Toxic home for your new baby? No way!

So, you watched what you ate, took your prenatal vitamins, and maintained a healthy lifestyle. And now Baby is here! Coming home with your new baby should be a time for rest and finding a new rhythm. No one wants to come home and jump into action cleaning the house. But creating a stock of baby friendly cleaning products now can go a long way in the future. A good way to prepare before your baby arrives is to make sure that your home environment is as healthy for both you and your new baby as possible.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), who brought you the “Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen” fruit and vegetable guide, also provides advice on how to create a healthy indoor environment. The air we breathe inside, and the cleaning products we choose, are arguably as important as our other lifestyle choices. Luckily, keeping an eye on the ingredients in our household products and a few simple changes can eliminate worrisome products from your home. Check out the EWG nursery guide

Keep in mind that your little one will spend lots of time on the floor and carpets, and in close contact with table surfaces. So switching from caustic cleaners and fragranced products is always a good idea.

As a professional Biologist and Birth Doula, with a degree in Sustainability and Environmental Management, I try to choose the simplest cleaning products for my use in my home. A few of my favorite alternatives for DIY home care are baking soda, white vinegar, toothpaste, and lemons which are all friendly alternatives to cleaners, detergents, and soap scum fighters. Give them a try!

Jennifer Winifred Trimble Birth Doula, MLA (Sustainability and Environmental Management)