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Have you caught any of the Made in America reports on ABC news? When it first aired, I was surprised by how little of what we purchase is made here in our country. It certainly opened my eyes to the impact of what I purchase on our economy. (I also set about the house looking at where everything was made! Much like that family featured on the first Made in America segment, my house would be near empty if non-USA made items were taken out!) Since then, I’ve been very conscious of what I am buying and where it came...

An invitation to a baby shower can be an exciting thing. A family member, friend or colleague is having a baby and you get to share in the celebration, but with an invite to the shower, comes the need to bring a gift. Maybe you don’t have enough money that trendy stroller, crib or changing table and just buying a pack of diapers and formula, no matter how helpful, just isn’t cool enough for a memorable shower gift. Cool baby gifts with practicality can be hard to come by. Cute… and it Works! Cute and functional gifts that aren’t already in someone...

PUL.  Shorthand for polyurethane laminated fabric– a fabric treated with a waterproofing plastic material.  PUL is the most common fabric used for the outer layer of today’s cloth diapers. It makes an excellent material for modern cloth diapers because of its soft, breathable (no more plastic diaper pants!), flexible, and lightweight.  PUL has gained popularity, and are also used in other products such as mattress covers for infants and potty training toddlers, and even “mama pads”.   PUL fabrics hold up for years so items made of this material are economical.  They are also very easy to care for- just machine...

It didn’t occur to me until I had Vera that children’s sleepwear is required by law to be flame retardant.  This means that the fabric used in these items have been treated with chemicals that cause the product to be “flame resistant and self extinguish if a flame”were to come in contact with it.  If the fabric does not meet these requirements, then companies can manufacture sleepwear that is tight fitting must attach a tag clearly stating that it is a non-flame resistant item. Children’s pajamas  are the only clothing product with this requirement, but flame retardants are in other items...

Looking back on it now, making a baby registry was a total shot in the dark.  The stores all have a list to work off of, marking some things as “must haves” or “essentials”, but many of these suggestions didn’t seem practical.  However, I did follow some of their suggestions, and glad that I did.  I would never have thought of the infant changing pad- something I still use to this day!  Others I am very glad that I didn’t bother with as I never caught myself wishing for something I didn’t have. So when a new mom-to-be asks what...