Archive for May, 2008
ClothShoppe.com
May 29, 2008 12:41 pmкомпютри
I saw this mama advertise her ClothShoppe.com business on the LiveJournal cloth diapering group and I just HAD to check out her wares. Well, since I have this little obsession with cloth wipes, I couldn’t resist buying a couple of her wares. (She had skull wipes! I love skull wipes!) The wipes sound lovely, so I’ll post again after I receive the goods.
I was also considering her line of mama pads. I … don’t know if I’m ready to take the plunge in that department yet. I realize that even tampons without applicators still add to our planet’s waste pile, but it will take some more convincing before I embrace the mama cloth way.
Top Ten (Mostly Green) Baby Schtuff
May 26, 2008 10:53 pmA friend of mine recently listed her top seven baby products and it got me thinking about some of the things we could do with (and without).
1. SwaddleMe Adjustable Infant Wrap in Organic Cotton: This straight-jacket was great in keeping Ethan’s arms from flailing all over the place and helped him sleep longer/more peacefully.
2. bumGenius 2.0 and 3.0 one-size pocket diapers: These are our work-horse, day and night time diapers. Goes on and off easily, the fabric against baby’s bum is soft and wicks away wetness. Even though Ethan didn’t really fit into them until he was at least 8lbs, I think it’s great that they’ll fit him until he’s ready to potty train.
3. goodmama one-side fitted diapers: Like our bumGenius dipes, these are also one-size so they’ll grow with Ethan until he’s ready to potty train. I only use these at home since they normally require a cover, but they’re so lovely that I don’t like covering them up. (Wetness will seep through, which is OK, because by then Ethan’s onesie is usually covered in spit-up and needs changing anyway.)
4. Cloth wipes: I keep a stack of cloth wipes wherever I change the baby along with a spray bottle of water with a bit of baby wash. I either spray the cloth or spray the baby directly (usually after #2s). Our wipes come from a variety of sources, including Sewing Mom Just Accessories Etc. and Fussybutt, as well as STACKS from other mamas who no longer need theirs through Diaper Swappers.
5. method squeaky green baby hair + body wash and lotion: I’m a big fan of method products, and I just LOVE the scent of their baby wash and lotion. While there are a few things in the list of ingredients that I have no clue about, they do claim that they are free of phthalates and parabens.
6. Nature’s Touch™ Baby Papasan™ Cradle Swing: Not green, but oh, what a lifesaver at times! It’s where Ethan naps during the day.
7. Unbleached Indian Prefold diapers: We use preemie-sized prefolds with covers (Imse Vimse and Bummis) when Ethan was still too small to fit into his one-size diapers. Now they serve as great burp cloths and rags! We also have some larger, infant-sized prefolds that we sometimes use as diapers, but mostly they also get used as burp cloths as well. We got ours from Little-Lions.
8. Summer Infant Color Handheld Video Monitor: Also not green, but we put Ethan to bed in his own room as soon as he came home from the hospital, so having this around is an absolute necessity. Having color isn’t all that useful right now since we only use this at night when the lights are off in his room, so the image will be in night-vision mode.
9. Electric water kettle: This isn’t really a baby item as I had it before even getting pregnant, but it’s become so much more useful since. When Ethan was getting mama’s milk, I would use this to quickly heat up some water so I could make a warm water bath for the bottle of milk since our tap takes waaaay too long to warm up. Now that Ethan’s on formula, I use this to boil the water to mix with the powdered formula.
10. BornFree bottles: One of the most-trusted BPA-free plastic bottles out there. Ethan transitioned to these bottles as soon as he could eat more than what those itty-bitty bottles from the hospital could hold without any problems. Ethan also doesn’t seem to have any problems with extra air intake from using these bottles.
I also find the wide-neck SO much easier to clean using a bottle brush. They now also come in glass, which we might try when we need to get more of the bigger sized bottles.
Counter Culture Coffee
May 19, 2008 7:59 pm
I found a link to Counter Culture Coffee from a post in the Single Serve Coffee forums and … I think I’m in love!
Again!
OK, so it’s not single-serve coffee, but I do have a burr grinder and a regular drip machine, plus a French press. And it’s not like I’m off rushing to work anymore, so I do have the time to grind and press a nice cup of coffee. Well, unless the baby is fussy and I only have a moment to caffeinate myself before I have to tend to him …
Moms Love Disposables!
10:15 am
Have you seen those commercials from Dixie and Bounty lately? The ones that seem to tell you that you’re a “better” mom by using their disposable products? I was reading through this thread on DiaperSwappers and I’m glad I’m not the only one pissed off at the angle these companies are using.
Dixie says you’re a better mom for using paper plates because you’ll have more time for your kids. So on top of all the “mom guilt” we already have, now we’re supposed to add things like doing dishes to the pile? Give me a break! If you want guilt, instead of feeling guilty for using those 10 minutes to do dishes, let’s try feeling guilty about leaving MORE GARBAGE for the planet in which our kids will grow up.
Then there’s Bounty. I keep seeing the same commercial about how a mom lets her child eat messy spaghetti and use the big kid cup, and lets her husband do the dishes. Are they telling me that by using paper towels, I’m a more carefree mom because kids with food on their faces won’t bother me? Are they REALLY trying to tell me that if I used a cloth towel instead, that I’m more uptight?? And at the end they claim that the paper towel is now “softer” and “more like cloth.” Um, hello? Then why don’t you just USE CLOTH?!
I’ve worked in marketing for years and I generally love the topic. I love looking at reasons why ads may have been done the way they were. I’m just so disappointed that in this day and age, with environmentalism becoming more and more mainstream, that there is still such a big push for the disposable lifestyle.
Sex and the City … no, thanks.
May 13, 2008 1:20 pm
I was just reading мебелиthis review of the SATC movie and found myself thinking, “Am I the only woman on Earth that does not have the smallest desire to see this movie?”
Background: I loved the series. Both D and I watched it religiously. Though toward the end, it started to wear on me. Maybe something changed when Carrie started having an affair with (a married) Big while she was with Aidan. Whatever the reason, I wasn’t heartbroken when the series finally ended. I was actually pleased with how they closed the story up.
Now, four years later, the movie is finally out. Eh. My interest is long gone. I’ve gone through some personal changes that instead of fawning over Carrie’s shopping sprees, I find it all quite shallow and materialistic. Maybe it’s woman’s fantasy, but I guess not this one’s. Since so much of SATC revolves around fashion and shopping, it now holds as much interest for me as picking lint out of my pocket.
To each her own. The only reason I’m bothered by this is because there seems to be this feeling of: if you’re a woman, you will FLOVE the SATC movie. I’m not trying to break the mold, I just hate being restricted to such confined quarters.
