The Results

O.M.G....

I lovelovelove the Hippie Store. Love it!

We arrive in this store in downtown Cincinnati, and I am struck first by its boho charm. And they have a smallish section of the store specifically for natural parenting. I am sort of discouraged by this at first, because the area really is small. But as I start to browse, it is very, very crammed with anything you could need. On the shelf directly across from some adorable organic baby tees is my Mother's Milk tea. And Fenugreek. And Blessed Thistle. And another tea called Milkmaid Tea (which I bought just to try). And neat rows of organic, green baby lotions and soaps and oils. And eco-friendly diaper detergents. Supplies to make your own baby food. Green baby toys. Diaper bags. An entire rack of carriers (should've bought my Moby there as they have too many cute colors!). They had a bECO Butterfly 2 and a bECO Gemini on display and I tried both on. Both were comfortable, but the only Gemini patterns they had were very feminine, which just would not do, considering that I am mainly buying this so John can get in on the fun of babywearing also. The Butterfly 2 had some more patterns and colors that would work, and so I performed the ultimate test: getting Zach out of the carseat and trying it. And he screamed and screamed. His short little legs were just in too awkward a position. So I moved onto the Ergo. And it was comfortable for both John and I with minimal adjustment. So in goes Zach. And I love the way is positions him. Sitting instead of curled up like the Moby does. My only complaint is that it was too wide for his hips and so forward-facing didn't work so well. But as soon as we turned him to where he was facing me, all was right with his world and he leaned his head on my chest and looked around in amazement. We found a winner, and after perusing the cloth diapers, and picking up some teething pads to go on the Ergo straps, we were off to the checkout.

Of course this is where I made an ass of myself. Well, not really. John had picked out a camel color in the carrier, but thought it would show dirt too easily, so we picked up a chocolate brown one instead. Well, at the checkout, I noticed that the darker color was $40 more. Really?

"But this one's organic.", stressed Hippie Chick #1.
"Sooooooo worth it!" stressed Hippie Chick #2.

So this is where I blurted out to John, "Here, take this and get the cheaper non-organic one!"

Gasp! The horror!
Don't I care about Mother Earth? They looked at me like I had 2 heads. And when it came time to finish the transaction, they asked to put me on their mailing list, so I gave them the info. Later, in the car, John told me I shouldn't have. "They're gonna hunt you down because you didn't buy the organic one!" Ha!

So on the cloth diapering front: I am a tactile person. I hate shopping on line. I like to gaze and feel and compare. So the lookng at diapers that I have been doing online just hasn't done the trick. But there, at the Hippie Store, they have them all: Thirsties, BumGenius, Flip, GroBaby...Fitteds, prefolds, biodegradeable inserts, flushable inserts, fabric inserts. In organic and non-organic, bleached and unbleached. Gah! And the rainbow of cute colors and prints! Zach will forever be pants-less so I can show off his cute diapers!
I managed to talk John into this endeavor. But I explained All-in-Ones to him, which function closest to disposables, are the most user-friendly, but also the most expensive. I really think we are going to go with the BumGenius AIO's, because after such a huge investment (about $25 per diaper x 24 or so diapers if we wash every other day , plus sprayer, wetbags, pail, laundering supplies, cloth wipes and spray, inserts.....) I like that they will grow with Zach and will last him through toilet learning.

But we didn't buy any yet. (Insert bummed look here!)
We are going through a major hassle in our house, so I couldn't just thunk down that huge wad of cash just yet. (see next post!) Plus I got seriously confused. Soakers? Doublers? What the hell? It's like some secret language that I cannot decipher. And so I am going to schlep my happy arse to a cloth-diapering workshop that the Hippie Store puts on before I make such a huge investment. I'm already dreading it: my loafer-clad feet, designer jeans, and expensive handbag next to their birkies, broomskirts, and hemp totes. But oh well.

The Art of Coercion and the Hippie Store

Okay. I mean no offense to anyone by saying this. I am in no way a "crunchy mama". I'm spoiled by my creature comforts, and have never really given a damn. Until recently. I've blogged about the changes having Zach has made in my personality, so I won't go there. But I have had something on my mind for awhile, and last night, when I couldn't sleep, I started googling again in the name of research.

I want to cloth-diaper Zach. Yeah, I said it. You read correctly. John, on the other hand, has no interest. The seed was planted in my mind a while back, but I thought it to be me being my crazy self once again. And last night I was looking online for a store that sells the baby carrier I want somewhere in my area. Yeah, I could order it online, but I want to try it on before I spend the $140 for essentially just buckles and straps. This necessitates some searchng in my area.

And so I found the Hippie Store. No, that isn't it's real name, but names have been changed to protect the innocent. In reality, it's a type of general store near downtown Cincy that specializes in green alternatives. And they have an entire section on baby stuff, complete with 2 of the carriers I am interested in (bECO Butterfly or Gemini, and the Ergo carriers). And--gasp--they have an entire section on cloth diapering, including classes. Really the store seems kind of cool: it claims to be a mixup of nationally-recognized brands associated with being green, environmentally-conscious products from local vndors, and even some homemade wares. I soooooo want to go.

So when I have finally gotten sleepy and I crawl into bed at 5 AM, John stirs and looks at the clock. And asks me what I have been up to all night. Perfect opening!

Me: "I've been doing some research and thinking about stuff."
John: "What stuff?"
Me: "Oh, just....stuff." (Ha! see how I grabbed him by his curiousity!)
John: "Tell me!"
Me: "Well, I really want to cloth-diaper Zach."
John: "Seriously? Don't you think it would be kind of gross?"
Me: "Nope, he's perfect for it! He only poops once every 1 to 2 days, and that's the bad part. Plus, for 50 bucks, you can buy a sprayer that hooks to the toilet and sprays the poop away so it can be flushed."
John: "Well, it's your prerogative." (This had me singing the Bobby Brown song in my head.)

So today, I tell John I want to go somewhere on Thursday. Of course he wants to know where. We go everywhere together when I'm off or the kids are involved. He wants to go with. I tell him no. He insists, and I reluctantly tell him I want to go to a store. "What store?", he asks. I tell him the name. And he wants to know what it is. I explain, and he cracks up laughing. "It's a fricken HIPPIE STORE! No way! I'm going. I can't miss this! Are you going to buy a flute or carve your own out of a tree branch?" (By this, he is referring to a commercial where they were playing a wooden fife, which, for lack of a better term, he dubbed the "hippie flute".) "No John. No flutes. I want to look into buying my carrier I want, and they have it," I explain. Of course he sees through me. And points out that he knows I am going to lure him into cloth diapering.

Of course he's absolutely, 100% correct.
But he doesn't need to know this. Instead, I will browse and "stumble" upon the diapering section. And I will casually pick up the packages of the cute covers, looking kind of disappointed that I am not buying them. And he will tell me to go ahead and buy a few. And I will agree to do so, just to "try them out on Zach". And during the trial period, I will play to his caring daddy side and point out how they are so much better for Zach, with their lack of chemicals and breathability. And how can he say no if it is good for the bambino? And then I will go and buy the motherload of them. And we will say goodbye to disposables. And my baby's poopy diapers will no longer be to blame for clogging landfills for 100 years.

Of course this could all backfire with one massive blowout from Zach. Breastfed baby poop may not stink as bad, but it is definitely messier. