Although I really wanted to cloth diaper, I was haunted my myths that I kept hearing from non-cloth diapering moms. Luckily I had Rebecca, who guided me through the world of cloth diapers and later became my co-author and co-blogger here at Greenbabyguide.com. Now we can support other new parents by dispelling some of those cloth diapering myths that we found to be utterly untrue.

Myth #1: You’ll have to use pins and plastic pants.
When I tell people that I cloth diapered my children, it’s amazing how many of them say they just couldn’t imagine having to use pins with small infants. I show them pictures of the hourglass design and velcro and snap closures and they are amazed.

Myth #2: Cloth Diapering is very expensive in the beginning.
I was worried about spending a few hundred dollars on cloth diapering, only to find out that I couldn’t manage the laundry (another myth) or that the diapers were the wrong fit for my baby. Rebecca helped me clear this hurdle when she took me to a consignment shop where I picked out some gently used super whisper wraps and a half dozen other diaper covers for just one dollar each. I then bought three dozen gently used cotton prefolds from a diaper service and was ready to go with only a thirty dollar investment. (Note: Many of our readers have shared that Jillian’s Drawers allows you a no-risk cloth diaper trial for only ten bucks. They’re also tremendously supportive for trouble shooting.)

Myth #3: Cloth diapering is more complicated and labor intensive than disposable diapering.
Rebecca and I are self-confessed slackers. The diaper laundering systems that we used in our households are not rocket science and require very little effort. (We go over this system in detail in our book, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide.) The very best part of cloth diapering is never having to strap your screaming infant into a car seat to go buy diapers. What a relief to have everything you need at home!

Myth #4: You need to choose one cloth diapering system and stick with it.
I agonized over whether to use prefolds or all-in-one diapers, and after careful research, I chose prefolds. (For this reason, we include graphs, cost comparisons, and illustrations in The Eco-nomical Baby Guide for those parents who want to understand their cloth diapering and hybrid diapering options.) Prefolds worked just fine, but when I was sent a batch of FuzziBunz pocket diapers, I fell in love. Then some friends gave me their BumGenius all in ones, and I saw how convenient they were. In short, different types of diapers work best in different situations and it’s perfectly fine to have a mix of diapers. Why limit yourself?

Myth #5: Cloth diapering is less eco-friendly than using disposables.
Intuitively we all know that washing and reusing something is more eco-friendly than tossing it in the landfill. In The Eco-nomical Baby Guide, we take a careful look at recent studies and provide detailed comparisons of cloth and disposables. We also show how using the right washing methods can cut down dramatically on environmental impact and share how hybrid diapers and greener disposables fit into the mix.

Myth #6: You have to choose between cloth or disposable diapers.
Sometimes families shy away from cloth diapering because then they think it requires a total commitment. A good percentage of our readers use cloth diapers exclusively but some families use cloth during the day and disposables at night while others use disposables about half of the time. In truth, using cloth even part of the time saves money and trash. Hybrid diapers such as Grovia Diapers and g-Diapers incorporate both disposable and cloth options, making them an appealing choice as well.

Now that I’m on the other side of cloth diapering apprehension, it’s fun to see how people don’t seem to know how incredibly easy cloth diapering has become. As a result, people look at me with admiration and awe while I perform a cloth diaper change in a public bathroom. I didn’t imagine that cloth diapering would make me appear to be a genius while changing a poopy diaper, but I don’t mind it either.

Have you dispelled any myths while using cloth diapers? Have you found them to be far easier or more challenging than you first imagined?

Nursing tanks were my absolute favorite breastfeeding support gear. While I was quite comfortable nursing in public, I loved that they helped me to flash as little flesh as possible. And they also provide post-pregnancy tummy coverage and an extra layer of warmth in the chilly months.

