In keeping with my pledge earlier this month to spend as much quality time with my children as possible, I am going to capitalize on the beautiful weather we’re having today in my fine city and  spend the entire day outside. I even packed a picnic. I can’t wait!

Looking for things to do to celebrate Earth Day? Check out these online resources. Each is packed with cool ideas and info:

 earthday network

kaboose’s earthday page

The nature conservancy

planetpals

and these:

arbor day foundation

trees are good

organic gardening

Happy Earth Day to you all!

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If during these dreary winter months you’re looking for a fresh addition to your table, homegrown sprouts may just fit the bill. Growing sprouts at home is an easy, inexpensive and fun project to do—especially with the kids. Not to mention, they’re the perfect locally grown (in your kitchen!) vegetables to otherwise dull winter produce selections. While the snow is falling, it’s just nice to be able to watch as stems and leaves unfold while the rest of the outdoor vegetation lie fallow.

It’s important to acknowledge that while sprouting is fun and easy, it’s also an economical way to add immediate nutritional boost to meals. Several sources, including this living foods site, assert that sprouting can greatly increase the nutritional content of seeds, beans and grains—sometimes by 30 to 50%. Your newly grown sprouted foods can be added to salads, sandwiches, wraps, batter (muffin, crepe or pancake), stir-fries, rice dishes, and, of course, they can be eaten as is.

It’s really true that sprouting is a simple, quick process that can be done in a few days without alot of gear or fuss. While there is quite a selection of wonderful sprouting apparatus available for purchase, you really only need a glass jar, cheesecloth, a rubber band, seeds to be sprouted, water and a few days.

What will sprout well? There are a wide variety of beans, seeds and grains that can be grown to produce delicate delicious sprouts. Some of the most common include clover, alfalfa, mung, radish, lentil and even pumpkin seeds. It’s important to be sure all seeds and beans are organic and originate from a source free of pesticides or herbicides just as you would when planting a garden in soil. Many health food stores sell ready-to-grow packs of individual or blends of seeds and beans. You can also find sprouting supplies online here and here.

OK. So, how do you sprout? Very Easily. I Promise. This is my method. I have great success with alfalfa, broccoli, mung and lentil…not so much with quinoa, but I’m working on it.

• Measure out 2 Tablespoons of whatever you want to sprout (seeds, beans, grains, etc.)
• Inspect and discard any stones, pebbles or debris. Rinse well.
• Place in a jar filled 3/4 full with cool water and soak over night.
• Drain and place in the basin of sprouter (or a glass jar fitted with a piece of cheesecloth attached with a rubber band)
• Once seeds are in sprouter/jar, rinse and drain well again. Let rest making sure there is no residual water left in sprouter/jar. Your sprouts will start sprouting in the nest few hours!
• Fill and drain sprouter/jar twice a day for 3-5 days. My kids and I like to watch the tiny stems grow.
• On the last day: Give them one last good rinse and your sprouts are ready to eat. Store any unused sprouts in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week. (I always place a slightly damp paper towel under sprouts to absorb/provide moisture)

Check out this step-by-step sprouting instructional posted by the farm.org. They’re absolutely right: once you get the hang of it, the process is almost impossible to screw up. They’ve provided a nice illustration, too. Enjoy!

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Using cloth diapers on my toddler during a recent trip to New York City was not going to be a viable option. Laundering cloth diapers at a coin-op while on holiday? Not my idea of R&R. My solution was to test out a relatively new product to the U.S.—g diapers.

Though I later learned that they are not yet widely available, I was able to find a local retailer without much effort. I bought a starter kit which included two g diaper pants, liners, a swishstick and 10 flushable inserts. Admittedly, I had just about swooned at the package design that showcases unbelievably adorable images of babies wearing g pants.

I was so excited that I cracked open the box as soon as I got home. I eagerly read the directions, assembled the pant with liner and flushable insert, and diapered my daughter. Yep, it was incredibly cute. But, would it work? And, would it solve my travel dilemma?

The g diaper consists of a fitted fabric diaper, a snap-in plastic waterproof liner and a flushable insert. The flushable insert is designed to virtually dissolve in water once torn open, dropped into the toilet bowl and flushed. The product encourages parents to flush a baby’s output down the toilet, thereby keeping the family waste “where it belongs” in the sewage system. It also makes mess, clean-up and laundering more manageable and convenient than cloth diapering.

