Author Archives: Melissa | Growing Green Nutrition

The Dude’s new ride

Patience and persistence finally paid off in both our bike trailer and jogging stroller Craigslist searches.  (I’ll get to the stroller in a future post.)

We actually bought the bike trailer a few weeks ago, after many failed attempts where we either just missed the item, or offered a lower price that wasn’t accepted.  I had narrowed the search to something with suspension, which meant either a high-end Burley model or a Chariot — both retail in the $600-$700 range new.  I hoped to get a new-to-us version for $250 or less.

In the end, we came up a little from that, but we are now the proud owners of a double Chariot Cougar with the stroller conversion kit.  We will be spending a bit more to buy the baby supporter accessory.  Once we have that, I will be sorely tempted to get out on the bike with The Dude.

The product website says the baby supporter is for, “children approximately 6-18 months of age,” but most of the reviews mention using it starting at 2-3 months.  The Dude is 3 months now, and a big 3 months at that, so basically it comes down to a helmet dilemma.  We could most likely ride with him now, but, even if his head were big enough for a helmet, I don’t think it will work with the head support.

So . . . bike helmets.  Riding a safe bicycle, in a safe and confident manner, is a cyclist’s most important safety tool, and a helmet only  protects so much, but why not have it as a back-up?  I don’t get preachy about it, but I do always wear a helmet, and think non-helmeted bikers look rather stupid.

So is it hypocritical to consider my baby NOT wearing one?  Perhaps, but on the other hand, The Dude will be protected by the trailer and the baby supporter, not just sitting on a bicycle seat.  I would argue that this is not much different than riding in a car, and I don’t know of any parents who put a helmet on their baby in the car.

For now, we’ll take things one step at a time.  The next step is actually buying the baby supporter.  Then we can put The Dude into the trailer, with the supporter, and evaluate his security and stability.  If all systems are go, we can sneak in a few rides gorgeous fall rides before winter weather hits.

Twelve weeks

To say the past twelve weeks have been a blur would be putting it VERY mildly.  We naively expected that we would accomplish any number of tasks during our maternity/paternity leaves.

I planned to give some serious attention to blogging, including purchasing a domain name and turning this blog into a more official site.  Instead, I’ve barely had time to write, or even read favorite blogs, much less expand things here.

While I love reading “mommy blogs,” I really did/do not want this to veer in that direction.  To that end, I considered starting another baby-specific blog (proposed name: Blue Green Mama), so I could stay on-topic here.  On the other hand, my goal here is to share stories and inspiration on sustainable and healthy living from my own life, which, like it or not (let’s be honest, it depends on when you ask), now involves being a mom.

Becoming a parent really drives home the whole “what are we leaving for future generations” argument for sustainability.  Yesterday, we had a naming ceremony for Gabriel at the Ethical Society, and the platform topic just-so-happened to be global warming, sustainability, and social justice (our completely haphazard, hey, let’s do this next Sunday form of “planning” worked amazingly well).  Listening to the well-delivered message, which I’ve heard plenty of times before, took on new meaning as I looked into my son’s eyes.

While I now more fully appreciate how lack of time can be a significant barrier to behavior change (whether a health-related behavior, or a “green” behavior), it seems more important than ever to stay committed to a sustainable lifestyle and advocate for larger scale change.

Psst, psst: The EC update

Startling statistic: 40 years ago, over 90% of babies were out of diapers by 18 months, and today, only 2% of babies are out of diapers by 2 years!  Whether cloth or disposable, that’s a lot more diaper-time for today’s little ones.

Reading about Elimination Communication (EC) midway through pregnancy activated my green radar — baby peeing and pooping in the toilet (or in a little potty or other receptacle) equals less dirty diapers to wash.  Less washing means less water and energy used — what wasn’t to love.

I read Diaper Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh, and it all seemed pretty straight forward.  And then I had a baby . . . .

