In the middle of night, the very early hours of September 9, 2009
Sparrow James Midnight Madden was born to Nicole Richie and Joel Madden.
He weighs 7lbs 14oz. Nicole, Joel, Harlow and Sparrow are all doing
well. Thank you for all of your good wishes.
Since I’ve become a mother, I have become friends with more moms. We often share important parenting knowledge. One bit of information that has truly resonated with me is the danger of certain plastics.
Many mothers heat up bottles in the microwave to give babies milk, but did you know that heat enables the release of toxic chemicals in certain plastics? (Here’s a Time article that explores the issue. I’m not trying to be a guru, but I encourage you to read about it and decide for yourself!)
Not to give plastic a bad name at all… There are safe plastics made by brands including Born Free and Dr. Brown’s.
I’ve been dubbed the ‘overly protective’ mother in the house… I tend to keep Harlow away from plastic toys. Joel will indulge her from time to time… He figures if it didn’t hurt him growing up, it’s fine. And I completely respect his parenting style.
Alternatives to plastics aren’t as hard to find as you might think. There are these great wooden toys by Haba that she likes to play with. And Harlow loves to play with anything that makes noise — wooden rattles and instruments. Think it’s hereditary? 
Soleil Moon Frye (remember her from Punky Brewster?) has this lovely store in Larchmont Village in Los Angeles called The Little Seed.
I find myself going there often because—even beyond the fact that all of their baby products are eco-friendly and organic—I’m confident their items are safe for Harlow.
Soleil, who is a mom, too, has done a ton of research on finding non-toxic baby products. This is what inspired her store, actually.
Knowing that she has done her homework is part of what keeps me coming back!
