I know it is spring for some of you, but in Vermont any March weather that doesn’t still freeze your face off is definitely a gift. If I declare otherwise, there’ll be a blizzard in no time flat! My kids would love a blizzard, though…

As requested, there’s a new box of bath time essentials on the site called Rub a Dub Dub! It’s on sale along with some other boxes that make us feel like spring! Hurrah!

It’s May Day! And it’s raining, raining, raining, so I think the impromptu may pole for the kids is probably out. But–save 15% off all our luscious baby gift boxes all day long! Enjoy.

Our shipping charge for the continental USA is now just $10! We’ve been experimenting with how to lower our shipping costs and are passing the savings on to you, our fabulous eco-savvy customers.

As always, order 3 or more gifts at once and the shipping is free!

The Environmental Working Group recently released a new report with the sensational title of “Toxic Tub”–which is typical of EWG, which values publicity in a big way. The bottom line is one we’ve heard before–US labeling and testing laws allow suspected carcinogens and known harmful substances to be put into body care products for people of all ages, and there’s no way to tell from the label.

My favorite source for checking up on body care products is Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Group’s cosmetic safety database. It’s a good first stop for assessing the safety of your favorite products. But even this resource must be read carefully–listing “fragrance” as an ingredient will raise a product’s score (higher scores are bad), even when the fragrance in question is an essential oil with no known risks. The database is trying to be even-handed and fair, but, as always, reading and questioning doesn’t stop just because a resource or company seems to be eco-friendly and well-intentioned… sigh.

For those of you who aren’t lucky enough to have an organic chemist to pester, my two favorite eco-friendly and safe lines for kids are the ever fabulous Earth Mama Angel Baby, which I feature in several of our luscious baby gift boxes, and California Baby, which is easier to find in stores–at least in this neck of the woods–and also offers sunblock. (If you are having trouble finding natural body care products, look in the nearest natural grocery store–or even in the natural-food section of a large chain grocery store. Whole Foods even has its own “Premium Body Care” program which carefully selects the safest products.)

Being prone to rashes myself, I am always very careful about skin care products, and since my sons were born I’ve noticed a number of EMAB and California Baby products making their way over to the adult bathroom in the house. We have tried a number of “natural” product lines over the years, but we keep coming back to these two. California Baby even has a shampoo for swimmers–an absolute essential for my water-obsessed and blond kids. Though, come to think of it, they might like having green hair…

The first crocus just poked up through the ground, and that means it’s time for a spring sale! Enjoy 20% off all our gorgeous and green baby gifts during the month of April.

We have a number of sweet baby gift boxes new this spring! Have fun browsing around our collection of organic, natural, and always practical baby gifts.

While new babies love to snuggle in our organic cotton and silk blankets, for older kids it’s time for rain boots! Yes, it’s pure mud and puddles outside here in Vermont.

So I’ll put in a plug for Kamik, whose adorable toddler and kid rain boots are indestructible. I especially love the recycling program, where they’ll take back their products if you can’t find another kid who needs them. Did I mention that my older son *lived* in his pink squiggle rain boots the summer he was two? He refused to wear anything else for months…

A constant worry these days is what’s going to happen to my suppliers–and Green Baby Gift Box, too–when the new CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) takes effect on February 10, 2009.

This well-intentioned piece of legislation was drafted to help ensure toy safety after the recalls of 2007. As a parent, I applaud tougher testing requirements for lead and phthalates in products for children under 12. But–the kindest thing I can say is that no one thought through the implications of these new testing rules for small businesses, especially those crafting items by hand. After all, if it costs you hundreds of dollars to test an item that you sell for $35, it’s hardly possible to stay in business. And it makes absolutely no sense to require lead testing for organic cotton t-shirts with no decorations–or for other items made only of natural materials which have never tested positive for lead in any way.

The rules assume that the toys or clothes are crafted in large batches, allowing you to test a representative sample. This is feasible for a company producing a run of 100,000 plastic teethers—but beyond ridiculous if you are knitting wool baby booties one at a time and are required to test each pair. And buying tested materials is not yet an option, because apparently working at a sewing machine or knitting up yarn could potentially introduce lead?!

