29 Diapers

Parenting Tips That Work

29diapers — Sun, 06 May 2012 20:04:06 +0000

Am I the only one out there who read up on green parenting and safety and childbirth but not on parenting techniques when I was pregnant? There was just something about the parenting "theologies" that made me want to figure things out as I went rather than have preconceived shoulds for the process, just in case I got too dogmatic about things. But, I suppose that leaves me with fewer ideas on how to handle difficult situations.

In Search Of: Mom Friends

29diapers — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:35:54 +0000

The most common complaint I share with my mom friends is the lack of an adequate community of mom friends now that we're staying home or working through our kids' young years. Somehow I thought this would sort itself out as I traveled through the different developmental stages of baby girl's youth, but here she is 3 years old next month and it's exactly the same as it always was. I'm even a part of a moms group, but something about the dynamics keep the members from really supporting each other even in that support group/play group setting, and the only deep friendships I have made have been with women who couldn't stand it and left. Keeping up with all these friends who won't get together is a challenge, to say the least. Am I alone here? I don't think I am.

29 Diapers’ Woody Earth Day Double Giveaway

29diapers — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:07:52 +0000

Happy early Earth Day, green mamas! This year in honor of sustainable parenting products, I wanted to introduce you to a couple of great companies that make great green products for your kidlets and your home. We have sort of a wood theme going this year, since I'm always looking for replacements for plastics in our home and need to protect those woods in an eco-friendly way that keeps my family healthy. Here goes!

Changing Your Mommy Storyline

29diapers — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:37:23 +0000

When you're a mom, it's so easy to get into a narrative about how long it has been since you had a full night's sleep, what phase you're going through with your baby. It's easy to forget that time is passing so quickly that your storyline needs constant updating. I recently had one of those moments when I realized my storyline had changed without me noticing. The other day, I called up several preschools to arrange tours for figuring out baby girl's entrance into the world of school (school!) and said, "My name is Laura Cowan. I'm a local parent of a preschooler."

Potty Training Through Constipation

29diapers — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 01:48:08 +0000

Potty training while dealing with constipation? My pediatrician told us not even to bother to try potty training while baby girl was constipated because it throws such a wrench in the works. But with his recommendations to resolve it not even coming close to resolving the issue, we were on our own for the last 10 months, trying one thing and another to get things back to normal. How do you convince a kid who tries to hold it in and screams for up to 40 minutes on the potty that potty training would be fun?

Jason Brand Apricot Scrubble Greens Your Skincare Routine

29diapers — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:32:30 +0000

I'm at the end of my journey to find the most affordable green replacements for my beauty and household cleaning routines! For a few bathroom cleaners and tricky products like pressed face powder I never quite found a workable equivalent to my old chemical-based products, but I have done pretty well! For anything I haven't written about on this blog, I would recommend you try Method, Bon Ami, or Seventh Generation brand cleaning products when you don't know where to turn, or Ecco Bella makeup. These brands have the widest selection of tough-to-replace items I found.

Natural Hair Products for Wash and Wear Curls!

29diapers — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:39:31 +0000

As some of you who have been following 29 Diapers for a while know, I have been working hard to find natural alternatives to my haircare and makeup routines so I can avoid chemicals. Problem is, I have tricky hair, fine but curly, dark at the bottom, much lighter on top. For a while I was conditioning with a little coconut oil and washing it out with Nature's Gate pomegranate shampoo, but the balance was hard to strike. I always seemed to end up with slightly oily hair, slightly frizzy hair, unless the weather was just right. Olive oil was an improvement for humid weather, but after a while I got tired of how hard it was to get everything just right.

When The Hand-Me-Downs Run Out

29diapers — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:25:50 +0000

I have written quite a bit on this blog and in my book EcoFrugal Baby about how to get baby clothes for free, but when baby girl started getting into 4T at 2 and a half years old, suddenly all our hand-me-downs, Freecycle freebies, and so on just dried up. What's a mama to do? Well, I made the mistake of completely ignoring resale shops in my book because I figured most budget-minded moms would know how to shop for used kids stuff, often at better prices than resale shops offer these days. Imagine my happy surprise when I discovered the resale shop fill a bag sale!

New Baby by Danish Wet Bags Review & Giveaway!

29diapers — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:39:57 +0000

Baby by Danish, wet bag, cloth diapers, stylish cloth diapers, cloth diapering accessories, Rachel Danish, how to cloth diaper on the go, 29 Diapers, Laura K. Cowan, green baby on a budget, eco-friendly baby products, green baby products, product review, giveawayI love wet bags, those awesome waterproof and washable bags you can use for cloth diapers and wet swimsuits on the go, for so many reasons. It's hard to find a product this versatile for families, period. And they come in so many adorable styles and useful sizes. We have had two or three wet bags in rotation at our house since we started cloth diapering baby girl nearly 3 years ago (yeah, it is about time we got this kid potty trained, but that's another post).

The Cloth Diapering Bloggers’ Dirty Secret

29diapers — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:19:30 +0000

There's a dirty little secret some cloth diaper bloggers don't tell you, probably because we're supposed to have all the answers for you. Ready for it? Sometimes, we... use...