7 Eco-Friendly Tips for Raising Your Baby

When we decided to have a baby, we knew we wanted to keep the experience as eco-friendly as possible. What we found out is that raising an eco-friendly baby can be really fun and easy on both the earth and your wallet. Here are some tips to get youstarted.

1. Breastfeeding: More Than a Trifecta – Not only is breastfeeding the best way to start off your baby nutritionally, but it’s also better for the environment, your wallet and your waistline. How awesome is that? Imagine all of the cans of formula and bottles you won’t have to buy and how that helps the earth and your cash, while being confident that you’re giving your baby the absolute best. Plus, you’ll burn an extra 400 to 600 calories a day, making breastfeeding one of the best ways to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight. (As our daughter transitions to solid foods, our next step is feeding her organically grown food.)

2. Organic Cloth Diapers and Cloth Wipes Are So Stinkin’ Cute (no pun intended!) – These offer another way to help save our earth by keeping a bunch of disposable diapers and wipes out of the landfills. There’s a feeling of pride that comes over me every time I snap on one of Kamea’s cloth diapers or use an organic cotton cloth wipe. Cloth diapering takes a few times to get the hang of, but you’ll be glad you did, and you’ll save money on diapers in the long run.

3. Co-Sleeping: Keeping Mama and Earth Rested – When you co-sleep you don’t have to spend money or waste the earth’sresources with a crib, sheets, mattress … heck, we don’t even have a nursery! And can I just say? It’s been the best way for this mama to get in lots ofsleep.

4. Hand-Me-Downs Are Hot – Here is an area that has really had an impact on the earth and our wallet. Thankfully we were one of the last couples in our circle of friends who started having kids,because we reaped some great steals. What a blessing to not have to buy everything brand new. Hand-me-downs are the ultimate “reuse.”

5. Eco-Friendly Toys Rock – First, reduce the overall number of toys you buy. (I know, it’s hard, because they’re so damn cute!) Instead, rotate in safe common household objects. Baby won’t care either way, and you’ll be amazed at how much fun a baby can have with something as simple as measuring cups or the cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper.

For toys you buy (and encourage as gifts from others), keep your baby and the earth happy with eco-friendly toys that are made from sustainable, BPA-free and organic materials. Old-fashioned wooden toys are especially darling, and babies like them just as much as plastic. With eco-friendly toys, you can rest easy knowing that your baby isn’t exploring toxic substances with his or her little hands and mouth.

And we all know that reading to our babies is of uber importance! Books are aterrific way of keepin’ it green, both for the planet and inside your wallet. Two words: public library!

6. Organic Clothes Rule – Organic clothes are a great and gentle option for your eco-friendly baby. There was a time when they were all expensive and hard to come by, but not anymore. You can now find cute, reasonably priced, organic baby items at places like Wal-Mart and Target, as well as scoring deals from websites like GreenBabyBargains.com and EcoBabyBuys.com.

7. Air Dry Laundry Whenever Possible – This is easier to do in dry climates, but you’ll score a double whammy in the summer. Not only will you reduce your electricity bill by not running the dryer as much, but you’ll also avoid having the dryer heat up your house during warmer months. When you do run the dryer, run it at night when rates are lower and the outside temperature is cooler. Air dry your cloth diapers for the ultimate in green.

These seven ways to raise an eco-friendly baby are easy to do. Whether you do one or all of them, you’re setting a great example!

Photo credit: stetted

Breast Milk Is The Bomb!

Mother Nature designed the perfect complete nourishment for your newborn. Breast milk is a highly alkaline, nutritive, substance that contains immune factor, an impeccable balance of fats, DHA, protein water, and happy hormones that meet the nutritional demands and emotional needs of your baby while promoting bonding and neurological development.

Mindful eating during pregnancy, after birth and while breast-feeding is essential to maintain optimal health and wellness of a growing baby and new mother. Your diet during this finite period is of the utmost importance. The dietary requirements for a nursing mom are high. Nourish yourself with whole foods to support ample milk supply, adequate energy and hormonal balance.

