Go Green with Baby
In honor of Earth Day coming up, I thought it might be a good idea to post some ideas that could help you contribute to protecting our earth, that are baby related.
Breastfeed your baby if at all possible. This is a no brainer. You will eliminate the need for formula, bottles, nipples and the packaging they come in, all using our earths resources (when you can provide this renewable source of food for free!).
Cloth diaper your baby. Not only will you save a huge amount of money during your childs diaper uses but they are re-useable and after their life as diapers… Use them as cleaning rags! Cloth diapers can also come in organic fabrics. If you must use disposables, consider using eco friendly diapers such as Tender Care, 7th Generation or even a disposable/cloth combo called gDiapers.
Wear a sling (make or buy, organic fabrics are available!) and carry your baby as you walk to do your errands (of course if your errands don’t involve bags of groceries – but if they do and the bags are light, you’ll have both hands free to carry them if you sling your baby!).
Choose green (nontoxic, biodegradable) cleaners, or make cleaners yourself using lemon, baking soda and vinegar. Personally, we use the Shaklee “Get Clean” line and I can’t tell you how much money it’s saved us and how good of a job it does on our house. Honestly, it does better than the chemical-laden alternatives at the store! I do have some cleaner handbooks lying around here, if anyone is interested in learning about them I can give one to you!
You might consider finding baby clothing made from organic fabric. Of course, this will tend to get pricey, but you can also pick this kind of clothing up second hand!
Use natural babycare products, like shampoo, lotions, oils. Be sure to find something that is environmentally friendly so it isn’t harming our earth when it goes down the drain.
Choose toys that are made from environmentally-friendly companies. Avoid the plastic stuff. For toys, we LOVE HABA toys, and they are a company that really keeps the environment in mind while producing them. You don’t’ find that too often!
When your baby is old enough for solid foods – make your own home made baby food using organic fruits and veggies. An AWESOME site I recommend is www.wholesomebabyfood.com Their entire site is available in a very low cost ebook and I have gotten so much use out of that book – I bet you will too!! Plant your own garden that you can make your own baby food from…. Yumm! Homemade food can be kept in the fridge for a few days, or make up a bunch, freeze it in ice cube trays (one ice cube equals about 1 serving when you first start solid foods), then put in freezer-safe containers to store.
Make or buy your own canvas bags for when you go shopping for baby stuff (or anything, including grocery shopping). Avoid the plastic grocery bags!
April 22nd, 2007 at 4:07 pm
I love all of these ideas but I would expand on the cloth diapers one to include practicing “Elimination Communication” or “EC”. This involves offering a potty or toilet to babies when you notice signs that they need to pee or poo. It is easy to pick up on signs the same way you pick up on signs for needing food, sleep, etc. If you are used to breastfeeding on cue, then just think of EC as “pottying on cue”. It is a very green way to go! I have 5 kids and have practiced EC from birth with the last 2. Check out http://www.diaperfreebaby.org for info on getting started.