The Diaper Dooty

The choice between cloth and disposable was simple. We wanted to combine cloth and compostable diapers thinking it would be the most environmental.  Then we found out in San Francisco (and many other cities) you cannot throw human waste into the green compost bin.  (However, if you're interested in disposable diapers, check out Earth Baby. They provide a great home delivery/pick-up service and compost almost the entire diaper.)

I continued my search and discovered hybrid diapers.  These are cool reusable shells with cloth or biodegradable inserts.  I went on a google search for companies that carried these systems and found that these were popular and had several companies to choose from.  All seemed similar and I couldn't figure out which to choose.  I didn't want to go the trial by error route, as these started kits are pretty pricey.   

Newborn G Diaper

So we reached out to a friend who was in the thick of things for about a year now, who recommended GDiapers. She also suggested purchasing G-Flapper inserts from the Nappy Shoppe, a thicker insert for heavy wetters.   And just like that we bought a GDiapers starter set from Diapers.com, 12 G-Flappers and another 24 GDiapers small cloth inserts. She also told us that she started using cloth inserts when her baby was first born and only used the biodegradable inserts when traveling.  We would like to go cloth all the way but are keeping an open mind to see what works best. If washing our diapers becomes to much we're going to invest in Tiny Tots.

If you purchase the GDiapers starter kit you'll notice it doesn't come with any cloth inserts, this is because they don't recommend cloth diapers for newborns, particularly because the meconium leaves a difficult stain to remove. They suggest and include their biodegradable inserts. Check out the GDiapers "how-to" videos to get an idea how they work.  

Here is a list of the contenders we reviewed:

GDiapers

GroVia

Bumpkins

Bambino Mio

Kushies

Other "compostable" diapers:  

Seventh Generation

Broody Chick

Earth's Best

Love Lots,

MommySF

Babymoon(s) Here We Come!

Getting pregnant, we quickly realized that our trips together would have a +1, so we decided it was a good excuse to plan some getaways.  We always talked about short local visits, but never planned them, so now the fire was under us to get going.

photo by pkbvisions (daddy)

Mendocino was the first place we headed and it was just perfect for reflecting and absorbing what the next few months and beyond would have in store. The drive up the coast was gorgeous; stunning redwoods, artistic shades of color, a must! We went in mid-September and it wasn't very busy nor were the rooms too expensive.  

Although our destination was Mendo, we stayed a few miles away at the Albion River Inn.  We spent the next few days waking early and starting our day with a complimentary breakfast and then off forging for things to do. Mendocino is a scenic sleepy town with some good eateries and picturesque coastal views.

photo by pkbvisions (daddy)

We then headed to Indian Springs in Calistoga for an amazing pampering at the spa and pool. This place is a hidden gem.  It dawned on me how much it reminded me of the movie location for Dirty Dancing. The retro layout and kitch pool clock.  If you've been you know what I mean. 

photo by pkbvisions (daddy)

On a whim we got cheap flights to New York City in mid-November (thanks Virgin America). We lucked out with some fantastic weather and overall had a memorable trip.  NYC is hard place to sum, so let's just say it was perfect.

Our last and final trip was to LA. We have some wonderful friends there and knew this would be our last hurrah so we headed there with every intention to enjoy ourselves.  And we did, our hospitable friends (who are also expecting) took great care of us and dedicated their weekend to make it enjoyable But I quickly found that a 7 month pregnant lady doesn't need to be at a hotel bar, no matter how mellow. However, we did get to enjoy lots of great conversation, mainly about parenting, wonderful food and warm weather.

Love Lots,
MommySF

Sprout on Union Street

10% Off When You Order Online This Week Happy Valentine's Day! Shop online at www.sproutsanfrancisco.com from February 14th - February 21st and receive 10% off your entire order! Use offer codevday10 at checkout. Tell your friends!

Disposable Bibs, I Love It!

Dwell Studio creates beautiful products.  Giggle carries some but you can buy directly from the site.  We recently received the most adorable and functional baby gift from our darling friends Christina and Gamar, disposable bibs!  What an idea.  I know so many moms that would love these but most likely don't even know they exist.  This will for sure be part of all future baby gift sets and I'm sure it'll be part of yours too!

Love Lots,
MommySF

Pretty Lipstick and it's Not Bad for You

Makeup is so much fun. Especially at Sephora, where you can play with the abundance of colors calling out your name.  Colors as vibrant as the sunset and as muted as sand but what lies behind some of the formulas aren't as obvious.

