I have mentioned before that I am pregnant. 5 1/2 months along, with boy #2.
Being low waste is harder with kids. It is. It is a lot easier to control my waste than that of someone else.
Right now I want to talk about low waste babies. In the baby and toddler years, you pretty much have control of everything going in and out of your little one's life. When I was pregnant with Boy 1, I was really young (21) and so was husband (24). To say we had no clue is probably an understatement. We were just to college kids embarking on having our own kid. Scary.
So, when I was pregnant with Boy 1, I went along with the flow of things. My family threw me a baby shower. I remember walking into Babies "R" Us to make a registry, wielding that scan wand thingie at everything the people told me I would need. Bottles, bottle warmer, bottle sterilizer, plastic tub, basically any plastic junk marketed toward baby. Cloth diapers were not even on my radar.
I got a lot of it. Unfortunately, most of it turned out to be plastic junk that I really did not need. At the time I swore I would never have another kid, but if I did, I was not doing it this way again.
And now, 7 years later, I am pregnant again, but older and wiser. I will not be stepping foot into Babies "R" us. I am not under the delusion there will be no waste, but I am shooting for minimalist/low waste baby.
In the coming months, I plan on sharing what we will do (and get), and what works (and what doesn't).
As of right now I plan on cloth diapering, nursing, and using cloth wipes. Clothes are all coming used from family members and friends with babies. We have not yet figured out our sleeping situation. Boy 1 never slept in his crib, we pretty much co-slept until he was 5 (unintentionally), but I am thinking we will get some type of sleeping apparatus for Boy 2.
Stay tuned for my chronicles of raising baby minimalist/ low waste! Have you been successful in minimalist/low waste child rearing?
Katie
When I had my first child I too was 21 but never registered for anything or had a baby shower. My family was big on saving everything so when they learned I was pregnant every thing that wasn't currently being used was given to me. The high chair that had been mine as a child had been passed on to one cousin after another as they had children and now was returned to me. So I needed nothing. I ended up with more than I really needed, but I had everything including a twin bed for him when he outgrew the crib, and not a thing was purchased.
ReplyDeleteI have seen some of the things being marketed to parents for their children and am shocked by how much is unnecessary. I have my own views on sterilization of everything that touches a baby. I believe a good washing with hot water is good enough.
Seems we have some things in common- 2 boys, kids when 21.. :) I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I have a wonder family (and so does my husband) who have been very generous to us. I just feel like a lot of money was wasted on stuff we didn't need. You were lucky you got a lot of hand me downs also. I now tell myself, just because someone hands it down/gives it to me, it doesn't necessarily mean I have to use it. I am sure there is even more stuff now than there was even 7 years ago.
DeleteI'm with you on sanitizing- I don't actually use bleach in the house (after my son down a bottled of baby shampoo, I am wary.) Also, some it is out of pure laziness. (pacifier dropped on the floor? quick rinse will suffice.)