Must-Read Books for Pregnant Ladies!

When I was pregnant, I read all the books I could find so that I was as prepared as I could be for the marathon called childbirth. These books come highly recommended for all Mommies-to-Be!

The Birth Partner

 by Penny Simkin

If you don't take any childbirth prep course, this is an absolute must-read. And even if you do take a course, it's great to have everything in one place so you can refer to the book as you need it.

Husband-Coached Childbirth

by Robert A. Bradley

The classic book by the inventor of the Bradley Method. The writing is a bit old-fashioned, but it's a must read for anyone who would like to attempt giving birth the "natural" way. This book is required reading if you take a Bradley Method course.

Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way

by Susan McCutcheon

Contains tons of practical exercises, positions that you can practice with your partner, and dieting advise. This book is another required reading if you take a Bradley Method course.

Chlorine-free, healthy diaper choices for the budget-minded mommy

If you're concerned about what chemicals sit against your baby's sensitive parts 24-7, finding a "healthy" diaper that is free of chlorine, fragrances, and dyes is a must. Luckily, the reviewers at BabyLab provide ratings on 24 popular brands of diapers and rate them based on price, absorption, health and whether they are eco-friendly. Check out the ratings here.

They have tons of amazing charts, rating each diaper based on price vs. value, or the scores they received in various categories.

Based on these results, I will be switching from the brand of diapers I used to Costco's Kirkland Signature Supreme, which seems to be a good match between price, convenience, and is chlorine, perfume and latex free.

Finding Packaging-Free Bulk Foods in West LA

I watched an awesome video that completely opened my mind, about how you can live in a city and produce no waste! I didn't think this was possible, living in the US, where people generally have a consumer mindset and live in a system that produces so much waste.

Lauren Singer, aka. Zero Waste Girl and blogger for Trash is For Tossers creates a mason jar full of trash in a single year. I feel really inspired and as a first step, I will be setting out to find bulk sources for most of our foodstuffs.

Finding Packaging-Free Bulk Foods in West LA

Living in West Los Angeles, close to Santa Monica, it seems that my grocery options to try are:

1. Farmers Markets
   The obvious choise for locally-grown produce. If you're also looking to buy organic, here's a tip: a lot of it is organic, but small producers don't want to pay the hefty fee for getting it certified. So ask the question, "Do you use any pesticides or herbicides?" instead of asking, "Is it organic?"
2. Whole Foods Market
   A great place to find dry foodstuffs, such as grains, nuts, flour, sugar, beans, cereal, spices, etc.
3. Sprouts Farmers Market
   Also a great place to find dry foodstuffs and organic produce.
4. Rainbow Acres Natural Foods
   I'd never been here but supposedly they sell extra virgin olive oil in bulk. If you don't live in this area and are looking for a source for bulk oil, try searching on Yelp for food coop or bulk oil.
5. Co-opportunity
   Supposedly more expensive than Whole Foods, but no harm in checking it out.
6. Payless International Market
   Cheapest produce, good selection of organic produce, too, but would need to use that same night.
7. Dumpster diving
   I haven't tried this and I wouldn't make this a habit, as you never know what you'll get. But I would like to try it someday!
   

There are tons more tips on the blog Zero Waste Home. I will try to implement one tip each week. For example, next, I will need to find reusable cloth bags to put my bulk items in.

Bottled or tap water? And which exactly?

We'd been buying bottled water, but the costs are adding up, and according to the EWG Bottled Water Scorecard report, most bottled water companies hide their sources and water reports... some are simply bottled tap water!

The EWG recommends filtering tap water. But there are many considerations, and you need to tailor the filtration type to the types of contaminants found in your water. Step by step:

1. Find out what's in your tap water

Search for you zip code on EWG's web site and get a list of contaminants in your water. My water, for example, is above the legal limit for total trihalomethanes (TTHMs), which are disinfection byproducts.

2. Check other safe water tips

Check out EWG's Guide For Safe Drinking Water. For example, I have a baby at home, and I found out that I need to make sure that the water I give to her is fluoride-free.

3. What are the levels of fluoride in my water?

I used Google for this one. If you live in California, you can look up the fluoridation levels on the CA Water Board website here. I found out that my city does fluoridate the water. This means I will need to use reverse-osmosis filter.

4. Find a water filter that works for the contaminants you need to get rid of

Once again, EWG comes to the rescue with their searchable database of tested water filters.



And... no results. Ouch! OK, how about just a plain carbon technology pitcher type filter? Bingo.

Clicking on the links, I find that PUR filters are certified to filter out more contaminants than most other filters:

 






But I was shocked to find out that many Brita and PUR filters are not certified by the California Department of Public Health. See the whole list of water filters that do not meet standards.

I finally went with a PUR dispenser from the list on EWG.

5. Find bottled water with no fluoride

Since carbon filters do not filter out fluoride,  and because I have a baby, I also need to find bottled water that contains no fluoride.

I'll send an update when I find info on bottled water fluoride levels.