From Lesley's Desk

I founded Adesso Albums in 2002, and with alot of help from alot of people, managed to grow it into a successful enterprise over the next seven years.  When the bottom fell out of the economy in the Fall of 2008, we were scrambling to cut expenses while still making smart investments in the future. 

It was during those scary months that an opportunity to bring a reuseable baby wipes kit to market in North America presented itself.  Though counter-intuitive to make such a leap during such uncertain times, I couldn't help but think it was actually the perfect time, and Bottoms Up was born!

Time will tell, but our goal is to start with our signature washable baby wipes kit and quickly bring to market other unique and eco-friendlier baby safe products for the all the babies in your life.  Stay tuned!

Warm regards,
Lesley

Meet Alex Wayne, my niece Sydney's first child!  Now Alex isn't quite born yet, but I couldn't wait to share this picture!  Isn't his third trimester photo absolutely ADORABLE?!?!?

My sister and I were chatting the other night about how amazing today's technology is that you can actually see your baby's face before he's born!  "Back in the good old days" (as we like to say) if you had to have an ultrasound, the only one who could actually distinguish what all the shadows were was the technician, and even that was suspect!  What a different world!

Well, you'd better believe little Alex is going to get a green baby gift from us - a Bottoms Up safe baby wipe kit!  He'll LOVE the cloth baby wipes that his mom will use to clean his cute little bottom and he'll be so proud of her for using an eco friendly variety of baby wipes!  Can't wait to you in the flesh Alex!  Thanks for sharing, Sydney!

Got any unique baby shower gift ideas?  Send them to us and we'll spread the word!  We think everyone should use environmentally safe baby products!

I wear alot of hats around here.  PR is one of them these days.  The challenge is being in the right place, at the right time, with the right stuff, and the right spin that the writer/editor/publisher/blogger needs for what they're working on that particular day.  The stars REALLY have to be in almost perfect alignment for that to happen.  But when it does...OH BABY, does it make it all worth while!

Christine Esposito, a writer for Happi.com, was looking for interesting green baby products to write about.  I happened to notice her post on HARO (HARO stands for Help A Reporter Out and is a great site for matching up the people who need content and those of us who want to get our content out there, even if it's just by association to an unrelated topic)  I responded to her post, we went back and forth a few times and today, Bottoms Up Baby Wipes were the headline "Featured Content" online exclusive on Happi.com! 

Says Christine in her opening paragraph, "Lesley Mattos’ children are all grown up, but she hasn’t stopped thinking about diaper changing—and the havoc it can wreak on the environment. This San Francisco mom is doing her part to green diaper duty with the Bottoms Up Baby Wipes Kit, which features reusable baby wipes and relies of essential oils rather than chemicals."

Happi.com is the internet compliment to the 37 year old monthly print publication which covers soaps, detergents, cosmetics & toiletries, waxes and polishes, insecticides, aerosols and related chemical specialties, for people involved in the personal care, household, industrial and institutional fields.  Hopefully our online placement will raise awareness about our product and allow alot more moms to green up in the baby wipe department!  Thank you Christine!

The internet can be an amazing resource for moms these days.  It can also be a big help for a company like Bottoms Up that is just getting started and trying to get the word out about their brand new eco friendly baby wipes!

MomsLikeMe.com is a national organization that allows local moms to connect and share experiences about being both a mom and a woman.  And one of the things that got shared by one of the moms in the Los Angeles group just recently was the Bottoms Up reusable, all natural, cloth baby wipe kit! 

Said this SoCal mom, "So I was a bit skeptical about reusable baby wipes.  But I have to admit, this kit is pretty cool.  It contains two containers (one for clean and one for dirty wipes), and you prep the clean ones with essential oils.  When you use a wipe, you just stick it in the sack [in the dirty container with more essential oils] and when it's full, you throw the whole thing into the washer.  Pretty easy and convenient!"

Back in the dark ages when I was having my kids, the closest thing we had to a site like MomsLikeMe.com was the group of 5 or 6 moms that would get together with their kids in tow for lunch every Wednesday at someone's house.  Sometimes there would be as many as 15 kids ranging from infants to toddlers.  Alot different experience than reading/chatting online!

We are absolutlely delighted to annouce our newest distribution partners - The Green Diaper Store and Angel Bunz - both owned and operated by Lisa Carey.  Lisa tried Bottoms Up eco friendly washable cotton baby wipes and was so impressed that she decided to cary them on her natural baby care sites!

When Lisa learned about all the chemicals and toxins used in paper diapers and other baby products, Lisa was motivated to reduce her carbon footprint and provide a more environmentally friendly approach to raising her two children, Michael (6) and William (3), and live a greener lifestyle.  From choosing cloth diapers and napkins to safer cleaning and bath and beauty products to banishing plastic bags, Lisa learned that leading a greener lifestyle requires a holistic approach.  

The Green Diaper Store and Angel Bunz both offer a large selection of cost effective, environmentally friendly cloth diapers and other family friendly green product alternatives to alot of the big box products.  In addition to actual products, Lisa also offers regular cloth diaper workshops and consults with parents and educators about the benefits of using cloth and chosing a system that best fits into any lifestyle and budget. 

Lisa's mission is simple:  To change the world one bottom at a time! We're delighted to help her acheive her mission!

We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership!  Thanks Lisa!

Marybeth Hamilton was "intrigued" by our Bottoms Up natural cloth baby wipes for some time before she added them to her Baby Goodbuys 2009 Holiday Gift Guide!  Says Marybeth, "While cloth diapers aren't for everyone, I think most environmentally conscious moms would give reusable wipes a try.  Especially ones that make it easy on mom."  That's the Bottoms Up reusable washable baby wipes alternative concept in a nutshell! 

