Clean and Natural Baby Products

I just received a request from an old friend, Saira, for natural and/or homemade baby products. There are some awesome options out there:

Brand Name

Many of the big labels have a natural line now. Johnson's Baby actually has some nice natural stuff - it's free of most harmful chemicals, but still contains some questionable things.  Huggie's also has a natural line but I wouldn't recommend it.

Natural Lines

Popular natural lines like Burt's Bees and Live Clean now have a line up of baby products. I especially recommend Live Clean's non-petroleum jelly for an alternative to vasoline. My favourite brand is Weleda. They are hands-down the most natural products, they smell amazing and work great. You can buy them at Quarter Master Natural Foods in Wortley Village. Another good product is Baby Balm by Abundance Naturally.

DIY

A small skin rash or a case of baby acne can usually be cleared up with an application of breast milk. It sounds funny but the stuff is pure gold.  When Oliver was congested as a newborn my midwife recommended using a medicine dropper to squirt breast milk up his nose. It is also the best remedy for sore, cracked nipples from breast feeding.

Organic coconut oil is a wonderful, pure moisturizer and diaper cream. It's a great food to eat to keep up energy and brain strength too. Pure sweet almond oil is equally good, but more liquid than solid, so it can be used for different applications.

Soap/shampoo is a little trickier. For the first while, washing with just warm water will be fine. When you start needing heftier cleaning power you can make a mild homemade soap (see my earlier post) or buy Dr. Bronners liquid castile soap.

Here's a great recipe for homemade wipes too.

Let me know if you need more help!