Before I discuss the safe non toxic baby bedding we use, be sure to check out this post with my natural baby products guidelines AND a rundown of why we chose to go this route.
Then, be sure to get on the list for my fertility & pregnancy wellness program, Baby Making & Beyond!
Now, all a baby REALLY needs (*technically*) is your boobs and lots of love. But let’s be honest. They didn’t come up with baby registries for nothin’.
So here’s a rundown on the safe non toxic baby bedding we use. Some of this is expensive, some isn’t. (Like the baby bunk rental program!) Some you may deem this type’a thing necessary, some of you might not. It’s all good!
Sadly, there really isn’t a HUGE selection of options for thoughtfully produced baby bedding, cribs, or “baby holders” (like bassinets and sidecar sleepers). We really are limited in our options. Hopefully that’ll change soon.
In the end, just do what you feel deep down is right for your family and DON’T STRESS. LOTS more goes in to parenting than a few items on a registry.
I am in no way suggesting that having these items or NOT having them will make or break one’s ability to parent. I’m also not suggesting that any item other than the ones I suggest is “toxic” or “unsafe.” There are LOTS of other great choices out there, from buying used to Naturpedic.
I’m also NOT making any statements about how you SHOULD or should NOT parent. Whether you bedshare, cosleep, or have baby across the hall, there’s a tidbit in here for you!
We chose to spend the bulk of our baby money (and the bulk of our gift requests) on baby bedding. We felt that if baby was going to spent more than half of each day sleeping, we’d like it to be on materials we trust: natural fibers like eco-wool, organic cotton, and latex, which is a totally non-toxic mattress material – it’s basically baked rubber.
Here’s why we chose this bedding: because most bedding is by law treated with flame retardant chemicals; fortunately, wool is naturally flame-retardant, as is latex, and they require no treatment to resist catching fire. (Check out Toxic Hot Seat, a movie about flame retardants and firefighters. Hat tip The Primal Nurse)
Plenty more to come, and please leave your favorites in the comments!
Once you’ve read this post, be sure to check out the other posts in this series…
The best non toxic baby products for a natural nursery
Natural baby products: best cloth diapers for newborns
The best non toxic baby shops
Natural baby products: non toxic nursing supplies (coming soon!)
Natural baby products: non toxic baby body care & natural remedies (coming soon!)
Natural baby products: non toxic baby equipment (coming soon!)
Natural baby products: organic & eco-friendly baby clothing (coming soon!)
For safe non toxic baby bedding:
We have…
- The baby bunk (a bedside bassinet made of solid wood finished in water-based laquer). This product also requires a mattress, and we got our latex/wool mattress, wool puddle pad, and fitted sheet from BabyBunk.com as well (we worked with Ilene, who was great!)
- A USED eco-friendly
baby jailcrib (the Oeuf Classic) that we bought from a friend for a bargain. We replaced the mattress with… - A SPECTACULAR natural crib mattress made of wool/latex from Holy Lamb Organics (our biggest-ticket item that is completely free of industrial chemicals or flame retardants)
- Wool puddle pads from Holy Lamb Organics
- Organic cotton crib fitted sheets
- The 90 minute baby sleep program (Not a product, and not really a program – it’s a book, and it’s OMG AMAZING)
- And my favorite item by far – so much so that we now have THREE – this gorgeous wool blanket from Disana. We have it in raspberry, white and green.
More on these items…
The Baby Bunk is made from solid wood and a water-based laquer, and it can be converted into a kids’ bench once baby outgrows it. We worked with Ilene at BabyBunk.com. She was great to work with, and she even offers a very affordable rental program! It’s a perfect arrangement for the first few months.
Another option for newborn sleep is a moses basket, and you can buy these and rocking bases (and lots of other goodies) here.
When it came to the crib, my priority was to buy used so that any noxious fumes from construction would have evaporated. I also wanted solid wood instead of particle board. We were thrilled to find a used, eco friendly baby jail, and we certainly outfitted it with an amazing mattress, but to illustrate how LITTLE you know about how things will unfold as new parents, we so enjoy cosleeping that we may not use the crib at all. Or at least, not for awhile.
Now, if you’re into bedsharing, you just need to worry about your own bed and perhaps a bed rail once baby is mobile.
My comment on the controversial topic of bedsharing: if you do it smartly, I believe it’s perfectly safe; many cultures do it; side-lying nursing is da bomb; and the snuggles are addictive. Bonus: you won’t really need the crib or bassinet.Â
Our grown-up bedding is made from the same materials as our baby bedding; we have a Savvy Rest latex mattress and Holy Lamb Organics bedding. Yes, these were pricey items – and we LOVE them. But we had to save a LONG time to be able to afford them. We don’t take vacations – we buy mattresses!
Wool is breathable, warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and naturally anti-microbial.
(Those with skin reactions to wool are likely allergic to the chemicals used in processing, not the wool itself – yet another benefit of unprocessed eco-wool.)
Questions? Comments? Leave ’em below!
Thanks for reading,
19 Responses
We had gotten a co-sleeper sidecar when my baby was born (7 years ago almost? Where did the time go?!?). Anyway, the night I brought her home from the birth center, I couldn’t bear to put her in it. So we co-slept in the bed and used the thing for occasional naps, though most of her naps were on me. She left my bed around 4 years old and now sleeps on her own, but she knows our bed is still good for early morning snuggles! Anyway, you are right! You just never know. Good job so far, mama!
DITTO, Heather! That’s exactly what happened/is happening to us 🙂 I’m glad the sidecar can convert into a bench. It’s also been super handy for keeping various things I might need for baby during the night close at hand!
