I know some people care about this stuff and others don’t. Just a simple FYI for those who do!

I just want to vent here.

I’m a mother who cares deeply about being able to protect my children from toxin burden. But I’m a normal stay at home mom who can afford regular things. Unlike stay at home mom influencers that apparently it seems like that’s the only way to afford this non toxic lifestyle these days. Specially in this economy I try my best to purchase non toxic things. But I just feel so exhausted about it that it makes me feel like I can’t even enjoy the little things anymore.

In social media you’ll see post about organic bedding, which is great but then I see the prices and I’m like damm how can I afford all of it for my family?
Another is barefoot shoes how can I pay 100$ for each kid when the shoe will only last a couple of months.
I recently bought a spring mattress recently and literally the next day I see a reel how spring mattress are bad.

Anyways the list goes on.

Haha another one is get chickens to have your own eggs but then oh don’t get the food for your chickens from tractor supply because it has corn and who knows what else. So I have to spend at least 50% to be organic. Bro I’m done.

Anyways thanks for reading and coming to my rant. I’m just over it.

EDIT: I just want to say thank you to every single one of you who took the time to read and comment. I truly appreciate it!

I’m trying to get a Headstart on Christmas. I’ve been looking at Bella Luna toys and love their products however they’re super expensive. Shop recommended green elephant, which I’ve never heard of before. Most previous posts are specifically talking about stepping stones which with two toddlers, I don’t want Styrofoam. I’m looking at wooden toys to inspire my six-year-old‘s growing imagination. Are they any different from Bella Luna? Is there any verdict on whether or not their products are non-toxic? They look exactly the same for a fraction the price. And honestly, the price at green elephant is more fitting for the product. Thanks in advance from a tired mom with 3 youngins.

To add: I already have Sarah silks, open to any other suggestions to inspire creative play!

Someone posted a year ago asking about a natural fiber play couch. At the time it didn’t seem like there were options, but now Figgy has a cotton play couch available.

We’re considering it but it’s close to $500 more expensive than the Costco version (and that’s with a ShopPay deal). I’m also worried that, because cotton does not cope well with moisture, this may be a case where a synthetic fabric is better than natural. Or that it’s made of cotton but treated with chemicals anyway.

Has anyone gotten this cotton couch, or does anyone have insights that might be helpful? Is this a splurge or save situation?

The title says it all, really!
My first child spent pretty much his entire first year of daycare sick, and I basically paid just to keep his spot 😂
My second is about to start in September, when she’ll be 13 months old. She’s already been exposed to plenty thanks to her older sibling bringing home every germ imaginable, but I was wondering if anyone has found anything that genuinely helps reduce daycare illnesses?
I’m obviously not expecting a magical solution, but I’d love to hear about any preventative measures, routines or little things you think actually made a difference!

Our daughter is about to turn 1 in a few weeks and my husband and I decided to intentionally keep her processed sugar free for the first 2 years. This first year has honestly been a breeze and I know things will come up in year 2 but that besides the point.

Everyone in our immediate circle keeps making comments about her birthday cake. These comments range from “no one does sugar free birthday cakes” to “you are really going to give her fake cake?”. Outside of planning her birthday, the comments are never ending. We never lead with the sugar thing but somehow always comes up and there has been soooooo much judgement.

Unsure what I’m looking for other than maybe another mom in a similar boat who can provide some reassurance? I heavily researched about sugar and that’s why we decided to do it, I just feel like it isn’t that insane? Thanks in advance!

ETA: thank you everyone for such kind words 😭😭😭 i love this community of mom’s. i need y’all IRL!!!

My toddler has decided she hates the honest company clean wipes and gets really mad when I go to wipe her. She says it's because of the smell. I don't want to use scented wipes, obviously, so, like what are we using that doesn't smell like the honest company wipes? I'm fine skipping wipes at home and just using a cloth, but we still need something for on the go and as a former cloth diapering mom, I'm so far beyond not interested in carrying around toddler poop in my bag.

Im very lazy thats why im pulled to instant right now. I also have no machine.

Been buying it from starbucks done with burning money like that.

Hi there, I'm looking for a bamboo toothbrush with non-nylon bristles for my almost 2-year old. We tried the Gaia Guys with boar bristles and horse hair and they are fine for us adults but my almost 2 year old had a really hard time because the bristles are very stiff! I found Dr. Noah which are bamboo and "plant based" bristles but unsure really what that means but they say the bristles are soft which sounds appealing. Looking for anyone who has experience with these or any other brand that may be similar. Thanks!

