This is a guest post from Carrie…a fabulous minimalist mama with a large family.

At the moment I’m 25 weeks pregnant. So far, my husband and I have purchased the following items for our new little one: a bassinet, a small box of gender neutral newborn clothing, and cloth diapers (all purchased secondhand). Why haven’t we gone all out with a baby registry and/or spending a good portion of the budget on new baby gear? It’s not because this is our 7th child and we already have tons of baby stuff left over from the other kids. We actually got rid of nearly everything after our last baby. And it’s not because we can’t afford to buy baby things.

So why are we acquiring so little? Mostly it’s because we prefer a simple, uncluttered home – and we’ve discovered that babies need so very little by way of material goods. A lot of gadgets sold for babies are in the “marginally helpful but not truly needed” category. What babies really need: warm soft clothing and cotton diapers, food from mom, a safe place to sleep, and the arms of a loving caretaker. (And, an infant car seat for safe travel.) Even diapers are somewhat negotiable if you’re practicing elimination communication.

We’ve found that many things we already have substitute quite nicely for a multitude of expenditures. Here are a few examples:

Babies and toddlers can sleep with mom and dad. You may need to make a few changes to ensure the sleep environment is safe for a baby, but this rarely involves making a purchase. Instead of a crib and play yard/play pen, a soft cloth carrier such as a baby sling can keep baby safe and close (and therefore happy!) during the day. If baby is fussy or colicky due to health problems such as reflux, a sling to keep baby near mom and upright is preferable to many gadgets sold for this purpose.

The only food baby needs for its first 6 months or so is breastmilk. If mom is going back to work full time she will likely need to invest in a high quality pump and BPA free bottles, but some moms are able to arrange their work and caregiver arrangements so as to feed baby straight from the breast.

Once baby is eating, it’s not necessary to buy special bowls and cutlery or food grinders and other “baby food” gear. Most babies will do just fine and may even prefer the texture of simple food mashed with a fork. Babies can start eating banana, avocado, soft cooked carrots, potatoes (and other well cooked mashed vegetables), egg yolks, homemade bone broths and even well cooked meats in their first year of life.

Tons of baby toys are sold each year but many parents have noticed that babies prefer to play with ordinary household objects. Good children’s picture books are a better investment, since they will be loved for years and not quickly “outgrown”. Once you do begin accumulating toys, keep things simple. Classic, open-ended toys like wooden blocks are great for a wide range of ages and are durable and safe.

Having a baby doesn’t have to mean cluttering up your home with tons of stuff. Most parents find that only a small percentage of that stuff is actually useful to them. If this is your first baby and you’re not sure what to buy, ask friends whose values are similar to your own about the things they really needed for their new little one. Resist the siren song of the big box baby stores and buy what you’ll need on Craigslist and eBay, and be vocal about the fact that you’ll accept hand me downs. This way you’ll save money and keep good stuff out of the landfill.

Carrie is a homeschooling mom of 6 (soon to be 7) who writes about frugality, minimalism, good books, feeding a family and productivity at: http://www.NaturalMomsTalkRadio.com. Be sure to check out her free podcast episodes for informative experts on natural family living. 

Pregnancy is one of the most beautiful, joyous, and exciting times in a woman’s life. There is just nothing like it and I will always look back on my three pregnancies as the most miraculous experiences. It is also one of the most stressful events though. You want to do the best for your baby before and after they enter into this world. Before baby is even born you have lots of decisions to make that will effect them.. what you will eat, how active you will be, what you allow yourself to be exposed to while preggers, etc.  You also have to decide between natural childbirth and an epidural.

Let’s explain: Natural versus Conventional (or Epidural)

So everyone is on the same wave length, let’s explain what I mean by “natural” and also “epidural.” Natural childbirth is essentially a birth that could have been had by our ancestors before all the interventions came along. It can be attended by a doctor, midwife, or doula  at a birthing facility or it can be a home birth with minimal if any assistance. Natural childbirth means the mother does not receive any drugs to alleviate pain or interfere with the natural birthing process. Often a mother uses breathing techniques, like Lamaze, and visualization to get through the pain of labor. I personally used hypnobirthing for my last two pregnancies and swear by it. Alternate birthing methods like water birth are natural in that no medications or interventions are involved.

Epidural birth refers to a method of anesthesia that is given to reduce the pain of labor for the mother. A doctor will place a catheter in the epidural space of the spine for infusion of pain medication and anesthetics. Mother is able to rest during labor and not be in constant pain.

Choosing Natural Childbirth

Well, if you have ever been on a labor and delivery unit, you are probably thinking that the second choice doesn’t sound half bad to you. But, for moms who want to make an informed choice, here are some of the advantages and reasons why natural birth is chosen over an epidural delivery. Also if you have had a birth or two that did not end up very naturally, don’t beat yourself up about it. For my first birth I intended to go natural but it didn’t work out that way and I think much of it was my own fear and inexperience. My second and third go rounds, I knew I could do it! Here are some reasons why you may want to try it yourself as well…

1. Fewer traumas to baby – A natural birth commences on the baby’s schedule and without drugs baby and mom are more alert. Some medications can speed up labor pains and lead to fetal distress in babies by slowing down their heart rate. Often times the result is a C-section. Babies can also be born with a fever due to medication given to the mother.