My darling sister-in-law sent me the link to Skin Deep Cosmetic Database, which exposes the chemicals and their effects of most popular brands. The site rates the company, brand and product. I'm really not trying to take the fun out of my favorite indulgence, but I will say that I found the brand Hourglass to have a low toxic rating and am really liking their lipsticks. Check the site out and see how your products score.

Love Lots,
MommySF

Clean Air Plants and More

City living exposes us to many environmental pollutants. But who would of thought that our home could potentially be making us sick? It wasn't until a neighbor's car idling did I realize how much carbon monoxide leaked into our living room.  The smell was horrible and the clincher is I couldn't open the window for fresh air since it was coming in from outside.  

After sharing the story with a friend she told me about a NASA study of plants that clean the air. I was surprised to say the least and happy to learn about it before the baby arrived. We live on a fairly busy street and right above the parking garage, so I stopped into Sloat Gardens and picked up a few plants. The folks there are super knowledgeable and even knew about the cleaning properties of the plants.

So it got me wondering, other than some pretty house-cleaning plants, what else could I do to help keep the house clean of pollutants.  That lead me to the US Environmental Protection Agency's website, where I discovered a very comprehensive site with lots of studies and tools on protecting our home from these pollutants.

A few obvious pointers are to keep your home well ventilated, cleaned and to be cautious of the cleaning chemicals, paints and other unassuming household products.

For more information, check out these links:
Indoor air quality introduction
"Care for your air tour"

For you Urbanists out there, the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) just came out with this great issue called Greening Apartment Buildings. It's a great piece on what other steps we can take to green our homes.

Love Lots,
MommySF

"The Lanyard"

Life has its wonderful way of presenting things to us in all shapes and forms. I saw this beautiful poem from son to mother on KQED today by poet Billy Collins. I was moved enough to want to share.

Belly Mess

There's nothing like getting out for a walk on a beautiful day. Especially, when the weather folks are calling for rain in the next week.  But who can take a 40 week pregnant lady out without a bib!

I stopped in for some refreshing carrot juice from The Plant Cafe on Chestnut. And while sipping and browsing at the Gap, a nice mom pointed out that I was um...dripping all over my belly! She shared that she did it all the time and added, "at least you're in the sale section".  I loved her humor, it helped make the situation less embarrassing.

It would have been a great excuse to buy something, but I realized that I was wearing a long tank top underneath. So I tossed my shirt in my bag and was on my way. Go layering!

Love lots,
MommySF

To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate, that is the Question??

For most of my pregnancy I couldn't figure out what to do about vaccinations. So I read and researched and found a lot of information out there. And with so many people blogging and you tubing, the internet seems to just add more confusion than clarity to the topic.

So what's the concern?

For one there's the issue of Autism.  I mean who doesn't want to protect their healthy child from the evil hands of pharma, right? Well turns out the study that linked Autism and vaccines was a ploy by former surgeon and medical researcher Andrew Wakefield, the Lancet pulled the study in January 2011. There are also articles including "Deadly Immunity" written by Robert Kennedy Jr., who is admired for his environmental work, also pulled by Salon.com for inaccuracies in the piece. Rolling Stones Magazine, which published the article in 2005 has not retracted the story. There's also a journalistic piece presented by Frontline called the Vaccine War, (April 2010), it's really good, do take some time to watch it. (There's so much more out there, but this is what I thought would be helpful)

When the time came to meet with our pediatrician, we expressed our concerns and confusions around vaccines.  Amazingly he was not judgmental and shared a plethora of information in layman's terms and didn't hesitate when we interjected with questions.  A few important points he shared were about "herd immunity" a new term for us, and told us about Dr. Sears' vaccine schedule. He didn't suggest we go one way or another, which was reassuring but still left us wondering. We've asked many friends and family members who have had children in the last few years and the responses are very black and white. I guess there's no guessing once you've decided, its either you do or don't, what's the alternative right?  Well another question we posed to our pediatrician was if we needed to vaccinate all recommended vaccines.  He told us what each vaccine prevents but again left the choice up to us. For example, after the baby is born two shots administered with parental consent are vitamin k and Hepatits B . After our appointment, hubby and I have decided that when the time comes we will only opt for vitamin k. 

We also learned that California and a handful of other states do not mandate vaccines, which is nice to not have the state policing its citizens. But the concern is where to draw the line. What if no one gets vaccinated and we face outbreaks in epidemic proportions, do the citizens then take responsibility for not vaccinating?

