I guess I'll start by setting the scene. I have a seven almost eight month old baby who is my world. I adore him more than anything else, period. When I was pregnant I put my college career on hold to alleviate the stress it was putting on my body. When I got a job because I thought both my little one and I were ready for some space I quit it when I found this was not the case. There is never a situation where I don't think about what is best for my family (my son, my partner, and myself), and I suppose that's how I've somehow transformed into what most would refer to as an "eco-friendly" mother.
I'm "that" mom. The one labeled as a "hippy" or at times even an "alarmist". I use cloth diapers because not only is it a fantastic way to save money, it also produces less waste and I don't have to worry about putting nasty chemicals against my son's skin at every diaper change. For the most part I make my own baby food because I worry about the preservatives and nutrient loss found in commercial baby foods. I even have a refrigerator full of organic produce for me and my family to snack on (I"ll admit, I'm a little addicted to my local natural foods store). On top of all of that I don't have any chemical cleaners in my house, which is weird because I never thought I would be one of "those" people; You know, the ones that are afraid of what all those long scary words on the back of the packaging mean. It's interesting how one change leads to another and another and another.
I guess I can say I have a bit of a "natural" history. My mom worked for a organic food co-op and I volunteered there as well. While we worked there we got into the habit of eating organic foods and for a while I was a vegetarian. A lot of the time we used natural cleaning products at work and at home because we had them in the store and they were convenient, but after the company went bankrupt we went back to living the way we always had before (shopping at Walmart, using Lysol and Clorox and all the rest).
So what was it that sent me back into the natural living universe? I'd have to say it was my pregnancy. When I was pregnant I was terrified of all chemicals and what effect they could have on my soon to be born baby. So when Dylan and I moved into our first apartment, we took the time to find cleaners that were all natural and safe. At this point I had already been researching cloth diapering and knew that for my diapers at least, it would be best to use a natural detergent (in order to minimize wear and maximize absorbency).
Now, unlike some cloth diaper mommies out there, I'm not all high and mighty about the fact that I chose cloth. I know how convenient disposables are because I started out with them. Despite the months of research and planning I had poured into cloth diapering, I ended up being in the hospital with my son much longer than I had ever planned and honestly just slipped into the convenience of Huggies. It was kind of funny in a way because even though we had all of these natural cleaners and these teeny tiny little pre-fold diapers, Luvs became a staple in our house for the first four months of Josiah's life. Talk about when worlds collide.
After we started cloth diapering it wasn't long before I started using our special natural detergent (Country Save if anyone is wondering) for all of our clothes. For the record it does an amazing job and I don't have to worry about any chemical build up in my washing machine. Well in addition to this adjustment, I noticed just the other day that I've completely stopped using dryer sheets (as they can't be used with cloth diapers). I honestly haven't noticed a difference in my laundered clothes and inadvertently I'm creating less waste!