Mothering.Community

Back in February I took my newly pregnant self to a nearby bookstore to browse the parenting and baby magazines to see if anything looked interesting. I picked up a few for a trip that Patrick and I were taking to Doylestown, PA for Vanlentine's Day weekend. I realized I literally hit the motherload when I bought Mothering Magazine.

I don't know how many of you have heard of Mothering but if you haven't, you really should try to get your hands on a copy and check it out. I find it can be difficult to locate in stores. After I read that first issue I tried to find subsequent issues and only had luck in one bookstore. I now have a subscription so I don't have to worry about searching it out every other month.

Mothering is geared toward women who like the natural approach to pregnancy, birth and parenting but it's an amazing resource for any parent, grandparent or caregiver. They cover topics such as breastfeeding, co-sleeping, autism and more and they feature excellent products and recipes. When I read other more mainstream parenting magazines I feel bombarded by advertisements. Even the articles are, themselves, advertisements. For instance, that same weekend I picked up an issue of Pregnancy Magazine. It featured Days of Our Lives and The Biggest Loser star Alison Sweeney. I love Days of Our Lives and I'm pregnant so I was psyched to have that issue. Much to my dismay, the entire article about Alison's baby shower was a written advertisement for the products she received at said shower. Not to mention that every other page has an ad for formula or bottles or disposable diapers. I mean hey, I know people use that stuff but at least represent the breast feeding, cloth diapering moms too!

So back to Mothering...not only do they have a wonderful magazine that I highly recommend you get a subscription to but even better is their website, mothering.com (and no, I don't get anything for recommending them. They have no idea I'm writing this). The site is packed with info and resources. My favorite addiction is the forums, adoringly referred to as the mothering.community. I love to read other moms' questions and answers because most of them are things I've wondered about myself. I've already founds lots of good info I'm applying to this pregnancy and I'm looking forward to finding answers to parenting questions when little Julian gets here and as he grows up.

In an effort to be even greener than they already are, Mothering Magazine offers online subscriptions at a discounted rate. I chose the paper route (and I do feel guilty about it) so that my husband will also read the magazine. He's more apt to read it if he sees it lying around the house. He's a fan, too!

Wasteful Packaging

I found this on Treehugger today and just had to repost for my readers. Click on the link below and then through the pictures to see just a few of the many ways we waste materials with packaging. The prunes really get me because I've heard lots of people say, "Oh they're so great and so fresh!" COME ON!

Packaging Design at its Worst

A Visit With a "Wildman" and a Quick "Tip"

Patrick and I spent an interesting evening at one of our local libraries meeting and getting to know "Wildman" Steve Brill. The Wildman doesn't shop for his food. Nor does he grow it in his garden. He forages for his food. Read all about it at Patrick's blog, The Hawk Owl's Nest.

As for my quick "tip". Next time you purchase cotton swabs, commonly and universally referred to as q-tips (whether or not they really are Q-Tip brand), look for ones with a cardboard tube instead of a plastic tube. Mine are plastic but I will be switching to cardboard as soon as I run out of the everlasting plastic ones. Cardboard is better because it will break down whereas the plastic will not.

And there you have my green "tip" on tips.

Let's Talk Birth

For anyone out there who is pregnant or knows someone who is pregnant or is just curious to learn about anything birth related, you MUST take a look at this new website created by my friend, Heather.

Heather is an awesome woman and mom to her adorable eleven-month-old son, Carter. She is a wealth of information and is willing to share it with the world. Talkbirth.com is a new site but check back often because Heather will be adding more and more articles and info as time goes on.

Take advantage of Heather's wisdom and read her first two articles about active birth and doulas.

Enjoy!

Smartipants Diapers

I always get excited like a kid on Christmas morning when a package arrives at my door. I am very excited today to receive three new SmartiPants diapers.

Smartipants is currently having a sale. You can get a girl, boy, neutral or white 3-pack of one-size diapers with inserts for $36.95. I got the boy pack (as pictured) but if I had realized I could get the neautral pack I would have. They're more versatile if in case we have a 2nd child someday and it's a girl or if I want to pass them on to someone else who happens to have a girl.

I wish I could write an official review but that won't happen until after our Baby Jules is here. Until then, if you're looking for a good deal on cloth diapers, Smartipants is worth checking out.

Cloth Diapering Blog

I have a killer headache but I haven't blogged in a couple days and just want to get something out there. So because cloth diapering is green, here is a link to a great blog for all you moms of kids in diapers or anyone looking to learn more about cloth diapers. It's www.clothdiaperblog.com. Thanks to Danielle at New Mommy Rant for linking to it on her blog. That's where I first found it.

If You Care - Environment Friendly Products

If you use coffee filters or cupcake liners, take a look at the If You Care line of products. Their paper products are 100% ubleached. Why is unbleached paper better? Because the bleaching process of our many, many paper products is a highly toxic business. The paper mills that bleach these products emit toxic chemicals such as dioxins, lead and mercury (just to name a few). Once in the air, these toxic chemicals don't go away. They get dispersed all over the place.

Not only are these chemicals released into the air during the bleaching process, they are also retained in the products themselves. In the case of coffee filters and cupcake liners that means those chemicals are in direct contact with things we put into our body.

An argument I hear all the time is that these toxic chemicals are found in trace amounts. Think about it. Trace amounts in our coffee, our cupcakes, the paper we write on, the diapers we put on our babies, the maxi pads and tampons we use, the toilet paper on our tushies, the paper towels and napkins used to wipe our faces, the paper plates holding the food we are about to eat. You add all that up and it isn't just trace amounts anymore.

We are bombarded with toxic chemicals in our modern society. Why not do what we can to eliminate a few here and there whenever possible?