Green Treehouse

Regardless of your doctor’s stance on whether you should paint the nursery during pregnancy or assign the task to someone else, expecting parents (and parents of children in general) should know that eco-friendly paint options exist, which present lower risks of exposure to hazardous chemicals and toxic fumes. Remember, “eco-friendly” or not, it’s always a good idea to make sure the room you’re painting has adequate ventilation (i.e. keep the windows open) to help with any fumes.

To see what paint brands earn eco-friendly marks, check out this news report.

Everyone knows that driving has become more expensive lately, thanks to rising fuel costs. Driving less, carpooling, or using public transportation are helpful alternatives, but often there’s just no way around driving a vehicle. Like when the only way you can get your colicky baby to sleep is to drive toward the nearest bumpy road.

For the times you have to drive, here are five tips to make those drives “greener”:

1. Keep your tires inflated. Properly inflated tires actually save you money (fuel efficiency).
2. Avoid Rush Hour. Stop and go traffic lowers fuel economy and increases harmful emissions.
3. Plan trips. Lump errands together, so you’ll have to make fewer trips during the week.
4. Enjoy fresh air. When possible, skip the A/C. The Air Conditioner increases fuel consumption.
5. Change your oil. Oil and filter changes may seem like an added budget expense, but can actually help improve fuel economy.

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June 26, 2008: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (”CPSC”) has announced a voluntary recall of about 1,200 “2nd Nature Built to Grow Cribs,” manufactured by Stanley Furniture Company Inc., of Stanleytown, Va. The recall involves only certain crib models. It does not include cribs sold after December 2007.

According to CPSC, “The cribs could fail to meet a federal safety standard for crib dimensions. When the mattress support is in the middle setting, the space between the mattress and the crib could be too wide, posing an entrapment hazard to infants.” Consumers are advised to “immediately stop using the crib in the middle mattress setting.”

To determine whether your crib model is affected by the recall and/or to read the full CPSC news release, click here.

How green is your city? Green enough to raise your baby?

Check out this top ten green cities list to find out how your city stacks up. Among the list, BabyEarth’s very own backyard: Austin, TX.

After that scrumptious BabyEarth cardboard box conveniently arrives on your doorstep, you know, the one that contains today’s sassiest baby booty, put it to kid-friendly use before pitching it into the recycle bin with these three eco-conscious ideas:

1. Turn your child’s poster art into a puzzle. Glue one of your child’s drawings or paintings to a cardboard box flap. After the poster dries on the BabyEarth cardboard box flap, neatly cut the cardboard into creative puzzle pieces. Enjoy putting the puzzle together with your child!

2. Decorate the box. Children absolutely love decorating cardboard boxes! Provide your child crayons, markers or paint and let your pint-sized artist go wild. To get extra eco-friendly mileage out of the box (and a ton of smiles) forward the box along as a care package to someone special.

3. Create a picture frame. Transform the box into a picture frame. Cut out a cardboard backing (desired size) and a top frame in which you’ve cut an opening in the center. Glue the two pieces together, leaving a side open to insert a photograph or your child’s drawing–or handprint. Decorate the frame with tissue paper, paint, twigs or other household materials.

Found a creative way to put your BabyEarth shipping box to good use? Tell us all about it here!

News of BabyEarthLive is spreading fast! If you’ve ever wished that you could “break news” to your friends and family, now is your chance.

BabyEarthLive just launched yesterday! BabyEarthLive’s fully interactive personalized shopping experience has forever changed the online shopping world–especially when it comes to shopping for baby gear and everything baby.

Check out BabyEarthLive today. Tell your friends. Tell your pediatrician. Tell your favorite Mommy Bloggers. Tell your daycare provider. Tell your neighbor. Even blog about it! Be the one to break this cutting-edge news! BabyEarthLive’s demo-on-demand service is totally revolutionary!

June 24, 2008: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (”CPSC”) has announced a voluntary recall of about 320,000 Jardine Cribs, manufactured by Jardine Enterprises of Taiwan, and sold by Babies “R” Us.

According to CPSC, “The wooden crib slats and spindles can break, creating a gap, which can pose an entrapment and strangulation hazard to infants.” Forty-two incidents have been reported. Consumers are advised to stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

To determine whether your crib model is affected by the recall and/or to read the full CPSC news release, click here.

When you’re shopping online don’t you sometimes wish you could see and interact with products before you buy? Well, now you can at BabyEarth!

BabyEarth Live gives shoppers the opportunity to Demo-on-Demand! Whether you’re sitting at a coffee shop in Seattle or sailing around the Caribbean, all you need is Internet access to take advantage of BabyEarth’s fully interactive personalized shopping service. The service is like having your very own personal shopper! A real person will take you up close and personal to check out the latest and greatest in baby gear.

To give the service a try, all you have to do is register at BabyEarth. Simply request the product demonstration you’d like to see, and a BabyEarth staffer will call you back with a live demonstration. Now is your chance to check out the features of that stroller you’re eyeing. How cool is that?

Related Link
BabyEarth Live

While the Gerber Baby, Anne Turner Cook, may be well into her seventies, her charcoal drawn baby image hasn’t aged as the official Gerber image.

Like the image, the company doesn’t seem to show any signs of age. With its new Organic collection of bed and bath basics (to complement the line of organic apparel that debuted in 2006), Gerber actually seems cutting-edge and in tune with what today’s parents want. The Gerber Organics collection gives moms and dads yet another eco-friendly alternative when it comes to choosing bed and bath essentials for baby, like crib sheets and washcloths.

Now, anyone can have a Green Gerber Baby.

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Over the weekend I picked up a copy of Raising Baby Green by Alan Greene, M.D. As soon as I saw the book on the bookshelf, I knew I had to get it. If only I had a few uninterrupted minutes to sit down and read it today, beyond the quick skim….

Pack a Green Hospital Bag

What is really neat about this book is that it includes Earth-Friendly advice for pregnancy and labor and delivery. That’s pretty cool, don’t you think? For example, it features a “Going Green” Hospital Bag List that reminds expecting moms to pack high-energy organic snacks and filtered water in the hospital bag.

Here are some other “Green” items expecting moms can include in the hospital bag:

* organic or natural toiletries
* massage oil, like Maclaren Beginning’s Cocooning Massage Oil
* organic or natural lip moisturizer
* a digital camera - take lots of photos, print only the ones you want
* an organic onesie for baby

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