I officially got off of bed rest on Tuesday, and was slowly starting to walk around my house and get reacquainted with it, when I suddenly felt sick and weak. I promptly went back to bed with Aria while Elena (my four year old) watched a movie. I woke up 30 minutes later with a terrible sore throat. So far my time off of bed rest has been spent… in bed. Poor little Aria seemed to be getting a cold too for about 12 hours, but seems to be fine now. All to say, I haven’t been doing much in the kitchen, in my house, or on my blog these last few weeks!
I am starting to feel on the mend, both from my cold and from birthing Aria, though this has been the longest recovery time for me so far. I’ve been extremely grateful for all of those who have brought us food. It’s been a life saver!
I am going to be bringing you more posts on going plastic free next week. Meanwhile, I thought I would share a few neat new mother and baby items I’ve found that are “better” versions of common items. And a few of these items helps you reduce your plastic consumption too!
First, pictured above is a very cool pacifier I discovered. It’s the Natursutten Pacifier 
I was writing up my last post and looked over and little Aria was sucking on a pacifier and I thought, “Plastic!” What am I thinking?” I was relieved to find that the brand it happened to be was BPA and Phthlate free, but I still wondered if there was a better choice.
That’s when I came across the Natursutten Pacifier. This pacifier is truly a one of a kind. It’s made with 100% natural rubber from the tree, Hevea Brasiliensi and not only is it BPA, phthalate, and PVC free, it’s also free of coloring and chemical softeners. It by far seems the most natural product I’ve been able to find. Whether your child likes it or not depends on their preference. Aria only very occasionally wants a pacifier and Elena rejected them completely. But if you are going to use one, this one seems like a good choice, though do note that they are more expensive and do have to be replaced more often because it degrades faster being a natural product.
Secondly (it is okay to put this on a food blog?), I have found the Naturcare brand of feminine products by far the most natural to use. I am a little sensitive to the chemicals in most pads, and have never reacted to this brand. They are “made from organic 100 percent cotton that is not chlorine bleached and are free from rayon, binders, plastics, surfactants, resins and fragrances. Natracare pads do not contain polyacrylate absorbents or plastics, which, when close to the skin, may cause irritation.” I often use them for my monthly cycle, but they have been great for the extended period of time one uses pads after a baby is born. ‘nough said.
Then, Earth Mama has a product named ” Booby Tubes”
And while using cloth diapers is really probably the best choice (something I’ve not done yet), I found that Earth’s Best diapers work really well. I’ve been really impressed with their newborn size. It fits my small little baby really well and I’ve used their larger sizes for Elena before she was potty trained. I think we usually pay around 10-12 dollars per package, so they aren’t cheap-another reason to move to cloth diapers!
And to help build up a good milk supply eating oatmeal (soaked if you have the chance) and drinking Organic Mother’s Milk Tea 
So there are just a few natural choices for the newborn mommy and baby. I would love to hear what you’ve used and liked!
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I love coconut oil on the bum – also because it makes the many newborn diaper changes go faster!
I love that tea too. My supply is ornery, and I used it whenever I was sick to keep my milk supply up. Without it I had a hungry baby!
I hope you continue your recovery quickly!
I use the Tropical Traditions coconut oil soap to wash baby, it has only two or three ingredients and is the most natural thing I can find. I like the lavender scented one. Other than that I use plain coconut oil for moisturizing and cleaning. It works great and I always have some on hand, anyway! It goes great with new baby smell. 🙂
Hope you’re enjoying your sweet baby. Bedrest can be a good thing if you have a cute snuggle baby to spend it with!
