As Hayden waves bye-bye to winter and takes her first steps (literally!) toward spring, I've started thinking about sun protection for my little fair-skinned lady. I thought that once I'd discovered a few solid sources for 100% natural baby products that I'd be home free, but Baby Bee doesn't (yet, anyway) offer a sunscreen product. Nor, for that matter, does VedaBaby. So it's back to the natural store I go.

But before I do, my ever-vigilant husband requests that I lengthen my checklist by not just a few more ingredients. Parabens, it turns out, aren't the only eyebrow-raising chemicals to look out for. And none of these chemicals happen to have pithy little names — octy-methoxycinnamate, anyone? — for my sleep-deprived mommy brain to remember. Kermit wasn't kidding when he said it wasn't easing being green.

If I'm starting to feel overwhelmed, I finally understand why other people throw in the towel, or never try at all. Especially when I visit the natural store and discover exactly what I'm looking for — both Avalon Organics and Aubrey Organics carry baby-safe, chemical-free sunscreens — in plain view alongside various other, so-called natural sunscreens.

Every concern, it seems, unearths another, and being vigilant no longer seems enough to stay sufficiently informed. It takes hyper-vigilence. There are various shades of green, I'm learning, and it takes dedication to be any of them. And all are commendable.