2. Low APGAR scores – A baby can score lower from the womb if they are affected by medication. Remember that mom and baby are still connected and medication can cross the placental barrier. You aren’t the only getting dosed with powerful drugs and we need to think about whether or not we want our child to be born into the world that way.

3. Harder to push – When the mother can’t feel the downward pressure of baby’s movement, she will have to be told when a contraction is happening so she can push. Because she can’t gauge how hard she is pushing she may be less productive in moving baby through the birth canal and the birth can drag out. With my first I pushed for 30 pain free minutes and ripped badly. For my second and third kids I pushed them out in 2 to 3 pushes with no issues.

4. Healing – Mother can push too hard and may need an episiotomy or tear her muscles in the process. She may also end up with a c-section if the baby does not react well to medications. This can mean longer healing times after the baby is born. Few of us want to spend days or weeks after birth in pain. We want to enjoy our babies!

It is a choice that every mother must make but for both mom and baby, the advantages are greater with a natural birth. It is too bad that society often tries to undermine us and make us think pregnancy is a medical condition or sickness that requires so many interventions instead of  a natural process that our bodies are more than capable of handling.

If you have had a natural birth yourself, what do you credit with giving you the confidence that you could do so?

Recommended Reading: Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation & Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

Are you a green mom to be or do you know one? Having a planet friendly baby shower will you get you or the natural mama friend and baby you are throwing one for, off to a great start. Forget the pink and blue, the color to be is green! Here are some party ideas that are low impact and helpful to the growing family.

The Invitations – In this digital age it is easier than ever to avoid paper invites if you want to. You can send online invites through a variety of places. Paperless Post is a good free one. You can also set up a Facebook group and invite people that way. For paper invites go recycled. InvitationBox offers products made using recycled, FSC or SFI certified paper. Also a portion of revenues are donated to the Conservation Fund.

Baby Registry – It is common to register for gifts but instead of doing so at a big box store why not try a local place that specializes in green and natural baby gear. Most major cities now have some of these unique stores and they offer cloth diapers, green toys, and glass baby bottles. If you have time for online shopping try The Ultimate Green Store and their gift registry where you can register for gifts and also find the registries of your friends.

Shower Decorations – One of my favorite ways to decorate for a shower is to hang a clothesline to hang baby goodies from. You could use wood clips to hang cloth diapers, a baby carrier, organic baby clothing and bibs, and natural rubber pacifiers. Once the party is over the mom can take the clothesline props home for her own greener laundry use. You could also decorate with live plants and potted herbs which can double as party favors. Beeswax or soy candles can be put inside mason jars to add a natural glow to the party. Couple those with vintage linens from the local antique store and you will have the perfect table setting.

Refreshments – For a baby shower the easiest route to go is simple and refreshing. Instead of a big store bought cake you could make nourishing, organic coconut cupcakes made with coconut flour and sprinkled with shredded coconut courtesy of Tropical Traditions. Some other ideas include raw fudge brownies, a salad bar, yogurt parfaits, and green smoothies. The color of the smoothies are perfect for the venue! Another idea might be to break out the soda stream and make some homemade sparkling juices with fresh fruit and raw honey.

Green Gifts – So what does a green mama need? Actually not that much in truth so you may want to see what you can gift from your own home or from a thrift store. This is why I love the idea of using a Facebook group to organize a shower because you can make it private and post a list of what the mom-to-be wants and needs there. Then guests can comment with what they have bought or discovered second hand and the list can be altered accordingly. Some gift ideas that you may want to buy “new” include newborn cloth diapers, glass bottles, (if the mom will bottle feed or pump), safe teethers and pacifiers, natural toys, and baby carriers or slings. Wrap gifts in recycled paper, newspaper, or even cloth. A bamboo baby blanket can make an excellent “wrapper”.

Green moms might also appreciate a weekly box from the local CSA or organic grocer, gift certificates to Whole Foods or a local green spa, and organic meals made and delivered by their mom friends. An offer to come watch the baby once every two weeks while the new moms naps might be just about the best gift ever, so get creative. If for instance, this is not a first child and the mom already has everything she needs, maybe the guests could bring a blessing to read instead of a gift.

It is important not to forget the purpose of a shower, which is to show the mom and baby all our love and support. That support doesn’t need to mean showering them with useless junk, even if it is cute.

Do you have any green baby shower ideas to share?

When bringing home a new baby, parents want to create a warm, loving and safe home where their child can grow and flourish. One way that new parents can help ensure the safety of their precious little ones is by choosing environmentally friendly products, which are free of toxins and hazardous substances. Bringing a new baby home can be a powerful motivator to go green and natural.

Many parents decide to seek the greenest products they can find for their baby and look for organic cotton baby clothing, foods, and bathing supplies, since their baby is in such close contact with those products. And while that is an excellent starting point, parents who want to provide their baby the safest nursery possible are also choosing eco friendly baby furnishings and gear.