Rather than penning yet another rant on this issue, I’ll just give you some links for further reading: Fashion Incubator or the Save Handmade page at Cool Mom Picks are good places to start.

This was one of issues that change.org recently presented to our new president, so hopefully these rules will be revised so that baby items that are handmade or made of natural materials will still be able to compete with large toy or clothing companies. To permit the current rules to stand would be a true disservice to children everywhere.

Brrr!! Winter temperatures arrived here this week, so it seems like the perfect day to talk about keeping babies warm at night. By the time you have read all the experts on crib safety & SIDS and removed all possible hazards, the modern baby seems lucky to get a (non-toxic) mattress in the crib these days, much less a blanket.

But regardless of where you stand in the great Bumper Debate, everyone can agree on one practical and marvelous innovation of recent years: the infant sleep sack. This is a wearable blanket, complete with arm holes, that baby is zipped into at night. Not even the most active can wriggle out, and they provide everything from light warmth to serious insulation depending on the weight. And if your baby can pull off a hat faster than you can say Jimminy Cricket, these are definitely for you…

There are several sources out on the internet for organic sleep sacks, but by far my favorite is another mom-owned company, Cee Wee Designs. Jennifer sews these lovely sleep sacks herself and can include “twiddlers”–little ribbon pieces sewn into the seams that babies love to play with as they drift off to sleep. I put her organic mid-weight sacks in my Sleepytime Sleepyhead baby gift box, but she also offers adorable patterns (all natural fiber, just not certified organic), including one with sock monkeys! Check out her site and design your own sleep sack.

Two shopping notes for sleep sacks: a) try to find something that can stand up to repeated washing and b) look for a zipper that starts up top, so that the pull is down by baby’s feet when the sack is fully zipped. Also, many of the organic sacks are just a single layer of cotton, so unless you live in a warm climate, take a close look at the construction! (The giant in this category is the Halo Sleep Sack, which is available in organic cotton for their smallest sizes only, but these seem too light to me. But since you can find them easily in stores, I’ll give them a mention.)

Stay warm out there! And if anyone has a good source for organic cotton toddler mittens that actually have thumbs, let me know…

Need an adorable gift for a new walker? Or just some luscious baby shoes for a special occasion? Shoe addicts will adore the designs at Diddle Dumpling. There’s a new design just in time for Halloween!

Acquiring pairs of Diddle Dumpling shoes for the Adventure Calls baby gift box on the site was a surreal experience, since the shoemaker extraordinaire, Sarah Hillgrove, has the same first name. Now if your name is Sarah, you have undoubtedly met other members of the Sara/h tribe during your time here on Earth. But despite the fact that this is not a new experience, writing emails like, “Hi Sarah, Sure, delivery in two weeks would be fine. Thanks again, Sarah,” felt like I was talking to myself. Or maybe I’m secretly an elf that works on shoes in my attic and forgot to tell myself. (Yes, we all have weird thoughts during infant-induced sleep deprivation…)

Fortunately for all of you, the shoes came from Diddle Dumpling’s studio in Idaho, not from me. Sarah uses wool felt on the uppers and recycled leather for the soles. And of course there’s the embroidery that makes these so darn cute!

If you are a shoe fiend, you may also want to check out Soft Star Shoes, Veggie Baby Shoes, and Isabooties for some eco-friendly options. And of course there are two giants in the soft-soled baby shoe category, Bobux from New Zealand and Robeez from Canada.

The toddler cold season has definitely arrived, alas. So apologies for the tardiness of this latest post! And happy baby shoe shopping…

Where do the beautiful illustrations on the website come from? They were painted by watercolor artist Katie Flindall of Moonhouse Art.

I love Katie’s vibrant and magical watercolors! So I literally jumped up and down when Katie agreed to work on illustrations for our logo and website. I wanted the enchanted world of Katie’s paintings to rub off on the site, since it reminds me of that perfect mix of contentment, wonder and expectation you feel when you hold a sleeping baby.

Katie is an artist and dancer who lives in Waterbury, Vermont–just a few towns over from our offices. So for those of you who are similarly enchanted with her paintings, go browse her website for a dose of inspiration. And buy yourself something lovely. :)