Our Non-Toxic Nursery

There are many things to think about when it comes to planning out your nursery. What theme are you going to go with, what color scheme to use, and most importantly, what products are we going to buy? It is an incredibly exciting time with lots of pinteresting and planning to go along with it. While I wanted our nursery to be #aesthetic I also had to make sure the items that were in there were high-quality, low tox, and most of all, safe. The nursery is where the baby sleeps (well most of the time 🙃) and spends hours on end so the importance of safe products in this space is at the top of my list.

For our nursery, we went with the below items. I’ll also briefly explain why I made these choices and link to any products that I can. If you are looking for additional recommendations (these aren’t the only products I would recommend) let me know!

Crunchy & Curious, LLC recommends products that are genuinely loved and well-researched. Many of these links are affiliate. If you end up purchasing through an affiliate link, I may earn a commission (at no extra charge to you.) Commisionable links will be marked with an asterisk*. You can see my full disclaimer, here.

Mattress

My number one tip for your nursery? Focus on the crib mattress! If you are going to only buy only ONE “non-toxic” item for your baby, make it their mattress! And be sure to choose one that is truly non-toxic and safe. There are lots of marketing schemes out there that are easy to fall for.

Did you know that most mattresses contain either soy or polyurethane foam, GMOs, vinyl/PVC, phthalates, formaldehyde, flame retardants, and/or perfluorinated compounds (PFCs)? Yikes! When buying a mattress it’s important to focus on the correct certifications. Look for GOTS or GOLS, most of the other certifications don’t really mean much when it comes to mattresses, unfortunately.

Read my comprehensive crib mattress round-up linked here.

Mattress Pad

If you’ve made an investment in your mattress, you’ll want to protect it. A mattress cover also helps to protect against dust mites and other allergens and protects the mattress from spills and accidents. An added bonus is that it makes clean-up so much easier when you need a quick switch in the middle of the night.

For the mattress pad, I look for organic materials (certified is even better!) and no added chemicals or treatments.

Crib Sheets/Blankets

Organic cotton all the way. As I mentioned above, a baby is breathing in, for hours on end, what they are laying on. I want to make sure that there is no way they are breathing in any toxic fumes or chemicals. Organic cotton reduces those toxins and if it is certified organic cotton we are even better off.

I added a couple of blankets to this list as well. Since my kiddo is now well over a year he sleeps with a blanket and we used the Clover & Sage as a tummy time and stroller blanket.

Crib

We have two cribs in our home. One in the nursery and one in the master bedroom. This is why you see two mattresses listed above since we own both.

For the crib, we wanted to make sure it was solid wood and if possible, Green Guard Gold certified. I also made sure it had no or low-VOC paints and finishes.

Glider

For our glider, I focused on something that was Green Guard Gold certified, comfortable, and stylish. This one fits that bill!

We chose the Twill White fabric because it is composed of 100% all-natural cotton (I try to avoid synthetic fabrics like polyester if I can.)

Monitor

For the baby monitor, I wanted to find something that met our technology needs and was as low emissions as I could get. That was quite the feat as many baby monitors that have video and other technologies emit high levels of microwave radiation when powered on.

According to Wired Child, “a wireless baby monitor at less than 1 meter away from the baby’s crib was roughly equivalent to the microwave radiation experienced from a cell phone tower only 150 meters away.” This EMF radiation can impact sleep, brain development, and reproductive systems.

We went with Nanit because the manufacturer claims that “Nanit directs 10 times less radiation in the direction of the child than in any other direction.” Additionally, it is placed high above the crib.

Paint

The room is painted with Sherwin Williams Harmony paint. It is zero VOC and Green Guard Gold certified. Conventional paint can off-gas harmful carcinogens and ozone-depleting compounds. Try to find paints that are low or no VOC.

Note: Sherwin-Williams Harmony has been discontinued.

For other paint options, I recommend:

Rug

For our rug, we went with something that falls under my 80/20 rule. That means that sometimes, even though there may be better products out there, you can’t win them all. I love this rug even though it is not made with natural materials. It is made out of polypropylene, which you will find many rugs are. Safavieh does make a conscious effort to choose sustainable materials and request that their suppliers decrease many known toxins, though. Knowing that this product wasn’t the best option, I let it off-gas in our garage for a month, just to be cautious.

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