Thanks for the recommendation! I will look into it. 🙂
Oh, and I am definitely enjoying my baby-despite my lack of sleep. 😉
In my not so humble opinion, the material of a pacifier isn’t the only issue, it’s the non-nutritive sucking action itself (fingers/tumb, pacifiers, even self tongue-sucking), which has profound impact on a child’s facial and dental development (the action of soft tissue models/influences the formation of the bone tissue). Brian Palmer is a retired dentist who has studied this thoroughly. I’ll warn you the slide images of infant cadavers on Dr. Palmer’s websitearen’t pleasant to view, but I think they contain critical information that parents need to review before making a decision to provide an artificial sucking device or not (or to electively bottle-feed, for that matter). The sucking action of an infant’s mouth on a pacifier, a finger/thumb, a bottle nipple, a toy or article of fabric, etc., is not the same as the sucking action of a real nipple during feeding and it can have profound impact on a child’s physical development, ability to breath well, allergies, eyesight, etc.
www dot brianpalmerdds dot com
Another good series on malocclusion is at Whole Health Source blog (Dr. Stephan Guyenet’s blog – there’s a lot more to a Weston A. Price dental arch than traditional nutrition).
I also highly recommend George Catlin’s 19th century book on his observations of mouth breathing vs nasal breathing in European-descended people vs. Native Americans (available free online as an e-book because copyright has expired), titled Shut Your Mouth. http://www.books.google.com and other sources have scans of the original book.
I say this as a mother of a 12 yo who is currently in orthodontic treatment to expand/guide his jaws and facial growth the way they should have developed (broad, wide arches). My son was a champion sleeper from 7 weeks thanks to a thumb-sucking habit that lasted for nearly 6 years. If I could do it all over again (among other things), I would discourage not only the tumb sucking, but all non-feeding sucking habits. I even know one child who sucked her own tongue well into grade school (and yes, she’s in jaw expansion orthodontic treatment, too).
Hi Anna,
Thanks for the comment. I almost didn’t post about the pacifier because I knew that there would be at least one or two comments talking about different issues with a pacifier. Issues that are important for us to consider. Another important consideration is milk supply. Those who struggle with keeping up a milk supply may want to consider not using a pacifier (but instead allowing the baby to nurse often).
However, I know that many do use pacifiers and so felt it was good to bring the best option forward.
As far as the research you linked to, I am sorry, but I am not going to read it. As someone who has lost an infant, I don’t think it would be serve me to look at pictures of dead babies. So I won’t be able to give my opinion to the research directly.
And as far as the research goes, I am sure that there are many opinions on this topic. For that matter, I loved my pacifier as a baby and my teeth and jaw development was wonderful (I had dentists and orthodontists rave over my teeth all of my growing up years) and my hearing and eyesight has always been good too. All to say, I don’t think it’s as simple as making one choice, like whether or not to use a pacifier. I feel that the most important issue is still nutrition.
I also read the article that the Weston A Price did on George Catlin’s book. Very interesting! Though I was just telling my husband the other day that I was so thankful that I didn’t live in a culture that kept their babies so far apart physically as the baby boards that the Native American’s used. I am definitely a believer in close contact. 🙂
Thank you, Kimi, for opening the discussion with that controversial pacifier comment; and thank you to Anna for all this lovely detail to the contrary – I was just looking for some references for an article I’m writing on breastfeeding… beyond the milk!
Michelle
In my opinion, there will ALWAYS be some research that is “devastating” to a child’s development. We have to use the common sense we were given by God to recognize what is best for our baby.
AND genetics play a HUGE role in the development of our teeth. Some people have GREAT teeth, and never have a cavity/root canal etc. While others need root canals (several) as children. And they always brush and floss. If you have bad teeth, and have certain jaw and bone disorders, it’s likely your child will too.
I would be very curious to know about the parents in these studies.
Sorry about your long recovery!
Should you decide to cloth diaper, may I suggest trying several different types before deciding upon one style of diaper? You never know what works best for your baby until you try it. I use cloth in the day and 7th Gen sposies at night on my 6 week old.
Take the cloth diaper plunge! There are so many options out there that it sounds confusing, but it’s really not all that hard. I made myself fitted diapers from an Ottobre magazine pattern, and used wool diaper covers (either handknit or upcycled from rummage sale sweaters) through 2 kids so far, and it’s not really any harder than ‘sposies.
