During the summer, especially these heat waves, many children battle heat rash. Here are some great natural ways to treat heat rash if your little ones suffer an outbreak.

1. Natural remedies to soothe heat rash include mixing 1 cup of baking soda and 4 drops of lavender oil and adding this mixture to a tepid bath or applying an infusion of chilled Chamomile tea topically.
2. If your child does end up with a rash avoid using ointments or creams-they keep the skin warm and moist and may make the condition worse.
3. Soothing a heat rash is the purpose. So use a lot of ice, as it provides relief to the affected area and a good way to cure heat rash. Ice cools down the temperature and avoids sweating. Ice packs can be used for treating heat rash in babies. Repeat this exercise everyday, till the redness subdues.
4. Oatmeal powder is very useful for providing relief. You can add a small amount of oatmeal powder to your child’s bathtub water then have them take a dip. It is very soothing and comforting.
5.  Soak cotton swaps in cold water and place these swaps smoothly over the affected area. This will keep the place wet and free from dust and germs, few of the most vital prickly heat/heat rash triggers.
6. You can apply aloe vera gel directly to the affected area to soothe, heal and cool the skin
7.  Apply baking soda to a heat rash dry, or you can make a paste with baking soda and water and apply it to the rash. It will cool and dry the rash. You can also add a little to a cool bath to soothe the skin.

If you have to be outside in the drastic heat make sure to wear clothes that breathe like cotton or linen, spritz your skin to keep cool, and eat cooling foods like yogurt, watermelon and bananas and drink a lot of water.

Do you know of any other ways to treat heat rash?

Children only get 18 summers as a kid then it is off to college, work and families, never again to enjoy the feeling of a warm summer day totally carefree.

Unfortunately, a lot of the time we are too busy making memories to document them and then they are often forgotten. We thought there had to be a cool way to retain those memories that doesn’t take a lot of time. That is how the  memory jar began.

You can use a big jar, box, or whatever you can think of to store your Summer memories.

You can put all sorts of mementos in the jar, like movie tickets, game tickets, concert stubs, poems, short stories, photo’s of your favorite adventure, notes of special moments, receipts of a special trip, business cards, basically anything you acquire during the Summer that you want to remember.

Before you seal the lid, make sure you have written down who you shared the adventure with and any special notes/moments that you don’t want to forget. My daughter wanted to add her favorite joke into the jar. I love the idea of opening the jar in a year to remember all of our special adventures. You could even sneak a peek during the cold winter months for smiles.

What types of adventures would you add to your Memory Jar this Summer?

Vinegar has been made and used for thousands of years.  Distilled vinegar has been used for cooking, medicinal purposes, and even cleaning. Because vinegar is highly acidic, it is able to break down mineral deposits.  Vinegar is considered to be antibacterial. It can clean mold, mildew, bacteria, and some germs.

I have just begun using vinegar this year as a cleaner and honestly I don’t know what we’ve done without it!  Here are several ways to use vinegar:

• Vinegar can be used as a carpet cleaner. Not only does vinegar get marker, crayon, grease, and juice stains out, it also lifts pet urine out of carpet!
• Vinegar is  great for laundry. You can let your whites soak in 1/2 cup of vinegar and detergent to help brighten them. Vinegar also gets out laundry stains and bad smells.Vinegar is a great fabric softener as well. Pour some in your softener compartment just like you would a mainstream softener.
• Vinegar is great to clean coffee pots, water filter jugs, stainless steel bottles, and pots or pans. You can even soak bottles and lids to get out any unwanted mold.
• Vinegar cleans up spilled paint.  Vinegar also removes leftover paint on brushes.
• Vinegar can clean and polish glass, stone, brass, bronze, or silver.
• Vinegar also is a natural weed killer and keeps unwanted pests- like ants- out of your garden. All you have to do is pour the vinegar directly on your weeds to kill them.

Do you have any vinegar recipes or use it for anything else?

It is the middle of the Summer and I know plenty of moms that are running out of ideas to keep their kiddos occupied. I have a long list of things I want to do with my 4 year old, but we always forget. That’s why I made a Bag of Fun! The idea of the bag of fun is that every day you pick a card from the bag and you must do whatever it says.

