Last week, my column in the Daily Journal offered some tips from Green Parenting 101. I attended the class and highlighted some suggestions for lessening the environmental impact of raising children. The class was taught by Manda Aufochs Gillespie (a.k.a the Green Mama).
A significant portion of the class focused on cloth diapering. I have been using cloth diapers on and off for about 18 months. At the start, I wrote a column comparing cloth diapers to disposables. Newspaper readers generally aren’t interested in re-runs, so I stayed away from the topic in my recent column.
The Green Mama did point out some new information about cloth diapering that I think is perfect for the “Adventures in Parenting” blog. According to Gillespie, some parents are under the false impression that cloth diapers aren’t as “green” as one might think. Most point to a study in the early 1990s. The findings claim the water and energy used washing cloth diapers is actually a greater detriment to the environment than using disposables.
Proctor & Gamble, the nation’s largest producer of disposable diapers, commissioned the study. It was later discredited, but the damage was already done. The misinformation about cloth diapers vs disposables continues to create confusion.
For more information on cloth diapers, Jane McConnell of “Mothering” offers some great information in her article titled, Joy of Cloth Diapers.
I am a White Sox fan. The South Siders open their regular season on Monday, March 31st against the Cleveland Indians. One of the perks of being a stay-at-home dad is that I’m able to watch the game the at 2:05 p.m. I hardly expect to see every pitch. I’ll likely be chasing my 21-month-old son, Bubba, around the basement and soothing my 4-month-old son, Peter, while trying to steal a glimpse of the telecast.
In anticipation of the baseball season, I dug out a copy of “Let’s Go White Sox.” A publicist from Mascot Books Inc. sent me a promotional copy of this children’s book ($14.95) in August. At the time, Bubba wasn’t interested. Now, he has the attention span required for a children’s book.
“Let’s Go White Sox” follows the team mascot, Southpaw, as he attends a baseball game at U.S. Cellular Field. I have never been a big fan of this greenish-yellow monster mascot. He looks as though he is made of fiberglass insulation and has no history with the team.
However, Bubba seems to enjoy Southpaw, and I have feed his interest by reading “Lets Go White Sox” to him at nearly every request. It has been a subtle way to brainwash my boy into becoming a White Sox fan. Of course, I want Bubba to grow up and be capable of making his own decisions by weighing the appropriate merits of his choices. Blah, blah, blah.
Yet pushing him into a life-long love affair with the White Sox hardly seems like it is inhibiting his free will. For fans of the Chicago Cubs, Mascot Books also offers “Let’s Go, Cubs!” Though I can’t recommend it.
A week ago, when my mom finally read some of my more recent parenting blogs, she quickly brought something to my attention.
She had noticed that I hadn’t blogged about my baby boy Jayden much. And once I thought about it, I realized that she was right.
But why hadn’t I?
I know he’s only 4 1/2 weeks old and I’ve been extremely busy. But that’s no excuse. After all, talking about babies when they’re newborns is what most parents do, right?
Plus, if you read the blogs I posted late last summer when we learned that my wife and I were having a boy, you’d remember that I was ecstatic. Thoughts of playing basketball with my son one day was all I could think of.
And then I expressed extreme joy that a boy would balance out our family.
Yet, I have had mixed emotions over the past month. Lord knows, I love my son just as much as I love my daughter, Zion. But I admit that I’m still trying to bond with him.
Just imagine you and your wife don’t conceive a child for more than three years into your marriage. That first child is a girl — Daddy’s little girl. And for a full year, you and your wife spend most your time bonding with your daughter.
Then BAM! Another life enters that tight space.
Apparently, Grace has been wanting to see “Horton Hears a Who” for a while now, my husband tells me. I didn’t think a 3-year-old knew who Horton was until I asked her. “An elephant,” she told me.
So off the two of them went today, aiming for the 12:55 p.m. show. When they got to Movies 10 at Northfield Square mall, Grace wanted to get on several of those kiddie rides outside the theater. I guess she really enjoyed this bus that was out there, because she didn’t stop thinking about it, even after the movie began.
Nevermind that pleasing pachyderm or the other bright, wide-eyed characters. Grace wanted the bus. I guess they barely made it through half of the 88-minute show.
Easter morning came and went in the Ludwig household. It doesn’t hold nearly the excitement of Christmas morning. Easter baskets are never as thrilling as Christmas presents, yet I found myself in a similar predicament.
My 4-month-old son, Peter, celebrated his first Easter. Part of the fun of having an Easter basket is hunting for the basket throughout the house. Peter can’t walk. In fact, he just started rolling over onto his belly. That hardly makes him ready to scour the house for a white wicker basket filled with pastel goodies.
So, The Wife and I decided not to get him anything for Easter. I doubt he will remember (unless he finds this post somehow as a teenager and uses it as an excuse for delinquent behavior).