My kids (3 1/2 and 2) come a’runnin anytime I open up the jar of coconut oil in the kitchen, so they can have some for their hands, to use as lotion. I’ve also seen the combination of it & Manuka honey do some REALLY impressive wound healing!
Heather – if you’re still out there! Can you tell me more about the making wool diaper covers from sweaters? I’ve always wanted to try them and haven’t because they are SOOOO expensive!
And the tip about coconut oil and honey is great! My poor baby boy gets horrible rashes on his little bum and I can’t seem to do anything to help them heal, other than a daily bottom-soak. The zinc oxide creams all end up more on the diaper than his bum, and the one that helps somewhat – Aquaphor – I have major guilt issues smearing all over him (it’s a petroleum product – basically fancy vaseline).
Just wanted tot hrow out there that if you can get into cloth I highly recommend it. Especially for when they are little and not on solids yet and the poopies aren’t yucky. I started both my other two on plastic diapers for a couple of weeks or less just to get adjusted and make sure we were well past meconium. And each of them had red rash bums until I switched them to cloth. Then their bottoms cleared up immediately! I do use plastic at night because for me cloth doesn’t work, I am not into getting up to change diapers once they stop pooping at night. There ar a ton of great super easy options for cloth out there nowadays too and the dipes last forever so you can get them second hand from friends and then pass them along!
Thanks for the great post! Hope you get recovered soon!
Manuka honey IS very impressive. Coconut oil is finding a lot of uses at our home as well. Thank you Kimi for taking a few extra minutes to share. I have raised premie twins and know baby time is precious.
Kimi,
Cloth diapers are great! We have cloth diapered our second almost exlcusively–and it is no harder and much more economically feasible than ‘sposies. You can buy pocket diapers (we like fuzzibunz and econappies by swaddlebees) or other cloth diapers on craigslist relatively inexpensively, and sell them there when you are done for almost the same price.
Enjoy this precious new baby time!
A couple more tips. I work for a lactation consultant, and she also recommends mango if you can get it to help with your milk supply, in addition to the others you mentioned above.
Fuzzi Bunz & Tiny Tush are great pocket diapers for beginners. You can used diapers online to try out.
Feminine products that I used are reusable cloth mama pads, you can find a bunch online, but I like Fuzzi Bunz fleece lined. I also use a Dive Cup (silicone) as I couldn’t wear tampons and breast feed later when I started my period again. I have been using my Diva Cup for over 2 years now & I love it.
Thanks everyone for the thoughts on cloth diapers! I am definitely considering moving over once I have fully recovered and back on my feet again. I love hearing your suggestions. 🙂
Be careful, it can be a rabbit hole! Its a whole ‘nother world, but so much fun. They are fun to wash and the covers are so cute! I think thirsties duo wraps with a prefold is the most economical way to go, and easy, we’ve never had a leak! You buy two sizes of covers/diapers for the entire diapering season and you’re done! Country Save detergent is wonderful, my dipes come out white and fresh smelling. Good luck, and rest up! Did you have a longer recovery because of the breech birth?
Jillian’s Drawers is a great way to try out a variety of different cloth diapers for only $10. If you purchase through them they credit the $10 to your purchase and if you don’t, you’re only out $10. We ended up doing the trial through Jillian’s Drawers, bought prefolds through Green Mountain and covers through Nicki’s Diapers. I was so thankful, though, to have the 21 day trial through Jillian’s Drawers to make my decision. We did disposables with our first 3 and have only done cloth w/ our 4th. Makes me want to have more just so I can cloth diaper them 😉 http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/
Cloth diapers ARE great. I had terrible luck with the “all natural” disposable diapers. We switched to cloth when my last baby was about 6 months old. We never had another “blow-out” and she even used them all night without trouble. To keep her from leaking, we just added a couple more layers into the diaper. She had a HUGE boo-hiney but she didn’t leak and didn’t get a rash either. Instead of investing in the fancy new-fangled all in one types, we simply bought the pre-folds and used diaper pins and covers. It worked GREAT and it was the cheapest route. In fact, since we started her well past the newborn stage, we never even had to buy larger sizes. So it was very economical indeed. We even used cloth wipes and I made homemade wipe solution. I will say that it helped tremendously to have a brand new washing machine – a heavy duty front loading machine. I threw in a HUGE load of nasty diapers, including the diaper bag, and set the machine on the “sanitary” cycle which took 2 hours. Perfect. I am looking forward to diapering my next baby, due in the next 5 weeks, from the very beginning with cloth.