I took a PlanToys bag that came with one of our toys and we designed the outside with fabric markers. I then found some old artwork, got her permission and tore it out of her notebook.  I used a paper cutter and sliced the paper into thirds so I could make project cards.

I then wrote out 20 activities I’d like to do this month. Here is what we are going to do:

1. Make something out of a box (I really want to make a sailboat out of a milk carton)
2. Make sock puppets and put on a show
3. Go on a nature hunt (write 20 things to find outside and see who can find them first)
4. Make chalk pictures (draw a balloon and have your child lay next to it so it looks like they are floating)
5. Read a book under a tree or under the stars
6. Make giant homemade bubbles (use a long cotton string tied to a stick as a wand)
7. Have a party! (guests are optional)
8. Make a hand painting (I was thinking a sunflower hand)
9. Visit a local farm or farmers market
10. Bake something for your neighbor
11. Visit the park and find 5 things green. Take pictures
12. Build a fort
13. Explore our city
14. Make a pet rock
15. Throw a toy swap party
16. Melt and make new crayons
17. Catch fireflies
18. Go on an alphabet scavenger hunt (find something that begins with each letter)
19. Go play in a fountain or spray ground
20. Learn about a new animals. You must see it in person

The fun part is that you never know what you are going to do that day! You can let your child help you pick projects or ideas to write on the cards so it is something they are interested in too. We take the weekends off for family time, so each month you should only need 21-23 cards. What would you put on your cards?

Many of my childhood memories are sparked by photos of events. I really don’t remember my 2nd birthday but the photos my parents have make me feel as though I do. As I have grown up it has always been fun for me to look back on my childhood photos, thinking about what it was like then, and remembering who I was. It is fun to watch people in my life change from year to year, and to look back and remember those I have lost.

As an adult now I love to take pictures to remember events, to capture moments, or even to capture emotions or feelings. I started thinking about how cool it would be to put these together as photo journals for the kids in our life. Wouldn’t it be fun to keep a journal all summer that you do with your child, if they are old enough, or for your child with photos marking events, experiences, people, or moments. What is so cool about this is the book represents you and your child as well. It can be a simple small photo album you slip the photos in, a paper journal you write in as well as place photos or an elaborate scrapbook you put together. The beauty is in the reflection of your family and your child’s life.

One of our employee’s is a photographer and has been journaling her daughter’s life for 4 years. She scrapbooks, makes Shutterfly books, and makes regular albums with journaling. Here are some examples she has done with various styles:

Here are some easy tips for making Summer Journals:

• Keep mementos like ticket stubs, name tags, wrist bands, receipts, shells, stones, etc. They are great add- ons for scrapbooks
• Write in a calendar any time you go somewhere special
• Make sure your date on your camera is correct
• Post on Facebook (or write down) anything funny that happened that you’d want to remember
• Do a Q&A with your child and keep the answers with your journal
• Enjoy the process. You don’t have to be an artist to make scrapbook pages, photobooks, or even take photos. It’s the memories that count!
• Make a budget for your journaling project and then decide how you want to create it. Larger scrapbooks can be costly, especially when you add in the cost of photos, paper, stickers, and embellishments.

What other ideas do you have for preserving summer memories with your kids? Have you thought about journaling with them or keeping summer photo albums?

We are asked often for advice on keeping babies cool in the Summer heat while being worn. We decided to ask the experts themselves for tips and we found some great advice on the web that we wanted to share!

Jo from Snuggy Baby suggests purchasing a sling instead of a wrap for the Summer. “There is less fabric to a sling, so there is less fabric to overheat you and your baby.  The fabric that you choose is also important.  Linen is a great choice for summer because it is lightweight and breathable.  This is the same reason that linen is often used for summer clothing.”

Have a carrier? Jo suggests, “Dress your  baby as cool as possible, wearing only a onesie or even just a diaper.  If it is especially hot, you can even wrap an ice pack into your carrier (in between the layers of the wrap).  I would not put the ice pack directly on your baby, but close and protected by layers of fabric.”