Still, I feel a bit guilty. His 21-month-old brother, Bubba, got an Easter gift. It was the Pixar/Disney blockbuster “Cars” on DVD. This was really as much a gift for mom and dad as it was for Bubba, since this movie could give us exactly 116 minutes of peace and quiet.
Peter was also largely overlooked at Christmas. He was just one month old at the time, and his frazzled parents were hardly worried about what would be in his stocking. Again, the thinking was: “He’s too young to even know what is going on. Why spend the money?”
So what age is the correct age to start giving Christmas gifts, Easter baskets or birthday presents? I’m really curious about your thoughts on this one.
I’ve also included the picture below of baby Peter. Just the look in his eyes should tell you that he knows he is getting passed over. I think the frog may have tipped him off.
Got that camp week booked yet?
About this time of the year (actually, like January) the family starts consoling ourselves as we think about warmer weather and camp.
The highlight of the planning is thinking about doing things outdoors and sometimes even going to other states, but to do things outdoors there.
When each of the kids turned 9, we began sending them to a week of resident camp.
The first time it was heart-wrenching and difficult for Mom. A painful absence was felt each time I came home from work and looked at his or her stuff.
On the other hand, I know they have to grow up and I definitely know what a good experience it is for them to go away to camp for a week and become more independent as well as practice planning and decision making. Besides, the counselors are closely supervised and paired up for each small group. It is like they are temporary substitute moms and dads.
After learning that my wife, Alicia, was pregnant with our first child in 2006, I cringed every time someone joked about the possibility of us having twins.
Many people said, “You never know, another baby could be hiding somewhere in the womb.”
“Yeah, right! … Stop playing,” was often my response.
I just couldn’t fathom trying to care for two babies at one time — not to mention, pay double in baby-sitting costs, and for clothes, diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, etc.
Yet, since my son, Jayden, was born nearly one month ago — just 13 1/2 months after my daughter, Zion, arrived in January 2007 — I know the feeling.
Although it seems that more stress comes with babies born a year apart versus those who are born on the same day. After all, babies who spend months soaking up attention from their parents and relatives, most likely have to get used to a new kid on the block.
How has my little Zion adjusted to Jayden?
I’ve been asked that questions so many times over the last few weeks that I wish I received a dollar for each inquiry.
Well, inside the hospital and during our first days at home, Zion would stare and smile at Jayden. Of course, she didn’t know he was here to stay.
But as time passed, we’ve learned how Zion really feels.
My next few postings that I’ll do here will take a look at how your life changes when you have kids. I’m not talking about how you become more responsible and go out less and learn to love more and blah blah boring blah.
I mean the important stuff like food, sleeping habits and television.
First, let’s look at how your T.V. habits change when your precious little snowflakes come into the picture.
I’ve been making an effort recently to keep the television turned off. I’ve never been a fan of letting my 20-month-old son, Bubba, zone out in front of the TV. However, sometimes I need a minute to tend to his 3-month-old brother, Peter, or take a shower or whatever. In those instances, television can be a valuable sedative.
I may have abused TV as a tool over the past month. Lately, Bubba points to the black box demanding “Star Wours,” “Baut Mann” and “Me-Man” (a.k.a. Spiderman). I’ve been trying to reintroduce Bubba to reading as an alternative to the boob tube.
Curious George seems to be the winner here. Bubba has three books featuring “Gee-Orge” and “the Mann (with the yellow hat)” - the original “Curious George” as well as “Curious George Takes a Job” and “Curious George Rides a Bike.”
His favorite is the original book by H.A. Rey. Nevertheless while reading “Curious George Takes a Job,” I stumbled on an interesting passage. At some point in this book George ends up in the hospital and “of course, he was curious.” One thing leads to another and George finds himself high on ether.
It’s something I’d expect from Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” But this is a children’s book, albiet one written in 1941. I wouldn’t normally approve of drug references in a children’s book. Yet, “Curious George” is a classic and deserves some leeway. Now if “The Wiggles” release a children’s book tomorrow where they smoke crystal meth before launching into one of their songs, I’d complain.
After I briefly wrote about the subject of personal finances last week, I heard from Stephanie Bell at Junior Achievement Worldwide about a new financial literacy initiative that brings volunteers to those Americans who need help understanding personal finances.
The closest Junior Achievement office is in Chicago, but that doesn’t mean parents can’t log on to the Junior Achievement student center at www.ja.org, and look around the Web site with the kids by your side. You may be surprised how much they can understand. It is basic math.
Budgeting, savings and investing, career options (the kids and I will explore that one more later) and risk management. I was tempted to skip the credit one, but I found it a good way to start a conversation about how and why buying on credit usually means paying a lot more for things. Don’t spend the money unless you can repay it. And if that is the case, you don’t need credit cards at all.
As we parents clicked around the site before we showed it to the kids, we were impressed that all the instructions are written at an elementary level and the interactive features are easy for kids to understand.
