We had a great talk this week with famed New York City dermatologist Dr. Doris Day on her Sirius XM Radio Show on the Doctor Radio channel. One of the questions she asked us was about baby wipes and how we chose our favorites. Our response was that they had to be four things: Free of xenoestrogens, fragrance-free, extra-thick and easy to take out of the package. Our hands down, order-by-the-caseload favorites are BabyGanics Thick 'N Kleen Ultra Sensitive Baby Wipes. They are the ultimate luxury wipes! We seriously use them on everything from runny noses, dirty hands and of course stinky tushies. The soft pack makes them great for tossing in the diaper bag. We put the ingredients through our baby-safe testing and they came out with flying colors.

Another noteworthy brand we discovered after writing Belli Beautiful are Water Wipes. Their super-clean formulation and super-softness make them an excellent choice for little ones. Read Melissa's review of them on Cool Mom Picks.

We talk about the importance of clothing babies in only 100% cotton, super-soft clothing. Think about it, you don't like when your clothes are itchy or uncomfortable, well neither do babies. In fact, baby skin can become much more easily irritated than adult skin. And when their skin is red an irritated, you're guaranteed to have one fussy, unhappy baby.

One of our favorite utlra-soft baby clothing brands is Hanna Andersson, we love their simple, no-fuss designs and incredibly yummy organic cotton. So much so, that we even buy her PJs for ourselves. Another awesome baby/kids brand that takes the softness factor to another level is Paige Lauren, made with supima cotton and micro modal (basically the softest fabrics around!). Her rompers and drawstring track pants are baby must-haves. And for onesies, you can't go wrong with Gerber Onesies, made with 100% cotton. We bought them by the bucket-load for our little ones! Another adorable brand who just does it right is Zutano. Most of their playful clothes are made of a luxurious interlock cotton. We love their bright and easy to wear collections.

We can't stress enough how important it is to keep your munchkin comfy. That means no polyester or clothing with embroidery that can be felt through the fabric. If you get clothes like that for baby gifts, return them or give them to charity.

If you've read our book, then you know about the cause for concern related to petroleum-derived ingredients during pregnancy. The thing is, we really can't say just how safe a product containing petroleum is, since it may contain 1,4 dioxane, a definite no-no for moms-to-be because of its links to birth defects. We admit, breaking our Vaseline habit during pregnancy was not easy. We're used to smearing it on everything from chapped lips to dry cuticles. So when we discovered this new Non-Petroleum Jelly from Live Clean Baby, we were stoked! It's free of parabens, pthalates and, of course, petroleum. So the ingredient profile is about as clean as you'll get for both moms-to-be and babies. But forget about the ingredients for a minute, this formula rocks! It makes our lips slippery and shiny and it helped heal our sons' red and raw nose all winter long. We give this product a big, fat heart. 

Hi and welcome to our blog!  We spent many years writing and researching Belli Beautiful and even though we were so thrilled -- and exhausted -- after we put that baby to bed, we couldn't help but feel the conversation about personal care product safety during pregnancy and motherhood was only getting started.  We plan on continuing that conversation here.

If you've read our book, then you know we devoted a large part of it to product recommendations.  We carefully screened hundreds of beauty products on the market and vetted their ingredients for any links to birth defects. We also screened a boatload of baby care products for any hormone-disrupting ingredients. Since our book has come out, it seems like there's been a new baby skincare launch every week. This blog will take over where the book left off in terms of product recommendations we would feel safe using on our own kids.

We'll also (over) share with you our adventures in motherhood--in all their wonderful and frustrating glory. We are excited to start a new chapter in our lives with this book and blog. Stay tuned for lots more from Belli Beautiful!