If you’d prefer an all-in-one nursing tank, Glamourmom’s Nursing Bra Tank is a good option. It’s extra long to accommodate our shifting sizes in the months after baby and comes with a soft cup bra built into the tank. Clips allow you to fold down the top part of the tank for easy nursing access.

Bravado! Designs Essential Nursing Bra Tank also provides a built in bra and comes in a variety of colors. The length of the tank extends to the thigh and many consumers rave about their love of this product. It’s available in a wide variety of sizes too, although I notice that there aren’t many small cup options.

Nursing women who already love their nursing bras can use a Nursing Tank by Undercover Mama that actually clips onto the straps of your nursing bra. It comes in three colors and still allows you to have the coverage of a nursing tank without having to use a built-in bra.

A similar option is Ecoscape’s Undershirts for Nursing Moms. The tanks actually just come with two large circles cut out of the breast area, allowing women easy access to their nursing bras.

The most deluxe nursing tank I came across was the Double Cream Nursing Tank by Ecoscapes. It’s made to support mom and baby with simple, easy to unhook shoulder straps, but it’s two layer design also allows for hands-free pumping. (I never learned how hands-free pumping was possible with my two babies, but I have to admit that it does sound appealing!)

I used about five cotton nursing tanks from target. They shrank, didn’t provide any support, and were ratty and worn by the time I finally finished nursing. If I would have realized that I would spend a total of four years breastfeeding my children (2 years with each child), I would have just invested in some high quality pieces right from the start. (Or looked for some gently used, high quality
nursing tanks in consignment shops.)

Have you used nursing tanks? What would you recommend for other breastfeeding mothers?

The glider rocker that has been dutifully serving our family for the last two years has broken into shards in the midst of a lullaby. It was the third in a series of used gliders that fell apart, one by one. On the journey to their demise, they squeaked and groaned just as our babies were falling into a deep slumber–usually between midnight and 3am.

We don’t really need a rocking chair at this point, but I have to wonder if we’d have been better off with a traditional rocking chair to begin with. I was adamant about buying a glider with a rocking ottoman. Why? My sister-in-law had one and I was sure it would be far more comfortable than the antiquated version.

But old rocking chairs become antiques simply because of their simple design and sturdy build. Why mess with a design that has worked for the last 300+ years? (Napolean actually had the above rocking chair in his bedroom way back in the 1800′s.)

Perhaps high quality glider rockers will eventually become antiques of sorts, but if you’re buying secondhand, which is both green and thrifty, it might be worth it to go for a traditional rocker. If you’re buying new, the greenest option is to purchase a piece of high quality furniture that will last for generations. Or, if you’re anything like Rebecca, you’ll skip the rocking chair altogether and opt to slow dance to lullabies for the first few years.

As you may have read in my post on zero waste lunches, my son’s school has banned all single serving food items to eliminate trash. It’s time to invest in some greener food storage options!

I was excited about trying Lunchskins or other reusable snack bags, but read a comment on Monday from a user who struggled with mold on the fabric. Many parents LOVE the product, but others have also complained about stale food and not being able to dry the bags out enough before the next use.

Moldy bags and stale food reports make me hesitate on the brink of a purchase. At $7-15 dollars a bag, it’s tough to shell out so much and not know whether or not it will work. Does anyone else have feedback on reusable snack bags? Are you able to use them successfully? What’s your trick for avoiding mold on the fabric?

Babysitting trades have been one of the biggest discovery of my mothering career. My kids are thrilled to play with their friends, my husband and I dash off to the theater with a bag of homemade popcorn, and everyone enjoys a change in the routine! When we’re hosting the swap, we enjoy seeing the budding friendships between our children and their peers.

