Want to be eco friendly new mum

[strawberrysundayss]

Hi, I'm pregnant with my first child and am looking for any tips on how to be as eco friendly as possible. I'm a recent convert to to all this and trying to make positive changes in all areas of my life including impending motherhood.

I'm planning on using reusable nappies at least 80% of the time, aiming to limit single use items and buying non plastic items where possible. I'd really appreciate any tips from any mums out there who are doing this and how they found it.

A bit more about my situation, I'm self employed so will be back at work 2.5 days a week at 4 months and plan on sending DS to a childminder for those 2.5 days, so wondering how this will work with nappies etc.

I'm also looking into things like wooden toys/ furnishing, biodegradable wipes or plain old cloth and water. Anyways tips to make all these things realistic as a first time mum would be appreciated. All my friends think I'm crazy so would love to hear some success stories.

Thanks in advance!

Reusable wipes are brilliant. We use Cheeky Wipes.

We plan to use reusable nappies again (did with our first) from about 3 months. Until then I’m trying to buy relatively eco friendly disposable ones, preferably made from bamboo as it’s a more sustainable material. Also using biodegradable nappy sacks for these. You’ll need to talk with potential childminders to see if they’re happy to use the reusable nappies. I know the nursery we used for DD1 were happy to do so, as long as we showed them how they worked and sent in enough for changes each day.

We also use eBay/Facebook where possible to get stuff secondhand rather than buying new. E.g. toys and clothes bundles.

There’s a lot to be said for buying second hand when it comes to buying for a baby, regardless of any eco intentions! We bought very little new and we’re glad of it, dd is 9 months now and the things she’s already outgrown is shocking really, everything from equipment and clothes to toys has come and gone in a flash. She’s been a very unsettled baby so we ended up trying so many different secondhand seats and swings in an effort to find one comfy for her, but none worked and she wasn’t really put down for the first months of her life. I feel very guilty about a lot of it, she’s dhs first but not mine, and was a long time coming so his family has been absolutely bonkers with buying her things and it’s just been too much. I’m still overwhelmed by how much we got for Christmas. That might be half the battle, managing other people’s good intentions. Is there a nappy laundering service locally to you? You could ask for people to pay for that in the first few months in lieu of a baby gift to give you time to get into the swing of things.

Pretty much what pp said - reusable nappies and wipes. Buy clothes and toys etc second hand rather than new. Obviously you need new mattresses but cots and cribs are all over selling sites.

When we do use disposables (visiting friends or early days) we don't use nallt sacks - just roll the nappy up from front to back and use the tabs to secure into a little parcel. Works for all but the most extreme poonamis!

Why only 80% reusable? We don’t use nappy sacks for anything. I have used the same bag for life for dirty nappies since she was born (6 months) works a treat. Easily cleaned. I have reuseable breast pads that I plan to use as makeup wipes once they are no longer required. I also have cheeky wipes. They are way better than wet wipes.

Also reuseable nappies obviously. Missed that out. And wooden toys. Plastic toys are grim.

Wooden toys are great but expensive, plastic is fine if secondhand (I have never seen a wooden rocker or bouncer...).

If you're using cloth nappies you might as well use cloth wipes. Despite what some wipes may claim none are "biodegradable" and you should never ever flush them.

Instead of disposable nappy sacks, we use zipped wet bags which just get washed with the nappies. We also don't buy all the bath lotions and potions. Either water or a gentle bar of soap is fine for washing a baby with. Second hand is great for clothes and toys and books. The only things we bought new were the pram, the car seat and the cot/Moses basket mattresses

Remember reduce, reuse, recycle
Do you really need it?
Can you get it secondhand (Facebook market place) or then resell it/pass it on?
Recycle anything else

Wooden things are lovely but there is still an environmental cost and is Susan down the street has some nolonger loved used toys to give then this better.

Biodegradable wipes are a con, much better to use washable wipes. Also much cheaper in the long run.

Breastfeeding if you are able is more environmentally friendly and, again, cheaper.

If you have a toy library locally that can be a great way to borrow toys rather than buying them. Or as others have said buy second hand.

Look at eco friendly brands for clothing etc. Babi pur have some lovely things although they can be very expensive. Many of these brands also have a good resale market, rather than "fast fashion" from supermarkets.

I agree about second hand. We didn't buy much new when ours were little. There are a lot of plastic toys that seem to last years and do the rounds second hand like the jumperoo, the v tech walkers, Peppa pig small world etc. We had a mixture of wooden and plastic toys and some wooden toys have got a bit battered and don't look as new as the plastic ones. Although we donated and passed them on I imagine they'll end up in landfill a few years before the plastic stuff.