Matthew actually caught a few pees in the hospital, but between my surgery recovery and Gabriel’s fussiness, we got off to a pretty slow start with EC.  I was pretty frustrated and discouraged, especially after the book made it sound so simple.  Gabriel met our attempted potty opportunities with cries, but no pee or poop.  We worried that his back was sore from the six UNNECESSARY lumbar punctures and that the potty position led to more pain.

The Dude is now 11 weeks old, and in the past few weeks, things seem to be clicking.  Most pee and poop still happens in a diaper, but we consistently catch 2-4 pees a day.  It is amazing how long he can stay dry, and he really does seem to know what is going on when we give him a potty opportunity.

"What's a guy have to do to get some privacy around here?"

When we’re home, we offer the potty when he wakes from a nap, and with almost every diaper change, using “psst, psst” to cue pees.  I can read his poop signals pretty clearly, but at this point, he usually poops DURING a feeding, and I really don’t want to interrupt his meal just to set him on the pot.  I do acknowledge the bowel movement by making the poop cue (we use a gentle grunt).

While we are far from diaper free, we are succeeding at Elimination Communication.  Each catch provides encouragement to continue the journey and see where it ends.

What a big head you have

The better to wear a bicycle helmet, my dear 🙂

We visited the pediatrician for Gabriel’s 2-month check-up last week, and the doctor diagnosed our little guy with macrocephaly.  Which literally just means that he has a big head (15 inches at birth, 17 inches last week).  When the doctor first said he was recording it in the chart, we thought he was joking, but apparently it is a real diagnosis and something that they will monitor.

Since large heads run in the family on the paternal side, we are not at all worried, and I quickly realized a potential benefit of a baby with a large head.  I came home and looked up infant helmets, and found one that starts at 18 inches — only one more inch to go!  I imagine that last inch will come on more slowly than the first two, and there is the whole needing to be able hold up that giant head of his, but still, methinks this whole macrocephaly thing could be good (for now, at least — Matthew has trouble finding a helmet that is large enough to provide good coverage).

That said, we are still on the fence as far as accommodations for biking with the little guy.  I had this naive idea that I would have plenty of time to troll Craigslist and investigate options AFTER the baby was born.  Yeah, not so much.  First, time?  Ha!  Second, I’m not the most decisive person in the best circumstances, and sleep deprivation and baby-fogged brain . . . .   Well, you get the picture.

Whenever we decide and finally make a purchase, I know we’ll enjoy including Gabriel in our preferred form of transportation, it just may be a bit later than I anticipated.

All my bags are packed

I first heard about the new flight service between St. Louis and my hometown at my sister’s baby shower last December, when I was just barely pregnant.  My first  thought was, “Ugh, what a carbon-intensive way to make what is a pretty easy 4-hour car trip.”  Not to be a judgmental enviro-snob or anything 😉

I was quite certain that I would never avail myself of the service, super cheap flights ($30 each way — thank you government subsidies) or no.  Fast forward several months, and we were contemplating a trip to visit my family with Grumpleskiltskin Gabriel in tow.

Now, Little G is not particularly fond of the car, which in general is fine with me — I’m not particularly fond of the car, either.  (Even if he loved it and fell asleep instantly,  I would refuse to use it as a sleep aid.  Babies certainly require green compromises, but I have to draw the line somewhere.)  Anyway, the prospect of 4 hours in the car with a screaming baby, plus the additional trip time for stopping to feed him, change his diaper, etc., lacked appeal, but we did want to visit, so the Wednesday before Labor Day found us at the airport.

Eight seater

The trip went very smoothly, i.e., I did not vomit, and it also ended up being a pretty good way to travel with the little one.  He slept almost the whole way there, and on the return flight he was pretty chill once I provided his in-flight beverage.

The dude in flight

Had Matthew not really wanted the experience of flying on this little plane, I might have spoken up against it more.  I also realized as we drove to the airport that, given our sleep-deprived state these days, flying was probably MUCH safer than either of us being behind the wheel for four hours.  Benefits aside, though I won’t say that we for sure won’t make the trip by plane again, I definitely don’t intend to make a habit of it, given the environmental cost of air travel.  If we can’t make the trip by car, we may just stick close to home for awhile.