Before the days of babysitting trades, there were no parenting breaks for me except when my husband arrived home. By then, I was so desperate for company (or privacy) that I’d either talk his ear off or lock myself in the bedroom just to experience a tiny slice of silence. (I don’t own a Snuggie, but the glowing smile in the picture captures how I felt when I crept into my bedroom. “Tee-Hee…no one is currently climbing, spitting up on, or peeing on me! Glorious!” )

Eventually I started to schedule our weeks at home around play dates, which were a welcome diversion for an extravert like myself. But when things evolved into babysitting trade status, life truly eased up–and not just for me! The families I swap babysitting with are just as grateful for the chance to host a play date or to get a sliver of freedom every so often.

Babysitting cooperatives take swaps to a whole new level. In a co-op, parents take on a few more children, but also get more opportunities for free babysitting. The Smart Mom’s Baby-Sitting Co-op Handbook:How We Solved the Baby-Sitter Puzzle can help you create one yourself. It’s gotten rave reviews on Amazon and thoughtfully lays out plans in careful detail for how to put together a community that works for you. It’s so popular that even though it was published over a decade ago, it’s currently sold out! (But should be available again very soon.)

I know with infants cooperatives or exchanges may be more of a challenge, but if you have at least two parents on duty it’s pretty amazing what you can handle. Does anyone else enjoy babysitting swaps? Do any of you have family who volunteer to watch your tot on a regular basis? I plan on doing that once my children get a bit older!

My beloved and beleaguered sister has spent over four weeks battling a lice infestation in her home. That means for the last thirty days she’s had to launder all bedding, spray down mattresses, and vacuum thoroughly… Every. Single. Day. Not only has it been incredibly time intensive, she’s invested hundreds of dollars in treatments that haven’t worked.

How is this possible? Apparently new strains of lice can quickly evolve to become resistant to toxic treatments–making natural alternatives even more appealing.

While she tried natural remedies such as Listerine, olive oil, vinegar, and many others, she’s finally found a product that has wiped out the infestation without hurting her young children’s skin.

A scientist developed ClearLice using a natural enzyme that lice excrete during molting, so they can’t develop a resistance to it and it’s very safe and comfortable for use on infants and small children. It’s a bit pricey at nearly $30 for a bottle of Clearlice shampoo or about $100 for a complete Clearlice family treatment kit, but since many other shampoos and treatments have to be used multiple times, it seems worth the investment to wipe it out in one attempt. (For the record, I’m not being paid to recommend this product. I’m just very thankful that my sister finally found something that works!)

There’s also a Clearlice Head Conditioner and Repellant, which I would consider using a few times a week once my children are back in school and daycare. (Often children with lice infestation are excluded from school for several days to ensure they are lice free. That’s a long time for families to take off work to de-louse every inch of their homes!)

Tea Tree oil is also supposed to be a natural lice repellant, and Trader Joe’s has some Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo for just $3.99 a bottle while Babo Botanicals also makes a Rosemary Tea Tree Lice Repel Shampoo that comes in at $15.99. We do use Tea Tree Oil shampoo with our kids, but careful rinsing is required as it stings quite badly in their eyes.

I hope your baby never, ever gets head lice. But if he or she does, it will be nice to know that there’s a product that won’t harm the planet or your baby, while quickly zapping the lice colonies nesting on their delicate little heads.

Have you ever longed for a personalized shopping assistant? Someone who can brief you on which products are best so that you can make quick decisions before the baby wakes up/your children start flinging legos at each other/the casserole burns in the oven? What if that assistant (let’s call her Betty) could also help you select goods that dovetail with your values, leaving you with a green afterglow following 15 minutes of online shopping?

She’s here! She’s free! She’s not actually human, but she’s more thorough than any person could ever be.

The Good Guide’s Transparency Toolbar (you may still call it Betty if you like) provides you with detailed product information for online shopping. You’ll be able to quickly bypass green claims, using the Transparency Toolbar’s data to choose items that are non-toxic, eco-friendly, and socially responsible.

So how do you use the Transparency Toolbar anyway? Simply install it as a web browser extension and it will pop up only while you are shopping online. You customize what date is important to you out of fourteen different categories including climate change, controversial ingredients, energy efficiency, organic, and nutritious. The Transparency Toolbar will then rate the product you’re viewing according to the criteria you’ve selected, as well as listing similar products that might meet your needs more completely. Isn’t Betty incredibly resourceful for being free?