Sea Pearls is a company that makes natural sea sponge tampons. I used them for about 10 years before menopause. I loved the softness. They worked well, with a few cleaning precautions. I soaked mine overnight in food grade Hydrogen peroxide 3%.
I only went back to standard tampons whens traveling where clean water was not available.
Sarah,
Are the sponges sustainably harvested? I like the idea, but we’ve already pillaged our ocean so badly.
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
I did my research a while back on sea sponges and as far as I can see taking natural sponges out of the ocean is unsustainable. If anyone has seen the film ‘End of the Line’ they will be concerned about doing any further damage to the oceans! I also found some reseach done by a doctor called Tierno into incidences of Toxic Shock Syndrome and the TSS bacteria (Staph aureus) was in fact detected in sea sponges. Heavy metals and pollutants are absorbed in sponges in the ocean so personally I’d rather go for something organic. Hope that helps!
I am all for the cloth diapers, but since you mentioned saving money… have you ever heard of or considered elimination communication (EC)? This can be a great way to save money on buying diapers or energy washing them. Even if you save one diaper a day or one diaper a week, that is better than nothing! 🙂 FWIW, it does not have to be an all or nothing endeavor. You can potty your baby just at certain times that work for you, or go ahead and try for most of the time!
Especially when mine were newborns, I would just take their diaper off while I was nursing them and hold a potty or bowl under them. We were both just sitting there anyways! As soon as baby wakes up is another great time to make a catch. Anyways, I’ve found EC to be a very rewarding experience and it is great to have baby familiar with the potty all along so that when they are ready for potty independence, it usually comes at a much earlier age than with conventional diapering (which requires UNtraining the diaper!) 🙂
Best wishes!
Have you heard of the keeper? Or the diva cup? Check them out, you may be surprisingly happy!
I like the diva cup too, but they can’t be used PP because they insert 😉 They are great for all the other times besides PP though!
For some reason I thought you could use it PP, but I couldn’t find where I had read that. I haven’t used them for PP and that would make sense why they aren’t suppose to be used.
I moved over to cloth diapers when my second baby was over a year old but kept wetting through more than once each night. I hated changing the sheets so much and none of the disposable diapers I tried seemed to help. A friend introduced me to the wonderful world of wool covers & cloth diapers. I had two in diapers at the time, so once I switched the diapers paid for themselves in a matter of a couple of months just through the extra savings. We had been spending $50-75 per month on diapers, wipes, and diaper genie refills. Also, after your babies are potty trained, if you think you won’t be having anymore babies, then you can always sell your diapers and get back at least some of what you spent on them.
Since switching to cloth diapers I’ve also switched to cloth feminine pads, and I love them. I’m a bit sensitive, too, and never seemed to find something that didn’t make me react in some way, until I found Domino pads & Glad rags. :O)
Domino pads (http://www.dominopads.com/store.php?crn=215) are made from natural bamboo. Their website states: “Why Bamboo? Bamboo is both anti-fungal and anti-bacterial, resulting in natural odor protection without the risk of irritation caused by the harsh chemicals used to achieve anti-microbial properties in other products. Bamboo retains its anti-microbial properties far longer than any other natural material, resulting in protection, wash after wash. Bamboo resists the uncomfortable pilling common among micro-fleece and flannel products. Bamboo is a replenishable and environmentally friendly product.”
I saw Glad Rags (http://www.gladrags.com/c-2-gladrags-cotton-pads.aspx) at Earth Fare and decided to try them as well. I like them almost as much as the Domino Pads. The only reason I don’t like them as much is because I have to stuff them before I use them. :O) Both of them work great, and I haven’t reacted to either of them. They have saved me lots of money as well.
