Archive for August, 2008
I recently got a call from my son-in-law telling me that he was sending some new pictures of our grand daughter and me. These were taken a few months ago on our list visit down south. They were great. Grandpa and Abby making cookies, eating make believe ice cream cones, hugging and having tea.
My son-in-law told me that when he asked Abby who was in the pictures with her she said, “My friend grandpa”. Wow how cool is that! He asked her if she wanted to say hello to me on the phone. She did. The conversation when like this, Hello grandpa, good bye grandpa” and she was off the phone and on to her next adventure.
She sure makes me laugh. I love to hear her voice. Sometimes she’ll actually chat with me but yesterday was not that day. Maybe next time. I’ll be calling her this weekend to hear her say, “I love you grandpa”. Until then….
The FDA has announced BPA is safe for human consumption. The Washington Post article that ran this past Sunday called Studies on Chemical In Plastics Questioned: Congress Examines Role Of Industry in Regulation states that “Despite more than 100 published studies by government scientists and university laboratories that have raised health concerns about a chemical compound that is central to the multibillion-dollar plastics industry, the Food and Drug Administration has deemed it safe largely because of two studies, both funded by an industry trade group.” It goes on to point out that the FDA relied soley on research backed by the American Plastics Council.
Needless to say, everyone at WhatEveryBabyNeeds.com finds this truly disturbing.
The National Toxicology Program, an arm of National Institutes of Health, has produced studies that differ in their results from those that the FDA has chosen to accept. On the surface, it seems that the FDA has chosen to ignore reports from within its own system. A public meeting has been scheduled for September 16 to discuss issues arising from the preliminary report issued by the NIH, which expresses concern over the dangers of BPA, especially in relation to infants and children. One thing to keep in mind: no one is saying that BPA is safe. Everyone acknowledges that it is a dangerous toxicant. The only argument is over the level required to inflict significant damage on us (particularly infants and children).
We continue to strongly support the use of BPA-free bottles and sippy cups for children, and strongly encourage everyone to read the Washington Post article. We will be following this, and the California legislature’s consideration of a ban on the toxic chemical BPA in some children’s products.
Frenchy Baby Organics was started in March of 2007 after I had my first child. I was working in sales, selling large equipment for life science research and development. I originally went to school to study biochemistry but did not enjoy the lab so I found my niche selling into the lab for the past 8 years.
When my son was born in 2006 it was near impossible to find plain, simple, classic and practical clothing that was not blue or had cartoons and fire trucks on it. I was frustrated and thought about developing baby clothes that I liked. I continued to toss this crazy idea around in my head for the next 6 months or so and decided to take the leap out of my stable career. I began to research organic clothing and cottons and was stunned to learn the impact that producing standard cotton has on our environment. As I dug further into it I began to understand the other benefits of organic cotton, ie how it is produced, the superiority of the cotton, the healthier conditions for the farmers, factory workers, manufacturers, and babies who wear it. I knew that I needed to develop an organic line.
Our goal is to help leave the planet better off then it is today so we take pride in manufacturing with organic materials, using low impact dyes and practicing fair trade. We also give 5% of our profit to Alex’s Lemonade Stand to help fight childhood cancer.
Needless to say it has been quite challenging and filled with lots of ups and downs and even more surprises!
Since we launched our first line my family has added a new baby girl who has inspired our upcoming spring line. Managing a business and 2 kids is way more then I bargained for but it has been a lot of fun. Our fall line is sporty and designed to mix and match so you can create many outfits from just a few pieces. Our spring 2009 line is going to be very light, shear, dainty and classic. We hope that you like our line and would love to hear from you!
Ali Herzog
My world is changing and I love it! My son and his family recently moved back East and will be less than a 2 hour drive from us rather than 1,200 miles away.
This means that we will be able to see our grandson far more often then two or three times a year. Not that we don’t want to see my son and our daughter-in-law but let’s face it as a grandparent the light of your life is your grand children.
Being closer means we get the chance to develop a stronger bond (i.e spoil) with our grandson. I’m thinking about fishing with him in the stream behind his house, or playing kickball, baseball or hitting golf balls in the back yard, or even just chasing him around the yard.
We realized some of these things last weekend when we visited for the first time. What a delight to hear him scream with delight as we played “catch me if you can” (he’s a quick little devil) and the reward we got when we finally caught him … a big wet kiss and a hug. Wow was that great.
We can hardly wait until the next visit. We hope we don’t wear out our welcome as we plan on visiting as often as we can and as long as we’re invited.
Life is good and getting better.
I knew that having children would be a fulfilling and wonderful experience, but it wasn’t until I had my daughter that I learned how much joy I would find in my ‘Mom Posse’. In addition to the relationships that have grown in wonderful ways with the girlfriends I already had pre-baby, I have had the pleasure to meet and get to know women from different backgrounds and professions that I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. In particular, I bonded with 5 wonderful women from my daughter’s daycare class, and they are a constant source of support, expertise and fun.
With the pleasure I’ve found from my posse, I think it is critical that every mom needs to find theirs. It certainly doesn’t need to be big or structured as the one I am in, but a supportive friend that knows what you are going through makes all the difference. Your child doesn’t need to be in daycare for you to find it either, as both working and non-working moms need their ‘posse’. As I’m sure any mom has experienced, your little one is an automatic invitation to start talking with another mom that has a child…at the playground, in the store, anywhere. Start the conversation!
In addition to playdates, we get together once a month by ourselves for a glass a wine, a great dinner and great conversation. Although we prefer the more food-centered get-togethers, I’ve heard of mom groups that go on more adventurous, and/or athletic events such as rock climbing. Do you have your own posse? If so, I would love to hear what yours does!
I was just down at another children’s clothing show and I am so excited about the great companies cropping up by super-talented moms! We’ll be anxiously awaiting our new items to put on WhatEveryBabyNeeds.com.
Some of my favorites include some really great organic tees and bodysuits, a nursing cover, more Kicky Pants, my new favorite sippy cup and a really cool car seat cover! The mom-preneurs are as interesting as their fantastic products, and we’ll be interviewing many of them on this blog, so keep checking back!
We are also going to start showcasing our fall lineup in 2 weeks, which I’m equally as excited about!
We’re always huge fans of Simone Kaplan’s Floret dolls, but in talking to moms that have them, we heard that they are using the Jumpin Bean doll in a really great way: as a Tooth Fairy Pillow!
With the little pocket in front, these adorable dolls are the perfect place for your child to put their tooth and then find their reward in the morning! Moms are so smart!
