Pros and Cons of Nursing a Toddler

My second child is nearly 2 and starting to wean.  I weaned my first child around 20 months (when I was 4 months pregnant). In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, here is my honest discussion of what it’s like to nurse a toddler.

Read More

Best Bib Ever: Giveaway and Review

Best Bib Ever from kidsstore ($19.95 + $3.00 shipping)

My nearly 2-year-old loves to feed herself but has not always been fond of wearing a bib.  About 9 months ago, she started tearing off her bib 0.5 seconds after I got the Velcro done up at her neck every single time I put it on.  I did try once seeing if I could wear her down by putting on the bib over and over again each time she tore it off, but, in the end, she won that battle of the wills.  I tried various solutions.  The most effective was putting a too-big shirt I didn't care about over her clothes.  But she hated this and it was annoying to put on and take off.  So mostly, for the last many months, she has worn no bib. In addition to staining her every shirt, this has also meant that rice, couscous, and quinoa ended up in every nook and cranny of her body as well as her booster seat.

Read More

10 Reasons that Breastmilk is Green

I'm still nursing my 20-month-old.  I'm sure some will think this is a very long time (perhaps even too long), while others will think it is a drop in the bucket.  [Twenty months is a long time by U.S. standards, but not by world standards. The WHO recommends breastfeeding for "up to two years of age or beyond."]  At any rate, I've been thinking about all the ways that breastfeeding is green, even though this isn't why I breastfeed.  I'm sensitive to the fact that not everyone is able to breastfeed exclusively, but no matter how much or how little you breastfeed, breastfeeding helps you, your baby, and the earth!  If you are pregnant and thinking about breastfeeding, I encourage you to get all the support you need to make breastfeeding work for you and your baby.

Ten Ways Breastfeeding is Eco-friendly

1. Local -- folks, it doesn't get any more local than this
2. Produced using renewable resources
3. No energy spent on shipping
4. No energy used to store, refrigerate, preserve
5. No packaging (no concerns about BPA-lined cans!)
6. No need to buy a delivery system such as bottles and nipples (no worries about chemicals leaching from plastic into milk)
7. Reduces need for menstrual supplies and birth control (yes, I just used the word menstrual - still with me?)
8. Reduces need for health care for baby
9. Reduces need for health care for mom
10. Breastmilk poop washes easily out of cloth diapers

Click HERE or HERE to read all about the benefits of breastfeeding.

Related Posts

• Eco-novice's Favorite Breastfeeding Gear
• Safe & Healthy Pregnancy: the Best Free, Online Resources
• Non-toxic Baby Care: the Best Free, Online Resources
• Non-toxic Crib Mattresses
• Natural Nursing Pillows
• Night Weaning for Wimps
• Pros and Cons of Nursing a Toddler

Would you like more ideas and tips about Going Green Gradually? Sign up for my free email subscription to get each of my posts delivered to your inbox (I usually post one or two times a week). You can also follow me on Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, Twitter, or with your favorite RSS Reader. I hope to see you again soon!

photo credit: Caitlinator via photopincc

Read More

Stainless Steel Sippy Cups

Can you find 3 stainless steel 

sippy cups in this photo?

I will be posting about all of my children's feeding gear soon, but I decided that the stainless steel sippy cups merited their own post.  My 2 kids (ages 3.5 and 1.5) use sippy cups for water and milk every day.  I have tried Klean Kanteen, Safe Sippy, and Eco Vessel sippy cups.

Read More

Lazy and Cheap Ways to Be Green, Part 2 (Baby Eats Normal Food)

 Child #2 eating grapefruit, with a little help from Papa.

 ***Please note that I am not a doctor or nutritionist.***   

With my second child, I saved the planet and money by avoiding packaged foods!  I saved time by not making those fruit and veggie purees.  Keep reading to find out how.  If you'd like to read about my solid food failure before reading about my solid food success, read the previous post first.  For a very simple set of infant feeding ideas, read this post. 

Read More

My Solid Food Failure

Be green and save green by avoiding packaged foods!  Save time by not making those fruit and veggie purees.  Skip to the next post to learn how.  And for a very simple set of infant feeding ideas, read this post.  This post, however, is about my solid food failures. 

When child #1 was 6 months old, I bought a lot of Earth's Best Organic baby food in those little glass jars.  Some he ate, some he did not.  I also made many purees of fruit and steamed veggies and froze them in little ice cube trays.  Some he ate, many he didn't.  I threw out many of those cubes about a year after I made them and found them in the back of the freezer.  I made most of his "infant cereal" by grinding up different whole grains (barley, rice, millet, etc.) and sometimes legumes and then cooking them in water.  The infant cereal was really my only success.  Baby Bites and Super Baby Food were my basic guides. In general, I was a bit neurotic about the whole thing -- inasmuch as I was trying to follow my doctor's advice:  only introduce one food at a time and then wait 3-4 days, no salt, no choking hazards, wait until X months for Y, etc.

My plan was to begin introducing lots of table foods to my toddler when he was 12-18 months.  Then I got pregnant and very sick for 30+ weeks.  No cooking (or even reheating) was allowed in the house.  My husband bought soup everyday while at work and had sandwiches and salads for dinner.  I'm not sure what the toddler ate -- rice, cereal, bread, yogurt, fruit, I'm guessing.  Fast forward a couple of years -- he still subsists on grains, dairy, nuts and fruit.  No beans, no tofu, no meat and very little of the regular stuff I cook for me and my husband.  In general, my toddler (child #1) is a picky eater and I feel like it's at least partly my fault.

Want to read a story with a happier ending?  Read my next post about my solid food success with baby #2.


How did you introduce solid foods to your baby?

.

Read More

Two Rules for Feeding Your Baby

1. Only feed her food you would want to eat

• Because you will end up either throwing away a whole lot of food or eating her leftovers
• Because you will have to eat the food in front of her to convince her it is worth eating/ safe to eat

2. Only eat food in front of your baby that you are OK with her eating

• Because they want to eat whatever you are eating

Thus, no dried cereal plus liquid. Because it's gross. And costs a lot of money. I am willing to eat my baby's whole grain cereal mush that I make myself -- not my favorite, but fresh and edible. Baby #2 tries to grab food and drink from me all the time, so I am careful what I eat when I am holding her.

Babies are probably hard-wired to want to eat what you are eating.  Capitalize on that.  If you want your baby to eat something (for example, whole grains), you should start eating it.  If you don't want your baby to eat something (for example, Oreos or soda), stop eating it or don't eat it in front of her.

What are your rules for feeding your baby?

Read More