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what cost-saving tips do you give parents?for baby gear and clothing, shop at consignment stores and buy gently used baby items because babies don't use these items for very long. it's easy to find items in great condition that are half the price of what something new would cost. or trade and use hand-me-downs: recycling stuff like that is important.what is itsabelly baby concierge?we’re a baby-planning business—we help new and expectant parents navigate the world of maternity and newborn babies. i help mainly expectant moms and new moms during their pregnancy and through the first 12 months after the baby is born. anything from creating a baby registry—where they’re trying to choose the best stroller or car seat—to designing a nursery to baby proofing to helping them find nannies or daycare. those are the main services i offer, all with a green twist, if they so choose.what was your inspiration for your company?i had the idea when i was pregnant—i was about six or seven months pregnant—and what inspired it was going to the local big-box baby store, babies 'r' us. i’d just moved to portland from california, and i was kind of at a loss as to what to buy and what to avoid. i’d done my own research but i really wanted to talk to someone firsthand about what things worked for them when they chose their baby gear and what didn’t work…get some real mom advice. and i thought if i’m overwhelmed, there must be other moms out there going through the same thing and why not share my information with them? and then my daughter was born and i started the business when she was about seven months old.when did you become aware of environmental issues and start to incorporate greener habits into your life and company focus?i've always been a light shade of green with recycling and those basic things people do, but i became more green while i was pregnant and after my child was born. i wanted to give her the healthiest and safest and best things out there in terms of bottles and diapering and all that stuff. when you have your first child, you start thinking about these things a lot more seriously.what is one recent green obsession that you just can't live without?my earth mama angel baby body butter. i am a freak about keeping my skin soft and supple so i love lotion, and most of the lotions out there have a lot of toxic chemicals in them. earth mama angel baby produces this great body butter that is also a stretch-mark lotion for your tummy, but i use it all over my body now. i use it everyday.what are your top three tips for expectant or new parents hoping to go green with baby?i always ask parents to think about things that will touch baby’s skin, go in baby's mouth, or effect what baby breathes. so if they're looking at going green they should look at those items, whether it be feeding gear like bottles and sippy cups, or clothing, or bedding. if they paint a nursery, go with no- or low-voc paint. for furniture, it's hard to go green because many green pieces are too expensive, so i suggest they buy it through a secondhand store (making sure it has all the pieces and is safe) or buy a nice quality crib and then let it air out, because there are lots of chemicals used to create those pieces. take it out of the packaging—offgassing is when the chemicals from the furniture are released into the air—then let it air out for a good month, in their garage or outside, and allow the toxins to release into the air. that way when it gets in the nursery it's done all of its offgassing.are there any must-avoid products for new or expectant parents?as a green mom, we really would encourage moms to breast feed when they can, but we realize there are issues with some moms not being able to breast feed for health issues. in those cases, there's a lot of hype around bpa-free and paraben-free and phthalates-free. bpa [bisphenol a] happens to be in plastic bottles. so when they’re purchasing bottles they should be careful to read the label and look for bpa-free baby bottles. but if they're going to use a formula, they should really use an organic formula and stay away from the canned formula that can leach toxins from the can.according to a recent article in the new york times, some pediatricians are concerned about the health risks of cane sugar used as a sweetener in certain formulas (such as similac organic). does the use of cane sugar in organic formulas concern you?it concerns me as a new parent myself, but i think there are other organic formula options available that may be a better alternative to the sweetness of similac. i also believe the market is changing rapidly so we'll see healthier alternatives. i actually did some research last year on organic formulas and, as a baby planner, i suggest to parents who are worried about the use of cane sugar in organic formula that they consider products that use brown rice syrup or organic lactose instead. two brands i recommend they consider are: earth's best by horizon made with organic lactose, and baby's only by nature's one, which uses brown rice syrup. personally, if i had to use organic formula i would use one of these two brands for my baby.what's your thought on the whole diaper debate: disposable vs. biodegradable or reusable?the truly greenest route to take is obviously going 100% cloth, but that's hard for people to do. so i would say find a green solution that's right for you as parents, whether that's finding a hybrid like g diapers or an eco-friendly disposable like seventh generation or tushies. or go half cloth and half eco-friendly/disposable, so there could be a mix or balance. anything that allows them to be less wasteful in the diapering area is great. it