I thought the baby would add all sorts of environmental things to write about. Not so. She’s made relatively little difference in our green lifestyle.
1. Cloth diapers. They aren’t difficult. Now that she’s bigger, I use two at a time and that makes the diaper too bulky to fit the thirsty’s over, so I’ve been using plastic pants—which are wonderful. Easy to rinse out. Cover every inch of the diaper. Did I already say wonderful? This week I will try out the only compostable ones I’ve been able to find on-line for when we go out in public, which is never. It takes 500 YEARS for a disposable diaper to disintegrate. I just can’t sleep at night knowing I’m adding to that.
2. Water. I thought they would cause me to do much more laundry. It hasn’t. They sit in the (homemade) diaper pail created from a kitty litter box until I have enough to wash. I might do one more load of laundry a week. Big whoop.
3. Glass bottles. They didn’t really give her any more gas. She was a spitter anyway. I broke three of them in the hotel sink, which couldn’t be recycled and made me curse. It takes 1,000 years for glass to disintegrate, damn it. The ones that have slight cracks, I can recycle. But what about those darn plastic nipples? What am I going to do with those? Make a silent mobile?
4. I nursed. We hit 7 months and are still nursing, but I couldn’t produce enough and she wasn’t gaining weight. The doctors freaked out and made me worry, therefore, I have the whole bottle issue to deal with now and those darn plastic nipples. Cans of instant formula and their plastic tops are all recycled.
5. Baby food. I puree most of it or smash it to bits with a fork. The Amish Bent and Dent has such cheap baby food though, I have given in and bought some for quick “feed me now or I will die” crying tantrums. (Meaning I’ve waited too long to feed her because I was trying to finish the dishes, or hanging up a load of laundry or unpacking a box and lo and behold I forgot to pull out the pureed baby food to thaw.) Those tiny, glass jars can be recycled or used in the garage for screws and nails, etc.
6. Wipes. Except for the time in the hotel, we’ve used homemade wipes. They are easy to make, smell good, wipe so much better, need I go on? I found some wipes I really liked that were compostable and then they stopped selling them. I went off on a tangent until Claudia from ClaudiaJustSaying reminded me, “What happened to good old-fashioned toilet paper when babies poop?” Who says we have to use wipes at all?
7. Clothes and toys. Except for three toys, we purchased everything second-hand or received as a hand-me-down which means—less resources used.
Outfit–hand-me-down from cousin Mary; book–hand-me-down from Christin or mom; diaper changing pad bought second-hand; playmat–new
8. Burp cloths. She’s such a spitter that we started using hand towels, receiving blankets and cloth diapers. (Which we already had.)
And yes, that’s milk coming out her little nose. She doesn’t seem too thrilled about it.
She’s cost us very little money. Lots of time. Lots of patience. Lots of milk. Lots of lost sleep. Her use of resources has been nothing more than a drop.
And just gaze upon the preciousness.
So precious. This will be my little sponge which I will teach to save precious resources and not to waste.
This is my little sponge which I will teach to extend the use of this planet.
This little sponge will make a difference. And she doesn’t even know it yet.
Any more green baby ideas I should use? That you’ve used? That your great-aunt Sally used? That your neighbor used? That you heard of that worked? I’m all ears.
Wonderful baby articles:
- Everything You Need to Cloth Diaper Your Baby (leakingboob.com)
- Would A Bum Covered In Any Other Diaper Smell As Sweet? Guest blogger Sarah talks about cloth diapering. (gameofdiapers.com)
- Cloth Diaper 201: How to Care For and Launder Diapers (viewpoints.com)
- Cloth Diapering 101: Pockets (pt. 2) (lifeatyellowhouse.wordpress.com)
- New and Green (ecobooks4kids.wordpress.com)
- Maria Rodale: 5 Non-Toxic Ways to Get Ready for Baby (huffingtonpost.com)
Attempting zero waste lifestyle in a military household 
and well worth everything…she is so beautiful
My babies would never take a bottle. Ever. So when we did supplement because mommy needed some alone time, we used cups. Regular old cups. It took slightly longer, but once they figured it out, it was very easy. They really were able to do it right from about three months old. we just had to be patient and hold it for them. And then you get to skip the whole madness that is sippy cups.
She is the cutest little sponge ever. You’re doing such a great job already.
Jen, Love the new pics and thanks for the mention…just saying, Claudia
love this little thing. she is so darling! Also proud of my green niece!!!
Awww it’s great to hear your green living ways haven’t been thwarted by the sponge!! I so often forget you have a baby with your other posts, it’s such a lovely reminder!
Hi, just stumbled upon your blog, looks great and I love green babies, I have a couple of my own. I reckon cloth nappies and breast feeding are the key to green bubs too. I also did Baby Led Weaning (or Baby Lead Solids) which meant no making special baby foods and no purees. It worked for both my girls and saves on having to cook separate meals, so no extra dishes, electricity for the stove, oven or microwave etc. And my second bub is a total greenie, getting everything as hand me down including the cloth nappies.