So this weekend was overly filled with baby prep. It started off once again with garage saling for equipment. We were hoping to find a duo stroller (only Graco and Snap-n-go make ones that actually work for twin infants) and a nice crib (twins tend to like to sleep together so we may not need two). Alas we found none, but did come home with 4 pack-n-play (2 for home, one for each grand parents house) and a swing. The steal of the week though was an almost new bike trailer for $30 ($300 new).
After the garage sales we went to the local twins group ice cream social where we learned about the twins support group and some of the services the provide.
Our last stop of the day was an end of summer BBQ for our regional church young adults. One of our adult friends just finished having twins and provided my wife with a variety of maternity outfits. My wife said it was like Christmas. This means that she won't have to buy as much specialty clothing since many of the clothes were designed to expand for the extra space that twins need.
-- Post From My iPhone
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Natural is not always safe
One of our friends recommended a natural remedy for the stomach aches that my wife has been getting due to the pressure on her stomach. She had used it during her pregnancy and so I went out and bought a bottle. Lucky for us my wife is an avid web user. While I was at the store, she found out that one of the ingredents, papaya extract (AKA paparin) may cause miscarages and early births. After checking several academic and health sites we found that while papaya juice appears to be safe in rats, several studies on rats have shown the natural latex in papayas to cause miscarages. Since the product does not state whether the extract is only juice or also contains pulp, we have decided not to use it. Better to be safe even if it is a good product.
-- Post From My iPhone
References:
http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FBJN%2FBJN88_02%2FS0007114502001526a.pdf&code=f71cf3d4dc8863e7e4a6c55bf429b91c
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/healthy-living/pregnancy/papaya-avoid-during-pregnancy
-- Post From My iPhone
References:
http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FBJN%2FBJN88_02%2FS0007114502001526a.pdf&code=f71cf3d4dc8863e7e4a6c55bf429b91c
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/healthy-living/pregnancy/papaya-avoid-during-pregnancy
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
To Use or Not To Use That is the Question
So we have been going through our house in an effort to remove toxins and pesticides. The issue that I have been having is whether to actually dispose of the chemicals or use them. The chemicals are already low toxicicity because I have issues with perfumes and chemical smells and we live in a house with septic.
So the question is to dispose or use them up? Either way we will be buying new greener products to replace them with.
So far we are using up the laundry detergents and some of the other less toxic cleaners, but are unsure about the other chemicals.
So the question is to dispose or use them up? Either way we will be buying new greener products to replace them with.
So far we are using up the laundry detergents and some of the other less toxic cleaners, but are unsure about the other chemicals.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Green up til now.
We are now at week 13 and so far this is what we have accomplished in our efforts.
1+ years of fertility treatments covered partially by insurance ~$2000 ($4000 total)
4 Visits for checking up on the babies ~$200 ($1000 total covered)
Carbon footprint: .27 Tons for transportation
The past two weeks we have been hitting garage sales and our church had a large rummage sales. We acquired ~12 outfits for each age group (newborn, 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12) up to one year. We also purchased plastic totes to organize the clothing into. We will be using these as the babies grow out of them to purchase and store new used clothing. Since garage sales only happen during the summer. We believe that this is a necessary evil, but as we have never thrown out a plastic tote, I think that they will get may years of use. My wife also decided that she must have a set of outfits at a local retail store that were on "clearance" and Buy one get one free. We also found a good soft front/back baby carrier at a local Maternity and Baby thrift store. The carrier was in near new condition and only cost $10.
Pros: We were able to find lots of good used clothing at garage sales in our area. Better than what goodwill or value village often carries and for $.25-$.50 per item rather than $4 at GW or VV or $8 at Retail.
Cons: You have to drive to the sales. Since we don't know the sexes of the babies yet, we couldn't purchase gender specific clothing which was most of what the sales had. Many of the sales had clothing that didn't match up with the age of our children (i.e. summer clothing when we needed winter and winter clothing when we needed summer).
Total cost $45 Garage Sales, $20 Retail.
Carbon Footprint: < .1 Tons
What we have learned
We will need to shop garage sales several times more to find the correct clothing for the age ranges (i.e. we still need newborn winter clothing). We determined that we needed the boxes because we need to plan ahead as you can't guarantee that sales will have the right kind of clothing when you need it. We were unable to find any twin strollers or car seats in good condition at garage sales, but found several single strollers.
