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• With only two exceptions, all of Noa’s gear is second-hand or more. YES, this can be done!...and as a bonus, we get to shift away from the “hand-me-down” paradigm of a scuffed and torn environment: all our stuff is in GREAT shape, thanks to the original owners caring enough to preserve it, perhaps exactly because they intended for it to be used again. The exeptions?
- Our stroller, which our family/community needs had very specific requirements for and which we could not find used.
- Our vehicle car seat, which is a risky thing to use used.
Even in these two new items, we opted for maximum lifespan and utility: the stroller has two seats, one of which converts to a sitting or standing platform for an older child (Jessie has a four-year-old sister). The car seat converts from rear- to forward-facing, so it’s the only seat we need for Noa’s entire car seat career.

• Breastfeeding is a sustainable option because it’s always ready, naturally-produced, requires no heating or cooling, and need not be packaged or shipped...not to mention the researched, documented, and universally accepted health benefits to both baby and mother. Baby formula (blech, just the term sounds inhuman) is the opposite of all the things i just listed above. [disclaimer: i am aware that there are mothers who, for a variety of reasons, CANNOT breastfeed. there is no slight intended toward them or their situation, or toward their choice to feed their babies formula if breastmilk is truly not an option.] In addition, Jessie is pumping milk for Noa to drink while Jessie’s at school or work, or if we leave her in someone else’s care during a feeding period. This requires a mostly-plastic contraption (for those old-school pumpers out there, this ain’t the pump you or your mama used) and plastic bottles and nipples. Not ideal, but necessary for our situation...we also have some glass bottles that will last forever, and then recycle nicely.

• We WALK! This one’s a no-brainer that anyone can do, child or not. But it seems as though a baby makes the non-sustainable “throw it and it’s gear in the car and go” scenario very easy to fall into. We’ve got a bjorn (kinda like a baby-shaped backpack for your front...great for dads!) and a sling...either one and a moderately-equipped diaper bag, and we’re ready for a short trip to the bank, store, theater, post-office, park, restaurant, etc. [Of course, we live near enough to downtown services for this to be a realistic option. Not so for all, and we’re grateful for – and take full advantage of – the benefits of our location.]

• While Jessie was pregnant we cleaned out our “second bedroom” (read: office/junk heap) and turned it into a nursery. We painted it with no-VOC paint that is beautiful, moderately priced, and had almost no smell...although it was slightly more challenging to find (we got it from Frontier Paint in Ventura). Noa’s furniture is mostly from Ikea: a giant corporate warehouse box store...with a conscience. We’re particularly fond of their use of sustainable building materials sans formaldehyde, the pick-it-up-and-build-it-yourself structure (no inflated retail and shipping rates for pre-assembled goods), their blatant discouragement of the use of plastic bags, and their meatballs. The nearest Ikea is in Burbank, so we did all our research online, combined the trip with other stops and another family, and brought home everything we needed! [Double-bonus: Noa’s crib and changing table were from Ikea AND second-hand. Score!]

• While we did get some brand-new items from others, we encouraged used gifts in all our invitations and communications with a simple line like “Jessie and evan encourage used gifts.” Easy!

• Family showers! Saves water and time, and is a fun way to be together. No more complex than it needs to be.

• Wooden toys, NOT made from rainforest trees, and coated (if at all) with earth-based paints (and in light of recent headline news, not from China either). 99% of baby products, ESPECIALLY TOYS, are made of plastic, which is not healthy or sustainable to produce or store for eternity. Another resource for used toys and other goodies is Replay in Santa Barbara.

• What about mom and dad? How do we sustain our selves?
- Take a nap when the baby does. "But i’m not getting anything done!" Yes i am: i’m recharging the energy that it takes to be the best parent i can be, and maintaining the energy level that is required to make other sustainable choices.
- Give each other breaks by taking the baby on an errand or walk so the other parent has some time to clean, read, sleep, cook, whatever.
- Get some alone time. i’m not talking about when the baby’s asleep, complete with tiptoeing and whispering. i mean ALONE. Friends of ours recently offered to watch Noa for two hours so that we could simply have that time for whatever. We cleaned for an hour, then had some together-time. And we lived happily ever after.

• New parents don’t sleep as much as non-parents. That’s not a complaint...it’s just a fact, a new reality. Our coffee is also organic and fair-trade: easy to find at Rainbow Bridge, The Farmer and the Cook, and JB Coffee Connection.

My major observation and encouragement is this: for nearly everything you need to have, use, and do in LIFE – whether you have children or not - there is a planet-friendly and sustainable option. Generally speaking, we need to use less...but what we do use needs to have as little impact on our physical world as possible. There are 300 million Americans alone...how we consume holds both great peril and great promise, depending on the choices we make EVERY DAY. Those of us with the means to invest in organic, sustainable options bear the RESPONSIBILITY to choose them consistently in order to demonstrate their value, fund them, and develop them. That’s how they get better, more acceptable, and more accessible. Having kids might be the catalyst for some, but ALL of us are either part of the problem or the solution. It consistently comes down to whether or not we have the will to change.

As a parent, i’m preciously aware that i’ve been borrowing this planet from Noa all along. i hope that i can do right by her and her friends in restoring her beautiful planet, and i hope you will join me.