Why Organic?

During my pregnancy, I made the decision that I wanted to raise an organic baby for at least the first three years of his life. I came to this decision for several reasons. The first was because of my own beliefs and knowledge regarding organic food and products. I truly believe that they area better options than artificial or modified products. I also read Dr. Alan Greene's book, Rasing Baby Green, which validated all of my opinions about organic living. He discusses how the most important time of brain development is during the first three years of life and that if a parent is going to feed their child organic food for only a short period, it should be during this phase of their life. As a professional that specialises in child development, I couldn't agree more. Optimal nutrition is a key component to brain development, which I am determined to provide for my son. Greene's book inspired me to share these thoughts with my husband, Ky-Anh. I was very surprised how receptive he was about the choice to have our baby live an organic lifestyle. When he and I first met I tried to eat organically as much as possible (or as much as I could afford while being an in-debt, American university student!). Ky-Anh wasn't opposed to this lifestyle but he was what he calls more practical about the money he spent on food. Ky-Anh, however, being the good research scientist that he is, can be persuaded with enough evidence. I stated my reasons and the matter was agreed upon with a simple,"Okay." It was that easy.

I have to admit, since Lachlan has been born, I've been a bit of an organic fanatic. I certainly could be worse if I had access to more resources. For example, I would love to dress Lachlan in all organic clothing but: 1) there aren't that many places that sell organic clothing in our area, 2) in Australia, pure organic clothing can be really expensive and I can't justify spending that much money on infant clothing that he will grown out of in a month's time, 3) we use biodegradable laundry detergent, but it is not organic. I don't see the point of buying organic clothing if not washed in organic detergent. It defeats the purpose. (If you know of an organic brand that actually gets out tough stains let me know. We've tried several but as of yet can't find one that lives up to the other stuff.) I do however buy toys that are organic or made with all natural products such as the 'Under the Nile' cotton teethers or Heimess wooden toys. These are items that spend a great deal of time in his mouth so I try to make sure that they are as safe as possible. I don't like the idea of him sucking on plastic toys that are not BPA-free which could break down and leach chemicals over time.
I am also very particular about what products I put on Lachlan's skin. Unfortunatley, Lachlan inherited my skin: dry and very sensitive. We basically have to bathe him in warm water only or he will develop a rash or his skin will dry out. Luckily, Ky-Anh found that the salve base we use to create the organic skin products we make at home for our family is a wonderful moisturiser and doesn't irritate his skin. The salve base is made out of all certified organic ingredients including cocoa butter, shea butter and beeswax. It even makes a great all natural hair gel! After I massage it on Lachlan's skin, I use the excess on my hands to give him his stylish punk rocker hair that he often sports around. To protect his skin from the hot Australian sun, we use UV Natural Sunscreen. The company makes one formulated for babies and does not contain any nano-particles that may absorb into the skin. We tested this sunscreen out for the first time on our beach holiday visiting family in Florida last month and it worked really well. It was gentle on his skin and blended into his skin tone really well; non nano-particle sunscreen is made out of zinc oxide which is white and doesn't absorb, the UV Natural sunscreen is tinted to match your skin so you won't look like a ghost on the beach, or a cricket league player.

The biggest kick I have gotten on is making organic baby puree. I have literally gotten addicted to the process. We grow quite a bit of our own organic vegetables and fruit in our garden. There is something very beautiful about sharing my veggie garden with Lachlan. It is probably one of my favourite times of the week. He patiently sits in his ergo carrier while I pull carrots and cut sugar snap peas from the vines. I will pick some fresh herbs such as basil or rosemary for him to smell. It makes such a wonderful sensory exercise for him; one that many parents often forget to include in their daily activities with their child. We then make our way back into the house. He sits in his high chair and listens to the water run as I wash what we just harvested. He intently watches as I peel the carrots or trim the peas; he then hears the water in the steamer boiling, telling me that it is ready for the vegetables. As the vegetables steam he becomes engrossed in a toy, but as soon as he hears the food processor turn on, he perks his head up and stares at me like a wide-eyed possum. It isn't until I present him with a bib that he really gets excited. As soon as he takes a bite out of the sweet carrots, he wiggles around like there is a party in his mouth. I hope he will always be this excited about vegetables!

A lot of  nutrition theroists believe that organic fruits and vegetables are higher in antioxidants because they have to build up a strong resistance to fight off disease and pests. If this is true it really does make organics super foods. I certainly noticed the difference between the apples my husband buys for himself and the organic ones I purchased for Lachlan. I could smell the sweet fragrance from the organic apples while standing in the kitchen, which I never noticed with the other apples. If it means a few spots on my apples to get that kind of quality, I'll take it. Speaking of which, I'm sure there is something in the kitchen just waiting for me to puree so I better get to it!