A monthly online magazine chock-full of insightful articles for busy mothers.

If you’re a proponent of the green lifestyle, having a new baby provides you with an opportunity to make a significant different in reducing some of the waste products that are having such a negative impact upon our environment. As all green living advocates are well aware, the prevalence of throwaway goods in our society is one of the primary causes of environmental damage, and products made specifically for newborns and infants are high on the list of throwaway goods. As a new parent, you have the opportunity to choose reusable green products, starting your child off on the road to green living at the earliest age. Some suggestions to help you in this endeavor are given below.

Diapers

One of the major throwaway items helping to fill our community landfills is disposable diapers. Babies go through four or more of these each day. Disposable diapers admittedly offer convenience for the parent, but the traditional disposable is no longer the only option. There are eco-diapers available that are biodegradable and can be flushed down the toilet; both convenient and green. Don’t overlook the traditional cloth diapers. They require a bit more work, but will save money in the long run.

Baby Wipes

Paper based baby wipes are another popular item used in our throwaway culture. Although there are eco-friendly disposable baby wipes available, the amount of convenience is small in comparison to the use of washcloths, which can be tossed into the daily laundry basket.

Baby Bedding

Baby bedding is certainly not a throwaway item. Normally, only one or two sets of bedding are required over the period of the child’s infancy. Even single purchases like bedding can help save our environmental resources if they are recycled. Hand?me?downs from family and friends are a great money saver. Consignment stores and thrift shops are another excellent source for little used bedding items. Simply make sure to thoroughly clean the items before using them in your nursery.

Clothing

Like bedding, clothing can be recycled, using the same cautions for cleanliness. Family, friends, thrift shops, church rummage sales, and swap meets are a few of the many sources for used baby clothing. Babies grow so quickly that their clothing can service several children before they become outworn. This is an excellent way to save money and valuable resources.

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding has regained the popularity that it had lost for a time. Its practice has nothing but positive effect for mother, child, and the environment. Except for a breast pump and a few baby bottles (now available made from eco-friendly materials), all of the equipment needed to provide healthful, sanitary, and correctly warmed milk is supplied by the mother. It provides important nurturing benefits, saves resources, and helps trim the family budget.

Homemade Baby Food

Store bought jars of baby food are certainly convenient, but the contents are always suspect. Extra sugars are often added to please the parent’s palate. Recalls are too frequent. Making your own baby food from fruits and vegetables that you choose will give the baby excellent nutrition and provide you with peace of mind. All you need is an inexpensive blender.

Toy and Books

As the baby leaves infancy and moves toward the toddler stage, he’ll require toys to learn motor skills and to simply gain experience with the larger world. Toys can be expensive, and there is no good reason why used toys, properly inspected and cleaned, can’t be used successfully. Books also, should play a big part in the baby’s development. Not only will mom and dad read to the child, but the child will enjoy the experience of looking at the pictures on his own. Simply make sure that the used books are clean and disinfected before giving them to the child.

These are just samples of the types of items and procedures that you can use to bring up your child in a green environment. The child will grow into this lifestyle and living green will become second nature to him as he develops. After reading this article, you will undoubtedly be reminded about ideas of your own. If you have some ideas that you think would be beneficial to others, please let us know. Sharing information can only help to foster a greener environment for us all.

Christine Allen is an editor for www.livesnet.com, a site devoted to helping people find the perfect baby gears for their needs, and offer tips on daily problems. She loves to write about parenting, baby and give advice to mums. Why not visit Livesnet to see her hot offers on Davinci Kalani 4 in1 crib and Kidsline crib bedding.

Babies are creatures of habit. Their needs are simple: food, comfort, and security. Food can be provided anywhere. With a bit of planning, comfort can be made portable to most places. Security, however, is different. His living space is similar to a nest. It is made up of surrounding sounds, views, smells, a predictable routine, and people with whom the baby is familiar. Any changes to these characteristics of security, no matter how trivial they may seem to parents, can have a great impact upon the baby.

For a parent, security in any new place, such as a hotel, is defined by secure door and window locks, a nearby fire escape, an absence of unwanted noise, access to necessities, and a degree of temperature control. For a baby, however, the security is defined by things that are more personal: a familiar blanket, familiar faces, familiar toys, familiar smells, familiar routine, and familiar sounds. The key word here is obviously familiar. When you travel with a baby, whether it is across town, across the country, or across the ocean, it’s important that he is not confronted with too much of the unfamiliar. He must have much of his nest brought with him.

Duplicating the Nest

When you must move the baby from the comfort and security of his home “nest,” it will comfort the baby greatly if his new temporary location has enough of the characteristics of his home nest to feel like home. The baby probably is little affected by the wooden pony door stop used in his nursery, and probably won’t miss it while on a trip. He will, however, undoubtedly miss the music playing mobile that spins around slowly over his crib. Favorite stuffed animals that are normally around him in the crib will also provide the feel and, more importantly, the smell of the home nest.

