Green Options

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I am a closet Chick-lit lover. Although I love reading the classics such as Doesteovsky, Maugham, and Hesse (my favorite writer); sometimes I need an easy and light reading that doesn’t need a dictionary as a companion. So it’s no surprise that I would totally take to the From the Hips: A Comprehensive, Open-Minded, Uncensored, Totally Honest Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and Becoming a Parent by Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morrisis. Although pregnancy is a serious subject matter; I didn’t want to read the pregnancy bible, What to Expect When You are Expecting. I really had hard time making it past the first chapter. It seemed a bit too authoritative; I pictured a nagging mother instead of your best friend. But From the Hips is definitely your best girl friend talking you through the trials of pregnancy with wit and a bit of sass. Who doesn’t need a bit of humor when you are carrying around a baby 24/7?

It’s probably going against the grain to be talking about pain medication in a natural parenting blog, and one of the few writers this week that would probably advocate non-natural childbirth; but I always knew that epidural was going to be my drug of choice when the time came to give birth. Two distinct memories of labor and birth came from my mother and childhood best friend. I was three weeks overdue, and by the the time my mother delivered me; I was over ten pounds. She would regale in the horror of the labor and how terrified she was of her next birth, my brother. My best friend had a child right out of high school. I remember her telling me how it was the worst pain she had ever been in her life. With those two very painful experiences; I decided that I would DEFINITELY get an epidural, no doubt about it. I would always joke, first sign of contraction, I am rushing myself to the hospital so they could stick a needle in my back. Of course, I never expected to be induced either.

I waited a long time to have a child. Although I am only couple months shy of thirty; I am the last of my siblings, who are of rightful childbirthing age, to have a baby. My brothers would often ask me, when I would settle down and be a mother. I had no interest in settling down. I loved traveling and loved my life as a single girl in the city. However that changed when I met my baby’s father. Things progressed pretty quickly for us, and not even a year after we became a couple; I was pregnant. I suffered through the hell of first trimester, the bliss of second, and the ridiculous weight gain of third. We started laughing one night because my feet were SO swollen, they looked like Fred Flinstones. Then there was the waiting game. Waiting patiently for my daughter to make her entrance into the world. Eight days past her due date, and still no sign of our daughter; an induction was scheduled. Although I had always planned for an epidural; the induction didn’t play into the equation. I tried everything from sex to chocolates to induce naturally. No avail, on April 1st at 7:30 in the morning; we arrived at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton, PA with my trusty pillow.

As part of Eco Child’s Play Labor of Love series on birth stories, natural birth, hospital births, and home births, our writers will be sharing their birthing and pregnancy stories. We’d like to hear your birth stories too, whether you are a mother, father, grandparent, or adoptive parent.
We are encouraging our readers to share their thoughts and birth stories by hosting a giveaway contest.
Entries in the contest are made by leaving a comment or birth story on the Green Options Forum. At the end of the week (6/28), we will randomly pick two winners for this giveaway. Up for grabs are:
IsaBootie: Funky and Stylish Soft Soled Baby Shoes

Yesterday I received a comment on my Korean Seaweed Soup Recipe [A Milk Production Helper] where a mom was not making enough milk for her baby. Come to find out she was supplementing with formula. I don’t have enough background info to know if this was a medical decision; but in most cases; supplementing with formula is not a good way to establish your milk supply.

According to a certified Lactation Consultant, “Frequent unrestricted nursing is best in the early days. Most breastfeeding babies will need and want to nurse every 1 1/2-3 Hours or more often. If your baby is very sleepy, wake him to nurse every three hours during the day. If your baby sleeps a long stretch at night, you will need to wake him for night feedings [until your milk supply is established].” I stuck by this rule and this has helped to maintain my milk supply.

For the first six weeks of breastfeeding; do not let the baby go without feeding for more than four hours. The more the baby sucks, the more breast will start to produce milk. There’s a biology behind this; but I don’t want to go into here; trust me, just put your baby to your boobs if you want to increase your stash. “Anytime you supplement, you decrease your milk supply because your breast won’t be stimulated to make that milk that’s now being guzzled in the form of a supplement.”

Most new parents dread the “teething stage” as much as they dread colicky babies. It’s a stage they just want to get over. The drooling, cranky, little bubs, however precious they are, can be a painful ordeal for your little one as well as for you. This is where teething toys come in to save the day. The Happiest Baby on the Block helped my borderline colic, high needs baby get through her fussy stage, and with that over with; I was ready to find the perfect teething toy to soothe her sore gums. I was searching for a non-toxic and non-plastic toy that wasn’t made in China. (I am aware China is getting a lot of flack for this; but seriously, it is your child’s health you are dealing with).