takes 500 years for a diaper to biodegrade in a landfill—that’s pretty scary and bad for the environment. a parent can change 5,000 to 8,000 diapers in one baby’s diapering days. so it’s pretty significant.what's the one thing every new mom needs?time to herself!any advice that might surprise those hoping to go green with baby?yes, i've done a lot of research on what organic really means. it's pretty scary, because you'll see lots of labels at whole foods, or wherever, that say 'organic,' that can sometimes mean that they have one organic ingredient and the rest of the ingredients may have toxins. to really truly be organic you should be certified organic and every ingredient should be organic. you're paying a high dollar for these products because you're thinking they're organic and safer for you. for the lotions and shampoos and stuff on your skin, there's really no organic certification, but i bet in the next two years there will be. make sure you read the label closely, and make sure you understand what toxins are bad to have in your shampoos and lotions, like parabens and phthalates and 1,4-dioxane.there's so much baby gear out there these days. any favorite green product lines?although i could never afford to buy this for myself, orbit baby has this really cool eco-friendly bassinet that collapses so you can travel with it. i love under the nile. they do wonderful layettes and baby clothing and baby toys. and sckoon: they do baby clothing in bright, happy colors. for toys, plan toys and haba toys have traditional wooden toys vs. plastic toys; they're both green companies. for food, i personally use earth's best, which is found at almost every store you can think of. they produce organic baby food and teething biscuits.any tips for throwing a green baby shower?baby showers are now becoming really creative. for example, you could throw a baby shower that's focused on preparing frozen meals for the family. get all your friends together and cook healthy organic meals that you can freeze for after the baby is born. and instead of new baby gear, you can request recycled or gently used items. also, instead of decorating with balloons and those trinkets you buy at the party store, just use flowers and plants and recycled paper goods like recycled gift wrap and invitations.what's the best green baby gift you've ever given or received?again, it's earth mom angel baby. i received a pregnancy-pampering gift that had the organic nipple butter, stretch mark lotion and spa pampering items that you love to have when you're getting huge and seeing your belly expand! stuff that makes me feel good about being a mom and the pregnancy experience and being as healthy as you can be when you put stuff on your body.what are your top three tips for those who would like to plan a green wedding?one: offset your carbon emissions. two: go local. three: reduce your guest size.

what cost-saving tips do you give parents?for baby gear and clothing, shop at consignment stores and buy gently used baby items because babies don't use these items for very long. it's easy to find items in great condition that are half the price of what something new would cost. or trade and use hand-me-downs: recycling stuff like that is important.what is itsabelly baby concierge?we’re a baby-planning business—we help new and expectant parents navigate the world of maternity and newborn babies. i help mainly expectant moms and new moms during their pregnancy and through the first 12 months after the baby is born. anything from creating a baby registry—where they’re trying to choose the best stroller or car seat—to designing a nursery to baby proofing to helping them find nannies or daycare. those are the main services i offer, all with a green twist, if they so choose.what was your inspiration for your company?i had the idea when i was pregnant—i was about six or seven months pregnant—and what inspired it was going to the local big-box baby store, babies 'r' us. i’d just moved to portland from california, and i was kind of at a loss as to what to buy and what to avoid. i’d done my own research but i really wanted to talk to someone firsthand about what things worked for them when they chose their baby gear and what didn’t work…get some real mom advice. and i thought if i’m overwhelmed, there must be other moms out there going through the same thing and why not share my information with them? and then my daughter was born and i started the business when she was about seven months old.when did you become aware of environmental issues and start to incorporate greener habits into your life and company focus?i've always been a light shade of green with recycling and those basic things people do, but i became more green while i was pregnant and after my child was born. i wanted to give her the healthiest and safest and best things out there in terms of bottles and diapering and all that stuff. when you have your first child, you start thinking about these things a lot more seriously.what is one recent green obsession that you just can't live without?my earth mama angel baby body butter. i am a freak about keeping my skin soft and supple so i love lotion, and most of the lotions out there have a lot of toxic chemicals in them. earth mama angel baby produces this great body butter that is also a stretch-mark lotion for your tummy, but i use it all over my body now. i use it everyday.what are your top three tips for expectant or new parents hoping to go green with baby?i always ask parents to think about things that will touch baby’s skin, go in baby's mouth, or effect what baby breathes. so if they're looking at going green they should look at those items, whether it be feeding gear like bottles and sippy