Thank you for posting about the alternatives to plastic and the natural Mom & Baby essentials. I’ve reduced our plastic use some, but like you have continued using the plastic bags for various things. Your posts have been very helpful and encouraging for me. Thanks again, and I hope you’re back on your feet again soon. Glad your new baby girl is doing so well, too! :O)
I love the “my breast friend” nursing pillow, I found it helped me so much better than the boppy or regular pillows. Also, Donna Gates is a friend of our family and taught me to give young coconut kefir liquid to babies to help them esp with colic! What a life saver! Congratulations Kimi!! Kimberle @ Nurturedpath.com
I loved the My Brest Friend pillow, too. It made nursing a newborn so much easier. We’ve used the pacifier you recommended, Kimi, with some success. The other thing I like about it is that it’s all one piece, so it doesn’t have cracks or crevices that can get dirt or bacteria lodged into them. We like cloth diapers – Fuzzi Bunz, Bottombumpers, and Bumgenius elemental are our favorites. And what about a baby carrier recommendation? Maya wrap, slinglings, and Beco are our favorites.
Hi Kimi,
I really enjoy reading your blog. I just had my fourth little whippersnapper a few months ago. Incidentally, my third is named “Aria Noelle.” (song of Christ) 🙂 By far my favorite nursing trick has been nursing through pregnancy. Mine are close together and it’s provided such comfort to the last “baby” to be able to still cuddle and nurse after the new baby comes. I know this probably wouldn’t work for everyone and you can’t all of a sudden start doing it….but anyway… My sister got me the sleepywrap and I’ve really loved it for hikes and walks and cuddling my baby when it’s cold outside especially! I also LOVE the swaddleme wraps with velcro that enable me to keep my baby swaddled. Hailey sleeps so well with hers. These aren’t unusually “natural” solutions, but they sure have been helpful for me with number four. 🙂 For cloth diapers I like the “flip” diaper covers which hold up really well through many washings and work without pins or extra fasteners and with just simple flat diapers…so they are inexpensive. Cloth diapering has become a new fad! I go back and forth between cloth and disposable depending on how adventuresome I’m feeling. Enjoy your little Aria!!!!
Oh!!! and I wanted to tell you….Hailey was born breech naturally and her birth was SO special and a testimony to God’s love for me.
I hope you feel better soon! We got hit with a nasty cold the week after my daughter was born in September. First my husband, then me, then her. It was a very rough few days. Luckily I had frozen several jars of chicken stock before she was born and we went through all of them. Take care of yourself and your beautiful new little girl!
Thank you for posting about the pacifier!! I have been looking for something like that, can’t wait to see if I can get one here in Canada.
Congratulations with your little new one- and yes I would say go for cloth as well 😉
A note about the pacifier since it is a danish brand you chose 😉
YES in general it is a very good option BUT for us with latex and rubber allergy it is NOT a good option…it is really annoying to suffer from and it is getting more and more widespread.
So personally I would go for a pacifier like Born free´s with medical grade silicone
the latter is important NOT all silicones are created equal.
http://www.newbornfree.com/Pacifiers-142530.aspx
congrats on your new baby! what a joy. we use cloth diapers from http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com. we use the two-piece kind, the cloth and then the diaper cover. this is an extremely affordable way to go because you can get 2 or 3 dozen cloth diapers for $50-$75 and you only need a few diaper covers, which is the more expensive part (i think $12 each). it’s worth looking into when you’ve got more energy!
Probiotics for infants and whole family, for diaper rash – can make a paste and apply it as well.
I also like Weleda products for baby such as the wash and diaper rash cream. When baby is older and teething – Sophie the Giraffe is made of safe natural rubber and has been a wonderful chew toy in our house. We also like the baby toothbrush that looks like a banana and made out of bpa & phthlate free for chewing/early brushing. Its soft and flexible and my baby loves it. Homeopathic remedies have also been very useful in our home for thrush, colic and teething. Lanacare wool bonnets to keep baby’s body temperature regulated. Best wishes on your new addition!
