low-toxicity paints for nurseries

It's been a long time coming, but the reconstruction of our baby's nursery is nearly complete. The walls are sheetrocked and primed. The floors are sanded, stained and in the process of being coated with hydrathane.

In the interest of forming a healthier environment for our little one, we went with low toxic floor and wall coverings. Specifically we bought paints with a low volatile organic compound (VOC) content, and a floor varnish alternative to poly-urethane.

For the wall paint we used the Benjamin Moore Eco Spec paints which are listed to have a VOC content of under 1 gram per liter. Some other popular paint brands include Sherwin Williams and Pratt and Lambert. The paints are cost more, but I find it well worth the expense in consideration of my child's health. According to the EPA, the health effects of VOCs include:

Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some organics can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans. Key signs or symptoms associated with exposure to VOCs include conjunctival irritation, nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, dyspnea, declines in serum cholinesterase levels, nausea, emesis, epistaxis, fatigue, dizziness.

These are things an adult should not deal with, clearly I do not wish to subject an infant to them. EarthEasy.com has some more information on other brands of low VOC paints.

In addition, it's a good rule-of-thumb to allow a nursery painted with traditional paints (not with low VOC paints) to air out for at least a full month before a baby sleeps in it.

We used hydrathane, a water-based varnish, in place of standard poly-urethane on the wood floors at the advice of a gentleman at the hardware store. He informed me that it's more environmentally friendly, has less odor and is less toxic. The odor during application is significantly less than standard poly.

If you're in the process of redoing a nursery, I encourage you to seek out alternative materials that will make sure your child has a healthy start.

Naming your child after a Godfather character

The other day I wrote a post on InsideFatherhood.com about a potential name I suggested to my pregnant wife for our unborn son. When I originally verbalized my brilliant candidate, she gave me a look as though I had eaten paint chips as a child, which coincidentally is a family favorite.

Obviously she doesn't have a well textured understanding of the bit parts in the Godfather movies. The name I suggested happened to be a small character the films, and I provided this little clue to the readers:

“It was the name of the baker in the Godfather who was bringing flowers to Vito Corleone in the hospital when Michael met him on the stairs.“

Nobody got it.

Well apparently Mike over at Stroller Derby agrees with my thoughts as to why **** is in fact the person from the Godfather after whom I should name my child. I blocked out the potential name, you'll have to read my original post at Inside Fatherhood if you want to see what it is.

You handle the womb, I'll handle the room.

I received a question the other day from a reader, Ricky, who asked: How's the nursery coming along?

Thanks for asking Ricky.

He was asking in reference to a post from about three weeks ago when I mentioned that Baby room prep was my own little corner of pregnancy hell. Things had been progressing slowly until this weekend when I made some major strides. Most notably, you can now see the floor.


After removing more than twenty 34 gallon contractor bags of plaster and insulation, and chucking hundreds of strips of wood lathe out the window, finishing the room is reasonably within reach.

I'm incredibly excited about being able to provide a fresh, new room for our child. I've previously mentioned that I talk to my wife's belly because it helps me form a bond with our friendly little fetus. Preparing the nursery is something that gives me a similar sense of participation and involvement with my child. While he obviously won't experience the room until after birth, I feel like creating a safe, comfortable and friendly room the male counterpart to providing a womb to shack up in for nine months.

I'll post more pictures as things progress and I equip the room with accouterments such as walls and a ceiling.

Baby Room Prep - My Own Little Corner of Pregnancy Hell

The results of the expectant father survey so far have indicated that 70% of respondents are not at all bugged by or stressed about preparing a room for their baby.

However, 100% of respondents are not dealing with this:


I'm completely demolishing the baby's room, right down to the rafters and studs. Currently the baby's room has no ceiling and only two walls, and I enter and exit the room via a ladder from the attic.

If you're wondering why I'm not wearing a shirt during in the picture, it's because the room gets unbearably hot with no shades and no air conditioning. During demolition I quickly get dehydrated from the heat and I'm trying not to exit and enter the room a lot so I don't track dust and debris through the house.