The baby is due in less than 5 days and I have not received my Tdap or flu vaccine and may not get it since I plan on breastfeeding.  But I have asked the family to at least get the tdap and thankfully all have complied but am I being hypocritical? I don't know, but what I do know is that I'm scared of the unknown and exposing my child to a potential risk to protect the greater good, am I willing to take that risk?  My husband and I will most likely vaccinate but will scrutinize the vaccine schedules and thoroughly vet the shots with our pediatrician. I think it's also very important to learn not only what each vaccine represents but what preservatives are in the vaccines. For example, it is California Law to limit the amount of Thimerosal in vaccines administered to children under 3 years of age. We also learned that from our doctor, which was contrary to some information we found on the web.  

Vaccines are a personal and very contentious issue, but with so much information out there it is our responsibility as parents to educate ourselves, promote fact-based information and ask the tough questions of our medical community. It's not easy so I wish you the best of luck.

Love lots,

MommySF

No Impact Woman

A major concern to me has always been the environment and controlling my footprint. Living in San Francisco, it's easy to cut back. But sometimes motivation helps get things going, so when I came across the documentary No Impact Man I just had to add a few of his cool but least extreme ideas.  If you have a chance to check out this moving documentary, you should.

Here's what we did before No Impact Man :

• Walk : I always carry a tote or condensed bag in case I need to stop in Marina Super
• MUNI : I've linked a easy and mostly reliable live schedule for all lines accessible on your computer/smart phone.  You can always call 311 if neither of those options are available
• Farmers Market : Fort Mason has this awesome weekly/year round farmers market w almost 100% organic veggies, fruits, fish and meats.  It's a great way to meet your local farmers and introduce seasonal foods to the family. And lets face it, who doesn't like a deal? We never leave this place without a weeks worth of food and many times for less than $50, try doing that at your supermarket, good luck! A quick Yelp search turned up several other farmers market throughout the City
• Compost : Although we don't compost for our yard, we do use our green bin.  We love it and it's a great way to cut down on waste. Mommies, turns out those expensive compostable baby diapers cannot go into the compost bin since it contains human waste!  I was super annoyed and called the Department of Environment to complain but no word back, I'll keep you posted.
• Recycle : It sounds like a no brainer, but you would be shocked by how many SF residents still trash everything. Sometimes I wonder where the garbage auditors are hiding.
• Landfill :  90% of everything we buy can either be composted or recycled, so on garbage day we hardly ever take out of black bin.  It's a great feeling and I've recently learned you can turn in your black bin and reduce your Recology monthly bill.   
• Reusable water bottle
• Planet-Friendly Cleaning Agents: We love Method products (and they are local)
• Trader Joe recycled paper towels, toilet paper and tissues (we buy whole foods' recycled paper napkins)

After No Impact Man :

• Make our own : 
• laundry detergent
• dishwasher detergent
• house cleaning solutions
  
• Clean and do laundry after 6pm (not sure how long this will last when the baby arrives) We also try our best to hang our laundry out to dry.
• Reduce buying packaged goods, we purchase in bulk from either Whole Foods or Rainbow Coop (Rainbow Coop tends has more of a selection), using reusable bags. We also frequent our local deli more often for preservative-free meats and poultry.  We love Lucca's Deli.  
• Cook and bake more; but freeze more too!  It's been fun to plan out the week's food schedule. Plus now when I'm hungry I don't have to stare obliviously into the fridge and wonder what to eat. We recently were gifted with a waffle maker and my hubby has become waffle king. He's making whole wheat batches for breakfast and freezing the rest for his days off.  It's great! This also cuts down on eating out, which saves money and calories. (except the days leading up to our baby's arrival, we're trying to get in last-minute date nights)

Love Lots,

MommySF

Centering @ UCSF

Becoming a first time parent is nerve racking, there's so much information out there on do's/don'ts and what to expect.  So you can imagine our relief after meeting with our awesome midwife Sharon Wiener at UCSF who told us about Centering (A great perk is that she's the moderator of our group).

"Centering takes women out of exam rooms and into groups for their prenatal care. Women complete the conventional medical history and physical exam in a doctor's office or clinic and then are invited to join a group of eight to 12 women or couples who have similar due dates." 

We joined and thoroughly enjoy our experience. We share stories, concerns and most importantly feel supported and not alone.  It's been great for me and my hubby to meet other couples, create potential friendships and of course future playmates for our little one! 

A possible draw back may be the time commitment. The group meets once a month for 2 hours, the first 8 months, then bimonthly until you're due. The class provides you with an awesome reference guide of what to expect during your pregnancy. The information from both the handouts and the class provided us with so much information that when we enrolled in our birth class, we felt like we had done it already. 