I just checked out the Nattracare website. The price looks to be the same as the Always I normally get when bought by the case from Amazon. I will look for this product at my Co-op or the Whole Foods. Thank you for being brave and letting us know about this product.
Have you considered going diaper-free? A friend of mine had her son potty trained at 6 months old and was training other mothers on this ancient practice. Search for diaper-free baby, or infant potty training. Just something to think about. Congratulations and best of luck!
” All to say, I don’t think it’s as simple as making one choice, like whether or not to use a pacifier.”
Of course. I didn’t mean to imply that underdeveloped jaws/dental crowding could only be due to pacifiers, etc. – just that it’s often overlooked and under-appreciated in the bigger scheme of the newborn universe.
I was hesitant about putting in the link to Dr. Palmer’s research (hence the warning about the slides) but for many parents, it’s a great source of information not easy to find (btw, the text can be viewed without the slide images, and Dr. Palmer indicates when some viewers may wish to skip slides).
I wish I’d had Dr. Palmer’s research available to me when my son was a newborn. Despite numerous consults with lactation specialists, the pediatrician, and even my ob, no one realized my son had a tight frenum (midline tissue that connects the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth – also the inside upper lip to the upper jaw at the gums) which prevented proper sucking action when he latched on. He was getting enough milk and gaining just fine (gaining really well, actually), but breast feeding was a really, really painful experience for me for the first two months. Everyone I consulted said his latch-on looked fine, he was doing really well, and then they shrugged their shoulders as to why I was in such pain (and I have a rather high threshold of pain). If I hadn’t been so doggedly determined to breast feed it would have been much easier to give up. The experience gave me new insight into why some women don’t persist.
And despite being breastfed babies in our first year, both my husband and I both developed some malocclusion, though it’s manifested in different ways and degrees. Our son, a 5 year thumb-sucker, developed malocclusion similar to his father’s pattern, a chronic pacifier sucker until he was 4 yoa, who also has pronounced frenums. Yet our son’s diet, esp since age 4 when I found WAP’s research, was far more nutrient-dense and WAP-oriented than either of us had in our childhoods and he quit thumbsucking before his primary teeth began to fall out – yet he still needed orthodontic treatment. I do think a nutrient dense diet is critical as a foundation for good bone/dental development, but it probably won’t override other strong influences. And from the digging around the research in the past two years before committing to orthodontic treatment for my son, I can’t find any good evidence that malocclusion is truly genetic, but rather due to a combination of environmental factors.
If we’re recommending baby wraps, I have to say the Moby is a superb choice. It wraps around your whole upper body so that it’s completely ergonomical and feels amazing. It takes so much strain off of holding the baby. And you can exercise with it on, too! Babies love it and calm down almost immediately upon being wrapped up in it. Great mamma and baby bonding time! (And daddy-baby bonding time as well!)
Wish I’d had all this information years ago with my little ones! Yes, it is okay to put it all on the food blog, and I am so glad you are off bed rest and doing well, enjoying your happy, healthy children! (While cloth diapers are good, it helps sleeping through the night to keep the “bum” dry with the absorption of the disposable ones; so glad you found a great brand!)
I used the Natursutten pacis until about 6 months, then went with an Avent. I just got Nuby pba-free sippy cups. For the bum I ordered CJ’s all natural BUTTer – it’s homemade by a SAHM from coconut oil, shea butter, olive oil and natural scents. How does blueberry crumble sound? Love spell? Coconut lime dream? They are all YUMMY!!
For cleaning I have used Johnson’s Natural shampoo/body wash and the one from Target. Can’t recall the name – it has the hungry caterpillar on the bottle. Oh, and Healthy Times Baby’s Herb Garden wash from a HFS. I use it to make my cloth wipe solution.
I use a combo of cloth diapers and Huggies Free and Natural (I think that’s the name) disposable diapers.
