The Simple Guide to Creating a Healthy, Green Baby Nursery

Finding out you’re pregnant can be one of the most exciting times in your life. And many expectant parents experience the instinct to “nest” almost immediately. One of the first things you may think about when planning a baby nursery is how the room will look. And while it is certainly important that the room is beautiful and expresses your style, it is also important that it is healthy. Many common products found in our homes and used to decorate the nursery, including certain types of paint, finishes, carpeting, mattresses, curtains and particleboard, contain harmful chemicals. Through a process called “off gassing” these chemicals are in the air we breathe. Pound per pound babies breathe more air, eat more food, drink more water and are therefore exposed to more toxins. Babies’ immature organs are less able to cope with the toxins in their environment than those of adults. If you want to make your home green and healthy, your baby’s room is probably the best place to start. We understand it can be overwhelming to weed through all the “stuff,” you are told one needs for a baby and when you add green and healthy to your list it can be even more stressful. We created this book to simplify the process. Included is a shopping checklist of items to consider for the nursery, as well as links to our favorite green products. We also offer simple steps you can take to make your home healthier as well as tips on everything from helping the baby sleep, to how to use color, to how to organize the nursery. We created this guide so expectant parents can easily create a healthy, organized and functional baby’s room, so they have time to focus on what’s really important — the arrival of their baby!

Finding out you’re pregnant can be one of the most exciting times in your life. And many expectant parents experience the instinct to “nest” almost immediately. One of the first things you may think about when planning a baby nursery is how the room will look. And while it is certainly important that the room is beautiful and expresses your style, it is also important that it is healthy. Many common products found in our homes and used to decorate the nursery, including certain types of paint, finishes, carpeting, mattresses, curtains and particleboard, contain harmful chemicals. Through a process called “off gassing” these chemicals are in the air we breathe. In fact, studies from the EPA have shown that the air inside our homes can be 2-5 times more polluted than the air outside our homes regardless of whether we live in a rural area or in cities. Pound per pound babies breathe more air, eat more food, drink more water and are therefore exposed to more toxins. Babies’ immature organs are less able to cope with the toxins in their environment than those of adults. Children enjoy touching everything around them; eventually either their hands or random objects wind up in their mouths, exposing them to even more chemicals. If you want to make your home green and healthy, your baby’s room is probably the best place to start. We understand it can be overwhelming to weed through all the “stuff,” you are told one needs for a baby and when you add green and healthy to your list it can be even more stressful. We created this book to simplify the process. Included is a shopping checklist of items to consider for the nursery, as well as links to our favorite green products. We also offer simple steps you can take to make your home healthier as well as tips on everything from helping the baby sleep, to how to use color, to how to organize the nursery. We created this guide so expectant parents can easily create a healthy, organized and functional baby’s room, so they have time to focus on what’s really important — the arrival of their baby!

Laura Forbes Carlin and Alison Forbes are sisters, bloggers, and authors of The Peaceful Nursery: Preparing a Home for your Baby with Feng Shui, (Random House 2006), Love At Home: The Single Girl’s Guide to Feng Shui and Life Design, and The Simple Guide to Creating a Healthy Green Baby Nursery. They also created three Apps, Feng Shui for Love, Easy Feng Shui, and The Peaceful Nursery: Green, Healthy Tips for your Baby’s Room. On their blog, www.inspiredeverydayliving.com, Laura and Alison write about the practical, simple, and small steps that you can take to transform your home and life. Their philosophy is informed and inspired by healthy and green living, simplicity, Feng Shui, parenting, Spiritual Psychology, interior decorating, clutter clearing and organization, homemaking, and personal experience. Alison has a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University. Alison is also a certified Graceful Lifestyles Interior Re-Designer™, a Denise Linn Soul Coach™, and a graduate from the Western School of Feng Shui™. Laura received a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica, and received her Bachelor of Science in Communications from Northwestern University. She also graduated from the Western School of Feng Shui ™.