cups, or clothing, or bedding. if they paint a nursery, go with no- or low-voc paint. for furniture, it's hard to go green because many green pieces are too expensive, so i suggest they buy it through a secondhand store (making sure it has all the pieces and is safe) or buy a nice quality crib and then let it air out, because there are lots of chemicals used to create those pieces. take it out of the packaging—offgassing is when the chemicals from the furniture are released into the air—then let it air out for a good month, in their garage or outside, and allow the toxins to release into the air. that way when it gets in the nursery it's done all of its offgassing.are there any must-avoid products for new or expectant parents?as a green mom, we really would encourage moms to breast feed when they can, but we realize there are issues with some moms not being able to breast feed for health issues. in those cases, there's a lot of hype around bpa-free and paraben-free and phthalates-free. bpa [bisphenol a] happens to be in plastic bottles. so when they’re purchasing bottles they should be careful to read the label and look for bpa-free baby bottles. but if they're going to use a formula, they should really use an organic formula and stay away from the canned formula that can leach toxins from the can.according to a recent article in the new york times, some pediatricians are concerned about the health risks of cane sugar used as a sweetener in certain formulas (such as similac organic). does the use of cane sugar in organic formulas concern you?it concerns me as a new parent myself, but i think there are other organic formula options available that may be a better alternative to the sweetness of similac. i also believe the market is changing rapidly so we'll see healthier alternatives. i actually did some research last year on organic formulas and, as a baby planner, i suggest to parents who are worried about the use of cane sugar in organic formula that they consider products that use brown rice syrup or organic lactose instead. two brands i recommend they consider are: earth's best by horizon made with organic lactose, and baby's only by nature's one, which uses brown rice syrup. personally, if i had to use organic formula i would use one of these two brands for my baby.what's your thought on the whole diaper debate: disposable vs. biodegradable or reusable?the truly greenest route to take is obviously going 100% cloth, but that's hard for people to do. so i would say find a green solution that's right for you as parents, whether that's finding a hybrid like g diapers or an eco-friendly disposable like seventh generation or tushies. or go half cloth and half eco-friendly/disposable, so there could be a mix or balance. anything that allows them to be less wasteful in the diapering area is great. it takes 500 years for a diaper to biodegrade in a landfill—that’s pretty scary and bad for the environment. a parent can change 5,000 to 8,000 diapers in one baby’s diapering days. so it’s pretty significant.what's the one thing every new mom needs?time to herself!any advice that might surprise those hoping to go green with baby?yes, i've done a lot of research on what organic really means. it's pretty scary, because you'll see lots of labels at whole foods, or wherever, that say 'organic,' that can sometimes mean that they have one organic ingredient and the rest of the ingredients may have toxins. to really truly be organic you should be certified organic and every ingredient should be organic. you're paying a high dollar for these products because you're thinking they're organic and safer for you. for the lotions and shampoos and stuff on your skin, there's really no organic certification, but i bet in the next two years there will be. make sure you read the label closely, and make sure you understand what toxins are bad to have in your shampoos and lotions, like parabens and phthalates and 1,4-dioxane.there's so much baby gear out there these days. any favorite green product lines?although i could never afford to buy this for myself, orbit baby has this really cool eco-friendly bassinet that collapses so you can travel with it. i love under the nile. they do wonderful layettes and baby clothing and baby toys. and sckoon: they do baby clothing in bright, happy colors. for toys, plan toys and haba toys have traditional wooden toys vs. plastic toys; they're both green companies. for food, i personally use earth's best, which is found at almost every store you can think of. they produce organic baby food and teething biscuits.any tips for throwing a green baby shower?baby showers are now becoming really creative. for example, you could throw a baby shower that's focused on preparing frozen meals for the family. get all your friends together and cook healthy organic meals that you can freeze for after the baby is born. and instead of new baby gear, you can request recycled or gently used items. also, instead of decorating with balloons and those trinkets you buy at the party store, just use flowers and plants and recycled paper goods like recycled gift wrap and invitations.what's the best green baby gift you've ever given or received?again, it's earth mom angel baby. i received a pregnancy-pampering gift that had the organic nipple butter, stretch mark lotion and spa pampering items that you love to have when you're getting huge and seeing your belly expand! stuff that makes me feel good about being a mom and the pregnancy experience and being as healthy as you can be when you put stuff on your body.what are your top three tips for those who would like to plan a green wedding?one: offset your carbon emissions. two: go local. three: reduce your guest size.