Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
For Women's Eyes Only
If I have any male readers (at this point, I am not even sure I have any female readers!) then I apologize in advance, but this posting is targeted at a female audience.
On a personal feminine note, after I began cloth-diapering, I also began noticing how much waste I was producing myself as a woman. Diapering is not the only way to go cloth. Breast-feeding moms probably already know that in addition to all of the disposable breast pads, several companies also offer "reusable" breast pads, although they can be harder to find. Some of these are not nice quality at all, but I really like the Avent-brand reusable pads (I have never used FuzziBunz pads, although I know they make them). They are soft, absorbent, easily washed and dried, and like cloth diapers, you'll need to change them a bit more often and they are expensive up front but cheaper in the long run. You can find them at Babies R Us, and I highly recommend them.
All women, whether or not we are moms, use a product very similar to disposable diapers on a regular basis. Pads and tampons clog our toilets and fill up our landfills at an alarming rate. So why isn't anyone talking about it? Probably because the discussion is at best taboo and at worst disgusting to people. But there actually are green options available to women who don't want to clutter up the landfill (with diapers or pads)! For women who prefer tampons, I recommend something called the Diva Cup. I have personally never used one (I don't like tampons, either), so I spoke to a couple of my green friends. They love them! It is a one-time expense, without worrying about clogging the toilet, filling the landfill, or overnight leaks. Easy to use and comfortable to wear, I am assured, although one friend added the caveat that it is probably a better product for women who have had sexual experience, as that will make it easier to insert and remove.
For women who prefer the pads-route (such as myself), there are cloth pads not dissimilar to cloth diapers. There are actually many brands available, so I won't name them all, but I personally prefer FuzziBunz and Happy Heiny's (another brand known for their diapers) over brands such as Glad Rags and Sckoon Organic. They are comfortable, very absorbent, easy to use without bunching, and have all of the other qualities of a good cloth diaper. I keep a small covered trash can next to the toilet and put the pads in there when I change them. Then I throw them in with my kids' cloth diapers, washed with the same detergent on the same cycle in the same temperatures. They can be dried in a dryer or on a line. I don't have much trouble with staining, and I have actually had less leaking than when I used plastic pads (I suspect because I change these more often). So easy, and so much better for the planet!
On a personal feminine note, after I began cloth-diapering, I also began noticing how much waste I was producing myself as a woman. Diapering is not the only way to go cloth. Breast-feeding moms probably already know that in addition to all of the disposable breast pads, several companies also offer "reusable" breast pads, although they can be harder to find. Some of these are not nice quality at all, but I really like the Avent-brand reusable pads (I have never used FuzziBunz pads, although I know they make them). They are soft, absorbent, easily washed and dried, and like cloth diapers, you'll need to change them a bit more often and they are expensive up front but cheaper in the long run. You can find them at Babies R Us, and I highly recommend them.
All women, whether or not we are moms, use a product very similar to disposable diapers on a regular basis. Pads and tampons clog our toilets and fill up our landfills at an alarming rate. So why isn't anyone talking about it? Probably because the discussion is at best taboo and at worst disgusting to people. But there actually are green options available to women who don't want to clutter up the landfill (with diapers or pads)! For women who prefer tampons, I recommend something called the Diva Cup. I have personally never used one (I don't like tampons, either), so I spoke to a couple of my green friends. They love them! It is a one-time expense, without worrying about clogging the toilet, filling the landfill, or overnight leaks. Easy to use and comfortable to wear, I am assured, although one friend added the caveat that it is probably a better product for women who have had sexual experience, as that will make it easier to insert and remove.
For women who prefer the pads-route (such as myself), there are cloth pads not dissimilar to cloth diapers. There are actually many brands available, so I won't name them all, but I personally prefer FuzziBunz and Happy Heiny's (another brand known for their diapers) over brands such as Glad Rags and Sckoon Organic. They are comfortable, very absorbent, easy to use without bunching, and have all of the other qualities of a good cloth diaper. I keep a small covered trash can next to the toilet and put the pads in there when I change them. Then I throw them in with my kids' cloth diapers, washed with the same detergent on the same cycle in the same temperatures. They can be dried in a dryer or on a line. I don't have much trouble with staining, and I have actually had less leaking than when I used plastic pads (I suspect because I change these more often). So easy, and so much better for the planet!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
We're Back!
We took a bit of a break, first because I had nothing to write, and then because I could not be inspired to write. The Great Tohoku Earthquake (followed by the massive Tsunami that changed hundreds of thousands of people's lives forever) shook my world as well as Japan. I will not go into detail about myself, since I did not set this blog up to be a diary for myself, but it is suffice to say that I speak Japanese, I lived in Japan for a period of time before I was married, and I have many Japanese friends. I dream of one day returning there with my family to share the land and the culture that I love with my children.
Watching the footage of the Tsunami sweeping through the towns of Tohoku was heart-rending for me. The streets looked familiar - they could have been a couple of blocks over from where I lived. The suffering of the people is beyond my comprehension, and when I think about the fact that mothers lost children and children lost parents, I feel sick. I can't even bring myself to think about all of the animals that are searching for their families (I have 3 dogs, and they were my babies before I had babies), and the nuclear disaster which has gotten so much alarmist press over here but which continues to ruin the livelihoods of Japanese farmers over there. I can't really articulate these feelings, and actually, I don't want to. But it has been very difficult for me to write about the insignificant issues and complications of parenting while there are parents out there searching for their babies.
Please click the following link to visit the website of The American Red Cross and donate what you can afford to give to help the people of Japan. The disaster isn't over the moment it ceases to be 24-hour news. Thank you.
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