I had just finished placing a bottle of California Baby Bubble Bath on the register when the woman (accompanied by a toddler) said to me, "Good choice! That brand is paraben-free and my son loves the essential oils." Well thank you strange lady, I appreciate your approval. But, paraben -free? Ok, so I knew it was something they put into lotions, but it didn't sound like such a bad thing to me. I had plucked the Bubble Bath from the shelf because it said, "For Cranky, Overtired Babies," and thought -hey, that's right up my TIME CHANGE alley!
She then gave me a 10 minute lecture on why paraben is horrible. I sorta listened with one ear because to be honest, I was in Whole Foods. The people there can be a little, well, "granola" some times and I can't afford to listen to a rant on why I need to buy re-cycled toilet paper, when Costco sells the cheap stuff in bulk. (Speaking of Costco, she told me NEVER to buy the wipes, apparently they are like pouring bleach on baby bums - funny, Noah seems fine).
When I got home I did a little research on paraben and came upon the site Safe Mama. I should have just watched a SAW movie or the Excorcist for the amount of fear it instilled in me. Yes, I had the BPA free bottles, no I didn't have a BPA free teether. My wipes had enough toxins to peel skin off, but my Sippy Cups (the ones without Chardonnay :P ) were ok. My head started to spin.
After a half an hour of freak-out, I finally decided to take a deep breath and GET OVER IT. I do what I can to keep my little guy happy and safe. I've read the books, I watch out for recalls, I don't let him take candy from strangers, etc. And seriously, I should be more worried about the crappy air quality of SoCal, I am sure paraben is nothing compared to a little green house gases.
So if I have the pleasure of seeing Whole Foods Mama again, I am going to whip out my Costco wipes and offer her some. I may even suggest a good bottle of chardonnay for its therapeutic relaxing qualities- organic, of course!
37 comments:
Great blog, and congrats for your sauciness!~I'll come back for a littler more reading later!
Haha. This is great. I start freaking out everytime I read a parenting magazine and hear about some new toxin or disease or household hazard. Seriously, our kids need to live in little BPA-free bubbles or something. I try to keep it in perspective, after I'm done freaking out. Our bodies are designed to get rid of some of those toxins, right? I buy organic milk and we don't use bug spray. I'm trying, but I can only do so much. (Can you already tell that I freak out about this stuff?)
I just want to mess with people when they tell me stuff like that. You should totally offer her a wipe if you see her again - I love it! Congrats on your saucy week!
Coming here from SITS:
ha! I totally know what you mean about Whole foods! Love it there, but what in the world, the people there can be SO ... interesting. My sis in law (though NOT granola) is a nurse and is obsessed with the paraben thing... I am like eh... what? Anyhow, in synopsis: great post! :) Oh, and congrats on your sauciness!
Ha! "Granola"...too funny!
I didn't even know they made BPA free teethers now too??
Don't you wonder how we all survived being babies w/ all the BPA we ingested? I'm sure you're little man is fine!!
I know it`s really scary when you start really paying attention to all the crap they put in the baby products...but just do what you can because you can`t gaurd them from everything a still keep your sanity!!
That was an awesome post! Don't you just love eco-green-friendly strangers who chose to give you lecture in the most inconvenient time and places?
I found you on SITS! Congrat's on being Saucy!
Angie
"Nana's Box"
hahahah....I think that is part of the reason I gave up my local trader joes...for Safeway.....plus....we came out fine right with all the BPA...and acid baby wipes....right???....
I enjoyed this post a lot. I don't have children and often have wondered about the many fears that first time parents go through.
There's a country song, don't recall the name of it, that basically says that when he grew up, they didn't wear helmets, they drank faucet water, they played outside and they still survived.
We can choose to be paranoid or, as you said, choose to do the best that you can and keep going.
Reply to Granola:
"Oh, I know! We've had no problems with his third arm after we switched to organic!! By the way, nice Expedition!"
:)
I loved this entry - everyone has an opinion ... sometimes I just wish they would keep it to themselves! Make it a great day!
costco wipes are the only way to go ;-) you have to pick your battles as a mommy... if you freak out about everything you'll make a career of shielding your kids from The Bad Stuff and then they'll just end up as the weird kids... and well, who wants that? unless it's weird good. omg, i have got to take a nap.