Your little baby’s complex immune system
Every baby is born with passive immunity. This is the protection that your immune system provides for your little one throughout pregnancy. At birth, your baby has a supply of maternal antibodies that help protect against common childhood infections in the first months of life: coughs, colds, chicken pox, ear infections. During the second and third trimesters, the baby’s immune cells are forming but not able to work on their own. Around six months, your baby’s immune system will be able to produce its own antibodies and the timing is great because your passively acquired antibodies run out at about six months of life. This is one of the reasons why it is best to breast-feed exclusively for at least the first six months of life. The longer you breast-feed the better off your baby, so consider it an investment.

Your milk is the bomb!
Breast-feeding is the best protection against illness and support for the baby’s immune system that a mother can provide. Breast milk wards off illnesses common in formula-fed babies, provides protection against allergies and gastrointestinal infections. Your milk is a good source of highly absorbable minerals, antioxidants and other antibacterial substances that protect the baby against bacterial or viral infection. Your milk is also a top-notch source of essential fatty acids, which are vital to proper neurological development, immune development and growth. Not to mention that each time you breast-feed you are bonding with your baby. When you experience the letdown reflex your body also secretes oxytocin (the love and bonding hormone) and you and your baby fall in love. So your milk is literally a love potion.

Maintaining your milk factory
While breast-feeding you must make it a priority to look after yourself. Feeding and caring for your baby is awesome and it’s tiring too. It helps to have lots of healthy, nutrient-packed snacks around to provide you with energy. Fruit smoothies, green juice, nut and fruit bars, yogurt, nuts, porridges, soups, hummus and crackers, sandwiches and trail mix all help to provide sustainable energy throughout the day.

Drink adequate water. Your body requires a lot more water to make breast milk, which is mostly water. Avoiding chemical additives and excess sugar is always good too.

Eat at least five portions of fruit and veggies daily. This will provide the fiber, vitamins and phytonutrients needed by you and your baby. Having a fresh green juice or fruit smoothie in the morning is a great way to get an antioxidant boost!

Avoid taking stimulants while breast-feeding. Caffeine found in coffee, tea, sodas and chocolate can cause irritability and restlessness in you and your baby, so beware.

Protecting a formula-fed baby
For a number of reasons some mamas aren’t able to breast-feed exclusively. If formula milks are the only option or if you have to supplement for any reason, then this section will come in handy. Avoid cow’s milk-based formulas! Cow’s milk is designed to take a baby calf from 65 pounds to 600 pounds within one year. Why would you want to feed your child a hormone-laden substance that builds body mass at an alarming rate? You could opt for a vegetarian formula. There are also milk banks for moms interested in finding breast milk donors. Just be sure to compare the essential fatty acid profile of the formulas and choose the best option.

Add a quarter teaspoon of infant probiotic to your baby’s bottle once a day. This will provide some of the beneficial bacteria that is present in breast milk and protect against gastrointestinal infection.

Add a few drops of organic flaxseed oil into your baby’s bottle once daily to provide a source of omega-3 essential fatty acids. Rub the contents of a 500-mg evening primrose oil capsule onto your baby’s tummy after bath time to ensure a source of omega-6 essential fatty acids.

Avoid overfeeding with the bottle. Bottle-fed babies don’t have to work their jaws for the milk and often overeat. Fat cells are laid down in infancy and an overweight baby is likely to be an overweight adult.

Kiss your baby!
Okay, so by now you’re obsessed with your baby! Did you know that breast-feeding moms can protect their babies by providing tailor-made antibodies to the bacteria and viruses their babies come in contact with? You already have a plethora of antibodies that have been created throughout your life that protect you against certain diseases. Many are totally irrelevant to your newborn, but others will give your baby’s immune system a vital boost.

When you kiss your baby’s cheek, you are effectively sampling the bacteria and viruses on his face that he is about to ingest. The bacteria get transferred to your body where your immune system is stimulated to create specific antibodies to fight these pathogens. You then pass the tailor-made antibodies back to your baby through your breast milk. So each time the baby is at the breast he is inoculated. Keep kissing and nuzzling your baby. What a perfect miracle!

Your shrinking waistline
Hey Sugar, good news! Did you know that breast-feeding helps to contract the uterus back to its normal size? It also burns calories. Breast-feeding can burn up to 600 calories daily. Just from breast-feeding alone you can lose a pound every week. Breast-feeding is also linked to lower maternal weight gain.

Photo credit: nicora

Six Ways to Ease Your Postpartum Frazzle

Postpartum self-care is an important topic that doesn’t get enough attention. When I was pregnant, nobody really talked about it other than saying, “Make sure you have food in the freezer because you’ll be too tired to cook.” But you know what? There’s more to it.