A typical session plays out like this:

• the first 1/2 hour is spent taking your own weight, blood pressure and meeting w/ the midwife
• gather to meet and go over questions/ concerns based on a loose agenda
• bathroom breaks and plenty of snacks to enjoy are a big plus

If you are still early in your pregnancy and have a flexible schedule, do check out Centering at UCSF, I believe classes meet at all 3 campuses. Feel free to email me with any questions.

Love Lots,

MommySF 

Baby Showers, No Storage, Oh My!

City living has its perks; walkable communities, shopping, eateries, etc. But it also has its draw backs; mainly small living spaces! With a baby on the way, so much goes through ones mind, do we need a bigger place?, should we move out of the city?, how will we afford our lifestyle while being good parents? and of course many more lurking doubts keeping us up in the wee hours of the morning.

So when things began progressing in our pregnancy, you can imagine the anxiety that blanketed me when asked about a baby shower.  It was really the last thing on my mind and the last thing I really wanted.  Why do I need people to buy me things I should be providing for my child? So what if so many others have done and continue to do it? Must I be like everyone else? Plus where would I put everything? Can't I just buy things as I need them?

Well can you imagine telling my mom and mother-in-law that yeah I understand this is the first grandchild, but I don't want a shower, ha I quickly lost that game.  In fact I had two showers. Since I gave in, I thought I might as well just let life carry me where it wants. So there I was agonizing over these showers and what to register for.  Both my hubby and I are environmentally conscience and many of the baby items we were interested in were organic and low VOCs (volatile organic compounds). After some searching we found this fabulous place on Chestnut Street called Giggle.

Why we love Giggle:

• Giggle buys and sells products based on a certain criteria and are scrutinized to meet high standards
• The employees are super knowledgable, friendly and oh so patient! Most employees are parents, so they bring a layer of their own expertise and advice, which you don't find at some other retailers
• They are local, started in Los Angeles, most products are produced by American companies
• Awesome Best Baby Checklist makes it easy to register, even if you don't buy everything from them
• You can register for gift cards, great for future use

The showers went great, everyone had a great time and the baby already has a bank account! But there were a few guests who purchased items off the registry with no gift receipt, so we found ourselves contemplating what to do with 3 bouncy seats and enough toys and clothes for twins!  So we tried our luck on craigslist and will donate everything else to friends or goodwill.  

For the items we are keeping but don't need for several months we found these awesome stackable 12 gallon flip-top storage bins from costco for only $6. They are great for any small space and fit great in our closets. I can't find it on their site, but there are plenty at 10th Street SF store.

*I also found this Martha Stewart episode helpful: Martha Stewart- Baby Must Haves

Love Lots,

MommySF

39 Weeks and Counting

The cliche' time flies really becomes so evident when 9 months of gestation quickly comes down to the last 2 weeks. Where did all that time go? I know for the last few months I was busy with 3 baby showers, Christmas and the New Year but what about the months before. Being blessed with an easy and uncomplicated pregnancy I guess answers it, as I was truly able to live life as I did before the bun got into the oven.

The weeks after we found out were the hardest, as getting off the sofa seemed impossible. The term "morning sickness", which I found doesn't apply to only the morning had me spinning all day long. I thankfully didn't spend anytime befriending the toilet but the whooziness just wouldn't go away. At least not until literally week 12, it was like a switch and I was able to get back to business.

I quickly signed-up for prenatal yoga at the Presidio YMCA and got outdoors walking. Acupuncture also seemed to work. I was introduced to an awesome acupuncturist that helped me throughout the pregnancy. Besides check-ins, I also tried something called the "Calm Baby" treatment, which helps deliver a calm baby (I'll keep you posted if that worked). But if you need a little boost check out Cass Hicks on Union Street, not only is she great at what she does, she's a gem.

I must say though, now with 14 days left, routine day-to-day activities have become a chore.  For example sleep, no... it wasn't 8 hours a night for the last 39 weeks, but it was acceptable up until this week. The bathroom breaks every hour are annoying and once I'm awake around 6am it's hard to get any rest. But I'm proud of my body that can make it through the day feeling refreshed and aware.

With such amazing weather over the last few weeks, staying outdoors has been relatively easy.  As sometimes getting the baby's room cleaned and organized takes up most of my time.

This is my first pregnancy and it's an amazing experience to watch my body change and adapt to the baby growing inside.  This pregnancy has been the easiest milestone I have yet achieved in the my 32 years of life. I'm looking forward to the day we meet face to face and gaze at each other.

Love Lots,
MommySF

Locals:
Cass Hicks, Acupuncture
Presidio YMCA