That's exactly why I don't shop at Whole Foods. j/k. Some of the literature out there is downright overwhelming. I guess it's all about figuring out who wrote it, why and asking yourself if the products are really as terrible as they say? I've used Costco wipes on all of my babies and they are still alive. Amazing. :)
I really liked this post! :)
Great post. Compared to the way we grew up, our kids are living in plastic bubbles!
I've wanted to get some of the California Baby products for those exact reasons... if only they didn't cost $7 MORE than what I'm able to pay!
That's crazy. Don't use just love the advice :) I just added you to my blogroll. Love your blog!
congrats on being saucy.
hmmm my parents used anything to shut me up as a child. I like to think I turned out ok. ;)
but wow didn't know about paraben.
Happy sauciness! Hate the crazies that comment on your goods. I think shopping with the kids seems to give people the idea that I want to chat or hear their opinion on my stuff or my kid's hair or the boy's shoes. Seriously just trying to get out ASAP!
I feel you sister. Pick your battles is right...we do the best we can.
My sister is here this week, but lets make plans for next week!
Hugs...Summer
Just live by the motto, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
lmao sippy.
....you and I could totally hang together..
I peek at other peoples baskets sometimes lol. I don't do it to judge though I have caught myself judging when I see an entire obese family w/ nothing but crap in their cart. But I swear I can't help it...bad thoughts just pop in my head! Most of the time I'm checking out other peoples baskets to make sure I didn't miss out on a great deal!!!!
I love it! I also really love the title of your blog. What an eye catcher!
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who has the fear of others checking out my grocery choices! You're so not alone on that one! I try my best to do what keeps my little guy happy and my diaper changing table is stocked full of Costco wipes!
Love your blog. I found you through Tiff at AL Redhead. We're BFFs in real life..and no, I'm not as crazy as she is. :)
haha! this post made me laugh. And I love YOUR blog design! Its sooo pretty!!!
I love your blog!!! Congrats for your sauciness!!!
Awesome!! And I LOVE the Costco wipes. Raised two booties on them, and somehow, miraculously, they both still have their adoable bums.
So excited to find you through SiTS!
Em
Congrats on being a saucy blog! Here I thought I was the only one paranoid about what people think of what's in my grocery cart. Nice to know I'm not alone. :)
LOL this is great! I have noticed that as soon as you decide to have a baby people seem to think that gives them the freedom to "offer" their advice... or just make you feel like a horrible human being for not using cloth diapers and buying the overly expensive all organic onesies and lotions. I decided that if I didn't want to end up one of those crazy people that keeps their kid in a big organic, BPA free bubble the rest of their lives, that I had to avoid most baby websites and people's "advice."
Thanks for this great post :)
Visiting from SITs...
Great post! There is quite a bit of stuff out there that seems awful for little ones....but you're right--do the best you can do!
I like to look into other people's carts (especailly at Costco) to see what they are buying 'cause usually it is something I've never bought or didn't even know about.
Oh for funny. I've done very little research on parabens, and yes, scary, but I'm still alive and surely parabens were used in MY sippy cups...it seems as if we should just all go live off the land these days if we're going to be THAT picky about stuff. DOn't get me wrong, I will be the first to throw away stuff that's not good for my kids, but I'm not about to go lecture other people about it.
That is an hilarious photo!
lol the picture is funny.. and as for the woman there is one everywhere ..... in every country and every supermarket just its annoying when your the one to bump into her!!!
when i had my first child, there was no worrying about what bottles & wipes & whatever else was made up of. same with my girls. they are now 21, almost 12 & almost 10. they are also very healthy. :)
Too funny! I had an experience like this at work. As I am drinking out of a water bottle I was told it would give me wrinkles and that it wasn't bpa. I said, if that is all you have to worry about you can come over and do my dishes and laundry! Fun stories!
See I am totally freaking that I HEATED my daughter's PBA (or whatever it is)bottles in the microwave!
Course, I also just started buying Organic milk cause I don't want my 4 year old to have boobs and a period before she is 11. But then I realized that we eat all these hormone fed cows, pigs and chickens. So now i fret over how to afford the organic meat, cause I'm not sure I can go vegan.
Okay, I'm off to get an Ativan!
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