I have to admit I’ve been using jarred baby food – virtually all organic and almost all gluten-free. I’ve also given Gavin some regular food: pastured, organic, local, etc.
We did a little babywearing – mostly with a cheap Graco Snuggle (again, I think that’s the name LOL). We’re co-sleeping and nursing, both going strong at 10 months. I have a feeling Gavin may wean early – my first son Alex nursed till he was 3 and I weaned him then. Time flies soooo fast !!
Sorry to hear you and Aria were sick. Hope you recover quickly and completely.
Don’t have much to share about baby products except to say that I was The Queen of The Pacifier as a baby. My Mom could not get it out of my mouth. Yet at the age of 48 I have a perfect jaw and perfect teeth and the dentist is amazed at how healthy my mouth is in spite of my age. Both my parents have lousy teeth, so I don’t think it’s all genetics. Maybe all that sucking helped me keep lots of saliva flowing which helped me have a beautiful smile. hehe. Who knows . . . but I assume there are always two sides to each story . . .
Instead of natural pads Kimi- have you heard of mooncups? They are absolutely fabulous. Made of silicone, and you reuse them every cycle, and they last you up to 10 years. I got mine about 6 months ago and would never go back to pads! Even with natural pads, you are still putting stuff into the landfill! http://www.mooncup.co.uk/ These are such an eco friendly and affordable option! They are about $50, but divide that over 10 years and you’re talking $5 per year : )
Love the crossover from food-talk to baby bums and menstrual pads. I would probably not have noticed the comedy in that had you not mentioned it. 🙂
Thank you for the natural pacifier link . My wee one is too old now, but we all would have benefited from this possibility, so I will keep it in mind for the next one.
As for the diapers, everyone has already chimed in for their favorite cloth or disposable (ok, mine is MotherEase). Didn’t read ALL the comments, but have you looked into cloth pads too? They are WAY less involved than diapers, so a good place to start (and easier to buy just a few). There is also the different but nice Diva Cup, which are useful for long outings. From one food blogger to another, on a distinctly not food subject. Rest well, get better.
definitely check out for reusable menstrual products. i LOVE my stuff from homestead emporium! i mean, really, silk and bamboo velour against your lady parts? who wouldn’t want that?! 😉
http://hyenacart.com/HomesteadEmporium/
Oh man! I love my cloth menstrual pads. I used an all natural, plastic made from plant waste, unbleached, whatever disposable pad before but cloth is so much more comfortable I can’t believe I didn’t think of this myself. I live in the hot and humid Gulf Coast and I don’t how I survived summers past in plastic disposable pads. Now I use Glad Rags unbleached organic cotton pads and they rock my socks!! That and I’ve switched to cloth wipes for pee. I’m not brave enough to use them for everything. Much more comfortable than toilet paper and free since I made them out of an old flannel sheet. We’re about to start trying to get pregnant so I’ve started sewing cloth diapers. Fun stuff!
Kimi, I do want to encourage you to make the plunge into cloth diapering. I was scared to death of the thought based on gross stories my mother had told me, but I NEVER had one of those stories myself (with two in cloth) because I chose to deal with diapering very naturally and frugally. Urine diapers went straight into the pail. Poopies were DUMPED INTO (not washed out) into the toilet and then went to the pail. I never had to touch anything gross. Come wash time, the entire contents of the pail was dumped into the wash machine. I added soap and WHITE VINEGAR (that’s key), and started the cycle as normal. They always came out very clean. I then put them into the dryer or hung them on the line. One June, with my last child, I tried to skimp and get by with adding no vinegar, and she broke out with a severe rash– so the vinegar in the wash was necessary. But this switch saved us countless dollars. It’s a very frugal and natural choice, especially if you are planning on having more children after Aria. The one regret I have, is not investing in wool outer pants (instead of plastic pants). They were simply out of our budget at the time. One last thought on this: it was our last child who was in cloth from birth (the first was 1 year old when we switched), that was completely potty trained by 15 months. I always thought it was at least partially due to her having cloth diapers and not wanting to sit in the messes. I work in our church nursery, and change many bottoms– the disposables do too good of a job pulling the wet away from the child. Why get out of them? Anyway, just some thoughts. I wish you the very best.