Kelly, from Kozy Carrier says, “If they are going to be out in the heat, strip your baby down to their diaper.  Even a Mei Tai, like the Kozy, with thicker fabric has openings on the side to allow air flow.  If it is an older child, then folding down the body a bit will allow them to sit higher with less fabric behind their back, which will be cooler.  If they are wrapping, then a thinner wrap would work best.  You can fold a thinner fabric wrap over to make it more narrow, of course then it is double thickness.  I just tend to not spread it as much over me and them to allow more skin outside and more airflow.  Dressing both mom and baby lightly though is the biggest thing.

Other tips we’ve learned are:

• Carry an umbrella for shade
• Have a spray bottle filled with water so you can mist your baby
• Carry a battery operated fan or make a paper fan
• Keep your little one hydrated
• Wrap a stainless steel water bottle with gauze and store near your baby’s back
• Constantly wipe a wet washcloth, burp cloth, or bandanna on your little one’s face. (You can store in a wet bag.)

Do you have tips you can share for keeping cool in the summer while wearing your baby? We would love to hear them.

Are there any tips you have for Summer babywearing?

With 4 months until elections and the finalization of the EPA’s first-ever national policy created to reduce mercury emissions from the electricity sector, Franklin Goose has teamed up with Moms Clean Air Force to help educate parents on clean air and how we can protect our children.

I attended a webinar a few weeks ago hosted by Moms Clean Air Force and have been blown away by the discussion ever since. Before I attended, I had no idea that mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickle, and other chemicals were released into the air from coal mined plants.

According to Moms Clean Air Force, “American coal plants produce 386,000 tons of hazardous air pollutants every year. These poisons affect every part of the human body, leading to disease, birth defects, brain damage, premature death and cancers. Children are especially vulnerable.”

The webinar was hosted by Dominique Browning, author of Slow Love, blogger at Slow Love Life, former editor-in-chief of House & Garden, and lead blogger for the Moms Clean Air Force.  Jessica Capshaw, star of “Grey’s Anatomy”, and Vickie Patton, General Counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund also joined the discussion. You can catch a video of the webinar here.

After listening to these amazing women speak and doing a little research on my own, I knew this was something that Franklin Goose needed to be a part of. We have 4 months before election time and the EPA has introduced a rule called the “Mercury and Air Toxic Standards,” which will hopefully be finalized in November 2011. This is the first-ever national policy created to reduce mercury emissions from the electricity sector!

You can see a map of all coal mined plants in North America by clicking here.   You can also check the grade of your city’s air quality here.

I was rather shocked at what I learned by just visiting those sites. It made me start thinking about all of the children I know with breathing problems like asthma. I also have known several non-smokers that died from lung cancer. All of these things started making me think more about the effect of our air on our health and well being. Then when we had consecutive code orange air quality days, I decided it was time to start writing my local government officials as well as getting more involved with our air quality.

I know that some parents don’t have the time to write their officials, but you can help by:

• Telling the EPA that you support the new Mercury & Air Toxic Standards
• Follow @MomsCAF and @FranklinGoose to get the latest updates about actions in Congress, newly released reports about air pollutants and toxicity, events, blog posts and much more
• Join Moms Clean Air Force on Facebook and share their page with your networks. The more parents that know, the better
• If you have a personal story or experience with polluted air or its health impacts, share it here. They will be  collected and sent to Congress. Please limit your submissions to 500 words

Franklin Goose is now a proud ally and partner with Moms Clean Air Force and we hope that you will get involved! If you have any ideas on how parents can get more involved, please let us know!

What is the rating of your city? Are there any coal fired plants near where you live?

We’ve been asked a lot lately about the best alternatives to plastic teethers. There are thousands of chemicals used in making different plastics and only a handful have been tested. It seems like every week there is new scientific evidence of a chemical in question, which is making it hard for parents to keep up. That’s why many are trying to avoid plastic all together, especially when it comes to items babies put in their mouths.

