Raising a baby can put a lot of stress on the environment. After all, one more person has just been added to the earth's ever burgeoning population. Then there are all the diapers, toys, clothes, etc, etc, etc. It can seem never ending at times. But, there are many positive steps you can take toward limiting the environmental resources your baby consumes. The three Rs - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle can all be applied to raising your baby, and in so doing, will reduce your baby's "carbon footprint" and help conserve and protect the planet he will inherit.

Reduce

One of the most important first steps is considering what you really need. Reducing the amount of waste you produce is always the best way to help the earth. You won't get much help from the media here though. There is a great deal of products marketed to babies that they just don't need. Talk to other parents like your friends or even on message boards and see what people think of a product before you put your hard earned money into it. There are many products like Exercausers for example, or those huge “baby gyms” that many babies and parents don't even use much after they buy them. These products are generally made from plastic which is toxic for the environment and for your baby.

The other thing that often happens to parents of babies is that they buy and are given so many toys; their baby will never be able to play with all of them. When signing up for your registry, or just in talking with family members, try to really think about what you need. You could potentially request things like a zoo or museum membership for you baby's first birthday. Or ask for wooden toys instead of all the plastic. This often has both the obvious benefit of not being plastic (so they are safe for your baby to put into his mouth, where everything seems to go!), but also often works to reduce the number of toys your baby is given since wooden toys are pricier. But babies don't really need that many toys, even wooden ones. They seem to really love the things us parents use anyway, which isn't a surprise since their main way of learning about their world at this young age is by modeling the things we do. The expensive plastic play gym inevitably gets forgotten when the pots and pans drawer is opened up!

Reuse

Because babies grow and change so quickly, especially in their first year, one of the most eco friendly things you could do, would be to support your local thrift or consignment store. Used baby gear is generally in great condition since babies rarely use things for very long, especially clothing. It will also save you money at the same time, and who doesn't want that! And, it also allows you to contribute to your local economy instead of the "big box" stores. Another bonus of shopping at thrift and consignment stores that the money you spend there doesn't contribute to fuel expenditures or poor labor practices.

When talking about reusing one thing we can’t leave out is cloth diapers. These workhorses can be reused again, and again and again. Of course they are also not made of plastic and don't clog out landfills, which are also fabulous bonuses! Because I chose cloth diapers for my first, I was able to diaper my second son pretty much for free. I had to put maybe $40 into a few new diaper covers since he was bigger than his brother, but that was it. All the diapers were able to be used on both boys, and most of them are still sitting in my barn, waiting to see if another little one comes along, or if not to be passed on to a friend. And, those that weren't in good enough shape to save after covering 2 bums for 2+ years, have begun their second incarnation as cleaning rags! And, I take great solace in knowing that my boys haven't contributed any diapers to landfills during their entire time of using diapers!

Recycle

As far as recycling your used baby gear, utilizing online lists like Freecycle is a great way to recycle things you don't need anymore for your baby to others who do, while gaining things you do need, all for free! Just visit FreeCycle.org to find a group in your area. Making donations to agencies like "Goodwill" or "The Salvation Army" is also a wonderful way to recycle your old baby things. And, you are helping these agencies help others at the same time!

And, don't forget the tried and true yard sales! Even if you don't live in an area that gets a lot of traffic, unite forces with a friend in a busier area of town. Multi-family yard sales often are a bigger draw for bargain hunters anyway. This enables you to get a bit of money for these things you aren’t using anymore, and, allows other parents to save money, and to reuse items like we talked about above. You might also try hitting yard sales to replace the items your child has outgrown, and sold at your yard sale!

Raising a "green baby" really isn't all that hard when you think about it. And, when you adopt the habits of Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling, not only are you benefiting the earth and your pocket book; you are also passing on these habits and lessons to your child. We must work to change the "throw away culture" we are living in, and what better way to start than with this next generation we are raising!