Marybeth had her first baby in July 2008 and quickly realized that having a baby just wasn't as expensive as everything she'd read and heard.  She decided to share her knowledge and shopping expertise with others and started Baby Goodbuys where "bargains and advice to save big on baby" abound!

We're tickled to be a part of the Baby Goodbuys 2009 Holiday Gift Guide, and recommend you visit Marybeth's site for other great gift ideas! 

I had my children a long time ago and while there was definitely a movement afoot towards a more natural way of birthing, it had not reached critical mass by any means.  Many of us were given drugs to induce or intensify labor and opted for pain relieving anesthesia as soon as it could be administered.

Since we launched the Bottoms Up reusable cloth baby wipes product, I've learned alot about what today's moms are concerned about.  Yes, they're concerned about cloth baby wipes and non toxic baby bottles and baby products that are safe for the environment.  But they're also concerned with how they bring their babies into the world, the actual process of giving birth, before all the products are purchased.

I recently stumbled across the trailer for a documentary that offers women an insight into the U.S. hospital system and the "Business of Being Born", which is the title of the movie produced by Rikki Lake and has been referred to "The Inconvenient Truth of Childbirth."

I don't know if I'd do anything differently, times were different in the late 70's/early 80's, but this film offers a different perspective than was prevalent back then.  It's worth a peek for all us soon-to-be Grandmas!

Abe's Market is the very first distribution partner for the Bottoms Up reusable, washable, cotton baby wipes kit and boy oh boy are we glad they are!  Abe’s Market is "the online marketplace for great natural products." They connect buyers seeking amazing natural products (like our eco friendly baby wipes) with the people (like us) who make them, eliminating the need to search the Internet - you can get all your natural product buying done in one place - Abe's Market!

Plus, at Abe’s Market you have the unique opportunity to learn the story behind the products – straight from the products’ creators, which goes WAY beyond what you can find on a label! You can even chat directly with the sellers and get answers to your questions and feel good about the products you are bringing into your home.
 

And beyond that, they're getting us exposed to some super duper, real live mom bloggers who are giving our product a big thumbs up!  Thank you Abe's and MrsMogul! 

In 1982, I had four children under the age of five. Lordy! Although the term "green baby products" had not yet come into our vocabulary, like most first time moms, I was a strong advocate for natural baby care and baby safe products: cloth diapers, glass bottles, nothing micro-waved (which was, believe it or not, a relatively new phenomenon back then).  By the time the fourth child came along (OK, maybe it was the second), I was simply looking for quick and easy. So, cloth diapers were replaced with disposables, our first microwave appeared on the kitchen counter (for the sole purpose of heating Adrienne's bottles), and a myriad of other "green no-no's" slowly crept into our lives and our home. Our carbon footprint was growing exponentially!
 

Fast forward 30 years...

An opportunity presented itself to bring an eco-friendly, natural, reusable baby wipe kit to market that's good for baby, good for the planet and good for the wallet, and I jumped on it! The way I saw it, this was my ticket to redemption for my early child rearing practices!

Having already brought one unique product to market (Adesso Albums) and started an e-commerce business, I understood what it took to build a small business online. An online store for a green baby product sounded like a great prospect and bringing this new, unique and eco-friendly product to parents is something I am proud to do.

I can't change history, but I DO hope that Bottoms Up Reusable Baby Wipes will become a product that parents will feel good about using and grandparents, aunts, uncles, godparents and friends will feel good about gifting and referring to their friends and relatives.  Not only is our kit good for the environment, but also, and even more importantly, it's good for your precious bundles of joy!

 

We are absolutely thrilled to be offering Count On It food storage labels on the Bottoms Up site!  So thrilled, in fact, that we're GIVING THEM AWAY!

Count On It food storage labels feature easy scratch-off panels that display the date your baby's food containers were first opened and put in the fridge.  I know when my kids were little (a long, long time ago) and I couldn't remember when I'd put that half eaten jar of beets in the fridge, I'd just throw it out rather than risk giving one of the little darlings a tummy ache. That adds up! 

With Count On It food storage labels, you'll keep your baby safe, reduce waste and save money by not throwing away food needlessly!  No Worries, No Waste with Count On It® Food Freshness Labels – another outstanding eco friendly baby product brought to you by Bottoms Up!

And here's the best part - be among the next 50 people to pre-order a Bottoms Up Reusable Baby Wipe Kit and you'll get a FREE box of Count On It labels to try for yourself!  Not only will you save 20% by pre-ordering the kit, you'll get the labels to boot!

* Oh, and PS - you can actually use Count On It labels for ALL your perishable foods, not just the baby food!

We are SO DARN HAPPY to be open for business that we are absolutely, positively giddy to be able to offer our readers a 20% (that's right, 20%) DISCOUNT on our very own Bottoms Up reusable baby wipes which are available EXCLUSIVELY at www.bottoms-up-baby.com! 

It's been almost exactly nine months since the decision to bring another company into the world was made.  And we are darn proud of our brand spankin' new venture!

The name for the company came easily, as did the (if I do say so myself) adorable logo!  We're trying to get approval to put the logo on the door of our offices on the first floor of an otherwise residential condominium building, but the HOA is for some reason unsure about the cute "m" in "bottoms".  Really?  In San Francisco this is an issue?

Two of the first three products we're offering are making their North American debut - our very own Bottoms Up chemical free reuseable baby wipes and Count On It food storage labels which are all the rage in the UK.  The third product is a line of non toxic baby bottles. And we'll be adding more, so stay tuned!

I'd personally like to welcome you to the Bottoms Up community and invite your comments on our site, our blog and our products.  Oh, and if you want to buy something while you're in the neighborhood, please do!