"Going Green" or the "Accidental Hippy"

The more I thought about my role as a mom, and my response to the previous comment on the garage sale post, was that I am a "green" mom. I am everything a hippy mom is like, but it was not totally intentional. Not that it's a bad thing, I'm totally into being responsible and respectful of our planet. It's just that I'm also not the stereotypical "green" person, who must buy organic everything, wear hemp, and try to become a vegan...you know what I mean. Anyway, the ways that I'm a green mom are:
1) Cloth diapering - yes, this is better on the environment, and I'm likely saving 2 tons of diapers from the landfills, but the diapers themselves are amazing. I do the bumgenius 3.0s and I (rarely) supplement with disposables. I just find that the cloth diapers contain the "explosions" really well, and though they are more work, in the long run I'm sure it's the same as I only have to wash the diapers instead of a million outfits that have leaks on them (not to mention his sheets, my clothes, etc. that are around the leaks). They are also cheaper then disposables, and a heck of a lot cuter.
2) We recycle - this is a no brainer with my mom working for the environmental mgmt of our county...though it's such a simple act, I'm rather shocked when I visit peoples homes that don't recycle. I mean, it's not much effort throwing a can/bottle/paper into a bin that is right next to the trash bin and it is good knowing that we aren't contributing to the detriment of our planet
3) I garage sale/buy craigslist - I've always been commented upon that I have champagne tastes with a poor mans budget - well this is how I get the best of both worlds! I find what I want, then buy it used...a lot of times it's in mint condition and for pennies on the dollar. Plus, there is great satisfaction knowing that if I ever wanted to "change it up" I can always sell the stuff and usually I will break even. Also, if something gets wrecked, I don't have that "sick to my stomach, I paid a thousand dollars for that!" feeling.
4) I breastfeed - it is definitely not the most fun thing in the world...being the only one my child can come to for nutrients (he's allergic to formula). However, I know it is healthier for him, and I think parents need to be self-sacrificing for their kids. Just one thing that we can do to make their lives better and healthier.

Praise the Lord!

God has proven so faithful over these past few months and weeks. I have so much to be thankful for. It is just now hitting me, with my little one squirming away, that my life is about to change drastically. It still hasn't really felt that "real" to me, even though I'm only days away from my third tri. I guess I do have a few updates.

1) We decided to go with the Bumgenius 3.0 cloth diapers, they are the closest to disposables that we found and very highly rated. Plus, they grow with baby so we should only need the same 24 diapers I'm buying from birth to potty training. The parent reviews also said they work great at night, unlike the Kushies I had been contemplating previously.

2) Baby hadn't been kicking as hard as he was previously and I didn't feel like I felt him as much as I was supposed to so I made a call in to the doctor a few days ago. I had an ultrasound yesterday to make sure everything was still okay, and baby was perfect as always. He is now head down, ready to meet the world! His little legs were crossed like the perfect gentleman and his kicks were mainly to the back of the uterus as well as the placenta which is why I hadn't been feeling it as much. He was so huge I could barely tell what to make out on the ultrasound, his head barely fit on the screen. It was cool to see the brain and his huge hands. I told Luke that he has daddy's hands and was almost concerned with how large they were but examining other 26 week ultrasound picts I've determined they are normal sized for a baby of that term. I just didn't expect him to grow so much in just 6 weeks. Also, I passed the glucose test, which is a big answer to prayer because I was at high risk for gestational diabetes (and passing means I don't have it)

3) My company has been talking about layoffs and shutting down branches and it turns out my branch is one of the top picks. So, if that is the case they may be shutting us down around the time the baby is due. Talk about perfect timing! I mean, the baby entered existance as my grandma was exiting, to help my mom cope with the pain of losing her mom. Now it looks like he may be entering the "real" world at the time when I would be out of work anyway. God definitely has a plan, and it's so apparent just looking back at the last few months. I can't wait to see what he has in store for us!

Diapers!

I never thought I would even imagine I would consider it, but I'm now thinking of cloth diapers! I'm not a huge "environmental freak", but I do try not to be wasteful. From what I've been reading, it looks as though one child on disposable diapers could equal 1-2 TONS of waste. Plus, the cloth are a whole lot cheaper, about $350 total, whereas the disposables are around $1500. Plus, if we have more kiddos I can reuse them! That's exciting. I still plan to use disposables at night and maybe on vacations or if someone is babysitting, but either way it seems like mostly cloth is the way to go! I ended up purchasing the Bum Genius 3.0 AIO diapers, can't wait to see how they work!

I'm amazed at how time is flying by with this pregnancy. I'm 15.5 weeks and have my next OBGyn appt on Monday. The following appt is my ultrasound! I can't wait. However, I've had two recent dreams that really make me think this is a boy. The first dream I had a toddler and a newborn (both boys). The second dream I had a seven and a five year old in school (both boys again). In both dreams the older boy looked a lot like me and was obviously biological, and the second child I get the impression was adopted. Which is perfect, because we were planning to get back into the adoption process a year after our baby is born. =) I still eventually will want a girl as well, but figure we can always adopt again if things don't happen naturally. My goal is 3 kids minimum, 6 max. I hated being an only child, so definitely plan to adopt right away if I don't get pregnant within a year after baby is born. It's hard to believe there is just 24 weeks to go!