Hi Liz,
My baby isn’t a baby anymore she is 7 and we still cosleep sometimes (cuddles are still addictive even when they are older). I am looking for new non toxic mattresses and bedding for both of us. I was wondering if you think this mattress is better then the intellibed and if you like this bedding better then coyachi. These are the brands I have been looking at and would really like to know what you think!! Thanks
I’m actually not familiar with intellibed, but it looks great! I’m going to add them to the “non toxic shops” page.
I do really like Coyuchi for bedding – they’re pricey, but that seems to be just the way it is! Our duvet cover and sheets are coyuchi. Our comforter is from Holy Lamb, and our mattress and pillows are Savvy Rest. I did once find organic cotton sheets on Overstock, but I think that’s rare!
Great. Thanks so much for your input!
Good stuff!! I have seen the fitted sheets in plain colors but not the elephants. Now that is just the cutest! We are thinking moses basket with rocker… but I will need one of those darn pack n plays. I am thankfully going to be able to bring baby to work with me and a pack n play will be my best bet for that, I think. Any guidance on that? I, of course, love the look of the moses basket for home. I know at work I will need a piece that can stay at the office (and have a nice little cloth diaper changing area for me). Again. Thanks for sharing this information– you rock!
Courtney, I SO wanted a moses basket but we chose the baby bunk instead! It was really a toss-up! That’s so awesome that you can bring baby to work! As far as pack n’ play, I am going to write about that in my “baby equipment” post, but we went with the Nuna Sena (I think that’s what it’s called). Not perfect, and it’s pricey, and it doesn’t have wheels like the Graco, but better than many other options and Oeko-Tek certified. Still contains flame retardants, but apparently fewer and the fabrics are better. Just get it early and air it out! I think our alternative would have been the Baby Bjorn pack n’ play thing.
You’re so right about plans changing once baby arrives! I never wanted to bedshare since I only lovingly tolerate sharing a bed with my own husband, but for the first six weeks of my son’s life, it was the only way I got any modicum of sleep (uncomfortable sleep is still better than no sleep!). At the time I was sleeping on my sister’s mattress in between PCS moves, which was a firm mattress. Now that we are back in our own house, we’ve realized that our 6-year-old broken-in pillowtop is not safe for bedsharing with kiddo #2, so we’re actually putting a brand new non-toxic queen mattress as item #1 in the baby budget. We’re looking at the organic wool and latex mattresses from CozyPure, since they are local to us as seem to be reasonably affordable.
WOW! A baby and a PCS? You’re a strong woman!
Side-lying nursing saved my life!
AND, investing in high quality items translates into places to lay grand babies in the future, I adore the idea of tucking my grandchildren into the moses basket each of my three babies called home.
Hi Liz! Love this! Due with my first in October and have really been interested in keeping things as non toxic as possible. I didnt know about holy lamb organics so am bookmarking for sure. We are considering savvy rest and Im glad to see it passed your test 🙂 what exact model did you get?
for pack n play type things Im looking into the baby bjorn model – on amazon – as a less toxic version
another question: did you look into the naturpedic crib mattress (Think its at target and on amazon) – thoughts?
I’m not sure about the model! I’m sorry, I don’t think we kept records! I think we were choosing between Talalay and Dunlop, no clue what we went with. I originally had a Naturpedic mattress (used) that we bought secondhand with our crib! I think Naturpedic is a good brand. I just wanted to go one step further and so sold the used Naturpedic and got the Savvy Rest!
Loving the baby lamb organics site so thanks for the tip!
I am currently saving for a Baby Lamb Organics comforter (ordered samples…I sleep hot but live in Chicago so am torn between the lightest one or the perfect comfort) and am hopeful it works out. Gonna be weird moving from down to wool but hopefully its somewhat fluffy (down seems to attract dust mites and mold ).
Just curious if you have any plans to work with them to offer your reader’s a discount by chance? 🙂
Also, I found a few eco new wool puddle pads from esty for a great price so your readers might want to check that out as an option.
Speaking of puddle pads – how many do you recommend? Do you double up on them and have extra on hand for backup in case of accidents? We are probably splurging on the mattress (Savvy rest or now even the Baby Lamb Organics one) and want to protect it so we can use it for the next kiddo.
Thanks!
Hmm, I hadn’t thought about reaching out for a discount! Honestly I don’t have time these days to manage such a thing 🙂 Maybe some day when my head is on a little straighter! Great idea on the Etsy thing. So much good stuff on there! I doubled up on the puddle pads. 2 for bassinet, 2 for crib (funny enough we don’t know if we’ll ever even use the crib, but we’ve got it all outfitted anyway!) That way if something spills we can lay the puddle pad up to dry and change it out for a dry one. I’d definitely suggest going with 2 if you can swing it.
Hi Liz! Thanks for the amazing recommendations. We’re shelling out on a good mattress, but need to save on everything else.
What are your thoughts on buying used for baby bed linens? I figure if I get something that doesn’t look brand new, hopefully it has been used long enough and washed enough times that most of the crap has off-gassed or washed out? Any suggestions on this would be much appreciated!
Hi Jill! I think used is good to go on just about everything, including cloth diapers! If you were super concerned, I’d let them bake in the sun for awhile.
So happy you checked out Toxic Hot Seat. Such an eye opening movie! Another great movie I just saw a few days ago was, The Human Experiment on Netflix. Another great one to check out, narrated by Sean Penn
Liz, thanks so much for these! I am expecting in November and they have been really helpful for planning. 🙂 Any idea when we can expect more info on nursing supplies?
OY VEY! I am so behind already 🙂 I will do my best to get something going! Really, all you need is attached to you 🙂 BAD JOKE