top baby gifts (part 1)

so it's been quite a while since i last posted a 'real' post so i thought it was high time for a new one. since many of my friends seem to be pregnant or having babies, this was a natural blog topic for me. this week i will be blogging about my favourite gifts to give to expectant mommies or new babies. i'll be writing about two per day (in no particular order) so be sure to check back in to catch all ten items. hope it gives you some ideas you might not have thought of before.  :o)

items #1 and #2 come from the same company. delish naturals is a mama-owned company specializing in handcrafted body care (made from all-natural and/or organic ingredients) for the whole family. so far everything i've tried from this line has become a family fave. their scents are oh-so-delicious and good for you too!

1) delish-ious shampoo & body wash by delish naturals ($15.50)

this scrumptious tear-free blend acts as both shampoo and body wash and works great on baby's delicate skin as well as yours. it is made entirely of the most gentle saponified oils, amino acids, vitamins and proteins and is nut, dairy, gluten, paraben, wax and phalate free. my favourite scent has got to be grape soda. definitely can't stop sniffing my kiddos post-bath when we use this!

2) yum bum butter by delish naturals ($15.50)

don't let the name fool you, this product is good for more than just bums. just some of its many uses include treating diaper rash, eczema, psoriasis, cradle cap, cracked skin, and softening elbows and heels. just recently, i used it on my daughter's face (where she had scratched herself ... man do her fingernails grow quickly!) and those scratches started clearing up within the same day. for those parents who cloth diaper, this bum butter is also cloth diaper friendly. this product is available in a 4 oz tin or as a sampler kit if you want to try out 3 fabulous scents. monkey farts is a best-seller, but my new fave is probably mojito EO (EO = essential oil).

and all of the delish naturals products are made in canada (alberta, to be exact)!

preview: tomorrow's picks feature organic cottony goodness...

what's in your body?

 

i found the above video on icareaboutcosmetics.com when looking for info about the great canadian hand cream swap that i mentioned yesterday. the video really prompts you to think about what you're putting in your body. after all, as their tag line states, "what goes on your body, goes in your body". we've been slowly making the change over to organic skincare products, but after looking up some of our old products on the cosmetic database, i feel the urge to get rid of the old even sooner than planned. lots of the standard baby products you see on the shelves are rated as high as 7 or 8 (on a scale of 10) on the hazard meter. 

i recently discovered a canadian line of natural and organic skincare products that i'll be carrying in my new shop (to be launched march 1st!). if you want to get a sneak preview of them, click on this link. the company is called lalabee bathworks and all of their products rate between a 0-2 on the hazard scale. in fact, their best-selling bottom balm is rated at a zero!

some me time

yesterday i got the chance to have a little "me time" and went to have a facial at a spa. a couple of friends had given me a gift card for a facial for my birthday, so i figured it was about time i used it (since it's been almost a year already!). the gift card was for a facial at pure + simple, which is a spa that uses all-natural (and mostly organic) products and its services emphasize holistic health principles. i've been experiencing bad skin since giving birth to my son almost two years ago. not sure if it's the weird hormones or if it's something else, but it's been a struggle dealing with it. the facial was very relaxing (with the exception of the extrations) and the esthetician was very good about explaining what she was doing and the products she was using. she explained that i needed to drink a lot more water since my skin was very dehydrated. i ended up getting a sampler kit to try some of their products at home. seems like quite the regimen, but if it'll give me nice skin, i'll do it!  :o)  if you live in the toronto area and you're looking for more natural skincare products, i highly recommend checking them out. david suzuki recently released a report about the "dirty dozen" cosmetic chemicals to avoid and all of the products at pure + simple are free of those chemicals.