Stop Rosie

When choosing beddings for our baby, we usually lean towards those that are soft, cute and that bear “100 percent cotton” and “hypoallergenic” labels. Unfortunately there is more to bedding than that.Beddings are usually made of polyester/cotton blends or all polyester. Beddings made of 100 percent cotton, hemp, linen or wool on the other hand, are the least toxic. Synthetic fabrics emit low levels of chemicals their entire life. However, typical beddings generally are subjected to several chemical treatments before they reach consumers.Harmful ingredients that make their way into conventional beddings include: foams, dyes, cotton, pesticides, plastic (polyester), formaldehyde finishes and fire retardant chemicals. Avoid beddings that are promoted as wrinkle resistant or no ironing needed. These wrinkle-resistant fabrics are treated with chemicals that contain formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a carcinogen and a sensitizer. Likewise, wool blankets are treated with mot reduce stretch marks hproofing chemicals. These treatments are designed to last through the life of the bedding, making it impossible to wash out completely.Your best option is to purchase cotton flannel or unbleached cotton at a fabric store to make your own baby bedding; fabric yardage is usually untreated. You should also avoid washing your baby’s beddings with conventional detergents, especially scented ones, as well as fabric softeners, since this means your baby is constantly inhaling and touching harmful chemicals.Here are some things you can do to lessen your baby’s exposure to harmful chemicals yet still be able to protect beddings:*You can order you mattresses minus the flame retardants if you have a letter or prescription from your doctor.*To reduce exposure to dust and dust mites in mattresses, you can wrap them in barrier cloths. Untreated 100 percent cotton barrier is good at keeping dust and dust mites out of mattresses, without potential hazards of chemical treatments.

If you are the parent of a small child or infant there are a few things you should know and be aware of when it comes to choking hazards of window blinds or shades.  I was deeply saddened to read about the death of a one year old girl in Greenwich, CT.  She choked to death on the cords of a roman shade that was over her playpen.  In reaction to this tragedy, IKEA and Green Mountain Vista window blinds is recalling over 670,000 blinds and shades manufactured in India and China.So I say it is time for a reminder about window blind safety.  There are a few common sense steps you can take to protect your children and your pets for that matter.  The first step is, of course, awareness that some window treatments pose a choking hazard.  It may seem improbable but those dangling cords hanging off of many blinds and shades can be stretch mark cream dangerous.The best way to avoid this hazard is to purchase window treatments that dont have cords at all.  This is what the WCSC (Window Coverings Safety Council) recommends just dont have them in your house! There are options you should be aware of in this category:  cordless, motorized and wand control.  Cordless blinds come in two forms: a spring loaded lift mechanism, like in solar and roller shades.  Or, the gear-assisted cordless option, like in wood blinds, faux wood blinds, cellular, pleated, woven woods and roman shades.  Spring rolls are operated by gently tugging downwards and then either raising or lifting.  Gear-assisted are operated by gently pushing or pulling the bottom rail.  For window blinds, the cordless option will include a wand to open and close (tilt) the louvers to let in light or darken the room.