A Green App!

A big trend in nursery decorating these days is eco-friendly designs. There are so many ways to go organic when it comes to preparing your baby’s room, and now there is an app to help you figure out how to make your baby’s room as “green” as possible. It’s called “The Peaceful Nursery” app, and it can be yours for $2.

Created by Laura Forbes Carlin and Alison Forbes (authors of the book, also named The Peaceful Nursery), it guides expectant parents on how to best design an organic nursery for their new arrival. The app also shares great tips for how parents can prepare for the early months with baby with eco-friendly and pure products.

Did you know that there are organic baby mattresses on the market? How about organic baby bedding? There is even organic baby furniture that is made from non-toxic means and won’t omit gases from the chemicals and glues normally used to make furniture. Who knew there were so many ways to make a greener and more healthy lifestyle for our babies, even before they get here!

Check out the app here if you are in the market for an organic nursery.

What Does Food Dye Have to do with Hyperactivity?

About two years ago, after a few months of wondering why our sweet kiddo was bouncing off the walls a good majority of the time, my husband and I decided it was time to do some research into what could be causing this behavior. In our findings, some researchers believed there was a direct link between hyperactivity and the ingestion of certain food dyes and additives. We decided to try to cut preservatives and red food dye out of our daughter’s diet as much as possible to see if it helped our daughter’s overly “spirited” behavior. I felt, it couldn’t hurt, and it would only force us all to eat healthier, right? Surprisingly, we felt it made a big difference in our daughter in a positive way! It may have just been the case of the terrible twos rearing its ugly head, but eating healthier seemed like a win-win, regardless of whether it was truly having an affect on our child's behavior. In the months after this little experiment, when we found ourselves backsliding and not being as diligent with monitoring our daughter’s diet, the hyperactivity seemed to intensify, thus confirming how the change in diet was working for us. We would then become conscientious once again. I came across an interesting article today and wanted it to share it with everyone. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now formally weighing the evidence if hyperactivity is truly tied to certain food dyes and additives. If the FDA determines that additives and dyes do intensify hyperactivity in children, then the agency may eventually have to strengthen its regulations with the food dye and additives ingredients. Check out the article here and sound off below in the comments section. Anyone else have an opinion or any experience with eliminating food dyes and additives in their kids’ diets?