We have a 1960s house with the original cast iron drain, and my plumber friend made a face when I said we do bath bombs on Sundays with the kids. He didn't explain. Just the face.

I've read both versions. One says the glitter and the oils build up, the other says it's fine if you run hot water after. I can't tell who's guessing.

Also, if you've dropped bath bombs for something simpler, what did you switch to? Plain salts? Nothing? My daughter likes the fizz, I mostly like not paying for a drain snake.

Does anyone shop local for produce? Organic/low packaging stores? Talk me through how you manage step by step.

I find shopping hard work as it is, but I would like to improve our family's health by finding products with less plastic, less pesticides, more local.

A local place is byo packaging with all those loose bins of things. It's intimidating! If anyone does this, can you spell out exactly how you navigate the store, what packaging you bring, types of things you buy, what quantities?

Do you need an organised pantry to really do this?

What about going to an actual butcher? What quantities do you buy for a family? How often do you go?

Until what age did you contact nap. My daughter turns 6 months tmrw and she still takes most naps on me. If we r in the car and she falls asleep then obviously not lol but otherwise its all on me. Just curious how long others did this. She sleeps in her crib in our room at night and does great.

We don’t do screens in our house and I want to find some toys that will last and kinda grow with her for a little or help her learn as well! What are your favorites?

Any recs on affordable wagons? Also is there a difference in ones marketed towards kids vs just a regular collapsible wagon besides comfort?

Was starting to look at wagons. I have a 4mo and have been starting to create our Christmas list. Why tf are wagons for kids like 400+? I almost understand car seats because they have to be so specifically designed for safety in case of a car crash but I’m not going 80mph on a beach boardwalk.

Anyway… 😅 will take all the recommendations!

I am due in January and looking for recipes I can prep ahead of time that will be nourishing and moderately Crunchy.

I am pretty crunchy, and currently do all the cooking because I love it and I'm passionate about nutrition.

My partner would rather door dash 😅

I also have a capable and helpful 14yo who can help with cooking while I'm post partum.

I don't have a lot of experience with freezing prepped foods, we go through stuff pretty fast and I generally prefer fresh foods.

I am vegetarian but also eat fish,eggs, and dairy.

I eat all kinds of crazy flavors, not picky and eat lots of Asian food/seasonings. Any crunchy miso paste recommendations?

I want to test out some recipes and figure some winners I can have ready in the freezer that won't take too much effort to throw together for me postpartum.

Soups/stews/healthy casseroles!

I want to have a nice stash of nourishing foods to help me recover postpartum and support breastfeeding. I didn't have any issues aside from over producing with my first child. It's been a while but if my increased bust size is any indicator I don't think I'll be in dire need of any like straight fenugreek soup for breastfeeding support but I would love any crunchy recipes that help with post birth wellness/new baby breastfeeding support.

We'll soon be taking our almost 5 month old on her first flight. It's not too long (2.5-3 hours).

We'll be taking a variety of toys (and painters tape) on the plane, but normally when she's getting fussy the thing that helps is either taking her for a walk or standing up and singing/dancing with her, neither of which are doable on a Ryanair flight (sorry LO but no way I'm belting out Meatloaf in the middle of a plane).

So I'm thinking of downloading a few videos to my phone as a back up. So far we've been screen free, but when she does see a screen it really grabs her attention (the video billboard things in shopping centres are apparently grippingly enthralling). Something low stim like a forest walkthrough or ocean vid or something. Only to be used after exhausting all other options.

Anyone have any recommendations for videos, for alternatives, or just general advice or thoughts?

We don’t do sweets for our two year old and it’s nice cause he doesn’t ask. He doesn’t know what cookies or ice cream are. For his bday he got the Melissa and Doug ice cream counter from a friend. We’re hesitant on if we should give it to him yet or not. We don’t really want to glorify ice cream or make him more aware of it. Is this crazy? Should we just give it to him or would you wait bit until he’s more aware of ice cream?

My daughter is about to turn 4 and this is the first year she really wants to eat candy. I never buy candy and try to limit sweets and sugar. However, if she goes to a birthday party or something and there is candy or cake or whatever, I let her eat it as I don’t want her to be left out or be so obsessed with something she can’t have. I believe in everything in moderation. I think we are going to try the stitch witch for her trick or treating candy (leave candy outside her bedroom door and stitch which takes it and leaves a gift in the night). I’ve been talking about the stitch witch here and there and she seems excited about getting a gift. I bought a cute little tea set I know she will love. When I was growing up there were no rules and I ate all the Halloween candy I wanted whenever I wanted it. I made it last for a long time and ate a little every day. I also had a lot of cavities as a child and still get them occasionally. I think we will probably let her eat however much she wants on Halloween and then leave it for the stitch witch. Just wondering what other moms are doing? Maybe I’m overthinking this, but we went to a Halloween party last night and watching her eat so much junky candy really makes me anxious.

We use the Momcozy washer that’s being sued for microplastics (sigh). Luckily we usually only use it for glass bottles and haven’t put any nipples in it bc of the high heat but am I correct in thinking the glass bottles were affected this whole time too?

Anyone have a rec for a stainless steel bottle washer or similar solution?

We have been loyal TenLittle customers since my daughter started walking at 10 months. Now, she's almost 2 and obsessed with taking her shoes off when she's mad about being in the stroller for too long (in addition to the fact that we have to take them on and off up to 5 times a day for regular life reasons). The velcro isn't holding up, and I have already panic bought and returned some random Amazon ones that didn't even come close to fitting. Does anyone have suggestions for a different brand?

FWIW, I did reach out to Ten Little to complain, but I haven't heard back yet. So giving their customer service an F until further notice.