As my midwife said with a chuckle, “Try getting a one-month postpartum mom to feel sorry for a woman in labor … not gonna happen.” I now understand the sentiment. No doubt there are plenty of women who have wonderful postpartum experiences. In general, however, it can be rough. It’s important to make sure you take care of yourself. Not just for you, but for your baby. Remember, happy mommy equals happy baby (at least for the most part – haha).

Postpartum emotions sweep from one end of the spectrum to the other. Naturally this special time is primarily filled with joy. But it can also be a time of anxiety and stress, particularly for first-time moms. My hormone-soaked emotions took a roller coaster ride shortly after my baby’s birth. Most of the time I was up high as a kite, happy as can be (heck, I had a baby – I was so happy!). But there were also times I was stressed, worrying about all kinds of what-ifs and decisions that would affect my baby. Anxious thoughts crept in from all sides: Why hasn’t her cord stump fallen off yet? Is she eating enough? Why is my boob lumpy? Is she sleeping enough? I hope she doesn’t get sick. Is she getting enough indirect sunlight for her jaundice? For that matter, what the hell is “indirect sunlight” – shade?

And a whole slew of other things.

But perhaps the hardest part was the lack of sleep. I’m breastfeeding on demand, which means living on a 24-hour clock, being sleep-deprived and constantly exhausted (especially the early months – my baby fed every one-two hours it seemed). Extreme fatigue makes everything worse. Normal, trivial problems can become almost unmanageable. Fatigue makes hormone swings feel more intense and shortens your fuse, meaning it takes less to set you off and the bang is louder. But as all new moms do, I made it through, and I’m on the other side. Things are definitely nicer now, allowing me to enjoy motherhood and its magical moments that come every day.

Postpartum Self-Care Tips

So what’s the best way to care for yourself? Here are a few things that helped me.

1. Eat well. Nutrition is important. I didn’t always have time to make food, and my husband was best used for making fruit and veggie runs to the store. The solution: giant smoothies packed with tons of goodies made for super easy and healthy meals. I loaded them with organic fruits, greens, probiotics, nuts or seeds, coconut oil, superfoods, chia or flax seeds, etc. It’s important to keep calories up because you’re burning extra by breastfeeding. I could easily chug down 600 calories in one of my smoothies. It was delicious raw vegan goodness. I also kept fresh fruit, trail mix and other organic snacks on hand at all times.

I also enjoyed Joyful Mother Tea, a blend of teas that support a happy mama and her changing hormones. Better yet, drink a nice cup of tea while you take a bath. Even if it’s only 30 minutes to pamper yourself and relax, do it. The 30 minutes you take for yourself recharges you the remaining 23.5 hours that you need to care for baby.

2. Make a list. Create a list of “must haves” and make sure you have them. These are things that make your life easier. For me it was having a breastfeeding stool to prop my feet on, plenty of organic cloth prefolds lying around ready to wipe baby spit-up, water to drink at various places I nurse, my Kindle with books to read while nursing, a baby rocker/swing chair that can move from room to room where I can place baby while I’m eating, making a smoothie or going to the bathroom. I also had a friend I could go to for support and questions. As a first-time mama, I had tons of questions. Having access to a friend that I could text or e-mail anytime was a life saver. Figure out your must haves and make sure you have them.

3. Relaxing music. Lullabies are a wonderful way to self-care a postpartum mama. I know lullabies are traditionally for the baby, but as a mom, I can’t tell you how nice and relaxing it was to have them playing.

4. Ask for help. Self-care is about taking care of yourself, whether you do it or someone else helps. So please ask for help! Ask for anything and everything. Don’t be afraid to call on your partner, family and friends so that you can focus on baby. Put family and friends to work! Trust me, they want to help.

5. Cry. As much as you want or need. Just let it out. The hormones will probably make you want to wail at least once. Do it. It’s cathartic. Having a baby is life changing. Some of us need to cry at least once during that transition. It’s OK!

6. Baby steps. Your new baby isn’t the only one learning a bunch of new things – you are too. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Overloading yourself is a recipe for frustration. Learn things one at a time. I concentrated on breastfeeding for several weeks until I had it down just right. Then I worked on babywearing until I was completely comfortable with it. Then I started playing around with cloth diapers. But to learn all of those things at once would have been too much for me, especially as a first-time mom.