What We Have and What We Need
Clothing: 50%
Toys: None for 0-6, only books for 6-12
0/1 Twin Stroller
0/2 Infant Car Seat Adaptable Stroller Bases
0/2 Infant Car Seats
0/2 Infant Car Seat Bases
1/2 Infant Front/Back Carriers
0/2 Cribs and mattresses
0/1 Changing Tables
0/1 Dressers
0/2 Infant Seats (Bepod or similar)
0/2 Playard Fencing (1 for home, 1 for travel instead of 2 playpens)
0/1 Large play mat for travel
0/2 Mobiles
1/2 Crib sheet and liner sets
0/1 Baby Monitor
1+ years of fertility treatments covered partially by insurance ~$2000 ($4000 total)
4 Visits for checking up on the babies ~$200 ($1000 total covered)
Carbon footprint: .27 Tons for transportation
The past two weeks we have been hitting garage sales and our church had a large rummage sales. We acquired ~12 outfits for each age group (newborn, 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12) up to one year. We also purchased plastic totes to organize the clothing into. We will be using these as the babies grow out of them to purchase and store new used clothing. Since garage sales only happen during the summer. We believe that this is a necessary evil, but as we have never thrown out a plastic tote, I think that they will get may years of use. My wife also decided that she must have a set of outfits at a local retail store that were on "clearance" and Buy one get one free. We also found a good soft front/back baby carrier at a local Maternity and Baby thrift store. The carrier was in near new condition and only cost $10.
Pros: We were able to find lots of good used clothing at garage sales in our area. Better than what goodwill or value village often carries and for $.25-$.50 per item rather than $4 at GW or VV or $8 at Retail.
Cons: You have to drive to the sales. Since we don't know the sexes of the babies yet, we couldn't purchase gender specific clothing which was most of what the sales had. Many of the sales had clothing that didn't match up with the age of our children (i.e. summer clothing when we needed winter and winter clothing when we needed summer).
Total cost $45 Garage Sales, $20 Retail.
Carbon Footprint: < .1 Tons
What we have learned
We will need to shop garage sales several times more to find the correct clothing for the age ranges (i.e. we still need newborn winter clothing). We determined that we needed the boxes because we need to plan ahead as you can't guarantee that sales will have the right kind of clothing when you need it. We were unable to find any twin strollers or car seats in good condition at garage sales, but found several single strollers.
What We Have and What We Need
Clothing: 50%
Toys: None for 0-6, only books for 6-12
0/1 Twin Stroller
0/2 Infant Car Seat Adaptable Stroller Bases
0/2 Infant Car Seats
0/2 Infant Car Seat Bases
1/2 Infant Front/Back Carriers
0/2 Cribs and mattresses
0/1 Changing Tables
0/1 Dressers
0/2 Infant Seats (Bepod or similar)
0/2 Playard Fencing (1 for home, 1 for travel instead of 2 playpens)
0/1 Large play mat for travel
0/2 Mobiles
1/2 Crib sheet and liner sets
0/1 Baby Monitor
About this blog
Three months ago, my wife and I found out that we were finally (after 4 years of trying and fertility treatments) going to be having children. Somewhat of a surprise was the fact that instead of one child, we were instead going to have twins. We know that they are Fraternal, but don't yet know the sexes.
Before conceiving, we had long ago decided that any child that we had we wanted to raise as greenly (environmentally, healthy and low cost) as possible. The fact that we are now having two has changed things, but it is still our goal to raise them as greenly as possible.
In this blog, I hope to be able to detail not only what we are doing to be green, but also the costs, problems and concerns that we have in trying to raise the twins. I hope to give with each post the carbon footprint of what we have accomplished along with the total cost. Our hope is that others may be able to use our experiences to raise green children of their own.
Before conceiving, we had long ago decided that any child that we had we wanted to raise as greenly (environmentally, healthy and low cost) as possible. The fact that we are now having two has changed things, but it is still our goal to raise them as greenly as possible.
In this blog, I hope to be able to detail not only what we are doing to be green, but also the costs, problems and concerns that we have in trying to raise the twins. I hope to give with each post the carbon footprint of what we have accomplished along with the total cost. Our hope is that others may be able to use our experiences to raise green children of their own.
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