Alternatives to Toxic Baby Products « Back to Group Discussions

[Babinogi]

I just came from Babies R Us to look for a changing mat for our new changing table/dresser - and the stench on one of their new baby changing mats made both my husband and I gag and run out the store.  It was the most toxic smelling piece of plastic that I ever smelled.

How dare they even sell these.  Being a first time mom-to-be, i had no idea how toxic products could be made for babies - but they sure are - and they are all just more "financial units" for big profits for these stores.

What alternatives do people use for changing pads - folded towels? any other ideas?  And we are ready to get a mattress and wondering does it really need to be water proof (urine proof) with toxic vinyl/pvc or are there alternative materials.

Babies R Us and Toys R Us are just sugar coated future land fill waste of plastic crap loaded with toxins! 

[azohri]

organicgrace.com is a good site to check out to see the non-toxic baby options for stuff in general.  It's run by a MDC mom who is super helpful on the phone and has done a lot of research on all the products they sell.  For mattresses, we decided that since we spend so much time sleeping, it was worth investing in the least toxic options we could find.  We chose natural latex mattresses with wool puddle pads.  Expensive, but worth it in my opinion.

For changing pads a towel would probably work  We bought a pvc free one from ikea.  I think it was covered in food grade plastic.  Since they follow stricter EU standards they can be a good place to look for less toxic than BRUS stuff.

[SunnyPerch]

Yuck!! Sounds awful. We never invested in a waterproof mattress pad, though that would not have been a bad idea. I got a changing pad at a baby shower but never used that either. What I DID use: My mom got me four of these decently sized (about 2'X2') waterproof pads (cloth on top, no odor, machine washable) that I just laid under the baby in bed. She said she found them at CVS. They are still in fantastic shape and I plan to use them for the new baby in our bed...I still use them for the three yr old, in fact. They have saved my mattress from countless spit-ups, throw-ups, etc, and have proven invaluable as I could just pull it out and replace without having to do a whole sheet change. I used these under him for diaper changes as well. I imagine wool pads would be great also, but I have no idea how waterproof they'd be, or whether they'd be scratchy for the baby.
 

[SunnyPerch]

I don't see any dimensions on this product, but this is about what mine look like. Quilted cotton on top, a non-crinkly waterproof backing.

http://www.amazon.com/Continental-Quilting-Quilted-Waterproof-Multi-Use/dp/B008UL4RYG/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1345608809&sr=8-13&keywords=quilted+waterproof+pad

[springmum]

We found a vinyl/pvc free one large enough for the bed. Actually we have 2, 1 for baby bed, 1 for ours - they worked really well (yes they got tested many times - ha ha!) It was from a place here in Canada though, but I'm sure there are more local places for you. I didn't know Ikea has PVC free ones Azohri - thanks for that.

Our baby mattress is non toxic, and has some wool in it, but the pads covered it nicely and we rarely had issues with getting a mess on it.

For quick diaper changes I found a new non-toxic easy clean changing pad that I will use, but for quick ones at home a towel always works too.

If you want to check on how toxic your toys/products are you can always type in a search at http://www.healthystuff.org/get-stuff.php?group-report=Toys Their list is a work in progress and sometimes you have to try different wordings to find the item your looking for, but it's a great resource to avoid toxins.

[gratefulmum]

My mom has made me several great changing pads that have held up through the first two kiddos and I plan to keep using. They are old cotton mattress pads cut up and then covered in receiving blankets and quilted. I have a few rectangular ones and one circular one that I love best of all. I'm hoping for a few more to add to my stash this time around.

azohri- I like the IKea idea; I didn't realize they followed stricter standards and I'll check out what they have.

[Babinogi]

Thank you all - my broadband was down so I just am able to read these great suggestions tonight. Thank you so very much for the suggestions!

[OrangeMoon]

We also invested in non toxic mattresses since you spend like half your life there. We chose wool mattresses, and they have thin sheet type things you can add on top of the mattress but below the fitted sheet for waterproofing. For changing pads I have like a million chux pads right now so I will just burn through those on the couch or bed or whatever.