Things We Like

Milk is Fashionable
Support raw milk in style with earrings made from vintage milk bottle caps. From MilkMade in Brooklyn, NY.
Danish Woolen Delight
Baby and toddler woolens that won't disapoint. The Nelson hat is a winner - keeps the neck warm and never falls off. My single top baby-item recommendation is the nursing pads. They are indispensable, if you happen to be a woman who needs one. The sales pitch is really true: they absorb lots of milk, barely need washing, and never seem to smell. Unlike the cotton ones, they never feel clammy. I don't really understand it, except that sheep stay dry in the rain. They're expensive, but you'll only need a few pairs. Do buy the lanolin soap, which is gentle on wool. These come from Vermont, by way of ecological sheep in Europe. If you know anyone who produces a similar product in the U.S., please send me an e-mail.
gDiapers
Are you feeling fatigue from the Cloth v Disposable Debate? I certainly was - and we had settled on chlorine-free disposables plus dedication to using potty signs from birth to get out of diapers faster - when my friend Sara alerted me to gDiapers, which combine a cotton cover with a flushable or compostable liner. An Australian, Cradle to Cradle product. What's that? Read more. (An update on gDiapers after using them for a couple of months. I still think they are the best alternative for those who can't bear the thought of disposables or traditional cloth. But they're probably not right for us, right now. Our toilets are a little weak to flush them properly and we're not in a position to compost at the moment. Julian only wore them after his morning poop in the potty, ie for pees only; that worked best because they can slide around a bit. Julian did not wear them at night, again because they sometimes slid around, leaving pee to escape. I'm compelled to report all this, but I still think they are a super product. And he looks great in the chocolate pants...)
Baby Bjorn Potty
This beautifully designed infant potty fits babies from newborn to 2, I reckon, depending on the 2-year-old bottom in question. It still fits Julian beautifully at 1 year, and he has used it (some) since birth - regularly since three months. It's affordable and comes in pretty colors, which must be why we have one in every bathroom, one at the farm, one at my office, and in the car. When we're on the road, I carry it in a cotton net bag - the kind you use at farmers' markets - so it air-dries. Sold at many baby shops and at The EC Store.
Svan High Chair
I dislike single-use, expensive items. We don't have a crib. When Julian started to sleep in his own bed, gradually, starting at about 7 months, we experimented with a foldable travel crib, but it didn't have many advantages I could see, and it was bulky and unsightly. Now Julian sleeps on a mattress on the floor. He can't hurt himself if he 'falls' on the thick carpet and we can move his bed anywhere. (November update: we bought a crib. More on that soon.) The same thinking - flexibility - led us to the Svan high chair, which suits all sizes: from a baby old enough to sit up, right up to 5-year-olds. The removable tray and plastic cover are great and the chair gets regular compliments for its looks. Assembly required, as they say. I mean it. If you don't fancy Svan, there are many similar chairs out there.
Infant Knickers
If you practice potty signs and don't want to use diapers at all, there are lots of underwear for babies. Man, are they cute. We like Bright Bots, which are terry cloth with a plastic liner, and a plain cotton knicker, with no lining at all, called Organic Tiny One made by Under the Nile. Bright Bots protect the baby's pants or the carpet from a couple of pees, while the pee runs right through the plain cotton ones, of course. But that is part of potty signs: you and the baby learn when he has to go, or has gone. Disposables, of course, teach the baby to treat his pants like a toilet. Find all kinds of potty wear at The EC Store.
Baby Woolens
We love everything about these ecological woolens from Finland. Julian wears the short and long nappy pants from the baby section, and the hood (in red, of course) and the long johns/pajamas from the children's department. The wool and silk blend is more expensive and exquisitely nice. All fine clothes, and they get lots of compliments, too. Do buy the lanolin soap and care for them as they instruct - which is lightly. www.NovaNatural.com
Need Help? Get It Here
If you're pregnant and looking for a doula or midwife, nursing and looking for technical advice or encouragement, trying to wear your baby and getting all tied up in slings, or getting peed on - whoops, I mean using potty signs - consider professional help. Folks who do this stuff go by various names - I guess wise village woman was the old term - and it's definitely a growing field. New York City mothers: Call Haya Brant, a mother-baby educator who taught us potty signs and baby wearing with charm and wit and good sense. As a new mother, it was the best $75 I ever spent.