Boy, are you new moms lucky—and boy, are old-timer moms like me jealous! Because, when it comes to the number of smart, safe and environmentally-friendly baby products that have hit the market recently, your bundle-of-joy’s timing couldn’t have happened at a more ideal time. Here are 5 baby products that are absolutely genius. They are making veteran moms like me (my youngest is the ripe old age of 3) just a wee bit cranky that these brilliant baby products didn’t hit the shelves when we were the guests of honor at baby showers!
1. You’ve got to see these bottles.
I don’t even know how to begin to express how very jealous I am of moms who will get to feed their babies with the new Comotomo. For one thing, this bottle more closely resembles and feels like the human breast than any other bottle I’ve seen—so if you nurse at night and your baby gets pumped breastmilk during the day while you’re at work, you won’t have to worry about bottle rejection. Unlike the hard, plastic and glass bottles I had to send my baby to daycare with, the entire Comotomo is soft and squishy, made entirely from silicone. For another, it’s designed for babies with colic, and its simple, three-part design is such a huge improvement over the “colic bottles” I fed my reflux-afflicted first child with, which were so difficult to clean that they came with their own cleaning brush! And when you’ve been dealing with nightly, 3-hour crying jags, you’re not going to cheerfully greet an extra-long session at the kitchen sink, meticulously cleaning overly complicated bottle parts. (Not that I’m bitter.)
2. Bamboo baby wipes.
Excuse the pun, but regular baby wipes can be a downright pain in the tush. Even the ones labelled “gentle” or “all natural” often contain ingredients that are harsh against tender skin. Then there’s the whole damage-to-the-environment issue, which has drawn so many mothers to cloth diapering and reusable wipes. That’s why Aleva Naturals Bamboo Baby Wipes are so appealing. Made from luxurious, gentle bamboo fiber, they are conveniently disposable like traditional wipes—yet, Aleva wipes are 100% biodegradable, and contain only natural, organic ingredients like aloe vera and lavender.
3. Organic, portable toddler food.
Most parents feel pretty good about their babies’ nutrition when the menu options are breastmilk, formula or fruit puree, but things get tricky once babies become picky toddlers and are so easily satisfied by a chicken nugget or cookie. That’s why I’m dazzled by Nurturme Yum-A-Roo—pouches of non-GMO certified organic vegetables and fruits in solid form with no added sugar, in yummy, bite-sized pieces. By combining naturally sweet fruits (mango, banana) with more bitter or savory vegetables (broccoli, kale), this new food line is able to please pint-sized palates and picky parents alike.
4. Booby Tubes.
Nursing is amazing, once you get the hang of it, but there’s a steep learning curve, to say the least. And this learning curve can be painful…one minute, your newborn is happily napping and you’ve decided to get caught up on your thank you notes…a few hours pass, your baby has woken up, and meanwhile your breasts have turned into hard cement, making latch next to impossible. I remember filling disposable diapers with burning hot water and pressing them to my chest to reduce engorgement and encourage milk flow—it was a hot mess, quite literally. If only there had been Earth Mama Booby Tubes then! These safe, reusable 100% organic cotton packets can be warmed in the microwave or cooled in the freezer and are meant to be worn during and in between feedings to prevent getting stopped up. They are great when you’re new at breastfeeding and helpful when it’s time to wean, too.
5. Carcinogen-free products.
It seems like every day there’s another story in the news about how XY or Z might cause cancer. It’s enough to make you live in mordant fear of popcorn and spray deodorant. I remember feeling completely perplexed about what I was allowed to eat or put on my skin when I was pregnant—and then, once my child arrived, what was safe for him to consume. I actually remember jokingly say to a new-mommy friend of mine over coffee at the time, “Why can’t someone just slap ‘cancer-free’ on the label and I’ll just buy that product?” Well, some brilliant inventor must have been sitting behind us at the coffee shop, eavesdropping, because sure enough, the Attitude Eco-Kids brand emerged, and their products do say “Carcinogen Free” on the labels – even dishwashing liquid! ! Specifically, Attitude Eco-Kids products are independently laboratory-tested to verify that they do not contain carcinogens 1,4-Dioxane or ethylene oxide.