Everybody knows breast is best.  If you can’t breastfeed because you are going back to work, fine — then please, for the love of your baby, please at the very least give your child colostrum while in the hospital.  Colostrum is that liquid gold that comes out of your body between birth and when your milk comes in (some women get it before birth during pregnancy).  Among other things, it contains a concentrated amount of carbs, proteins, and antibodies to help keep your newborn healthy while his or her immature immune system is playing catch up.  It is also a natural laxative and helps the baby pass its stools and excrete bilirubin, which helps prevent jaundice.  Most importantly, it contains IgA and leukocytes, which will help protect your infant from illness.   Moreover, colostrum coats your baby’s digestive tract which helps prevent foreign substances from invading your baby’s tummy.  

Moreover, there are great health benefits to YOU as well from breastfeeding — please read this NIH articles here regarding benefits to both infant and mother.

Assuming you are lucky enough to produce it (because some women cannot), your breasts can’t be THAT great of an asset that you must withhold this great benefit from your child in the first few days of life.

There’s a reason the doctors and hospitals push it so much.  

(And if you can’t be inconvenienced even for a few days, query why you brought a child into the world in the first place — there I said it)

As someone who was formula fed (my mom had an infection and medications that dried up her supply) and suffers from autoimmune disorder and a host of health problems — please, give your child the best start in life.  It is so worth it.

So assuming you have breastfed for as long as your possibly can — and you get to a point where you need formula, where do you go?

Well please don’t be fooled.  Organic formula will not save you (buts it’s still better than non-organic).  At least not in the USA.  Read this informative article by the Cornucopia Institute, which reviews all of the dangerous or potentially controversial ingredients in organic infant formula and tells you what to look out for.  From what I can tell, the only semi-safe formula in the USA  is by Baby’s Only (and it’s technically a toddlers formula and gives some babies constipation based on reviews).  However, even that brand once had trouble based on levels of arsenic (which they have since claimed to correct).  Earths Best tasted horrible – or at least my baby didn’t care for it.

After much heart wrenching research,  I have discovered that the best formulas on the market are either HiPP from the UK (manufactured in Germany) or Holle from Germany.  HiPP powders, however, were once cited for high levels of aluminum so I’d stick to HiPP ready made formula or Holle. They are expensive and hard to find, but so worth it.  Among other things, both companies have been around for over 50 years and their products are from grass-fed, organic cows of much higher quality than the USA. EU organic standards are much more stringent than in the USA.  Holle goes a step further and is made from biodynamically grown food (Holle is Demeter certified, which means it is one of a number of strictly regulated organizations complying with regulations set by the Demeter Society whose criteria exceeds standard organic farming and all stages of production are checked).  No pesticides or chemical fertilizers are used in Holle’s raw ingredients and free of GMOs.  More than that, Holle tastes great!  So the overall winner for me has been Holle.

The only downside is that they are expensive and hard to come by in the USA.  You have to make sure you are getting it from a legit importer/dealer.
 

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I have tried almost every diaper out there.  I’ve tried Pampers Swaddlers, Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive, Pampers Baby Dry, Huggies, Andy Pandy, Earth’s Best, Seventh Generation,  you name it — and in my experience, nothing else came close to leaving my baby’s bum dry and bead-free after 12 hours (yes, I said 12 hours) of use than Bambo Nature Made diapers.  Andy Pandy diapers were really nice in terms of comfort, but didn’t hold a candle to Bambo’s absorbency (especially given the comparable price).  Andy Pandy was decent for daytime use, but not for nighttime or extended use.

The Bambo diapers won BabyGearLab’s Editor’s Choice Award for Best Overall Disposable Diaper against both eco-friendly (Andy Pandy, Earth’s Best, etc) and traditional diapers (Pampers, Huggies, etc) scoring a 9 in absorbency and 7 in leakage.  Check out the side-by-side comparison here: http://m.babygearlab.com/Disposable-Diaper-Reviews

Moreover, Bambo diapers’ list of accomplishments and notable features include, among others:

• The most certifications in the industry, including: EcoCert, Nordic Swan, Asthma Allergy Denmark and FSC.

• The Dermatologically Tested Label gives you confidence that the diapers will not irritate your baby’s skin or induce an allergic reaction.

• The Asthma & Allergy Association certification assures you that the diapers pose the lowest possible risk of causing allergy, eczema, or skin-irritation.

• Certified free of all known allergens, perfumes and dangerous chemicals  (no additives are used in the manufacturing process, i.e. no dyes or inks — other than on the outside of diaper for design– perfumes, essential oils, preservatives,  latex, glue, odor eliminators,  plant extracts, lotion, moisturizer, etc.)

• Free of locally irritating, sensitizing, carcinogenic, or mutagenic ingredients.

• The absorbent core has less SAP.  Wheat starch is used for a substantial portion of the filling.

• Made from approximately 75%-80% biodegradable materials.

• No chlorine is used in the bleaching process.

• No chemicals or compounds from Substances of Very High Concern or SVHC.

• No Phthalates, Formaldehyde (HCHO), Colophonium, AZO-pigments or PVC.

• One of the few diapers with a breathable backsheet ensuring that the skin can breathe and stay more dry.

•  Diapers (above size 1) have a wetness indicator (the light blue writing on the surface of the backsheet will smear or blur when the diaper gets wet).

*It should be noted that I have never tried the old version of the Bambo Naturemade Diapers as those that have used it seem to believe it is superior to the newer ones.  Yet, I’ve had no issues so far with the new diapers.

My little guy is very long and fairly big for his age with chubby legs.  The Bambo diapers fit him well.  I moved up a size to get more out of the diaper and so far, no leaks — even after extended use.  We had a blow out and no leakage up the back either.  The tabs fit snug but it’s not too tight around his chubby legs.  When you remove the diaper after extended use, it’s amazing how dry the inside of the diaper feels!  The diaper is sturdy.  And overall, it just looks and feels like it would be better for your kid than Pampers or any other commercial diaper.  We use less diapers a day because they are so absorbent, so we believe the extra cost somewhat balances itself out.

Your kid is in their diapers all day long.  It’s about time to treat his or her bum with some gentle tender loving care (and not chemicals and SAP).

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