Summer's Here (early all-be-it, thanks Climate Change) Time to consider what we EAT!

The 'Clean 15' are conventional produce items that have minimal exposure to pesticides, for those of us on a tight budget, or in a location where the produce options you have are not organic.

Dr. Andrew Weil speaks about what happens in our bodies if we shift from eating the dirty dozen to the clean 15 (or going all organic for that matter!). "You will have a measurable drop in tissue accumulation in pesticides" He says for himself if he can't get organic versions of those, he's not going to eat them.

"Pesticides are toxins and they can't be good for you, so the only question is how bad they are."

Watch the video here This may be one of the best 5 minutes spent, educating yourself to protect your health and your families.... and if you think about it, if a majority of people make the shift, the demand for these organic items go up, price goes down, and perhaps markets and trends will shift for the benefit of everyone. You can read the full article from the Huffington Post here.

Hardly a pain in the you-know-what

Mother Nature Network put out a sweet and personable article by a writer who herself has some personal insight into the new range of cloth diapering options. You can read about it here.

Not sure what to try?! Our local resource for parents, Cradle, has just started a risk-free $14 trial program for new cloth diapers. There's really no excuse. Head on over and talk to one of their resident experts, or read about their new trial program here. You'll wonder why you didn't try it sooner.
Here's more info: In honor of Earth Day, Cradle is thrilled to announce the start of our new Cloth Diaper Trial program. Perhaps you’ve thought about using cloth diapers, but are intimidated by the many styles of cloth diapers available or aren’t certain that cloth diapering would really work for your family. Our Cloth Diaper Trial allows you to try out cloth diapering with little financial risk so that you can determine which cloth diapers—if any—are most compatible with your baby and your lifestyle. The Cloth Diaper Trial costs you only $14.

We will provide you with enough brand new cloth diapers to get you through 10 diaper changes, incorporating several different types of cloth diapers. You get to use the diapers for two full weeks, taking your time to decide if you like cloth diapering and which style(s) of diapers you like best. At the end of the two weeks, you can return whichever diapers you don’t want to keep (or all of them), without penalty! Amazing! If at the end of the two weeks you decide to keep all of the diapers in your trial package, you will pay for the cost of the diapers ($150.00 desposit made at time of purchase) minus the $14 trial fee, and we will also give you a 15%-off coupon that you can use toward your next purchase of cloth diapers. Making the choice to try cloth has truly never been easier. Number of packages available each month are limited, so call to set up yours today. Packages available starting May 1.

DIY ZINES

The Do It Yourself culture is coming back around.

The creative joy from making recycled crafts, regaining personal power as we shift from corporate consumerism into locally made or self created essentials, and the pinch of the economy that sew our pockets a little smaller, are all reasons to get your hands on this Zine by Raleigh Briggs.

I've talked to grandma's about how excited I am to make things out of what I have around or recycle crafts, like old sweaters into wool pants for kids. I find it empowering and fun, as well as economical. They've told me they used to do the same, never throwing things away, always making it into something new, because they had to. I wonder if we're getting to that point. Either way, I do it because there is a certain level of gratification like when you figure out how to tie your own shoe. You're independent, and you don't have to wait for someone else when you're ready to run.

You'll love the illustrations and information. If you want even more DIY info, another great Zine is Making Stuff & Doing Things by Kyle Bravo. Both published under Microcosm.

Cloth Diapering ALL Day

Lifestyles are certainly different these days then way back when (oh, I know, it really wasn't all that long ago) when families were homesteading and wrapping their baby's bums in cloth all day because that's just what you do. Today, being able to keep your baby in cloth at all times is not only a practice of willpower, but a dance between convenience, social pressure, and stamina.

We've got daycare centers that have an aversion to anything but disposable diapers, and if we don't take the time to inquire about 'why' or look up the state regulations ourselves, we might miss an opportunity to educate, and inspire folks to come out of their outdated habits and into a totally modern adaptation of something that has worked for millennia.

This is another reason why I love the Real Diaper Association and the work that they do to support cloth diapering families. They've put together a tip sheet about how to approach this topic with potential centers or at-home daycares.

I think the takeaway here, like so many other resolutions for conflict, it's about education and empathetic listening from both sides.

Then there's NIGHTIME! dah duh dun..... Right, and friends will tell you 'oh, use a disposable they'll sleep through the night.' And as a sleep deprived parent, you'll just about do anything to make that wish come true. And if you rubbed a lamp and a genie came out, and gave you three wishes, you'd ask for that one three times just to make sure it came true.

But really, as we all know, it's not a healthy option. If this is a fact that you're not so sure on, please go to this page on our website, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, and read the writing on the wall. EDU-MA-CATE! Be sure to read about the SAP that is found in disposable diapers, it's that 'magic goo' that makes the baby feel dry.

SO, you need some CLOTH solutions for NIGHTIME! Try a simple fleece diaper liner, it's amazing at keeping the surface of the diaper against your baby feeling dry. It's the same genius that's a part of a lot of the top layers in pocket diapers these days. This works well for those babies that wake right when they feel wet. Some could sit in it and not even care. It's more about the flow, read on.....

Here's another thing that worked for our family. DOUBLE UP! Use more than one diaper in the cover, so you get extra time before the morning change. This is good for heavy wetters. Don't forget about WOOL! Oh, that wonderful miracle fiber, it will keep your baby's clothes dry if you use a cover, or even try wool pants to hold in that moisture and avoid changing sheets and outfits. Amazing! Not to mention breathable, it's a natural fiber that helps negate rashes.

The other month I hosted a workshop on E.C. (elimination communication) and had a guest come in who was a facilitator of a local group. Her attitude about EC was honest and forward, and all of us curious mamas in the room were perched like on the top of the fence, in disbelief that it could actually work. Her message, "Just do it. Stop thinking about it, and do it. Take that diaper off your baby and do it." I kind of see the wisdom in that. I'm carrying that over into the nightime diaper topic. Just do it, choose cloth, get rid of the disposable diapers, and you'll make it to the morning, you'll make it to when they're out of diapers, you'll make it to their high school graduation, and you'll say to yourself, "yeah, I did it."

Just know this: You'll be doing a favor to your local landfill, your local aquifer, your baby's skin, your fellow citizen's health, and as an optimist, you'll hopefully be strengthening the demand for more cloth diaper producers, and shrinking the market of disposable diapers. Just do it.