It's Not Easy Being Green

Before Rain, I was doing pretty well on the Green front: we bought a fuel-efficient car; we maintained the car to minimize wasted fuel; we replaced our light bulbs with energy-efficient ones; we recycled paper & plastic (we didn't have convenient pick-up service in our apartment, mind you); we reused old items in new ways; we purchased eco-friendly cleaning supplies; and so on and so forth.

After Rain's birth, I realized that saving the planet and saving my sanity were dueling efforts. It began with diapers. As much as I adored the idea of using cloth diapers, actually implementing that process was a no-go from the moment I saw what baby poo looked like. Add to the fact that I had no diaper-changing skills to flaunt, and you can understand how I ended up using, I don't know, 100 wipes at every changing.

Next to go was water. Forget about using cold-water detergent anymore, I was in my kitchen running water just to make Rain calm down. She loved the sound of rushing water, and if that meant my whole apartment went afloat just so she could settle down, oh well. After 3 weeks of newborn cries, I would've offered to sacrifice calfs for peace. And I don't even like veal.

If she wanted a bath with lots of water to play with, I was happy to oblige. That meant I could sit next to the tub--actually sit--and she could relax for half an hour.

My next war crime against Earth was electricity. Crying Baby wants a nightlight? You got it. Fan to give you white noise? You got it. Battery-dependent toys? You got it. Now you want to turn the light on and off and on and off? Have fun, sweetie!

Whatever it took to keep Rain from crying was priority number one. We were warming ONE towel in the dryer just to keep her warm and toasty when she got out of a bath.
Why all the fuss? Because Rain was fussy. She cried at every displeasure, and it didn't take but a few weeks of sleepless nights before we thought, "To heck with the planet, I need my mind!" It's hard for childless or parents of easy-going babies to understand, but believe me when I tell you, consistent newborn tears are always followed by consistent new parent tears.

On the 27th, Rain was 18 months old. For months now, her independence has cut down on her cries and neediness. She doesn't need toasty towels and white noise anymore.

Slowly, things are changing. We painted Rain's room with non-toxic, earth-friendly paints, and the recycle bins have reappeared. The energy-efficient laundry detergent graces the shelves once more, and Tim is replacing the light bulbs in our new house with the green kind. So, we're finally going green again.

Except for that diaper thing. Huggies, please.