To quickly get a sense of how the Transparency Toolbar works, simply invest four minutes of your life viewing Good Guide’s Transparency Toolbar Video . It walks you through how to download the application and use it while shopping—showing you just how empowering it is for consumers.

For those of you who are currently gearing up for a new baby, the Transparency Toolbar can help you quickly decide which baby products you’d like to purchase or register for without having to spend hours researching companies or possible toxins.

Now honestly, I don’t do a lot of shopping online, but I’m thrilled to know that Good Guide’s Transparency Toolbar will soon be available as a mobile app! Imagine rolling through the grocery store and being able to challenge a label’s green claims on the spot with Betty’s capable assistance!

We love The Good Guide, not just because it’s so consumer-friendly, but because one of its authors, Josh Dorfman, is a green hero of ours. He wrote The Lazy Environmentalist and also penned the forward to our book, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide. In his television series on the Sundance Channel and his SiriusXM Radio show, he embraces the “progress not perfection” spirit that we promote in all our green endeavors. In addition to all those accolades, he’s currently in the trenches of early green parenthood.

So thanks to Josh Dorfman and his colleagues for The Good Guide’s Transparency Toolbar! It isn’t just about keeping our families safe and helping the environment. It’s about holding companies to a higher standard. Because The Good Guide makes information so easily accessible, companies are bound to start watching their ratings and realize that consumers are choosing products with superior records. If each of our dollars is a vote, then the Transparency Toolbar is the key to electing better businesses!

One week. That’s the last bit of my summer before I start cracking open teacher guides and scrawling out lesson plans.

I was going to make homemade jam from the hundreds of pounds of berries I was planning on picking.

I was going to read three novels in Spanish, develop abdominal muscles, and swim in a cold lake on a summer day.

I was going to camp in a yurt, make a pinata with the kids, and call my college friends.

And all we did was move. We packed, tossed, gave away, and lifted everything we own. Now our garage is littered with boxes and random tools. I still can’t find the hole puncher.

But the view out this window is lovely. The hydrangeas are in bloom and we did manage a few picnics on our new deck. We went swimming at sunset today in the local pool and we picked a handful of blueberries in the backyard. I’ve watched one telenovela and studied a dozen Spanish verbs.

And that will have to do. Because expectations aren’t always our friends–especially when we’re raising small children. If we get caught up in what we could be doing, we forget about that magical thing happening right in front of our eyes. And who’s to say that my kids’ random dragonfly sighting in our backyard isn’t more exotic than any expectation on my list this summer?

Maybe our work as eco-conscious parents is to remember that the “progress, not perfection” mantra we use in The Eco-nomical Baby Guide is about more than just the planet. It’s about our ability to sustain ourselves as parents, partners, and friends during this crazy-wonderful era of our lives. I shall also try to remember that this phase of parenting will fly by before I even have time to realize it’s gone.

And my expectations for sleep, order, and homemade jam will have to be downgraded considerably. (Can you really buy “homemade” jam? The company above is based close to our home. I may have to settle for something made in my region instead of something in my kitchen…)

Have you lived your summer dreams this year? Have you also found that you must shift your goals dramatically to accommodate a family lifestyle?

Eco-friendly diaper creams abound these days, but which ones really work?

We were big fans of Boudreaux’s All Natural Butt Paste. It was widely available and seemed to clear up any issues we had quickly and without a sticky mess.

Method’s Squeaky Green Diaper Cream comes in wonderful scents, but I never had a chance to use it with my babies.

Friends of mine have raved about Weleda Calendula Diaper Care and their whole line of products.

Nature’s baby Organics Organic Diaper Ointment Cream is part of a series of organic personal care products for mothers and babies.

