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.