Archive for July, 2008
Everyone told me bringing home my baby would be the best moment of my life. Whether I met her in the delivery room or an airport lounge, all time would stand still, a spotlight would shine down on my husband and I as if we were in a movie, and dramatic violin music would swell in the background. Much to my amazement, all of this was true.
E.’s escort handed her to me at Albany International Airport last November, ending our years-long journey into the world of infertility treatments, and finally, adoption, and setting us on the path of instant parenthood. To say I was elated was an understatement. But the more pressing feeling was disbelief. Not only had we been handed the most beautiful child in the world, we were expected to take her home. Immediately. And reality sank in fast. Here was an eight-month-old who was, unlike the picture sitting on our entertainment center for the past three months, active. Crawling. Crying. Laughing and grieving. She had her own personality and was not afraid of telling us how our new lives would be. And though she did come with a “manual” from her Foster Parents, she didn’t seem to think it was required reading on the plane ride over.
Read the rest of this entry »
You don’t have to be Sheryl Crow or hire a personal party planner to have a Green Baby Shower. In fact, you don’t need to spend much money at all. An eco-friendly baby shower not only saves on waste but also on cash. Here are some fun ideas to get you started:
Email invitations.
Modernize and save on paper. Nowadays everyone has email, even your Great Aunt Grete (okay, maybe give her a phone call) so there is no excuse to use snail mail anymore. There are some great website available to keep your party invites organized. While you are at it, take this opportunity to start your baby’s website.
Break out your good china, your sturdy ceramics, your plastic picnic plates or all of the above.
Basically, skip the paper. Yeah, I know, you don’t want to wash the dishes. Play the pregnant card and ask your partner to do them for you. After all, you can barely reach the sink. While you’re at it, use cloth napkins and recycled glass bottles for drinks and flower arrangements.
Buy your food local and organic.
Visit the local farmer’s market and purchase that fancy goat cheese you’ve been craving to serve with that fresh olive bread at the next booth over. Get imaginative with radishes, asparagus and jicama. Baby Showers are not expected to be full-on sit-down meals so schedule it between meals and serve fun snacks.
Notify your guests of the theme and ask them to bring gifts in the same vein.
Such as organic bedding, clothes, bath towels and dolls, biodegradable or cloth diapers, wooden toys, and BPA-free bottles. If you are sending e-vites, add links to your favorite baby gift sites (we of course know mine is www.WhatEveryBabyNeeds.com). Or, include a link to the earth friendly gift registry of choice. You can also suggest that they find creative green ways of wrapping their gifts such as with a baby blanket, the comics or in reusable tote bags. Go one step further and ask your guests to carpool.
Skip the paper maiche and balloons and keep decorations simple with things you find around your house and yard such as candles, pillows, plants and flowers.
Consider baby shower games that fit your theme such as making crafts out of recyclables.
Decorate an old cigar box with bottle caps, candy wrappers or magazine cut-outs. Then ask everyone to contribute a special note to the mom-to-be to put in her special box. Use beads from old necklaces to put together a bracelet for the guest of honor to wear during labor to remember her support system. Use items from nature to assemble a baby mobile or ornaments. The ideas are limitless.
Get creative with party favors as well.
Some ideas include, handmade natural soaps, wildflower seed packets, or organic tea.
No matter what, remember to have fun. The simplest way to be “green” is to smile and be gracious, appreciating what we have and not wanting for more.
When it came time for me to have a baby shower, I did some research on-line to find fun activities and unconventional rituals. Before long, I learned of a ceremony to honor pregnant women called the Blessing Way. Originally a traditional Navajo healing ceremony, as with most inductions into western life, the Blessing Way has been modified and melded to work for any spiritual intention. Most importantly, it is meant to celebrate the woman about to give birth and imbibe her with strength for the important journey ahead.
After reading over different ideas for things to do at what I had decidedly termed my Blessing Way, I chose a few that best suited me and called up my friend Sarah to ask her to host it. Admittedly, she was a little taken aback at first. While Sarah is certainly “crunchy”, she had never heard of a Blessing Way and didn’t have much experience with “pagan” ceremonies. I assured her that it wouldn’t be anything too far out, just a different take on an already familiar tradition of throwing a party for a pregnant friend. She agreed, listened to my ideas, and set about inviting folks.
Not Your Usual Shower
Many Blessing Ways include grooming the mom-to-be. I am the first to admit that I’m not touchy-feely, so although my friend Nicole was all for washing my feet (eww!), I declined. I did however like the idea of having my own throne and so a special chair, okay futon, was set-up for me and adorned with flowers and candles to make me feel special.
Read the rest of this entry »
I know that using those disposable bags we get from the grocery store are bad for the environment. I try to use re-usable bags at the grocery store whenever possible…which usually means every other time I’m there. When I use them, I inevitably forget to put them back in the car for the next shopping trip, and only remember after I come home with a car load of groceries.
What is worse is that we often make pit-stops at the grocery store at least every other day, if not every day to pick up dinner (I’m really bad at planning dinner), or something for the baby that I have forgotten. I can’t image how many of the plastic bags we use in a year.
After seeing this presentation from the PoconoRecord.com, I’m committed to never forgetting those bags again. I highly recommend everybody see this very startling slide show. Be one of the 1 out of every 5!
Now we just need to figure out what to use when we walk the dog…
ok, no I didn’t spend 5 minutes chatting with Sandra Boynton (wouldn’t that be cool!), but she did spend some time with reporter Gwynne Watkins from Babble.com and I don’t know of any parent that isn’t as big a fan as their children of her menagerie of singing/dancing animals.
Read the interview here. (and by the way, if you haven’t discovered Babble.com yet, I suggest you check it out. It is a great online magazine for parents)
Many parents like us create a baby blog when their children are born, or frequently put pictures up of the kids on public picture sharing sites like Flickr to keep loved ones up-to-date on the day-to-day life with baby, and to have an outlet to talk about the wonderful (and face it, sometimes frustrating) experiences that go along with raising baby.
Some are private, and some are public for anyone to read and enjoy. But who is reading them? Most people are harmless. Others may have agendas. A column in today’s Wall Street Journal is one reporter (and mom’s) perspective on the topic of privacy and the downside to blogging about your child.
