Sunscreens exposed

I felt that I had to share this Hall of Shame list of sunblocks from the Environmental Working Group, since so many of them are specifically marketed as baby and children sunblocks.
Please check out their listing of Top Sunblocks which I've blogged about in the past. Stay in the shade...

Get a crib-lift

I attend a weekly moms group for crawlers taught by an extremely seasoned lactation nurse, who has been telling all of us since the beginning to raise the heads of our babies' cribs with phonebooks. Apparently this can help with reflux when they're infants and teething when they're crawlers and who-knows-what down the road. Anyhow, I finally listened to her advice since our daughter was waking up several times in the night because of some nasty lateral incisors breaking through. I used some board books instead of phone books, which i end up stubbing my toe on pretty much every night. I'm considering buying some of these Baby Bed Blocks by Space Babies, but seeing that the shipping from Canada (carried by www.babyguru.ca) is more than the cost of the blocks, I may just accept the toe-stubbing as part of my nightly ritual and add it to the list of mommy-injuries I have suffered on account of my little teether.

Wave bye-bye to the waves

My husband and I both use these Pong radiation-reducing covers on our iPhones. Since as you can see in this Environmental Working Group review, the iphone 3G does not fare very well in the radiation department. The Pong cover draws the waves up and away from your head (where your brain lives). We both turn our phones on airport-mode when we're with our daughter, but if and when we do have to use it near her, it's nice to know that this deflects 60% of radiation away from you.

pongresearch.com

Buzz off, bugs

I've had several friends ask for advice on bug spray lately, and my answer is Buzz Away, which is sold on Amazon.com and at Whole Foods. It's an all natural product using only essential oils (no DEET...ick) but it works for up to 8 hours against mosquitos in a USDA test. Also protects against ticks for 2 hours. My husband, who's a mosquito magnet, doesn't get bitten in our jungly Coconut Grove backyard, so it really does work. It's also sold in towelettes and squeeze bottle.
More info at quantumhealth.com

Give me shelter

A few weeks ago, we tested out this 50 UPF Sun Smarties pop-up tent from One Step Ahead and it was great. There was plenty of room for my daughter and her mama and papa under there and it was fairly easy to get into the sand (4 small stakes that have their own little pocket on the tent). The zippers allow it to be more open-air or it can be closed up if it gets windy or cool (not likely in Miami). Enjoy the summer and the shade.

PVC and Phtalate-free pools

Instead of re-writing what's already been very well researched, I'm directing my readers to another great blog for great info on safe pools for the babes this summer. safemama.com

I just received my Sun Smarties pop-up pool by One Step Ahead. My daughter has big plans to test it out tomorrow.

Safe sunblock

Being a melanoma survivor myself, I'm rightfully obsessed in choosing the right sunscreen for myself and for my daughter (especially since she got her mama's light skin).

The best resource for picking the safest sunblock for your little one is the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetic Safety Database http://www.ewg.org/whichsunscreensarebest/2009report

Topping their list for kids' sunblocks are Heiko's natural Zinc Oxide 40 SPF sunblock. It's pricey at almost $40 a tube, but when you consider that most sunblocks you find in drugstores contain Oxybenzone, a hormone-disruptor, it seems like $40 well-spent. It does contain lavender so you may want to consider Loving Natural's (below)or another at the top of the EWG's list if you have a boy since lavender and tea tree oils may boost estrogen and hamper androgens (male hormones).
Also at the top is Loving Natural's 30 SPF, which is a more-affordable $23 a tube.

When you buy either through the above links to Amazon.com, you'll be supporting the Environmental Working Group.

Also worth mentioning, since most sunscreens don't put it on their packaging, is that you need to apply sunscreen 15-30 minutes before sun exposure, and re-apply every 1-2 hours or after swimming.