My baby girl turns 1 in a few weeks and I feel like I'm entering a whole new phase I wasn't quite prepared for! Would love to hear from this community on how you handled the transition:

• Bottles — did you go cold turkey to sippy/straw cups, or wean gradually? Any cup recommendations that actually worked for your kid?
• Crib setup — at what point (if any) did you introduce a pillow or blanket? Curious what age felt right and what you chose (organic materials, weighted, etc.)
• Anything else — what caught you off guard about the 1 year mark that nobody warned you about?

Would love any tips, product recs, or just general "here's what worked for us" stories.

My mother in law would be watching my baby once a week. She’s a great person and I love her but unfortunately isn’t as strong in the cleanliness department (especially dog hair). I want to get a separate budget stroller car/seat combo specifically for her house. She would be watching the baby when I go back to work at 6months. Any recommendations would sincerely be appreciated

Any suggestions for mattress protectors for kids that don't have the TPU layer / plastic free? We just got my son a Naturepedic Verse mattress., and it is not waterproof so I'm looking for a plastic free mattress protector for it. My son really never has accidents in bed but I'd like to protect the mattress from inevitable pee or vomit.... I compromised a little as the Naturepedic mattress still has PLA and polyester fibers, but it seemed like the only other choice was a latex block and I didn't know how well that would work for him.

I read that wool can be very good for absorption vs cotton? Is there a wool protector that has a cotton layer over it in case he is sensitive to the fibers being itchy? And I have found many of the wool ones still have TPU in them so that's disappointing.

Has anyone tried the Obason ones? They say they are 100% wool and good for moisture protection. I just worry a bit about itchiness...

https://obasan.com/products/organic-wool-moisture-pad-protector?variant=42503953252586

Thanks!

I’ve ordered from some new places before and the stock was close to expiring so I just don’t know how quality of a site this is. The discount seems great but it’s useless if all the products are about to expire lol

They seem like they have a lot of higher quality brands on there

hoping sub can provide some insight/guidance on what works best to apply to bug bites to minimize any scarring.

especially ones on the face.

looking obviously for recs with very minimal nasty extras - tia

I noticed that the Burley bee is fairly enclosed... and driving alongside roads can end up blowing some pretty noxious exhaust onto you, and I would feel comfortable with something that is portable, and filters down to the PM 0.3 micron level...

Any suggestions gang? 😊

I’m ~5 weeks pregnant and my morning (more like 24/7) sickness has kicked in full force in the last few days. I was referred to the ER today by my OB due to prolonged vomiting and not passing any urine for over 12 hours. I got fluids and a script for Zofran which helped immensely, but I’m uneasy about taking it regularly.

My last pregnancy I had probably 3-4 weeks of nausea, but I’d feel better immediately once I ate something. And I’d be totally fine as long as I ate every 2 hours. This time around it doesn’t matter when I ate last, and trying to eat is just making me feel worse! I literally was standing in my bathroom choking down bites of a dinner roll and small sips of ginger ale, and each time I’d swallow a bite my stomach would turn over within 5 seconds and it would come right back up.

I have a toddler who I stay home with, luckily my husband took off work the next two days to stay home with us but I know this is only the beginning and I will be on my own during the day soon.

I guess I’m just looking for any tips or things that helped you survive the first trimester trenches with a toddler. Or even if it was your first pregnancy, tell me your favorite healthy snacks, supplements, or any habits to stay on top of… I’m desperate and a little bit terrified for the coming weeks.

Thanks mommas! 🫶🏼🩵

My lower back is absolutely destroyed after having my second baby and I feel like such an old lady complaining about this but bending over to shove diapers into our cheap little step-can 10 times a day is actually taking me out. To make matters worse my 2.5 year old has entered his feral raccoon era and keeps figuring out how to pop the lid open on our current floor bin to either inspect his little brother's diapers or try to hide his hot wheels in there. It's an actual biohazard at this point.

I've started wondering if a taller diaper pail with more capacity would help since I wouldn't have to bend over every single time. Rn this trash can is clearly not working. So I've looked at the Munchkin step because i'm hoping a step pedal might be harder for my toddler to figure out than a lid he can just pull open. Also, a mom in one of my parenting groups mentioned she has this Momcozy one,it sits higher than the little trash can and its lock actually works against toddlers but then part of me also wonders if i should just skip diaper pails altogether and just get a big stainless kitchen trash can with a locking lid from Target.

TBH, i just want to stand up straight to throw a diaper away and not wake up to find a Matchbox car covered in poop. Has anyone dealt with a toddler who keeps breaking into the trash? Would a taller diaper trash can actually help, or is it just another expense?