New trends in eco friendly baby furnishings include organic cotton bedding sets and mattresses made of natural fibers and free of toxins. Considering how many hours new babies spend sleeping, furnishing baby’s nursery with an environmentally safe crib and bedding is a logical choice. If a family bed is where baby will be sleeping then everyone benefits from sleeping on safe green sheets and blankets. When choosing the color palate for baby’s nursery, more parents are also opting for paints with low (or no) volatile organic compounds (VOCs), to avoid harmful paint fumes.

The availability of an increasing number of eco friendly baby gear items also reflects that parents are becoming more aware of the benefits of providing baby with green baby products. Whether it is organic fiber baby carriers, organic cotton shopping cart covers, or smartly designed eco friendly strollers, parents can offer their babies the benefits of having all the environmentally safe comforts of home even while traveling. If you can’t afford the often times pricier premiums on greener products it is perfectly acceptable, and planet friendly, to buy used.

Even stylish baby accessories are going green–Moms love slinging hip organic fiber baby bags over their shoulders! Eco friendly toys, such as teethers, rattles, blocks, puzzles and bath toys are being made with organic and/or natural materials and are free of harmful chemicals.

Parents who choose organic baby bedding, strollers, clothing, and other eco friendly baby gear, enjoy greater peace of mind that their baby is nestled in comforting and safe surroundings right from the very beginning.

This week the question posed to Green Moms Weekly is “What do you say to people who can’t wrap their head around the cloth diapering phenomena? Give some simple and positive examples of how cloth diapering can benefit both mom and baby.”

I decided to cloth diaper my second baby in late 2003, before she was even born. I spent 4 months researching cloth like crazy and putting together my newborn stash. When I told friends and family of my intentions all I got were incredulous looks or an eye roll as if to say they didn’t believe I would stick with it for more than a day. You would have thought I told them I was planning on taking the dirty diapers to a nearby river and beating them against rocks. It was just an insane idea to them but I did not let them deter me from my decision. When I brought my daughter home from the hospital I immediately put her in a Kissaluvs fitted diaper and a wool diaper cover. I have since tried dozens upon dozens of different cloth diapers but I still think Kissaluvs and wool covers would be my go to diapering system for the newborn months. After a couple months we had fun playing with designer diapers, all-in-ones, pockets, and all manner of custom diapers sewn by wahm seamstresses. I also started making my own diapers right after she was born. Let’s just say that she had more than enough diapers in every color, design, and fabric known to man I think. Want to see some that I made? Check out my flickr set here.

And what did the naysayers think? I think they were green with jealousy at how much fun I seemed to be having and how adorable my two youngest babes looked in their diapers.

Here are a few of the benefits of cloth diapering for mom and baby:

Cloth is Healthy – Disposable diapers are loaded with chemicals that can irritate baby’s skin and cause rashes. It also doesn’t help that the baby’s bum is wrapped in plastic either. While I cannot say that we never experienced rashes in cloth diapers I can say that I think we experienced less of them. Cloth allows the skin to breathe and you aren’t exposing it to petro chemicals, perfumes, and all the other nasties in disposables.

Cloth is Fun – I had sooooo much fun making and buying diapers as well as putting them on my babies. My kiddos usually wore no pants because who wants to cover up that gorgeousness? Perhaps this is why my youngest still can stand to wear pants? LOL. Regardless, most moms find it fun to dress their little ones up in cute clothing and using cloth diapers ups the fun factor ten times. Can moms who use disposables claim to have as much changing diapers as us cloth diaper moms? I think not.

Cloth is Affordable – Disposable diaper purchases usually total 2 to 3 thousand dollars from birth to the potty learning. Cloth diapers done on the cheap can cost $300-$400 for the same period of time. Designer diapers may cost around $800 or more but still, much cheaper than disposables. Cheaper diapers include prefolds, fitteds, and covers made of recycled wool sweaters. Fitted diapers and prefold diapers can even be made using old t-shirts and blankets if you really want to keep it cheap. This would of course be a very green way to go as well.

Slightly more expensive would be all-in-one diapers, pockets, and various designer diapers. It is not unusual to pay $15-$20 or more per diaper but these can last years, for more than one child, and they usually can be sized to fit newborns and older babes alike. Some scoff at the price of cloth diapers but do you want to pay for a reusable diaper that can be passed on to subsequent babies or even resold used … or do you want to spend thousands of dollars on something that is used once and then thrown in the garbage? The answer seems like a no brainer to me.

Cloth is Green – Reusable products are greener than disposables. Period. Whenever you see an industry funded study
that proclaims there is no ecological difference between cloth and disposable remember what they are actually trying to sell. Well, yes they are trying to sell disposable diapers but they are also trying to sell a ludicrous idea. If someone told you that it would be greener if we all wear disposable panties and underwear instead of washing what we have and reusing them we would think they were nuts. Cloth diapers are underwear for babies. Washing and reusing diapers makes good sense and it is greener by far.

I could keep going but I think I have hit the major benefits. Do you have any to add?

Also be sure to check out what Carrie and Rachel had to say on the topic.

Related: The Green Diaper Smackdown