Angel Baby Bottom Balm has a luscious lavender scent that we loved. It’s made here in Oregon and their whole line of products are fabulous!

Bio-Bio Baby’s Zinc Oxide Paste also looks pretty promising. Has anyone tried it?

Perhaps you’ve tried swabbing a bit of olive oil on baby’s bottom or even using some Lanosinoh Lanolin. (Most breastfeeding moms discover that the stuff is wonderful for those early days of cracked and sensitive skin, and unless your child has a wool allergy, it’s great for use as a diaper cream as well!)

Let us know what your favorite solutions are for diaper rash and don’t forget to enter our Eco-nomical Baby Guide and What to Expect When You’re Expecting giveaway!

What to Expect When You’re Expecting is a thorough guide to pregnancy that has been tremendously popular for over twenty years–and this week their website, What to Expect, is sponsoring a giveaway! We’re throwing in a few copies of our book, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide, to sweeten the winnings for two lucky readers. There are multiple ways to enter so get in on the action!

Prize #1
What to Expect Before You’re Expecting (+ a copy of our book, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide: Down to Earth Ways for Parents to Save Money and the Planet)

For women who are planning conception and pregnancy, What to Expect Before You’re Expecting is a great resource. It provides tips on everything from nutrition to medical care for women (and men) in the months before you get pregnant. And it will help you make the good choices that will lead to a healthier newborn. For couples hoping to conceive quickly, Murkoff educates readers about how to pinpoint ovulation cycles to raise your odds of getting pregnant.

As for our book, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide, we’ve spoken to many women who received it late in their pregnancies only to wish that they would have read it months earlier. Why not learn about cloth diapers and used baby gear before you’re dealing with morning sickness and exhaustion? We hope that having the book far in advance will allow you to gather up the new and used green gear you need while saving thousands of dollars.

Prize #2
What to Expect When You’re Expecting(+ a copy of our book, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide: Down to Earth Ways for Parents to Save Money and the Planet)

What to Expect When You’re Expecting is read by over 90% of pregnant women who read pregnancy books and has been on the New York Times bestseller list for decades. So what can you expect from the book? The book is organized into monthly chapters which provide information about how you may feel, common questions, a week-by-week guide to baby’s fetal development, and information about what your midwife or doctor is likely to say during that phase of pregnancy. The book also addresses childbirth plus the emotional and physical issues that couples face in the postpartum period. The question and answer format helped me pick out sections that were relevant to my pregnancy. I was too overwhelmed and exhausted by growing a fetus to actually read any book cover to cover so I appreciated being able to easily reference what I was looking for.

We wish every newly pregnant woman could get a free copy of The Eco-nomical Baby Guide, just to have access to humble, humorous, hands-on advice for gearing up green on a budget. Since we can’t just stand on the corner and hand these out to pregnant passers-by, we’ve decided to send one to accompany What to Expect When You’re Expecting in this giveaway. We hope you can win!

Whether you’re lucky enough to win one of the prizes or not, you should know that What to Expect online now offers heaps of free information for expectant women and new parents. You can pick up a copy of many What to Expect books on Amazon for less than nine bucks and The Eco-nomical Baby Guide is currently on sale for less than eight dollars. (And it will save you much, much more than what you pay for it!)

Enter the What to Expect When You’re Expecting (and the Eco-nomical Baby Guide) Giveaway!

Each comment counts as an entry. You can enter up to four times. Here’s how:

1. Simply post a comment

2. Like the Green Baby Guide on Facebook (then tell us you did it in a separate comment)

3. Visit the What to Expect website and comment on what you learned.

4. Spread the news about the giveaway! Email someone, post it on Facebook, tweet it, blog it, or send someone a message about it via carrier pigeon. (And again, don’t forget to tell us all about it in the comments!)

This contest ends on Thursday, August 11th, and is only open to U.S. Residents.

Great luck!

Great luck!