By focusing on yourself with just a few of these items, you’ll be in a much better frame of mind. You and your baby will appreciate the difference!

My Home Birth Team

It’s a beautiful time in my life. I’m six months pregnant and feeling blissful beyond belief about my plan to have a home birth attended by my husband, midwife and doula. It’s going to be the ultimate birth team! I have no fear of childbirth and actually view it as an exciting rite of passage. I have confidence in my body and baby to do what we women have been doing since the beginning of time. A home birth is natural, healthy and empowering.

Midwives have been helping with home births for a long time. In fact, a majority of births in many parts of the world are home births assisted by midwives. Hospitals may be necessary in some cases, but not all. Most healthy women can birth successfully in the comfort of their own homes and in some cases have better outcomes than if they went to the hospital.

When I tell people I’m planning a home birth, I get looks ranging from shock to disbelief. Then I find myself rattling off statistics to support my choice–one of which is that the United States has some of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the developed world. Furthermore, US Cesarean section rates continue to climb at an alarming rate accounting for almost a third of all deliveries. That’s double what the World Health Organization says is safe for moms and babies.

The bottom line is that I feel a home birth is the best thing for me to do. I am so excited to bring our baby into this world gently and softly. It’s going to be a wonderful harmonious experience. On the contrary, the pain we often see portrayed on TV, or from women birthing in hospitals, isn’t an accurate picture of what the human body is capable of in a more relaxed, comfortable and secure setting. There might be pain, but there might not be much pain. I don’t mind either way. I’m confident that if there is pain, it won’t be the kind seen on TV or heard about from women with hospital horror stories. One of the reasons for this is simply that stress – of any kind – prolongs or even suspends labor.

As a home-birthing mom I can avoid stressors found in a hospital such as, an unfamiliar uncomfortable environment, harsh lights, cold hands, poking and prodding from total strangers when personnel change shifts, or the pressure to undergo surgery. The home-birthing mother can change positions when she’s in labor, walk around, take a bath (whether to lounge or even to give birth in water), dance, sing, eat, drink, wear her own clothes (or no clothes at all), be romantic with her husband, listen to music playing softly with candles lit and dim the lights (or heck, she can even have Nine Inch Nails playing in the background if she wants). She can have her doula or birth partner use acupressure or massage to help relieve pain. Mom and Baby can do things on their schedule, not the doctor’s, not the hospital’s. Baby can come when Baby is ready, and Mom is empowered.

Having a doula attend my birth is important. I would hire a doula whether I planned a home birth or hospital birth. A doula’s calming effect on birth is impressive. According to DONA International, “The word doula comes from ancient Greek, meaning ‘a woman who serves’ and now refers to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period. Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier, and they breastfeed more easily.” I hired our doula months before we even tried to conceive! I’m glad I did. Over time, we’ve built an amazing relationship with a bond that is hard to describe. I’m so grateful she’s been a part of our journey and will be there when our baby is born.

I mentioned previously that my birth team consists of my midwife, doula and husband. A lot of people think they won’t need a doula because the husband is present, but this idea underestimates the doula’s role.. The doula not only supports the mother during birth, she is there to support the father as well. My husband will be my main birth companion, and I will lean on him a lot. As a result, I suspect he is going to get tired and need a break (or two!). Our doula can step in during these times. But that’s not all. Our doula has many tricks up her sleeve and plenty of experience in childbirth, which my husband doesn’t have. This makes her a special part of our team with an important role.

Although my plan is to birth at home, there might be circumstances that require going to a hospital. In that event, I have created a birth plan to be followed. My doula and midwife will serve as advocates on my behalf. If the hospital is resistant to any of my requests, no big deal; let ‘em talk to my team while I focus on other things.

I want my childbirth to be a beautiful and amazing experience. I’m stacking the deck in my favor by taking control of the situation, my environment and my team by having my home birth attended by a midwife, doula and my husband. And I’m doing many other things that are not widely known, or are considered “alternative,” such as eating an extremely healthy, high raw, vegan diet, having my birth plan written in advance, taking hypnobirthing classes and more. For pregnant women reading this, or women who may become pregnant in the future, realize there are many options to consider and that you have much more control over your birthing experience and outcome than you may have been taught.