Okay, didn’t exactly know where to post this question, but it somewhat pertains to plastic free and definitely pertains to having a new baby. Every time I have had a baby at the very end I prepared a bunch of meals/ casseroles that I could just pop in the oven and cook for the rough times after the baby comes. I also like to make meals for women who I know who have babies…I think that is one of the best gifts, especially for a mom who is having a baby and already has little ones and baby supplies. I have always used the aluminum disposable pans and hate doing it so much, but I have no idea what other options I have. Of course I do not want to use plastic either. I like giving the recipient the option of freezing the meal for a later time or eating it immediately. If it is a close neighbor I can use one of my glass pans, but I think they would be more reluctant to freeze the meal for later then and I certainly don’t have enough casserole pans to make 5-6 meals to freeze and still have enough to meet my regular cooking needs. Any ideas or suggestions would be great! Thank you and I wish you and your family all the best at the special time. Enjoy your sweet little ones!! 🙂
I don’t think using the disposable aluminum pans is so bad; you can always rinse them and put them in the recycle bin.
I also had another idea– you could go to a thrift-store and buy some cheap casserole dishes for about $1 or 2 each (about the same price as buying the disposables) and attach a note with the meal saying there’s no need to return the dishes. Then they have dishes they can re-use.
Thanks for this! I’m due in Feb with my 1st and have been thinking I should use coconut oil instead of those creams…someone mentioned to be wary of a food allergy but I think it’s worth a shot. Also – definitely trying the cloth diaper route. There’s a place called Diaper Lab near us that sells all the different kinds and you can try them for 2 weeks and return if that type doesn’t work for you. They had a workshop that explained the whole process and I’m really excited to give it a go!
Hi;
Just wanted to add… (we love cloth too – do flats from Green Mountain Diapers which are awesome awesome in so many ways with wool covers) – you do have to fold them but they are sooo much cheaper than even prefolds – you only need two sizes! – and they dry in less than half the time that prefolds do, and get cleaner as well cause the water swishes between the layers- cannot recommend them enough – old fashioned but sometimes that’s the best!) Anyway, did not mean to post about cloth diapers but wanted to post that lanolin is AWESOME for diaper rash – clears up almost instantaneously.
Also, we do EC (Elimination Communication) with our five month old – he’s almost completely potty trained already…. I was skeptical when I read the books when I was pregnant, but three weeks into it, I noticed that when he would pop on and off while bfing or kick me a lot, it meant he had to go – and soon there would be a wet diaper! So he was letting me know before he had to go and actually didn’t want to just go in his diaper – they actually practice this in most other parts of the world – it is also interesting to read how potty training in our country switched to a much later age, due to recommendations to doctors and fierce marketing by a researcher in the 50’s who actually was working for Pampers (or Huggies? forget which one…) at the time… Babies know and are capable of being potty trained much earlier than we give them credit for – the most concise read is “Diaper Free Baby” by Christine Gross-Loh – very fascinating and useful info! There are two other books that are very useful too if you decide to go that route — we love it cause we basically hardly ever have to change a poopy diaper – since we started at three weeks – he’s SO clear about signalling for poops – thus decreasing diaper rash and making less clean-up for us! Pees are a bit harder to catch since it is sooo frequent especially in the morning. It’s really fun and satisfying too! My husband LOVES doing it too! Makes diapering so much more fun. EC is possible with disposables but easier with cloth – – our son always wears a diaper but we take it off when we take him to pee…
Also, cloth pads – HIGHLY recommend! They are sooo much more breathable and comfortable than plastic disposables – I bled for a long time too after giving birth (2 1/2 months!), so can’t imagine how many pads I would have to have bought…. those are way easy to wash too…
Anyway was just going to write a short post about lanolin and then wrote a novel – such is life…