I wasn’t too comfortable with the idea of toys made out of cloth although the Under the Nile Veggie Toys made out of Organic cotton was promising. I wanted something rubbery, squishy, and a throwback to toys I had as a child. “Then I saw her face… and I am a believer.” No, it’s not the Monkees; it’s Sophie the Giraffe. The Très Chic Teething Toy made out of natural rubber and finished with non-toxic paint. Sophie is handcrafted in the French Alps and has been a favorite among infants since the 60’s. A definite throwback to my days (and beyond).

After my disaster with the Eco-friendly gdiapers; I decided to transition into cloth diapering. I ordered some Organic cotton cloth diapers before my little one was born; however, it wasn’t enough to go into full time cloth diapering. Buying cloths can be a costly investment in the beginning, (You will eventually save thousands of dollars compared to ’sposies especially if you have more than one baby) but now with Diaper Swappers; Cloth Diaper Exchange Forum; you can mitigate the initial expense.

I came across the Diaper Swappers when I was looking for a used Psling. It was interesting to find a community of cloth diapering moms who traded diapers (along with baby carriers) with each other. There’s a rating system sort of like Ebay, and there’s also a Wall of Shame of banned users. (could be anything from too many negatives to having too many different user names) The forum moderators seem to have a good system in place to protect the cloth diapering, baby wearing mothers to have a safe and friendly place to exchange their unwanted items for something they need. I really dig it.

When I first brought my daughter home from the hospital; I thought there’s nothing to it. I had my own baby-sitting business when I was twelve. I raised my younger siblings; I have been around children almost all my life. How hard could it be? I mean babies sleep most of the time anyways; well, those thoughts quickly changed when my daughter would not go to sleep for hours on end. She would go through her fussy period every evening where nothing I did would console her. Instead, it would upset her more. I was on wits on end. Then I came across this book, The Happiest Baby on the Block and it gave me hope when I felt I was about to lose it.

The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp came about when he was a fellow at UCLA as part of the Child Abuse Team. Dr. Karp consulted on several severely injured babies whose screams drove their stressed-out parents to commit horrible acts of abuse. In hopes of eradicating this unthinkable tragedy and help desperate parents everywhere; he began his research on infant sleep and colicky babies. Dr. Karp discovered that the infant development between a newborn and a three month old was astronomical and that in primitive cultures around the world; colic was virtually non-existent. Based upon his research he came up with the four theories to help sleep-deprived parents everywhere and help your baby become happiest baby on the block. The four ideas are

The missing 4th trimester
The “Calming Reflex”
The 5 S’s
The Cuddle Cure

When I first spotted the Psling on Keri Russell in Celebrity Baby Blog; I thought to myself, $350 for a piece of fabric and rings; people are crazee (whirling my fingers around my ears) . However, I had to admit it was beautiful. So beautiful that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then I started obsessing about it and started reading about it all over the internet.

The Baby Wearer, a forum for baby wearing parents and advocates, could not stop raving about its comfort and beauty. So like a sucker; I convinced my significant other to drive to the city (our first time in the year that we moved to PA). so I can try out this incredible piece of fabric. We got to Soho, parked the car, and found our way to PSNY. There was the beautiful sling that I was meant to have. I bought it. (Like a sucker)

So now that I have this beautiful yet expensive piece of fabric tied with two rings, two things come to mind.. guilt… yes.. but bigger part is rebellion. Ever since I took on the challenge of greening up my life, everything had to Eco-friendly. I gave up my beloved Ajax for Mrs. Meyers. My antibacterial dish soap for an Earth friendly one (one that doesn’t clean as well). Tried out the Earth friendly gdiapers which in reality made more work for me. Turn off the powercord, unplug everything, recycle… it’s just exhausting.

Okay, I am starting to feel like a personal gas station for my daughter. Breastfeeding has its rewards but it can also be all consuming. One of the reasons I might have hesitated about breastfeeding was the fear that my baby would be attached to me 24/7. As a person who enjoys her freedom; this was a big issue for me. However health benefits of breastfeeding won out. (by a margin, homerun.) As a compromise, I use a breastpump to express some milk for times you just need to get away. Then the co-parent, otherwise known as the guy with no boobs but hairy chest, gets to take over. Extra perk, bonding time with daddy.

Whilst I was researching on cloth diapering, I came across this Charlie’s Soap on many of the cloth diapering sites. Almost all of them recommended Charlie’s Soap (along with Bac-Out) to get the poop out but was also Hypoallergenic enough to use against baby’s tender skin.

Curious, I ordered the Charlie’s powder Soap on their online store. I have to say that this truly is a non-toxic cleaning miracle. I have used Charlie’s Soap not only to launder my newborn’s clothes, but to clean everything from spit ups on fabrics to pet messes. According to their website, you can also clean carpets with carpet cleaners or use it in your dishwasher. (I have neither so can’t lay claim to that.)