The baby and I were at Babies R’ Us at the Irvine Marketplace the other day and I noticed they’ve dedicated a small product stand for “green” products near the checkout registers. Like a mosquito to a flame, I automatically walked over to ooh and aah at the stuff. Most of the stuff was organic cotton things, with mottos like “Green is the new black” and “It’s easy being green” (with Kermit the Frog’s mug) were emblazoned on the front of bibs and onesies. Cute, I thought, and took one of the Kermit bibs for Ethan.

I took a couple of steps away and realized something … while he goes through them like there’s no tomorrow, my son already has a ton of bibs which have been graciously donated by his cousin in New York. The bib ended back up on the stand because after the hype, I remembered something important: the rules of living green is REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE.

REDUCE:
As consumers, we are SO trained to buy what we want, not what we need. Again, while it wouldn’t hurt to have more bibs, Ethan certainly did not need any more.

REUSE:
Nearly ALL of Ethan’s bibs (as well as most of his clothes) are hand-me-downs. OK, so my son doesn’t have the latest and greatest, but for goodness’ sake, all he does is barf on them anyway. He’s a baby, not a fashion model. Besides, he has some spiffy outfits — just because they’re used doesn’t mean they’re ugly.

RECYCLE:
Well, this doesn’t really apply now, but it’s a safe bet that if we have any other kids, Ethan’s things will be handed down to him. If we have a girl, a lot of things are gender-neutral so they can still be handed-down, but if we can’t use them again, there are still plenty of options to prevent old baby clothes from ending up in landfill. Donating to other parents who need them, Goodwill, or the Salvation Army are just a few. Things that are too worn-out to resell can be made into rags or shredded into fibers to make new products.

So while it’s nice to see more organic products being sold in big chains such as BRU, it’s a shame that they’re not also promoting the three rules of green living. Buying new things just because they’re organic or even recycled doesn’t necessarily mean you’re making the greenest choice. Yes, organic material — especially those that have been fairly produced — is better than non-organic, but the first question should always be: is this really needed?

Categories: ideas, baby, shopping, environment
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I’m completely lost on the topic.

So far, Ethan is on the regular childhood immunization schedule outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Despite the fact that he was born prematurely, Ethan has had:

1. Two Heb B shots, one at birth, and another at one month old.
2. Two DTaP shots, one at two months, and another at four months.
3. One Hib shot at two months.
4. One Polio shot at four months.

I don’t know what to think of the pros and cons of the current vaccination schedule simply because I’ve only started reading up on it. All I know right now is that children today get twice as many shots as kids did in the 80s. Then there’s the rate of children diagnosed with autism increasing threefold. (Both statements found on this recent article in TIME). Is there a link? Do the types and number of shots given cause autism in some children? Or has the number of cases of autism increased because more and more families are coming forward?

I suppose this is the current great debate that has no hard scientific evidence of one way or the other. Which, frankly, sucks because as parents, it’s not as if we already don’t have very important things on our plates. We put more than enough effort to raise happy, healthy, and kind children (or at least that what we strive for). Then we have to make decisions on whether or not to give our children these medications in order to prevent certain illnesses. Oh, and by the by, those medications may cause a brain development disorder that can impair our children’s social behavior and communication skills. No pressure, right? Riiiiiiight.

A friend recommended the Vaccine Book by the Sears people. I tried to look for it at Barnes & Noble today, but they were sold out. (Hmm, I guess that’s a good sign.) In it is a recommendation of an alternative schedule to the one put out by the AAP. I’m really interested in checking this out, so I may just have to order the book online.

Categories: baby, health
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A 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.

Categories: diapers, gear, baby, shopping
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I’m posting this mostly to save it somewhere where I can find it again easily …

This is originally from Greenopia.

Party Planning Guide: Green Baby Shower

By Stef McDonald

Invitations

• Go paperless and send e-mail invitations.
• If you want to go with old-fashioned paper, buy invitations made on recycled stock or print your own invitations on plain recycled cards or paper.
• Include a note to invitees encouraging them to choose organic and eco-friendly gifts.
• Include a note to invitees asking that they bring gifts that are unwrapped. As the host of the event, you can provide guests with reusable brown paper gift bags, raffia ribbon, and a minimal amount of tissue paper for a splash of color. It’s au naturale and you and your guests will be impressed with how the gifts look.

Decor

• Place fresh-cut flowers from your local farmer’s market or nursery or garden supply source on tables with food and drinks.
• Get small pots of native flowers and plants and place them around the room.
• Place soy candles on tables.

Food and Sweets

• Get food from a local restaurant or catering service that uses organic ingredients. Or make your own dishes using organic ingredients.
• Serve bowls of fresh fruit.
• Get baked goods from a local business that uses organic ingredients. Check your local farmer’s market for bakers as well. Or make your own baked goods using organic ingredients.

Gifts

• Buy clothing made from organic cotton or organic bamboo. Get bath and body products that are all-natural, organic, or chemical-free, without artificial preservatives and fragrances.
• Avoid wasteful wrapping paper and instead wrap your gift in an organic cotton towel or blanket.
• Don’t discount hand-me-downs. If you’ve had a child and have clothing or other items in storage that you’re willing to part with, bring them along.
• When the time comes to open gifts, hand out one gift to each of the guests and allow them to be opened as a group.

Extra Touches

• Bring a blank notebook and ask guests to write personal messages to the baby-to-be in crayon.
• Send leftovers and flowers home with the guests.
• Send the soy candles home with the guests and ask them to light them when they hear the happy news of the baby’s birth.

Categories: ideas, baby, events
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Now that the baby is over 10lbs, he’s been fitting into his bumGenius diapers a lot better. (Honestly, they were just so bulky before that I barely reached for then because I couldn’t fit any onesies over them unless I put him in 12-month clothing). I also realized something the other day: instead of using the inserts that came with them — which has a folded part because we’re still using the dipes on the smallest setting and causes extra bulk — why not stuff them with a couple of the preemie prefolds I have laying around? My son pees a lot, but I change him every couple of hours anyway, so two prefolds haven been absorbent enough for him. The best part is that they make the dipes SO MUCH more trim. I can actually put the baby in regular-sized clothing while he’s wearing them!

And YAY for finding a new use for the two dozen preemie prefolds we have!

Yes. I really am excited about this!

Categories: diapers, baby
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One more reason why my cloth diapers are better than disposables? Blow-outs.

While Ethan is in cloth for most of the day, I do still use disposables on him on occasion. Usually while I’m feeding him because I know he’ll either poop and/or pee before we’re done. I just figure it’ll cut down in the amount of cloth dipes I have to wash, but now I’m starting to rethink the idea.

Just in the past couple of days, Ethan has had some powerful poops while I was feeding him. So powerful that they’ve blown right up his back and seep through his clothes. So not only do I have a now-thrashed disposable diaper which needs to be changed before he’s even done eating, but I also have soiled clothing (his, and sometimes mine). Plus, like this morning, it was so bad that I just had to give him another bath; wiping him down would not have been enough.

So let’s recount, in an effort to “save” one cloth diaper, I’ve:

• used up at least two disposables
• had to add to his laundry pile
• had to add to my laundry pile
• run water for his bath

Yup, this pretty much settles it. He’s going in cloth all day as long as I’m the one changing his nappy. (D, on the other hand, still refuses to do cloth, but he’s usually only around to change one or two nappies a day.)

Categories: diapers, baby
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