After a day or two, I quickly realized that the starter kit of two g diapers was probably not going to be enough. One of the biggest challenges was finding a g diaper retailer in Brooklyn. Apparently, g diapers are still getting on the map even in big cities like New York, and purchasing them became a scavenger hunt.

I went to three different locations (two of which were listed as retailers on the g diaper site) with no luck. At my last Brooklyn hopeful, Fairway in Red Hook, I hit the mother load. This overwhelmingly huge grocer had what I was looking for—another starter kit and refills. The only downfall? It was a 20 minute drive at the other end of the borough. (If you live in Brooklyn, it might be a hassle to get there, but they do deliver.)

With four diapers now at my disposal, I found the use of g diapers much more manageable. Given my circumstances of having no laundry, I was able to toggle between hand washing, air drying and having at least two or three g pants ready to go.

My month-long experience of actual use inspired mixed (mostly positive) emotions. G diapers really are a combination of disposable and cloth. Pros and Cons abound:

Leakage/Fit: I’ve had no incidence of leakage. And, they are a perfect, slim fit. A definite pro over cloth diapers.
**The recent redesign is softer and even better fitting than it’s predecessor.

Leakage/Liners: the liners are basically a re-purposing of a plastic diaper cover…they snap on the inside. The ingenious design eliminates the bulk of old-school plastic covers while preventing leaks. They do stain with use. A starter pack includes 2 liners for each diaper. Thankfully, the company’s online shop site sells a liner replacement 2 pack.

Inserts/Flushables: They’re very absorbent despite the fact that they bunch-up during wear. Future design improvements are sure to solve the bunching-up problem.

Flushing: I did flush the inserts down very old NYC plumbing with a little back up, but nothing that a plunge didn’t cure. In that respect, I think it’s fair to acknowledge flushing is not for everyone— a point the g diaper crew addresses on page four of the handy users guide (HUG.)

Mess: Like cloth diapering, you will have to touch poop (although not nearly as much.) With diapering, it’s a necessary evil. My husband will never be 100% on board with g diapers (or cloth for that matter.) But, he uses g diapers because contact is at a minimum. Plus, he loves me and our daughter and is willing to deal with it. Out of appreciation for his reluctant touching-of-poop, I am the primary diaperer. That’s a drawback, sigh, but they are cute.

Washing: The pants do need to be washed but don’t need all the extra effort of cloth diapers. The snap-in liners work so well that pre-soaking and scrubbing the pants are almost a non-issue. Using hot water isn’t necessary. Cold or warm water with the rest of your laundry works just fine. The colors do fade slightly but not beyond what’s reasonable.

Grandparents/extended family: Will not do g diapers (or cloth for that matter); They are disposable die-hards. For some, this may be an issue. For me, I don’t complain one bit! Thanks Mom and Dad for being willing to change poopy diapers at all!

Cost: A starter kit of 2 g pants, 4 snap-in waterproof liners and 10 flushables cost me $23-$25 depending on retailer. ($26.99 online @ g diaper.com) A refill pack of 32 flushables puts me back $15. Quite a bit more than disposables and more than I want to pay. Environmentally-conscious products = not cheap. A definite drawback. But, I still think it’s worth it.

g diapers vs. cloth vs. disposables: At home, I use a cloth pre-fold diaper as an insert for g diaper pants or a cloth fitted diaper. I have come to prefer the pre-fold/g diaper combo as it keeps baby dry, doesn’t bunch-up, and is more trim fitting than a cloth diaper with a plastic cover. It’s also saves on buying flushable refills. When away from home, I use g diapers with flushable inserts . That way, carrying around soiled diapers is at a minimum, and I don’t have to use disposables. Disposables are obviously the most convenient, but experts say they take 500 years to decompose!

My Verdict: I’m sold! There is no doubt that g diapers and flushables are my favorite choice for diapering our daughter. They’ve made it their mission to address the two biggest controversies of modern-day diapering: landfills overflowing with plastic disposable diapers vs. the clean water concerns of laundering cloth diapers. Although I’m quite happy with their product design, I do believe they may still be too much maintenance and/or cost for the American public to be sold on the concept.

In the end, I applaud the g crew for their dedication to being the best option out there. I definitely recommend them to anyone who is looking for a disposable diaper alternative but isn’t interested in cloth. I foresee g diapers continuing to perfect their product and, with that, greater mass appeal will follow.

A Daddy’s verdict: If they could figure out a way to make it so we don’t have to touch the poop, I’d be 100% sold on it.

