Going organic

Disclaimer: The following are opinions of one mother. They do not reflect the views of all mothers nor claim to be the "right way".

Ryan and I made the decision when Nathan was ready for solid foods that we were going to try to do organic. It was actually easy, we just bought organic cereal and jar food. But now that he is almost entirely on table foods, it has become a little more difficult. Now, I never thought in a million years that I would that mother who is obsessed with reading the labels of every food she gives her child, but here I am. This is the way I see it. Nate has already had a rough start in life. Why add to it? I can't stand the thought of "toxins" in his little (already somewhat frail) body. It has taken a little more effort on our part but I think we are getting better. Our local Meijer has an organic line that I use a lot and when I can't find organic I buy produce from the US or products that don't use artificial ingredients or preservatives. This also ties in with my fear of vaccinations. I went through a period where I was weighing the pros and cons. Nathan is up to date with his immunizations (except for his 1 year but we have a appt. next week) but much to the dismay of our pediatrician came up with our OWN vaccination schedule. We don't let Nathan get more than two vaccinations at one time and we space them at least a month apart. It's just little things like this, that really don't take much time at all that I think make a big difference. I am very careful to not heat his food nor store food that is still hot in plastic containers (such an EASY thing to avoid) and I try to use only "green" household cleaners (how hard is it to just pick up the Simple Green instead of the Fantastic at Target?) My mom thinks I am crazy and I'm sure some other moms out there think I am paranoid. Maybe I am. But it makes me feel good, knowing I am doing the best I can for him. I don't have much faith in the FDA or CDC and don't necessarily think they have the best interest of American citizens at heart. Don't get me wrong...this is not something I want to live my life around. But I will continue to make easy decisions for my child that I feel good about. The next step is making the switch from the junk Ryan and I eat to organic which would make things soooo much easier! We hope this decision is something Nathan will appreciate one day (and we will see the benefits of for all of us!)