oh snap... all my baby's stuff is toxic
What I'm replacing Celia's gear with
I recently decided that it was finally time to start loving on this house in a real way and making it “truly homey.” Bold (and irrational) statement from someone who has lived in this home for six and a half years and spent a great deal of time doing their own MAJOR renovation projects (ex: painting the exterior of the house, replacing all carpet with LVP, pouring our concrete countertops, replacing tile floors… the list goes on and on). But my rational was that I never put much intention into the living room furniture. Ok we finally got there, this tangent is all about the living room. I promise I’ll be making a point soon. So I found the exact look and feel that I wanted on Pinterest, I started scouring online websites and we even went to West Elm and priced out a new couch, seat, and coffee table. This was the couch in question… it’s very cool. Yeah the vision stopped there. Aint no way, aint no how am I spending $4k on a couch right now. Nope. Not happening. So in that moment, I thought, hey I have a perfectly great couch that’s wonderful and comfy and I can even remove the cushions and clean them! It’s actually the best couch ever. LOL. So what’s the point I’m trying to make here? Well even I try to “keep up with the Joneses”. Though at the core of that is financial irresponsibility and wastefulness. So instead I just opted to buy some art prints and a handheld steamer vacuum cleaner thing and I’m going to clean our ottoman instead of replacing that too. Overall this has been a wonderful and much needed reminder to myself to simply love on and take care of the things you own, underconsumption is the best, and most importantly, that I have the best couch ever.
📚 WHAT TO READ: I recently finished Book Lovers by Emily Henry and it was totally adorable. Basically that kind of cheesy romance novel that keeps you turning the page. I didn’t have anything cued up and as I was walking through the store I passed Iron Flame and remembered that during early postpartum I stopped reading it half way through (my Libby book got returned and was on waitlist so alas, I stopped reading), so instead I bought the hard copy and I’m starting that again. People seem to be devouring Onyx whatever and I had fomo.
📺 WHAT TO WATCH: Is anyone else like fully invested in @femalephysioco ‘s videos on Instagram? I feel like she has been one of the single best things for my pelvic floor recovery.
🎧 WHAT TO LISTEN TO: I’ve created a Spotify playlist of all of Celia’s favorite children’s songs. Thought someone else may enjoy!
Don’t put up a zero. I spoke about this in my last substack, but it’s something I’m constantly reminding myself about. The notion of “don’t put up a zero” means that even if you didn’t for example: read a chapter, workout for 30 minutes, journal, etc etc you do a snippet of whatever your goal is. In order to ensure I didn’t “put up a zero” on working out today I did 20 jumping jacks as my hot water boiled and Celia played with her teeter. Are 20 jumping jacks alone going to get me to my fitness goals? No. But if throughout the day I’m sneaking in those little bits of activity I am guaranteed to not put up a zero on the day.
Today I will be linking and chatting about some of the products I originally purchased (or was gifted from family) for Celia and what I’ll be replacing it with.
Also included in paid:
The grocery list from this grocery haul
The “recipes” from the food prep video
So here’s what happened. One of my sisters recently had a baby and thoroughly researched baby products to choose what was best for her. So when it came time for me to have a baby and develop a registry I was like “cool I don’t have to research anything because she already did it.” Cue the crickets…
Also, I feel like it wasn’t until having Celia that I really became hyyyyper sensitive to what I and she are exposed to. Like yes, I paid attention to what I ate, how clean my water was, supplementing, yada yada, but was I super concerned about the fabric of her stroller? Nah. Though now that I have my precious little baby angel earth side with me I want to protect her sensitive body from as many toxins as humanly possible because let’s be honest, the world is a toxic place and she’s going to be flooded with environmental triggers even if I try my hardest to escape them.
Unfortunately my obsession with everything being non-toxic came AFTER I already owned a ton of stuff, but I’m planning on either replacing stuff, purchasing new stuff for the next baby, or simply sharing so that you all don’t make the same mistakes that I did. Ok let’s get into it.
I will be providing several options in each category and will denote which one/two I would personally go with by adding a “✨”.
High Chair: Feeding with a side of phthalates…? Pass. To be honest with you, when first picking a high chair I went for aesthetics and versatility. I opted for a highchair that could convert into like 8 different styles and grow with Celia as she grew! What I would do instead and in order of price:
Lalo $159: The Lalo Chair is made from Sustainably sourced FSC Certified beech wood; Seat, Tray, Belly Bar, Foot Rest: Non-toxic plastic. So yes, the baby is sitting on plastic still, but this seems like a fine choice for the price.
Abiiee $199: The Abiiee is made out of wood and I think a plastic seat and seems ok and is certainly cheaper than the Stokke, but the internet seems to be team Stokke.
Stokke $399 ✨: Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair is made out of wood and while you can just get the wood base, you can also opt for a cushion that is made from organic cotton. The tray is plastic, but is BPA free - I haven’t decided if I’m going to buy the tray or just pull her up to the island to eat off of that. Sound off in the comments if you have opinions about this. Plus, I really like the 90-90 degrees for optimal body positioning.