Organic Sweet Pea
It's been sometime since I've had a good healthy blog post! Today, Auntie Colleen is rocking Sampson for the afternoon so I can run around the house like a mad woman and clean. Now that the shower is de-scummed, the carpets are vacuumed, and the sheets are changed, I can sit and enjoy some blogging. I've been wanting to post about our efforts to protect and save the Earth. We try to be a green family as much as possible. We believe that the Earth is a gift and we must take care of it and give back what we can. We're certainly not living in complete harmony with Mother Nature, but here are some little things we're doing:
energy efficient light bulbs cost less too
Nalgene bottles instead of disposable water bottles
bringing a coffee mug to Starbucks instead of those green and white paper cups (sometimes they take off $.15!)
on-line bills and bill-pay mean less paper
bringing a canvas sack to the grocery store
bamboo sheets (a quickly renewable resource and antimicrobial to boot!)
organic garden costs less than the grocery store and eliminates the need to ship it across the country... or around the world
and this brings me to the Great Diaper Challenge
I had great guilt about using disposable diapers. " For every baby diapered with single-use diapers for a 2 1/2 year period, over 2 tons of waste is generated. Disposable diapers make up the 3rd largest single consumer item in our waste system – following newspapers and beverage containers. They account for nearly 4% of the total amount of solid waste, and 30% of the non-biodegradable waste. It takes 500 years for one disposable diaper to decompose. Yes, while a cloth diaper, if it is ever thrown away, will become one with the earth within 6 months, a disposable diaper will just sit there and do what it was made to do: absorb." Which means not only will it sit there for 500 years, but it will take up even more space as time goes on! Yikes!
So as an alternative, we have implemented three tactics:
1. cloth diapers
We have been using two different kinds of cloth diapers. The first is regular prefolded cloth diapers with a diaper cover. Diaper covers are no longer the plastic pants that our parents used on our little tushies. We have cute little puppies on our waterproof cloth diaper cover. The other type is a lovely collection of flannel diapers that my mother and I made right before Sampson was born. Instead of pins, we use Snappi Diaper Fasteners which pose no risk of hurting le bebe. Here are some photos of Sampson modeling said diapers.
energy efficient light bulbs cost less too
Nalgene bottles instead of disposable water bottles
bringing a coffee mug to Starbucks instead of those green and white paper cups (sometimes they take off $.15!)
on-line bills and bill-pay mean less paper
bringing a canvas sack to the grocery store
bamboo sheets (a quickly renewable resource and antimicrobial to boot!)
organic garden costs less than the grocery store and eliminates the need to ship it across the country... or around the world
and this brings me to the Great Diaper Challenge
I had great guilt about using disposable diapers. " For every baby diapered with single-use diapers for a 2 1/2 year period, over 2 tons of waste is generated. Disposable diapers make up the 3rd largest single consumer item in our waste system – following newspapers and beverage containers. They account for nearly 4% of the total amount of solid waste, and 30% of the non-biodegradable waste. It takes 500 years for one disposable diaper to decompose. Yes, while a cloth diaper, if it is ever thrown away, will become one with the earth within 6 months, a disposable diaper will just sit there and do what it was made to do: absorb." Which means not only will it sit there for 500 years, but it will take up even more space as time goes on! Yikes!
So as an alternative, we have implemented three tactics:
1. cloth diapers
We have been using two different kinds of cloth diapers. The first is regular prefolded cloth diapers with a diaper cover. Diaper covers are no longer the plastic pants that our parents used on our little tushies. We have cute little puppies on our waterproof cloth diaper cover. The other type is a lovely collection of flannel diapers that my mother and I made right before Sampson was born. Instead of pins, we use Snappi Diaper Fasteners which pose no risk of hurting le bebe. Here are some photos of Sampson modeling said diapers.