So, g diaper company, keep doing what you’re doing! Make cute diapers that don’t fill up landfills and can be flushed down the toilet. Who knows? With you at the helm, that next evolution—a healthy, safe, totally biodegradable g diaper seems only a matter of time.

Check out g diapers online.

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Cloth Diapering is not exactly the norm these days. It’s estimated that a mere 10% of families are choosing cotton to cover their babies’ bottoms. Not quite a widespread phenomenon.

In fact, many parents of our parents’ generation chose disposable diapers, which back then was “the new advancement in diapering.” No Mess. No Laundering. Just roll it up and toss. Sounds great and convenient. Back then, they just didn’t put much forethought into where all those diapers would go after use.

There are few parents who haven’t heard the statistics that it takes 500 years for a disposable diaper to decompose or that the average baby uses 8,000 diapers before being potty trained. The convenience of disposables versus the cost savings and environmental-friendliness of cloth poses quite a dilemma.

For a variety of reasons, I diapered my first child with disposables. Because I was never completely comfortable with it, I potty trained him at 2 years when he showed the first signs of interest. Thankfully, he happily trained quickly.

With my second child well into toddlerhood, I began to notice an increasing number of women in my social circle were choosing (adorable!) cloth for their babies. I decided to explore the subject to see if it would be a viable option for me so late in the game.

I met Lisa Clarke of greenearthbaby.com, a wonderful online cloth diapering shop, who graciously showed me the ropes. I also tested out g-diapers—a diaper that combines the convenience of disposables with the earth-friendliness of cloth. Both of these experiences have reassured me that convenience is not all it racked up to be.

I started to question myself as to why I hadn’t explored the option sooner. I headed to a host of national retailers to reinforce what the average American mom has at her easy access. I visited several local shops including Babies R Us, Toys R Us, Burlington Coat Factory’s “Baby Depot,” Target, and Kmart. (As a matter of personal choice, I do not patronize Wal-Mart and did not include them in my experiment.)

It turns out that the national retailers only carry the old-school rectangular cotton cloths that have to be folded, pinned and used with a plastic cover—the most inconvenient offering on the market. No fitted diapers and certainly no fitted diapers with sewn-in covers (all-in-ones) were to be found. The plastic covers for sale are the old elastic-legged, pull-on covers that aren’t exactly easy to put on a squirming child. It’s no wonder I hadn’t had exposure to cloth with my son. These selections showed no signs of representing 21st century advancements in technology.

Couple the lack of availability of cloth with the market saturation of disposables, and it’s not difficult to put two and two together. The big name companies have made billions of dollars by making it so easy to use disposables that most parents find them to be the obvious choice.

That is, until parents begin to realize that they could save thousands of dollars by using cloth, even with the extra water usage that’s required for laundering. Likewise, if more parents were aware that toddlers tend to potty train up to a year younger when diapered in cloth—and, thus be free of the whole ritual sooner—many may be swayed to switch.

Or, perhaps if the disadvantages were more widely known, disposables may seem less attractive. One undesirable aspect of disposables is that they are saturated with a host of chemicals; a fact that presents health risk concerns such as higher incidence of asthma and potential for lower sperm production post-puberty. And, of course, there is the ever-present issue of the environmental impact of non-decomposing plastic and rotting waste in dump sites that scientists say will likely become hosting grounds for disease. Not a pretty picture for our children’s future.

So, what’s a modern woman to do? The best place to buy and learn about cloth diapering is online. You can read countless reviews of brands, opinions about use as well as some incredibly compelling research. It’s the perfect forum to learn with zero pressure to buy. Then, it’s your choice to buy from an online store or search for a retailer in your area.

And, judging by the online testimonies of thousands of parents, you will be inspired to make that initial purchase of swaddlebees or kushies. And, like them, you will probably join the growing numbers of parents who have fell in love with using cloth on their baby’s bottoms.

See also:

Cloth Diapering 101

Cloth Diapering on greenearthbaby.com

More great diapering information sites:

National Association of Diaper Services

Diaper Pin

the diaper hyena

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What incentive does a modern day mom have in choosing cloth diapers instead of disposables?

They’re a lot of fun, says Lisa Clarke—a local expert on cloth diapering who created greenearthbaby.com a full-scale online diapering store. As more mothers are exploring alternatives to the plastic disposable diapers that have virtually monopolized the business, Lisa has answered the call. If you are lucky enough to live in the Pittsburgh area, you can benefit from one of her in-home instructions that aim to demystify the process. And, demystify it she does. With so many options available nowadays, she will not only explain the choices, but will customize a layette (collection of babywear essentials) to your needs. Lisa is also a certified childbirth educator and mother of two, so she speaks from experience and is simply a great person to know.

