THE
EVERYTHING
GREEN BABY
BOOK
From pregnancy to baby's first year an easy and
affordable guide to help you care for your baby
and the earth!
Jenn Savedge
Copyright 2010 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
An Everything Series Book.
Everything and everything.com are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.
Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN 10: 1-60550-367-3
ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-367-7
eISBN 13: 978-1-6055-0990-7
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.
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THE EVERYTHING GREEN BABY BOOK
Dear Reader,
Before my kids were born, I thought I was doing a pretty good job of being an environmentalist. I was a park ranger for the National Park Service and I had the time, energy, and money to invest in making earth-friendly choices. But the moment I became pregnant with my first child, I was thrust into a world I had never known before a world of disposable, plastic, energy-wasting, and planet-trashing everything. I was struggling to find the best solutions for my growing baby and the planet. And now I suddenly had no time, no energy, and a whole lot less money than I had before to devote to making eco-savvy choices for my family and the planet.
Thus began my quest to find the easiest and healthiest ways to go green as a parent and to pass that information along to other parents. Going green does not have to be complicated, expensive, or labor intensive. In fact, the essence of going green is to keep things as simple and natural as possible. And it's one of the very best things that we as parents can do to protect our family's health and ensure that our children inherit a clean and abundant environment.
Welcome to the EVERYTHING Series!
These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project, gain a new hobby, comprehend a fascinating topic, prepare for an exam, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten.
You can choose to read an Everything book from cover to cover or just pick out the information you want from our four useful boxes: e-questions, e-facts, e-alerts, and e-ssentials. We give you everything you need to know on the subject, but throw in a lot of fun stuff along the way, too.
We now have more than 400 Everything books in print, spanning such wide-ranging categories as weddings, pregnancy, cooking, music instruction, foreign language, crafts, pets, New Age, and so much more. When you're done reading them all, you can finally say you know Everything!
Answers to common questions
Important snippets of information
Urgent warnings
Quick handy tips
PUBLISHER Karen Cooper
DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier
MANAGING EDITOR, EVERYTHING SERIES Lisa Laing
COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert
ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Brett Palana-Shanahan
DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Brett Palana-Shanahan
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hillary Thompson
EVERYTHING SERIES COVER DESIGNER Erin Alexander
LAYOUT DESIGNERS Colleen Cunningham, Elisabeth Lariviere, Ashley Vierra, Denise Wallace
Visit the entire Everything series at www.everything.com
For Don, Emily, and Erin, without whom this book would have never been born.
Acknowledgments
I am so very thankful to all of my friends, family, and coworkers who helped this book become a reality. First and foremost, I owe a special thanks to Melanie Renzulli, for connecting me with the right people to bring this book to life. And thank you to Bob Diforio, my agent, and Brett Palana-Shanahan, my editor at Adams Media, for their encouragement and patience throughout the book writing process.
Thanks to Megan Williams, Liz Lewis, Missy Forder, Sandy Schaberl, Brooke Downing, and the all the gals of the Luray Mom's Club for providing me with countless hours of support as well as adequate supplies of caffeine, wine, and chocolate! Thank you to all of the moms of the Green Moms Carnival (www.organicmania.com/green-moms-carnival), who shared their expertise, questions, concerns, and experiences on green parenting. And finally, thank you, thank you, thank you to my family: my mom, my brother, my mother- and father-in-law, my sisters-in-law, my husband, and of course, my beautiful daughters, whose love and support I cherish more than words can say.
Top 10 Ways to Green Your Baby
Breastfeed.
Use cloth diapers.
Walk with your baby whenever possible.
Borrow or purchase gently used baby gear.
Reuse and then recycle.
B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bag/Bottle).
Green your baby's bath.
Install CFLs.
Buy organic.
Teach your baby to love her planet.
Introduction: Why Go Green?
THERE ARE FEW PHASES in life more overwhelming and exciting than becoming a new parent. Life changes from the moment you learn your new baby is on the way, as you are suddenly faced with a barrage of decisions to make about the health and welfare of your baby. And even if you never thought about it before, you will probably begin to see the environment you live in the environment your baby will grow up in from a whole different set of eyes. For the first time, issues such as global warming, air quality, water pollution, food security, and biodiversity stand to affect your child's future as well as your own.
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