2. gDiapers
I've written about them before, and we use them when go out. They have a cloth outside with flushable inserts. The insert is made of paper and a substance that dissolves in water. You tear the soiled insert and flush it down the toilet. This way, there is nothing to throw away. Check them out here. This is the pumpkin colored gDiaper:
3. EC: Elimination Communication
Well you might not believe this one, but we've potty trained Sampson. When they're this little, you can teach them associations for their um, business. It's called Elimination Communication and it has taught us to be very in-tune with not only his digestive system, but also his expressions and body movements. For one weekend, he wore only cloth diapers with no lining and when he peed we made a certain sound, and when he pooped we made a different sound. We were worried that we kept missing his pees because it took a second for it to soak through the diaper so we could see it. But the third day, we decided to go for the gold. I fed him, we waited 25 minutes and then sat him on his little potty. I made the psssssssst sound, and HE PEED! OK, so the first time, perhaps it was just coincidence, but then we put him on an hour after he ate and it happened again! Later that day, he was alternately squirmy and calm and he was making a poop face. So we put on him on his potty and make the poop noise. And he had such a big poop! I was glad it was in the potty and not in a cloth diaper! So EC has really worked for us and we are amazed at how smart the little one really is. We're down to using 4 or 5 cloth diapers a day and one disposable at night. Yes, we understand that it's basically conditioning our baby's bodily functions but we are conditioned to do many things in our life. Even we, as adults, are conditioned to go pee and poo in the potty. If we weren't, we would just go whenever and where ever. We'd be happy to answer any questions about EC if you leave comments and in the meantime, here is a photo of Sampson on his potty which I'm sure will embarrass him later in life...
AND SO, friends, if I have not lit even a tiny green spark, check out these websites to see if they inspire you to hop on the solar-powered band wagon: The Lazy Environmentalist, Green as a Thistle, GreenFaith
I've written about them before, and we use them when go out. They have a cloth outside with flushable inserts. The insert is made of paper and a substance that dissolves in water. You tear the soiled insert and flush it down the toilet. This way, there is nothing to throw away. Check them out here. This is the pumpkin colored gDiaper:
3. EC: Elimination Communication
Well you might not believe this one, but we've potty trained Sampson. When they're this little, you can teach them associations for their um, business. It's called Elimination Communication and it has taught us to be very in-tune with not only his digestive system, but also his expressions and body movements. For one weekend, he wore only cloth diapers with no lining and when he peed we made a certain sound, and when he pooped we made a different sound. We were worried that we kept missing his pees because it took a second for it to soak through the diaper so we could see it. But the third day, we decided to go for the gold. I fed him, we waited 25 minutes and then sat him on his little potty. I made the psssssssst sound, and HE PEED! OK, so the first time, perhaps it was just coincidence, but then we put him on an hour after he ate and it happened again! Later that day, he was alternately squirmy and calm and he was making a poop face. So we put on him on his potty and make the poop noise. And he had such a big poop! I was glad it was in the potty and not in a cloth diaper! So EC has really worked for us and we are amazed at how smart the little one really is. We're down to using 4 or 5 cloth diapers a day and one disposable at night. Yes, we understand that it's basically conditioning our baby's bodily functions but we are conditioned to do many things in our life. Even we, as adults, are conditioned to go pee and poo in the potty. If we weren't, we would just go whenever and where ever. We'd be happy to answer any questions about EC if you leave comments and in the meantime, here is a photo of Sampson on his potty which I'm sure will embarrass him later in life...
AND SO, friends, if I have not lit even a tiny green spark, check out these websites to see if they inspire you to hop on the solar-powered band wagon: The Lazy Environmentalist, Green as a Thistle, GreenFaith
4 comments:
I believe in EC - we train ourselves to do all sorts of things, including using the potty, as you've mentioned. Some unsavory habits too. Are you going to teach him sign language too? Babies are so much smarter than they can communicate, poor things.
Hi, this is Colleen's mom. She pointed me at your blog when Sam was born because she knows I enjoy pictures of adorable babies. Yes, there was a time when Colleen was an adorable baby. Sigh.
Anyway, I really admire your environmental efforts. I find the whole "diaper-free" thing extremely interesting, and wish you the best of luck with it.
I'm glad Colleen can hang out and help you -- I know she loves your little guy a lot already! Sam's Halloween costume was just about the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Enjoy this sweet time as much as you can -- it's tough with sleep deprivation and the general crazy busy-ness, but it's amazing to watch this little blob turn into a human being.
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