I decided to contact Lisa to learn more about diapering my toddler. I knew so little about current trends in cloth diapering that I chose to use disposables the first time around. Now, with my second child well into toddlerhood, I figured better late than never.

I spent the better half of a late summer morning with Lisa as she explained that the current cloth options go well beyond folding and pinning (see cloth diapering 101.) She gave me a complete overview of diapers, tackling everything from pre-folds to “fitteds” to all-in-ones. And, yes, she even gave me a tutorial on how to fold and pin an old-school cotton diaper. We discussed general laundering and care. By the end of the instruction, I was able to confidently buy enough to get me started.

I’ve been using cloth for several weeks. I admit they are a bit more maintenance than disposables, but not unreasonably so. The biggest adjustments were having more direct contact with my toddlers output (to put it politely) and the need to launder her diapers. Lisa’s tips on wash and care were very helpful and made the transition less painful. I have found that I’ve gotten into a rhythm with it and truly wish I had taken the plunge much sooner.

My best advice would be to begin using cloth diapers as early into parenthood as possible. This will be the most cost effective, and you’ll won’t have to change habits and routines midstream like I did.

Yes, Lisa was right. Cloth diapers are cute. And, soft. And, easier than I imagined. If you’d like to learn more about cloth options or to schedule your own private instruction visit greenearthbabycom. You may just find that cloth diapering your baby can be fun and not at all what you expected.

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Have you ever wondered what to do with all of the clothes, toys, books, puzzles and just general kid gear that accumulates around the average home? A group of women in Pittsburgh, PA took on the challenge of finding something useful to do with these items and had a ton of fun in the process.

The Recycle Circle is a group of moms and tots getting together for a morning of instituting the three R’s, all under the guise of playing, relaxing, and having fun. The goal is to Reduce Reuse Recycle—that is, reduce the amount of unwanted misfit toys that get thrown away and end up in landfills by trading/sharing with another family who will reuse, recycle, and give them a new home. Likewise, the hope is to reduce the amount of money spent on mountains of toys and, instead, provide these items for other families with young children—especially those who may not otherwise have the resources.

For this first event, I partnered with Mary Beth Yount, the director of the Brookline Kids Preschool, a free preschool program at Brookline Boulevard U.P. Church. Mary Beth graciously offered one of her preschool classrooms for us to use. The location was great because the children had a great time playing in the kid-friendly space, and it easily accommodated this initial gathering of 30 people. With everyone bringing a light-lunch-type dish to share, we had more than enough food for all the guests, and the preschool had tables and chairs for the kids to sit and eat. As for the donations, each mom brought bags full of toys/books/clothes/like items that were in good condition and suitable for sharing. Truthfully, the amount of gear brought was well beyond what was expected! We had a blast browsing the goods and selecting items to take home. The browsing and sharing was a great ice-breaker for those guests who had just met. It was good to see everyone getting into the spirit of things, and at one point I wondered aloud, “why is it that our friends toys are usually more fun than our own?” The kids enthusiastically agreed.

The mountains of great items remaining were donated to two locations where families will be able to take items free of charge. The first receiving charity is our local Angel’s Place house where assistance is given to young mothers who are in need of support and resources. The second location is a new Family Resource Room at Brookline Boulevard U.P. Church. Inspired by the Recycle Circle concept, Rev. Marsha Sebastian ,the pastor at the church, has donated an entire room for items to be available to anyone in the community. In less than a week, director Mary Beth has already gotten the room organized and ready to welcome guests. The room will provide clothes for both kids and moms as well as toys, books, puzzles, and even bigger items such as baby baths and bouncy chairs. In addition, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will provide jars of natural baby food; making the Family Resource Room an extension of the already existing on-site Food Pantry. With the well-equipped free preschool program, the Family Resource Room and the Food Bank, the church is truly a unique community center for families in the Brookline area in the city of Pittsburgh. I tip my hat to these remarkable programs and the passionate way in which these ladies serve their community!

Do you want to start a Recycle Circle in your community?? We encourage families to create a group among their friends and families to keep the circle spinning. If you would like more information on how to start a Recycle Circle, check back to earth mother next Wednesday, August 15 when we’ll share some tips and guidelines that helped make this first event so successful. We can’t wait for the next Circle!

If you have a family-serving charity in the Pittsburgh area that could benefit from our next Recycle Circle, please contact our admin e-mail: admin@earthmother.org

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