On the journey of motherhood, are you? Same, it is a beautiful but overwhelming time, but you will get through it! The newborn stage can feel like it is dragging as well as going by way too fast, then you blink and your wee babe is no longer a wee babe! During this time you may also be interested in using eco-friendly products to replace the ones that are disposable, or looking for ways to reduce your waste. Let's face it, newborns create a lot of waste.
To keep you in the loop, my posts contain affiliate links! This means that if you buy something through one of those links, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
As a mom who is always interested in finding eco-friendly ways to replace my disposable products, I did some research while I was a new mom and came up with a few reusable options for myself. There were some products that I noticed I would burn through and it made me feel guilty that I was throwing away so much. I wanted to share the things that I found with you so that you can discover what is best for your family in terms of reducing your waste.
Nursing Pads
One product that I found was very helpful for me was nursing pads. When my milk came in, I was using disposable nursing pads and in the first few days would go through a few pairs a day. I had them in all the time and originally bought some reusable nursing pads that did basically nothing. I would feel wet immediately and if I leaked any amount, I felt like it leaked through to my bra.
A friend of mine had bought more reusable nursing pads than she needed and gave me about six pairs by Mother Ease. When I tried these nursing pads, they were a total game changer. Wearing these nursing pads, I never felt wet or uncomfortable and could wear them 24 hours with no problem. They were extremely comfortable and you couldn't see them under a nursing bra. I got the Stay Dry pack and they truly did keep me dry while I nursed.
The fabric in these nursing pads is also very soft, so you don't notice they are there. They cover a large area of the breast as well, which I think gives them a better ability to absorb your milk if it leaks. Even after I leaked in them and I would touch them to see if I could feel milk, they never felt wet. Definitely a great nursing pad that I can't say enough good about!
Compostable Bags
I mentioned compostable bags in my September favorites post this week, but they are making an appearance here as well! To recap here, I felt like using plastic bags that I got from the grocery store or Target was getting to be wasteful and switched to compostable bags pretty early on. It took me a long time to go through them all, which was fantastic, and it made me feel better knowing that at least the bag could break down in a landfill along with some diaper parts.
These work best, I would assume, with diapers that are partially compostable, like Naty diapers, which we used to use. We eventually want to revert back to using Naty diapers once my business ramps up, since we did feel like the extra expense of compostable diapers was worth it for being more eco-friendly. Cloth diapers is also a great option that I had high hopes of doing, but could never get it to stick for us.
Glass Bottles
One product that I was adamant about from the get-go when I was pregnant was that I wanted to use glass bottles for pumped breast milk. A lot of the bottles out there are plastic, but I wanted to know that when I heated up the milk that the bottle would not melt or possibly release toxins from the plastic.
We enjoyed using Dr. Brown's glass bottles, which also have a little piece inside that prevents colic and gas in baby's tummy. These bottles were great because we could put the milk in them and then place the bottle in a bowl of warm water to heat up. And when your kids are no longer taking bottles and you don't use them anymore, you can recycle the glass bottle.
Some people might be nervous about glass breaking, but despite being the most clumsy human ever, I never dropped or broke a bottle. I found getting the smaller bottles was also better for accidental knocking over, since the bottle was closer to its surface and wouldn't break.
Using Burp Clothes for Many Things
I used burp clothes for a lot of different uses. I used them as traditional burp clothes, but I also used them as paper towels and tissues. There were times where I might spill some milk (tragedy) and just wipe it up with a burp cloth. While I nursed, because my daughter was a slob, I would tuck a burp cloth into my bra under my breast to keep my bra and shirt and body from getting soaked.
Now I also use burp clothes as a tissue of sorts if Lydia wakes up with a runny nose or decides to cry for forever and needs a full face wipe-up. You can also use them as napkins on the regular or in a pinch! I still usually have at least one burp cloth stuffed into my diaper bag somewhere as a tissue/paper towel/wipe substitute so that I don't use as many disposable products. They are super easy to throw in the wash with all the other laundry I am already doing.
Have you used any of these products to be more eco-friendly in your home? Comment below with your eco-friendly mom hacks and products!
xoxo
TBS