Milo rocks!

Milo rocks out in his gDiaper on the blanket Auntie Melinda made.

(The jury is still out on whether we love or hate the gDiapers. I'll try to post a review when we decide.)

It's not easy being green

A friend recently gave me a copy of the book "The Eco-Nomical Baby Guide" by Joy Hatch and Rebecca Kelley. According to the cover it has "down-to-earth ways for parents to save money and the planet." So, the "eco" refers to both ecological and economical. I haven't read the entire book yet, but I have found some pretty good information in it.

For instance, I have been debating with myself whether to use cloth or disposable diapers. On the one hand, disposables will live forever in our landfills. On the other hand, they are so dang convenient. However, the following tidbit has me leaning more and more toward the idea of cloth (or reusable) diapers:

"Many parents are concerned the presence of SAP [sodium polyacrylate, a.k.a. absorbent gel] in disposables causes the scrotal temperature of baby boys to get too high, interfering with normal sperm production. Research by the Archives of Disease in Childhood showed that the scrotal temperature is higher in boys who wear disposable diapers than in those who wear cloth, possibly explaining the increase in male infertility over the last twenty-five years."

If I'm planning to breastfeed my baby because it's better for his health and may make him smarter and I plan to not circumcise him because it seems traumatic and unnecessary, doesn't it stand to reason I should try to protect his future fertility? As someone who was told she couldn't have babies without specialized help, I wouldn't want to put my son through that. I'll admit the whole idea of washing dirty diapers is icky, but I may have to do it -- to protect my son's future. And, you know, protecting the environment and all that junk.

I have to admit, though, I'm just not green enough to follow some of the advice in the book. Purchase used clothes diapers? Gross. I don't care how clean they supposedly are, I wouldn't wear used underpants and I wouldn't want my baby to.

And, I kind of feel like the authors fumble the ball a bit in telling me not to bother with nursing bras. In one chapter, they extol the benefits (economic, environmental and health-wise) of breastfeeding as long as possible. Later they tell me not to buy nursing bras because my breast size will probably change. Which means I would have to buy new bras anyway and if I'm nursing for 12 months or more, that's a long time to be yanking up a regular bra. Meaning that bra (or bras) will need replacing anyway. Do you see my logic? Bras wear out. They just do.

Still, there is a lot of good, useful information in the book for saving money and being more green while raising a baby. And the most important message I got from the book was this: "Green parenting is about progress, not perfection!"

And now, because I probably put it in your head with the title, I give you Kermit the Frog:

Every Little Bottom

I read a very sad story about diaper need today. It lead me to this Web site, Every Little Bottom.

A recent study* shows that one in three American moms have to choose between diapers and other basic needs like food. Without an adequate supply of diapers, babies are kept in wet, dirty diapers for extended period. They sometimes must wear diapers that have been cleaned out and put back on.

"Moms struggling against diaper need are more likely to miss work or school, stay home when they need to go out, or keep their babies out of daycare — which usually requires a full day's supply of disposable diapers."

The Web site, set up by Huggies, allows you to donate diapers online or through your Huggies purchases (reward points). They also have a listing of diaper banks. All this so we can help moms and babies in need.


*You can read the full Huggies Every Little Bottom Study (in PDF form) at the Web site.