New baby, new me?

I'm not one for new year's resolutions. If I want to make a change, I try to do it in the here and now. Why wait?

But I've been thinking of sharing my ideas and the surprise arrival of baby number 2 (our Little A came 5 weeks early) has prompted me to write.

Basically, I want to try to live more sustainably. I do all the usual things - recycle, careful with water and energy use, check out charity shops/secondhand for clothes/toys/books, etc. I get irritated with articles that tell me to only boil the water I need each time. I know! Tell me something new!

But suddenly, there is something new. Zero plastic and zero waste blogs keep crossing my way. They can be pretty intimidating lifestyle changes, but there are some good ideas.

I'm not going zero waste! Many of these people are devoting all their time to this  challenge. One blogger spends 4 hours a day writing about her experiences. 4 hours a day! I now have two kids and a job! Ain't nobody got time for that!

Of course many of these bloggers are doing it as a job - writing books, getting advertising, etc. They devote a whole year to it and make huge personal sacrifices.

I much prefer incremental changes and the idea of "minimal gains" - slowly change enough small things and they add up to big wins. I hope the changes I make can be maintained much more easily. I can also then keep stepping it up as I gain in confidence and try new things.

So, some of my changes:

Less plastic
I actually began looking at this when Little E was born. We had a lovely book called "Your baby week by week" and it mentioned the environmental impact of having a baby. I never got my head around reusable nappies (so many types!), but our book suggested they were other things we could do, like look out for biodegradable nappy bags. I didn't realise there was such a thing. We started using Ocado when Little E was born and amazingly they stocked all sorts of products that were just what I was looking for.

Nappy bags by Naty - biodegradable nappy bags. Used them since Little E born. They are amazing. No difference in performance from plastic ones that I can tell.

Naty also do sanitary towels, which again I have used and don't notice any dip in quality. However, they only seem to do quite light towels. For maternity pads I found Natracare. Soft, absorbent, biodegradable.

Less waste

1) Reduce your wet wipes. Cutting back on baby wipes is something I did with Little E. I use muslins for everything - as a bib, mopping hands/faces, etc. I dunk in some water if necessary, then take home for a wash. It amazes me how so many people keep using wet wipes for wiping little hands, etc, long after nappies are out the window or they are old enough to wash their hands in the bathroom.

2) Washable breast pads. With a lot of support I breastfed Little E until he was about 19 months and things are going well with Little A. I'd heard ladies might leak a bit while breastfeeding, so bought some disposable pads to get me through the early stages. Word up people... With Little E I leaked until I finished feeding. Not a little, a lot! I've seen fertility statues where rivers of milk are depicted flowing from their breasts. I know what that feels like! It got better, but I ended up wearing disposable pads for over a year. I'd heard of washable ones, but was so tired I never got round to investigating.

This time I have bamboo washable breast pads from Cheeky Wipes. Absolutely chuffed! Really comfortable, absorbent, stick them in the wash and dry quickly on a radiator. Fab.

Might think about their washable sanitary pads...

I'm sure there are other things, but those are my marginal gains. Hope it gives people ideas and feel free to share your ideas with me.