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Bringing Up BabyWelcome to the world! |
10 Comments |
| By Steve Balogh in Green Living | November 30, 2008 | ||
Sorry for the delay in posting, I’ve been a bit preoccupied staring at my beautiful new daughter.
She already means the world to me. Her birth has reinforced my efforts even more to live a lifestyle with less impact with greater happiness and well-being. I understand that the decisions I make now will shape the way that she will live her life, and the world that she will inherit from our generation.
That said, I also realize the impact that babies themselves have. Diapers, clothes, toys, various contraptions, wipes, creams, etc. My wife and I decided that we’ll have to be extra vigilant about the amount of waste that we are producing to offset the increased impact of her arrival. We’ve set out a new composting container in the kitchen (our last one was cracked in a freak dishwashing accident), redoubled our efforts on paper, glass and metal recycling, and have been eating nothing but delicious homemade food given to us by friends and relatives (thanks, guys!).
I’d love to hear some thoughts and tips from the readers as well. What tips do you have for me? Flushable diapers, bio-degradable ones? What about wipes? And if anyone has tips on getting the baby to sleep in her bassinet I would be forever grateful, heh heh.
I’ve been reading some good green mom blogs and getting some tips. Friends and family have been giving us ideas as well. We’ve even gotten some organic clothing samples in the mail. (Thanks for the organic booties, Speesees! How did you know we were going to have a baby? That was a weird coincidence…) I’m willing to try it all, and write reviews. You can contact me at the tab above.
Thanks for being patient while I regrouped. I look forward to sharing more of our family’s adventures in the future. For now, back to staring and making lists…
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Ada said,
I recommend http://www.parttimediaperfree.com/
We co-sleep so I can’t help with the bassinet, but I wish you good luck! Those first days can be so trying, even while being precious.
Jennie said,
Cloth diapers, without a doubt.
Colleen said,
You could try Elimination Communication. It uses the same techniques that mothers use in countries without diapers. Basically, you take the child to the toilet and make a chosen noise, and after a while, the child will go on command. It worked for us, until we had to move across country and we had to put her in diapers. She’ll still go in the toilet, but not as often.
I also recommend, if you can, breastfeeding. I’ve been doing it and I find it very convient. Not only is it really healthy for mother and child, but you also don’t have to worry about melamine in formula, BPA in bottles (unless you bottle it) and you don’t have to worry about it going bad (especially on long trips).
Tara said,
Congratulations!!
As for the bassinet, we used one with both of our kids. We put the bassinet right next to our bed (on my side not my hubby’s) and turned on the light vibration feature it had along with the soft sounds of outdoors (my son liked the crickets and garden noises, my daughter liked the ocean sounds).
Then if they woke up in the middle of the night, I would just reach my hand in and comfort them, maybe talk softly to them or turn back on the nature noises and they would usually fall back asleep in short order.
Congrats again and wish you the best!
Annie Bankss said,
Congrats !!
I would also suggest Breast Feeding as it is so much healthier for both mom and the baby. It avoids bottles, sterilisation, formula milk, bottled baby foods and so on….
You can use a rubber nappy which is reusable after wash instead of diapers.
Annie Bankss
Save Our Planet
ianqui said,
Ugh, babies are a big shock for people who hope(d) to be environmentally conscious (IMHO). We originally tried to use gDiapers, but the toilets in our apartment were woefully inadequate for the task. Instead we’re using Seventh Generation–it’s nice that they don’t bleach them or put stupid extraneous designs on them, but other than that, it’s greenwashing all the way. One thing I’ve heard suggested is to use baby washcloths instead of wipes at least while you’re at home. That would probably work pretty well, although we haven’t gotten around to instituting it (and you’d need LOTS of washcloths).
We’ve been pretty good about using hand-me-down clothes and toys (sorry we have a boy or I’d send you clothes!) And I’m nursing now and planning on making my own baby food in a month.
Other than that, I think your best hope is to pass along your values to the baby when she’s old enough
Darshana said,
She is a beauty! I definitely recommend cloth diapers — I never used disposables, and my daughter never even had a rash.
I suggest using a service — TinyTots.com, here in Northern California — which is cheaper than buying disposables, and they wash huge loads, saving lots of water & energy. I even ordered diaper service when we went on vacation, and had diapers waiting for us, or for short trips I just brought them with me, and packed the dirty ones home in a big plastic bag.
All you have to do is flush any solid waste, no rinsing required, drop the diapers into the plastic-bag lined pail the service provides, and put on your porch on diaper day. To use the cloth easily, I bought velcro-closing wool diaper covers (Biobottoms was my brand!) Don’t need any creams or powder (which is an inhalation danger anyway) with cloth. I did buy natural wipes from Whole Foods, although sometimes we used wash cloths.
If I had a baby today, I’d use small washable hemp flannel cloths, which I just bought for myself to use instead of toilet paper for pee… way less wasteful, and more comfortable. I found them on moonbees.com for 50 cents each.
I also used co-sleeping. Check out the wonderful book, “The Continuum Concept,” about how babies are raised more happily in more natural cultures. And enjoy your blessings!
Charndra said,
Thanks Ada for linking to my new site!
Congrats on your bub and for thinking green for her – there are so many things we can do, as others have mentioned here. My ‘part time diaper free’ site focusses on ideas you can use now and then to skip a nappy – many of the ideas to get you started are things we already do – like nappy-free time, baby wearing and simply thinking the 3 ‘R’’s of reuse, recycle and most of all – reducing our dependence on disposable products and using ’stuff’ for our babies.
Good luck, I have a 19 week old myself, a sheepskin is wonderful, along with snuggling with baby in bed and breastfeeding…
Charndra
Mom Mayer said,
Congrantulations on your new little bundle of joy. Years ago I used cloth diapers and cloth wipes. Good luck and enjoy!!
Manic Mommy in Easthampton said,
I used Elimination Communication with my daughter, while also using diapers. She’s 19 months now, and primarily uses the potty. For diapers we used all sorts, but one of my favorites were the g-diapers with a cloth insert. We also used a diaper service for a while. We also breast-fed, and didn’t do any baby food. We just gave her age appropriate foods that we were eating-yogurt, veggie soup, mashed potatos, etc. We started this around 6 months, after I stumbled upon “baby-led weaning” when looking for baby food recipes. Lastly, babies grow so quickly that there’s tons of second hand stuff out there. Check out Craig’s list and tag sales regularly!