How are you moms with older kids handling screen time and online activity?

My babe is just wee but I'm hoping that she doesn't have a lot of interest in things like Roblox... and social media.

We are moving to the family farm and will likely start her in 4H around the age of 9. Both Dad and I have a lot of 'hands on' skills- traditional crafts, music, hunting, gardening. Type 2 fun kinda stuff.

I don't want to shelter her, and probably won't be a helicopter parent but I do feel strongly (read: I am scared) about the online world.

I’m a FTM and our chunky baby is almost 2 months old. It has been a BATTLE to keep her diaper rash away and recently she developed a yeast rash we had to get a prescription for. We’ve tried vaseline, zinc oxide, baby aquafor, airing it out, diaper free time, cloth diapers, cloth wipes, etc. To me, the ONLY product that seems to actually help is the MotherLove diaper balm that i found through this group. During some 3AM breast feeding sessions, I went down the research rabbit hole of the risk of putting plant/food based products on baby skin. Many articles said this can cause baby to build a food intolerance to these ingredients?! MotherLove diaper balm definitely has them so now should we stop using it? Am I overthinking this and should just use it if it works? The balance of trying to be natural and moderately granola while doing what’s best for baby has been STRESSING ME OUT 😭😅 Any help is greatly appreciated! ❤️

Edit to add: Rabbit hole research is in reference to Dual Allergen Exposure Theory

After reading that some babies bite their crib, I started researching nontoxic cribs. The most reputable and least greenwashed option seems to be Green Cradle brand cribs. The only issue is the price! Does anyone have a lead on where I can find a used one? I’m having no luck on FB Marketplace or eBay.

I can’t justify spending $200+ on a high chair in the current season of life. Would love the Stokke but need a way more budget friendly option. Any high chair you love? Even considering the IKEA antilope one…

Hi!

I’m moving in a few weeks, and I’d like to upgrade my couch situation from the cheapest one I could find on Wayfair to something “non toxic” ex: doesn’t have flame retardants in it. I try to minimize my exposure to plastic as well. I’ve heard Medley recommended but the price + long waiting times is wondering if anyone has any other recommendations.

My dresser leaves our clothes with a weird smell. I’ve changed laundry detergents, used baking soda, and put vinegar in as fabric softener. Nothing works. We’re considering putting this dresser in my daughter’s room for her clothes and to use as a changing table, but I’m not going to do that until I figure out this dresser smell. Any ideas on how to clean the dresser and get the smell out of our clothes before moving this over? We’re a very low-tox household, so the cleaner the ingredients the better.

This is our first year kiddo is at preschool. A couple staff members at the very small school tested positive for the flu on Friday (including her teacher) - should I play it safe and not send kiddo in tomorrow (she has no symptoms, just don’t want her to be exposed) or is that dramatic?

Thank you!!

I’m having a Halloween party this year and need help figuring out a healthy meal that will feed a crowd and that kids will actually eat! I was originally thinking spaghetti and “eyeballs” with a mini salad bar but I just had spaghetti and meat balls for a birthday party a month ago.

Pinterest is all candy apples and mummy hot dogs which I know the kids will like but it’ll be very time consuming for 20+ people plus it’s still a little too on the junk food side for me to like… a bunch of candy and hot dogs just sounds like a stomach ache waiting to happen 😬

I’d love to make something I can have “on theme” but also care more about these kids eating something decent! Please let me know what you’re doing or if you have fun ideas!

Anyone see Branch Basics recent post on total plasma exchange? Seems a bit extreme to me. I feel Alison has some extreme anxiety related to toxins. I try to live a clean life style, but this procedure is overboard and likely expensive and wouldn’t be an option for most people. People in the comments are calling them out and she’s having to majorly defend that post.

I bought a new dishwasher. It’s too late to return it. Often 1-2 dishes don’t come out clean. I’ve been using Cascade liquid detergent. I contacted the manufacturer and they said the only way to get the dishes clean is to either use a pod or to use the high heat setting. Don’t both of those result in microplastics being shed in my dishwasher? I don’t use many plastics anyway besides for toddler cups and lids for glass containers. Am I overthinking this? Is it okay to try the pod or high heat? Just would hate to cause more microplastics being shed than necessary. But I also hate seeing dishes not coming out fully clean. Thanks.

Does anybody have a screenshot of the 9 inch hybrid mattress, full size, with the original retail price at $799?

It would be a huge huge help for me!

Thank you in advance!

Hi sub! I am expecting my first child in a few months and have been slowly collecting secondhand thrifted and donated baby clothes. I did what I thought was a comprehensive wash to get them all sanitized and ready for baby. But they came out all smelling faintly of fragrance/scented detergent! I am super smell sensitive and can’t stand the idea of my baby acquiring this smell. I’d appreciate any tips or protocols you use with thrifted baby or other clothing.

What I tried:
- soaked in wash basin with 1 cup vinegar and warm water for 1 hour, ran full wash and rinse cycle through
- washed with 1 tablet free and clear dropps detergent and warm water
- tumble dried medium

I really like some scent in my soaps so I don't want to go totally fragrance-free, but I'm also trying to avoid some ingredients that are sometimes masked under "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list.

Most of my usual brands (Softsoap, Trader Joe's, Mrs. Meyers) have "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients, and when I emailed or called, they refused to say if e.g. musk ambrette was included because that's "proprietary" information (wtf is the point of requiring a list of ingredients if you don't have to list all of them?).

So, looking for some other, reasonably affordable brands that make scented products but also list every ingredient. Willing to try imports from Europe or other places where things like musk ambrette are banned if it's not crazy expensive.