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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Who Knew THIS Would Be So Difficult?

Am I talking about something deep and profound, like teaching my children to be kind people, to love God and others? NOPE. No, I am talking about choosing beds for my kids. I had considered not blogging about something seemingly so trivial, but I am betting that many of you will be blown away by some of the information I have come across, so I wanted to share.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, it's time to put the kiddos in twin beds. We have been fortunate to be given beds for the boys, and only have to buy mattresses and bedding. I found a good deal on craigslist for a bed and mattress for Sis. I shopped, and shopped and shopped and got a deal on her bedding and the boys. In fact, the boys sets were $50 off, plus I had a 20% off coupon and got FREE shipping. Not bad, huh? Anyway, we will chat about my new found couponing chops at a later date. For now...beds, and such.

If you've read this blog long, you know that our kiddos have a hard time handling toxins of any kind. They already have signs of Oxidative Stress at the tender age of 4 yrs. So we have to be careful about everything. Hence the pulling out of carpet, and repainting their rooms with No-VOC paint last spring, and the organic food, etc. So maybe it is no surprise that I would be concerned about mattresses as humans spend approximately 26 yrs of their lives in bed!


As it turns out, beds that are in use in America are for the most part HORRIBLY TOXIC to humans. You know that "new mattress" smell? Yeah, that's called Offgassing, and that is not a good thing. Some of these gasses are from chemicals that are known to make humans very, very sick.


Offgassing means that your body, or in our case, our children's' bodies are continually being exposed to toxins that there body can't effectively shed. Indeed the human body isn't meant to have to deal with the many toxins it is hit with on a daily basis, and our population, infant mortality rates, morbidity rates are beginning to tell the story. Toxins hang out in our bodies effecting our health, and we pass those gifts along to our offspring. Back to the point--offgassing. All but organic mattresses off gas. I would love to buy 3 organic mattresses, but even at my wholesale discount, that was simply out of the question. So I researched and researched and researched. Surprised? Doubtful. I found that mattresses more than 2 years old are somewhat better than new mattresses, but still off gas. So I ruled out new mattresses, even though they can be had cheaply. I began scouring craigslist fr used mattresses. Only problem is that it is illegal to sell a used mattress in TN, so choices are slim. Thankfully there are a few lawbreakers out there, and evidently the KPD is more concerned about athletes gone awry with guns an drugs, and the prostitutes downtown than they are with *gasp* someone selling a used mattress. So I have found 2 for sure, and 1 maybe.


Problem is, that simply isn't enough. I needed to find another way to protect them, so I kept reading. It turns out there are things called Mattress wraps that reduces this gas exposure. Yep, I ordered 3 of them. Those tend to make a crinkly plastic sound when you move in bed so I am looking for wool or organic cotton mattress pads to make it more comfy and less crinkly without adding another offgassing material to the mix. These have to wait for the moment, but I am shopping like mad for the best deal.


As if all of this is not enough work for this mom, there is the issue of pillows. Yep, pillows off gas too and that is right in your face (breathing space) and where your head and brain is. The benefits of Organic pillows are: "Cotton makes a firm pillow that works great in conjunction with more pillows. Hand stuffed to avoid lumping, Organic cotton pillows are soft to the touch and great to snuggle up to. They will not off-gas any chemicals so they are good for folks with chemical sensitivities or allergies" according to the White Lotus Home Store's website. I haven't ordered organic pillows, but that is also at the top of the list. It never ends, does it?

Just thought I would share.

1 comment:

Tracey said...

The mattress wraps sound great. Think I will have to order one of those for the new mattress. Wonder if you can wrap the box springs? They seemed to off gas too and we have 2 new ones. This is great info. Honestly I am feeling a bit sad and overwhelmed with all the toxicity. We had some new Walmart toddler beds and the wood smelled so strong of the varnish. It really depresses me now to think of how they breathed that in for quite some time nightly and also the new mattresses/box springs now. Will my spectrum kids have a chance to have normal children if they have a family one day?! Why oh why are they making this stuff so dangerous and yet it is crazy expensive to buy organic. Some days it just all seems too much. Not that my kids aren't worth every penny but jeez they should not be making everything so toxic in the first place! GRRRRRR! Sorry, I am having a bit of a down day. Autism kicking me around a bit.