My advice. Buy a couple cloth diapers that come on and off easily and potty train him NOW. Don’t do the disposable unless traveling as it will reverse your EC (baby potty training) gains fast. Instead get your little potty and put it where he’s playing AND put him in a cloth pull-up diaper. Get…
Read More

Congratulations Rebecca! As you know from the book, furniture is the biggest polluter in most homes and a new baby’s bedroom is likely already the most polluted in the home. Luckily, yes, there are cheaper alternatives than a new wood crib. Furniture Furniture is the most significant source of formaldehyde exposure in your home. In…
Read More

Elimination Communication or How to Potty-train a Baby Even in cozy North America, exposing a baby to the idea of eliminating on 
a potty can be easier than a parent might think, and it can save a lot of dirty diapers, which is good for the environment as well as your pocketbook. Many parents are…
Read More

What you put on his skin matters, but what you put inside might be the real culprit.

Dear Vanessa, I really feel for your struggle. There are so many stresses with having a new baby and feeding the baby is usually number one on all moms lists: whether they breastfeed or formula-feed. There are some additional stresses when formula feeding a baby, because the chances of the baby being intolerant are much…
Read More

Dear SUE: Congratulations on your new baby!  Becoming a parent is a transformative time: everything is changing. Making those healthy and cost-effective is actually the easy part! Feeling good about these things can hopefully de-stress some of the harder aspects of parenting too. Three “starter” tips that make getting started easier: 1. Start with the…
Read More

Dear D.: Carseat recycling is possible and of course it is preferable to throwing the plastic, metal, and material into the garbage where it takes landfill space and can leach flame retardants, plasticizers, and even heavy metals.  Unfortunately, the alternative is recycling and there are few places that recycle them.  I called one of these…
Read More

My first baby was born in Chicago. At  home. When I would mention home birth in that city it was akin to saying: “I like to fly stunt planes–wanna set yourself on fire and take a ride with me?” Mothers were aghast.  I must be nuts, or at least horribly anti-establishment. 

 “All that counts is that the baby is healthy” is what many women are told and believe.  The research says something different: a woman’s experience matters. A healthy woman experiencing vaginal birth is more likely to come out with a healthy baby and healthy self.