Today’s post is brought to you in partnership with my friends at Real Life, Baby! Real Life, Baby is an online shop where you can find all your safe, sustainable and functional baby essentials, perfectly minimalistic that will quickly become a staple in your routine. Real Life, Baby! has searched high and low to bring you a carefully curated catalog of the safest and most sustainable fabrics that were not treated with harmful chemicals or dyes.

how I'm choosing safer baby products clothing on the crib
how I'm choosing safer baby products clothing on the floor

Baby Girl Cricket (a nickname, real name TBA) will be here SOON! Her due date is just 4 weeks out. One of my biggest “get ready for baby” undertakings revolved around learning what kinds of products she’ll need. After months of research and study, I feel like I’m now WELL SUBMERGED in my decision making for an optimized approach to the materials we want around our baby for when she’s here. I will share my full registry on the blog here soon (as in, tomorrow), but I really want to address this one topic on its own: how I’m choosing safer products when possible.

As you’ve likely gathered, I’m a bit of a maximizer (which is different from a perfectionist). I like to analyze an issue from all sides and then make balanced decisions based on a combination of research, advice from trusted sources, what makes reasonable sense (for our family), and my own instinct. This same approach is what leads me to publishing the occasional gluten-free treat (like these gluten-free thumbprint cookies) on the blog. Making reasonable (but optimized) decisions are more important than strict rules. I hope that makes sense.

I applied this same thought process (what’s reasonable, but optimized) to sourcing our baby products.

So then, what does make reasonable sense? 

Well, she’s entering into a world FULL of toxins. They’re practically at every corner and, despite even my efforts to build a toxin-free home, are everywhere here, too. They’re in our furniture and in our yard. Odds are they’re in the carpet, in some of our food, and (most definitely) tracked in on our shoes and bodies when we come back in from the outside world. This is NORMAL and reasonable and does not leave me fretting. Rather, it leaves me wanting to optimize the materials around our family (especially a newborn) where possible and again, within reason. The answer to the “what’s reasonable?” question is highly personalized. It depends on your desire, instinct, and appropriated budget.

Will baby girl wear some non-organic clothing? OF COURSE! Will she lick a gross shopping cart handle at some point in her future? YOU BET. Will she eventually consume food that has trace pesticides on it from a restaurant? YEP. Will she eat a trans-fat filled Twinkie at a friend’s house? MOST LIKELY.

All that being said, I’m still going to put forth a good effort to protect her where possible and reasonable.

At this point, we don’t have ANY baby products …so that means we have the awesome opportunity to choose safer products from the start.

Baby products come in just about every color and material under the sun. Some are produced with toxic chemicals and some are not. In an effort to reduce our baby’s externally-influenced toxic load, we want to MOSTLY surround her with materials that are safer. What materials and products, exactly? Well, we first have to ask, “what’s available?” I’ve found that there are safer options available for cribs, mattresses, sleep sacks, car seats, some toys, diapers, skincare products, blankets, clothing, etc. There is a LOT out there and (I’ve found) sifting through the product-toxic-load information online is a muddied, cumbersome effort.

This is where Real Life, Baby! comes into play! I adore this online store because the curator, someone who I have personally connected with and trust, has already done the research on sourcing ideal materials for baby. This is a GREAT place to shop, without feeling like you need to read small novels on each individual product. You can find safer mattress toppers, clothing, sleep sacks, bibs, blankets, nursing pillows, mittens, hats, and so much more. It’s one of those lovely resources that you can send to your mom (the expectant Grandmother) and say, “anything from this store is GREAT!

Here are a few of my personal favorite finds from Real Life, Baby!:

The signature “Real Life, Baby!” products that I’ve listed above are so incredibly soft, I couldn’t believe it. They’re made with an eco-conscious muslin bamboo and cotton blend designed to be soft and breathable on baby’s skin.

BEST of ALL, for a limited time, use the discount code “Cricket10” for 10% discount STORE WIDE at Real Life, Baby! 

how I'm choosing safer baby products clothing on the floor
how I'm choosing safer baby products clothing on the floor
how I'm choosing safer baby products bibs on the floor
how I'm choosing safer baby products clothing on the floor

I hope you found this post helpful and empowering as you navigate your own sea of baby product possibilities! 



About the Author

Cassy Joy Garcia, NC

Cassy Joy Garcia, a New York Times best-selling author, of Cook Once Dinner Fix, Cook Once Eat All Week, and Fed and Fit as well as the creative force behind the popular food blog Fed & Fit.


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