Green Baby Steps

In our society there are so many products and options to consider, if you wish, when having babies. Something my unmarried-childless mind always wanted for 'when the time comes to have children' is cloth diapers. I suppose minimizing garbage and using more natural fibers really hit a chord with me. Now married and soon to have a child in my arms I am definitely curious if these ideals from my youth will match our reality.

I have put in some time doing research on the extensive cloth diaper options. One weekend I think I really overwhelmed both Bryan and myself crunching numbers and comparing the more then 30 choices in diapers! We took a break from the research and then made a decision. Natural hemp prefolds with smart attachable snaps (in the place of the diaper pin) and covers for Seven at the very beginning. Then moving into all-in-ones (meaning the soft thirsty diaper and shielding cover come in one unit instead of two) that have so many snaps to help them fit well from a couple of months old to 35lbs. They have changed a little since my Mum cloth diapered me 30 years ago! If you are interested to see what these look like you can find them on our registry @ www.bynature.ca

With a little help from my friends Emily & Laura, and inspiration from Meredith who introduced me, we are also going to give reusable cloth wipes a whirl as well. I found simple instructions online [Make Reusable Wipes]. Emily & I found receiving blankets that are now in process of being transformed into wipes. The solution we are going to use with them is by Laura and can be found on the Durham Region Kids (Homemade Baby Wipes That Work) blog.

So we will see. I think we have to choose our battles and follow our passions when it comes to these decisions. I just hope that this is an area where our ideals mesh well with the day to day realities of life with Seven.