Making New Surroundings More Comfortable

Again, one way to help your baby adjust to the new surroundings is by making them seem as familiar as possible. Clearly you can’t transport to Grandma’s or to the hotel the toy chest or dresser he sees when he looks out the bars of his crib at home. But whether you’re leaving him at Grandma’s or taking him on vacation, bring some or all of his crib toys (depending on how many he has). The familiarity of Mr. Bear or Fluffy Rabbit or whoever inhabits his little world, perched in his new or temporary crib, will help make the new surroundings seem more familiar. The more you can reassure him that there is nothing fearful out there, the better. If you can show him something familiar in his surroundings, you’ll be even better off.

Hotel Crib or Portable?

Most hotels will provide a baby crib for your room if you make arrangements ahead of time. As a parent, I worry about how well the crib has been maintained. I am not concerned about its structural integrity, the concern over law suits would make that the hotel’s prime concern. I’m more concerned about its hygiene. I don’t know who used it last, and whether or not it has been sterilized. Whenever possible, I bring a portable crib with me. If the baby is properly prepared, the portable crib can also remind him of his home nest.

Set up the portable crib in the home nursery about one week before taking the trip. Put the baby into it for naps on the first few days. Toward the end of the week, place her in the portable crib for the night. Make sure that the familiar items normally found in his regular crib are placed in the portable one. He’ll become comfortable with the portable crib, and recognize it as part of his nest when it is used in the hotel.

Resetting the Baby’s Biological Clock

The baby’s biological clock has undoubtedly been set to a fixed schedule since he was brought home from the hospital. If you are travelling to a different time zone, the baby’s clock won’t automatically reset. If you’re travelling inside theUnited Statesand have moved over only one time zone, the transition can be easily made in two nights. Simply change the baby’s schedule by one-half hour each night. In fact, if the trip is going to last no more than two days, it may not be necessary to try to adjust to the new time zone at all. If the stay is to be longer than that, a gradual shifting of the baby’s schedule is advisable. It may be prudent to begin making the adjustment at home during the week prior to your leaving.

Maintain the Baby’s Expected Routine

Babies are creatures of habit. They find security in routine. We’ve already discussed resetting the biological clock with regard to sleeping, but other activities must also be coordinated with the new sleep patterns. Eating times should remain relative to the sleeping times. Feeding should be done in a manner familiar to the baby. If he is usually fed in a high chair, he may resist if you try to feed him while holding him. If you cannot bring a high chair with you or get one from the hotel, consider feeding him for a week at home in a baby carrier, and then use that carrier for feeding in the hotel room. Do you usually sing the baby to sleep? Continue to do so. Does he expect a sponge bath every evening? Continue to do so on the trip.

Obviously, it will be impossible, stressful, and time consuming to try to duplicate the baby’s home life experience when travelling. You can do only what’s possible. Whatever you can do, however, to make the baby feel that he’s secure in his home nest will be of great benefit to him, but slight deviations will not harm his psyche as long as he has access to the most important ingredient experienced at his home nest – mom’s love.

Christine Allen is an editor for www.livesnet.com, a site for baby products reviews and tips. She loves to make reviews on baby bestsellers and shares her parenting stories. She would like to connect with you on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/livesnet) or by email at Christine@livesnet.com. Please visit Livesnet and read her hot articles such as Kidsline baby bedding and Davinci Baby Crib.

by Kim Duess

I have a very cute 8 month old nephew, and, therefore, I am much more aware of the ‘baby world’! There is a lot to learn and one of the most important things to pay attention to is what goes into their little bodies.

He is lucky enough to have parents who are extremely conscious about his health and what goes into his body (and what goes on it for that matter!). Along with being breastfed, he now has all organic food. Remember, breast milk is the healthiest food that a baby can eat! If you can, stay away from infant formula and definitely do not feed your baby soy infant formula! Soy formula can expose your baby to estrogen, affect thyroid function, and can affect hormone levels.

I read an article recently called Junk Food Babies. I wasn’t surprised at what I read. A quote from the article:

“Researchers discovered that Farley’s Original Rusks contained more sugar than McVities Dark Chocolate Digestives, that Heinz Toddler’s Own Mini Cheese Biscuits had more saturated fat per 100g than a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with cheese , and that Cow&Gate Baby Balance Bear Biscuits contained trans fats”

Yikes! So if you are going to purchase baby food, try to buy organic. Even organic has its downfalls as the levels of sodium can be very high. It is worth taking the time to steam some veggies, mash them up and – voila – organic, fresh food for your little one!

To YOUR (and your baby’s!) health,

About the Author:
Kim Duess’ life’s passion has become learning about proactive health and helping spread the word to others. She says, “There is too much disease in this world and preventative medicine is starting to take a stand. We can stop the current medical “madness”, get back on track and get healthy – Naturally.”

On her blog, You Be Healthy, she brings leading edge information and education for informed health decisions.