Here is a safe guide to help your teething baby:

Wooden teethers are naturally anti-bacterial unlike plastic. Lots of plastics have antibacterials, like the hormone disruptor triclosan, added to them to keep bacteria from growing. There are no regulations for manufacturers to post whether or not their plastic has the antibacterial chemical added, so there is no way to know. Rocklovepeace hand makes these beautiful LEED certified cherry wood teethers which are finished with organic beeswax .  The teether set comes in a  biodegradable jute bag, which you can use again for storing or carrying. Wooden teethers are durable and last for generations. They are also excellent pain relievers and are said to help ease the teeth in.

Sophie the Giraffe has become one of the most popular status teething items says the LA Times. Made in France by Vulli, they claim Sophie stimulates all of the senses. A Sophie the Giraffe is made of 100% natural rubber, painted with  food paint, and is completely safe to chew- unless you have a latex allergy. Sophie’s soft texture and numerous chewable parts (ears, horns, legs), make her perfect for soothing baby’s sore gums during teething. Many of our customers have said their children still carry around their Sophie, way after teething is over!

My personal favorite is the Under The Nile Organic Fruit & Veggies. My daughter loved gnawing on the different fruits and veggies, and each shape helps with a different tooth that is cutting. The Fruit & Veggies are made out of 100% organic Egyptian cotton (inside and out) and are dyed with non-toxic vegetable dyes. So you don’t have to worry if your child is ingesting pesticides or insecticides from the fabric. You can wet and freeze them for irritated gums. After your child is done teething, they make a great imaginative food play toy.

Frozen organic carrots are great for irritated gums. But make sure your little one doesn’t have 2 upper teeth and 2 lower teeth or this will be a choking hazard! Freeze the veggie right before you give it to them for extra comfort.

Baltic Amber Teething Necklaces are an excellent way to stop teething pain without giving medicine.  Your child doesn’t chew on the necklace, but snugly wears it around their neck. You can also get bracelets if you are worried about strangulation. Remember, a necklace should never be worn to bed. Baltic amber naturally releases succinic acid that is a analgesic. Amber’s analgesic, anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties are recognized by allopathic medicine and has been used for hundreds of years. As a safety feature there is a knot before and after each bead, so that even in the extremely unlikely event of the string being torn, no beads are lost and there is no risk of choking. Amber teething necklaces are secured with a traditional screw clasp, not a hook and ring.

Teething blankets or even organic washcloths are great for chewing. Not only do they ease teething pain, they are nice loveys to carry around. My daughter loved sleeping with her lovey and it was nice for her to have when she woke up and needed to gnaw/gum something. The Dandelion Teething Blanket has special knots tied to help the teeth break through. You can even wet and freeze for extra relief. The Dandelion Teething Blanket is made out of organic velour cotton and has a crinkly inside for play.

You can check out our other great eco-friendly teething products in our Health & Safety section. We’d love to hear some of your natural teething remedies!

Last week we hosted a green baby shower in the store. We had so much fun playing games, eating amazing strawberry cupcakes, chocolate bottles, and sugar cookies along with talking to the expecting moms! For those of you who live close to Richmond we plan on hosting these events about three times per year, so follow us on Facebook for announcements so you or someone you know can attend. One of our favorite games is to wrap a great gift, this time it was a Boba carrier, donated by Sleepy Wrap, and then wrap it again, and again and again, with instructions of who to pass it on to on each layer, i.e. pass to a woman in a blue dress. The Boba was a huge surprise and very welcome gift!

One of the decorating ideas we had this time was to place our chocolate bottle pops in the Siliskin covers on our glass bottles. We loved the look  and, it is useful for mom-to-be later on! You know how much we love sustainable decorating. (See more ideas from our last Green Baby Shower event.)

We had a speaker from OmMama Yoga, Leslie Lytle. She had some great tips for moms after they have their babies. Some of her ideas were:

1. Allow people to help you.  That is the single most important thing. If you don’t have family or close friends to help out consider a postpartum doula. The purpose of a postpartum doula is to come in and do whatever you need done.  If you have family or friends ask for help, this is your time for you and your significant other to bond with your new baby.

2. Have the number of one or two lactation consultants on hand in case you have any troubles with breastfeeding.

3. Consider a massage by someone who can come to your house. A recent study showed that women who had a neck, and shoulder massage within 48 hourse of giving birth had their stress level drop 4.7 percent on a 10 point scale. That is pretty significant and can be a great reprieve for new moms.