We also didn't buy new clothes. Got the majority from the charity shops and eBay for particular stuff.

@NerrSnerr but they’ll degrade a lot quicker than the plastic

Toy wise check out Whirli. It's a toy rental service. They have various subscriptions monthly or annually. I got an annual one for £100ish (I did have a discount code) that gives me access to £135 worth of toys at anytime. Once we're done I pick new one that get sent before I return the old ones so we're never out of toys. You can even rent baby gyms.

Fair enough @puds11. I'd probably buy the wooden version if buying new but think second hand plastic is better than brand new wood.

A couple of mums from my NCT group went out of their way to buy the expensive eco clothes and toys brand new so everyone can see how eco they were when it's actually cheaper just to buy second hand from the local charity shops but that wouldn't be so 'obvious' to others they didn't just buy their clothes from Asda.

One thing you should buy new is the car seat. Don’t buy that second hand.

Another thing you can try is a sling or wrap instead of buying a massive push chair /travel system. Then just get a second hand lightweight push chair for when they are too big to carry but too small to keep up.

Biodegradable wipes and nappies aren't really biodegradable as the conditions in landfill mean they wont breakdown. Plus reusable wipes are so much better. Cloth nappies are easier than you think so you'll probably be able to use more than 80% of the time, try to buy them second hand if you can.

Toys buy second hand, you can get nice wooden toys second hand on the facebook selling sites for much cheaper than new too.

I buy clothes second hand too which means I can buy more expensive brands like Frugi/jojo maman bebe etc for a lot cheaper.

Don't buy things until you actually need them (apart from maybe a pram and a crib) because theres so much you will find you think you need which you actually don't!

I agree @NerrSnerr. I think second hand wherever possible is better and keeps the plastic out of landfill for longer!

80 %reusable

Sounds sensible. Then you beat your self up about using plastic nappies when the baby has the runs, or if they start to sleep through at night and soak the mattress

We have a lot of second hand toys and books - a mix of wood and plastic. Some plastic toys are brilliant - Duplo, Lego, stacking cups and scoops for the bath.

The big thing for me is managing family and friends gifts - I plan out what we need so that when someone asks what DS would like for birthday I can X book or y toy.

Can I hijack this thread a little and ask for advice on washable wipes? I'm waiting for my lo to get a bit bigger before I use washable nappies but I can't imagine using washable wipes with some of the poonamies!

@Lilkat the washable wipes are actually far more effective at wiping up poo in my experience. Disposable wipes tend to smear it all around and I had to use about 10 at a time for some of the "poonamis" my baby had 😂

Of course you can always use a combination. Washable wipes for wees and disposable for poos, or whatever you feel comfortable with.

Have a look at the Cheeky Wipes website. They have lots of different options so you can see what sort you think will suit you. Also I think they do a trial pack with 4 or 5 different "types" of wipe so you can see which ones work for you. Everyone I know who switched to washable wipes raves about how much better it is 😊

I have thought of another way of being an eco friendly mum is to try to get into a local school you can walk/ cycle/ scooter to.

We use cheeky wipes but put coconut oil in with the water rather than essential oils. we also use reuseable nappies and I have to say they are so much better! most childcare accommodates them. There are lots of second hand markets such as mum to mum so worth getting bits from there including toys or charity shops so your reusing bits rather than buying new and you can sell bits on after. I also use reuseable breast pads which are far better than disposables as well as better for the environment. We try to only get what we need to prevent unnecessary waste and pass on what my baby has grown out of to people.we know are expecting so we know they will get another few months wear minimum.

Thanks @rhymingrabbit3 will check out cheeky wipes! I feel like I'd need to get to grips with them before dh would be on board!

@strawberrysundayss some councils offer trials on reusable nappies and if you decide to buy reusable they'll cover part of the cost. Not widely advertised but a Google might help you find something.

Thanks everyone sorry for silence spent day preparing nursery!

So many amazing tips thank you. I have been buying clothes bundles from Facebook, only a handful of new things and making sure most things are unisex for future children.

We did already buy a buggy and car seat new but regret the buggy but it's too late now as was floor sample so can't return. Wish had gotten it second hand but I was early in pregnancy and very excited.

Everything else I'm on eBay and Facebook marketplace.

Will check out if my council have a trial on cloth nappies. Can you use them from birth? I've read conflicting things. The only thing I'm really nervous about is cloth wipes instead ont baby wipes, not sure why but this seems the scariest to me. Realise part of it is my throw away mentality that I need to let go of.