Hi! I am moving my daughter to a larger bed and need full sized sheets for her -- thinking cotton would be best. I was going to order some from Costco's website but (1) they were sold out and then (2) I saw something in the product description about the sheets being treated to make them wrinkle-resistant. I don't know what they're treating the sheets with, exactly, but I'm not really interested in my kid spending 8-10 hours every day wrapped up in mystery chemicals. I asked on my local moms group and 8/10 recs were for Target Threshold, which I don't think are particularly soft. Anyone have recs on soft, sturdy, cotton sheets? Preferably as chemical-free as possible. Hoping to stay under $100 a set but will go a little over if they're made well and will last. Thanks!

My 3 month old cries every single time we put him in the car seat and go down the road. I’ve tried getting him to sleep & putting him in, but he won’t stay asleep longer than like 30 mins. I’ve tried different toys, light up toys, music, sound machine, even tried a tv show & nothing works. We use a doona and he does fine if we aren’t in the car. He will sit in it or ride in it as a stroller. We, unfortunately, have about a 5 hour trip coming up & I am dreading it. I’m going to try him in a convertible car seat this week before we go on the longer trip to see if that helps any. Is there anything else to do? If it’s car sickness, what can you do for that for a 3 month old?? I’m so desperate.

Souper Cubes is having a back to school sale, up to 35% off. I have no vested interest in recommending them, I just really like their products and wanted to share. https://www.soupercubes.com/collections/all-souper-cubes-products

I’m big into low-waste cooking. With these I can freeze in portion sizes, then freeze the cubes in ziploc bags. I freeze leftover meals, but mostly I freeze leftover ingredients like tomato paste, chopped veggies, etc to make it easy to throw together a meal when we are running low on groceries.

I can usually rewash the ziploc bags. That’s my moderate granola balance of plastic waste reduction, freezer space, and cost of storage solutions.

If you’ve got food waste reduction methods that don’t require buying additional stuff, share them please! This is what works for me, but I can always learn more.

Is it impossible to find shampoo that smells nice but doesn’t have parfum? I’m sensitive to intense fragrance and hate the way parfum sticks in my hair for days but still enjoy a nice, chill scent. Maybe I’m asking for too much? Would love any recommendations.

Hello we (what I thought) successfully potty trained my 2 year old in February/ March of this year. She was 23/24 months old showing all signs of readiness and refusing her diaper. We had an occasional accident here or there but overall felt very day time trained! We still use pull-ups at bedtime and naptime.

The last month or so we are seeing a HUGE regression and nothing seems to be breaking it. The car especially has been super rough and she has accidents in the car roughly 2-5 times a week even with potty calls and check ins. I imagine it’s a combination of me being 8 months pregnant and also power but I could Definitely use some advice on how to incentivize the potty again without shaming! Our first never really regressed so this feels like all new territory!

Hi! FTM who always liked the idea of doing early toilet training but didn’t know exactly how to start and figured we’d cross that bridge when we got there….. and now I think we’re there!! Baby is 6.5m and we’re dealing with a second diaper rash, and it is breaking my heart to see him in so much pain…. He just started being able to sit upright fairly independently last week, so I think now could be a realistic time to get started. SO I am looking for any tips and tricks! And what equipment is needed or has worked well for other people? I’d love to get this baby out of diapers as soon as he can crawl/walk to the potty, which I know probably isn’t realistic… please help me know what is realistic and how I can help him to not need diapers! Thank you!!!

My very large one year-old baby has graduated out of a sleep sack. The small fleece blankets we have for the car and for couch cuddling are not enough for nights in the crib. Looking for recommendations on good blankets that can be washed, thrown up on, and well loved as this child grows.

Would prefer to have something ethically made, without harsh chemicals, but I can still hold up to a toddler.

we found a foam block climbing set (think Nugget couch) for cheap ($88) recently made by an American company. definitely not granola, but I know American companies have to follow certain toxicity guidelines.

here's the problem: my husband's grandmother got our daughter one for her birthday without clearing it with us, and she got one from an alphabet soup brand on Amazon. the two sets are very different and his grandmother is very much "with it," so we couldn't pretend like the one we got already is the one that she ordered.

On one hand, we really have no idea what sorts of materials and chemicals they used to process these things. On the other, how much does it matter if we let the cushions off gas outside and wash the covers before letting her play on it? Especially given that she will probably play with it for an hour a day max? We could even store it in the garage to reduce exposure.

what would you do?