4. Have a signal with your significant other  to indicate you are ready for your visitors to leave.  Once you give the signal your SO can kindly ask your guests to leave so you can rest.  We loved this idea, it takes the pressure off of you to have to say anything to your guests but also takes the stress out of having visitors, knowing they won’t overstay.

5. If you have people bringing food by talk with them before hand if you don’t want the people coming in every time they drop off a meal. You can also consider making a sign for your front door, something like: “Please do not disturb, mama and baby are resting.” or “Visitors are welcome, please knock softly.”

What great tips do you have for moms after they give birth? Do you have other sustainable decorating ideas? We would love to hear about them.

Last month a Class Action Lawsuit was filed against P&G for their Pampers new Dry Max technology causing diaper rashes, blisters, and other skin conditions. Last week, P&G settled and has agreed to pay up to $2.7 million dollars plus spend $400,00 in training programs in pediatric skin health, per judges approval.

The new Pampers Dry Max material is thinner, yet more absorbent. The ingredients (which Pampers swears isn’t different) listed from the Pampers website are: petrolatum lotion, aloe, stretch copolymer, masking perfume, Pigmented polyethylene/ polypropylene, lycra, fluff pulp, and Polyacrylate “Gel.”

What Pampers failed to leave out of their ingredients are the chemicals that can harm your baby’s delicate skin. Chlorine bleach is used to dye fluff pulp which is an irritant. Dioxin, a chemical bi-product, is released in the bleaching process which is a human carcinogen. Dioxin also remains in the bleached fluff pulp exposing your child to the nasty chemical.

Polyacrylate gel (the gel crystals used to absorb urine) is toxic if ingested and can cause skin irritations, allergies, and eczema, though it is labeled “non-toxic.” When injected into rats, the polyacrylate caused hemorrhaging, cardiovascular failure, and even death. In 1985 the gel was banned from tampons for causing toxic shock syndrome. There isn’t enough research done on the safety of the gels and no one regulates their use. The gel is not biodegradable, but is considered compostable.

Another chemical found in some disposable diapers is TBT (tributyl-tin). TBT is a biocide used which is used to kill or prevent the growth of bacteria. The World Health Organization classified TBT has one of the most toxic substances in the world, yet it is still being found in diapers all over the world.

Other ingredients that are a cause of concern are the masking fragrances and lotions. Many of these are petroleum based chemicals that are touching your child’s most sensitive areas and have been linked to asthma and other allergies.

Many parents choose disposables over cloth because of convenience. I have also heard because of the “ick factor,” however, it is against the law to dispose of human waste in your garbage (even in a diaper) unless it is double bagged?

Some “natural” disposables on the market today can be misleading. Huggies Naturals (which do use chlorine), Seventh Generation, Earth’s Best, Wholesfood 365, and Nature Boy & Girl all contain sodium polyacrylate gel and are not 100% biodegradable. They are chlorine and fragrance free, which is a step in the right direction.

We have found that Tushies is the best eco-friendly disposable diaper available today.

Tushies is certified non-chlorine bleached wood pulp from Scandinavian sustainable, renewable, family-owned forests; no animal testing, ingredients, or byproducts; gel-free, latex-free, dye-free, perfume-free, TBT-free, GMO-free. Because Tushies Diapers DO NOT contain a super absorbent gel, parents will change diapers more frequently, resulting in less probability of diaper rash which can be caused by leaving a super absorbent diaper on too long.

Tushies said, “We’re delighted to hear from hospitals – they like using our GEL-FREE Tushies size small diapers because they receive a more accurate urine test without the chemical superabsorbents. And–it’s easier for Moms & Dads to tell whether or not their baby has urinated enough and whether or not the baby is receiving enough milk.”

There are also hybrid disposable options available that contain minimal polyacrylate or you can always go with cloth if you want to avoid SAP altogether.

While it is not always easiest to choose diapers that are not “mainstream” in the long run you are reducing your child’s risk, and the impact on the planet. That is something worth considering as we learn more everyday about the chemicals that are in products we are exposing our children and our families to.