feeding my premature newborn son, I still felt it was a handy guide to have on my bookshelf.  This book is an easy to use and find immediate answers to breastfeeding questions.  I found it incredibly supportive in the advice it gives to moms who have a strong desire and commitment to breastfeeding without being threatening in any way.

Some of my favorite online resources during pregnancy were babycenter.com and whattoexpect.com (companion website to the book by Murkoff and Mazel).  You can sign up for week by week pregnancy emails which is just fun reading on your iPhone or blackberry.  I should mention that What to Expect also has a free iPhone application which keeps track of the babies gestational age and has a week by week guide.  What I found interesting was each sites estimates were each different from each other.  You have to keep in mind, while there is a certain science to pregnancy, each child is as individual as their fingerprints.  Size and weight has as much to do with you and your partners size as well as your own birth weights, but its fun guessing and picturing them as such isn’t it?

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{ disclosure: samples received }

I recently had a chance to sample some products from Ecostore USA and I was really excited to try this line from New Zealand that touted full disclosure with regards to its ingredients list as well as being affordable.  Not to mention I was told it would be soon widely available in my neck of the woods.  You know, for those moments of — I just ran out of detergent, don’t have time to wait for an internet order to arrive.  You’ve gotta love the back story of how the company started.  Founded over 15 years ago by Melanie and Malcolm Rands, living in an eco-village in New Zealand.  All of the families that lived in the farm based eco village shared a commitment to organic growing and healthy living.  Each household in the village was responsible for their own waste water, which quickly highlighted the problems caused by using regular supermarket cleaning products that relied heavily on cheap, petroleum-based, synthetic ingredients.  The Rands took that problem and came up with a solution that left the eco-village’s water pure as can be and giving birth to Ecostore. 

Now transplanted in the US, found a way to make eco-friendly products  more accessible and affordable by safely super-concentrating each formulation. A little really does go a long, long way!

I got a chance to sample their Front Loader Laundry Powder, Oxygen Whitener, Cream Cleanser and Hypoallergenic Dog Shampoo.  Being obsessed with laundry, I was excited to try their front loader laundry powder and oxygen whitener for a couple of reasons.  One of which was to compare to my beloved Shaklee Laundry Detergent and Nature Bright, and another because the idea of being available at my neighborhood store was very appealing.    I was as little skeptical using powdered laundry detergent although I silently acknowledged, even with Shaklee, that it was probably the most cost-effective route.  I feared clumps of detergent that wouldn’t desolve, residues left behind… so while I had yet to try the Shaklee laundry powder, I was pleasantly surprised that my cautiously added smaller load dose recommendation to my HE washer, along with a dose of the oxygen whitener, cleaned my LARGE load of laundry without a problem.  That load included some disgusting football playing dirt covered clothing as well as some of my daughter’s potty training accidents.  I was clapping my hands with glee!

Off to the bathroom I went with my new cream cleanser to see if it could match the efficiency of my beloved, but long retired soft scrub, which was the only thing that could remove that soapy residue left behind everyday from 4 adults and a baby’s tub use.  Definitely before the baby goes in the tub, the neurotic parents in us, always has to do a completely scrub down of the tub.  My in-laws are not quite as chemically scared as we are and they choose, despite our pleas, to continue with thier old faithful chemical products.  So be it!  We know, old habits die-hard.  But ever since our daughter was born, about when the soft scrub retired… those nasty chemicals don’t have  a chance to go near our baby’s skin.  So despite the so-so effectiveness of our green cleaners on the grime, we still chugged ahead feeling some comfort that those harsh chemicals of products past weren’t coming near our baby.  I love love love their cream cleanser.  Our other green product was not exactly “soft”, and using it required a bit of delicacy, but this cream cleanser — stays in our linen closet within reach for the daily scrub down. 

Not to leave my darling Max (the dog) out.  I was thrilled Ecostore USA sent me the hypoallergenic dog shampoo.  It was the first of its kind I’d seen and I was eager to try it as Max’s bath routine often involved a weird, somewhat drugged in appearance dog who would frantically rub himself on anything and everything… my mother in law thought maybe his shampoo was making him itchy.  I wasn’t so sure since we’d tried several different types of “dog” shampoos and he always goes a little nuts after his bath.  I just coughed it up to an “irk” of his.  If there was a staple to keep of Ecostore USA’s products, I would keep this… Max wasn’t “Crazy Bath Max” afterwards.  He wasn’t rubbing his eyes into the towel or spinning himself nuts, rubbing the walls and running around like a cat on catnip.  He even allowed us to blow dry his hair without much of a fuss!

All in All, Ecostore USA passed my green snobby-ness test.  These products and others I’m dying to try are now available in New York City at your neighborhood Duane Reade!  If you’re not in my ‘hood, you’d be happy to know it’s available at Meijer Super Centers in the midwest, and on their website.  From now until year-end, EVERYTHING is 40% off!  Not to mention FREE shipping on orders over $25.  I love deals as much as I love a clean house!

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