Bringing Baby Home

Top 10 Surprises about Bringing Home a Newborn

1. The extra pounds you've gained won't magically disappear with the birth of your newest little joy. Logically, of course, this makes sense. But there will be a part of you that secretly hopes that the removal of a 7 pound baby from your body will somehow equate to a 40 pound weight loss. That part of you will be wrong. Very wrong.

2. The pounds will start melting away within the next few weeks. The joy you will find in stepping on the scale each morning will be moderated only by the nuisance of having had to change your clothes three times in the middle of the night after finding yourself drenched in the sweat that results from the massive amounts of fluids exiting your body.

3. After spending nine months cursing pregnancy-related weight gain, nausea, insomnia, aches and pains, and immobility, you will find your post-pregnancy self suddenly missing being pregnant.

4. All of the worrying you did during pregnancy will not evaporate when baby arrives. Instead, the pregnancy worries will transform into baby worries about how much baby has eaten (probably enough), when she last pooped (not that long ago), and if a little bit of bleeding around the umbilical cord is normal (it is).

5. The house that you so meticulously cleaned and organized prior to baby's arrival will become disheveled approximately 3.5 minutes after you walk in the door with your arrival. It will never be clean again.

6. You will find yourself in tears over the latest episode of Wife Swap. You will be grateful that you have the excuses of fluctuating hormones and lack of sleep to blame for this.

7. No matter how intellectual, poised, or driven you were prior to baby's arrival, there will be a point in time when you find yourself dressed in sweats with unshaven legs trapping a dear friend in a conversation about the color of your child's last poop. Although you will recognize this as it is happening, you will be powerless to stop it.

8. You will be startled to find that girls can shoot their pee just as far across a room as boys can.

9. Between leaky boobs, leaky diapers, and leaky baby mouths, you will spend a lot of time being wet. You will miss being dry but will be too tired to care enough to change your outfit, especially given that it will only be a matter of minutes before you are wet again.

10. It will all be worth it.

Bringing Up Your Baby Green

Is your baby a green baby? If the answer is yes, you are a part of a growing segment of the population opting for more environmentally friendly products for your child. The list of eco-friendly baby products grows by the day and includes nappies, organic baby food, organic formula, biodegradable wipes, ethically produced toys; the list goes on and on. Increasing numbers of parents are showing interest in green baby products and manufacturers are listening and responding. The biggest names in the baby industry are rolling out more products designed for the organic baby and ever increasing numbers of parents are also starting up small companies online to sell their specially made products to meet the high demand for environmentally friendly, organic, ethical products.

There are many reasons parents choose the green way to go when bringing up their babies. Adults who have adopted greener lifestyles for instance end up not being able to stomach the effect that disposable nappies have on the planet. On average children will use 6,000 nappies which will result in 2 tonnes of non-biodegradable waste. The materials that these nappies consist of will not break down and will remain in the landfill for many generations to come.

Parents have also discovered the potential health benefits of these eco-products for their baby. Disposable diapers often contain chemicals that can be harmful to a baby's tender bottom and increase the chances for diaper rash and allergic reactions. Cloth diapers on the other hand are made from natural materials that are hypoallergenic. Many cities also have diaper laundering services which pick up the soiled diapers and deliver clean ones. Parents can also choose to launder their own cloth diapers and save them for their next child. Parents also choose to launder their own child's diapers if they don't want to share the diapers with other babies.

For parents that just can't get their heads around washing nappies or do not have cloth nappy laundering services in their area, there are disposable biodegradable nappies available too.

When it comes to what parents feed their babies, there has been a huge upsurge in the desire for organic baby food. Many people believe that babies are much more susceptible to the dangerous effects of chemicals that are in pesticides and prefer to feed their children food that is free from these agents. As a plus, it is also much safer on the environment.

Although organic food sales still make up a small percentage of the amount of baby food sold, this is a growing market. The cost for purchasing organic baby food is more than the traditional non-organic jars, but in many cases parents are willing to pay extra for their green baby to eat only organic baby food.

Some celebrities have been given credit for kick-starting this trend and brining it into the mainstream. Famous mums such as Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Stella McCartney are all known for their eco-baby ways.

Whatever the reasons for "going green", parents are lucky to have a growing number of retailers online that offer a range of eco-friendly baby products. Major players in the baby market have also caught on and are continuing to come out with new lines featuring organic food and ethically produced products for babies. There is still much room for growth in this area, so be on the lookout in your local supermarket baby isle.

Elisha Burberry is an online, freelance journalist and keen traveller and watersports enthusiast. Originally from Scotland, she now resides in London.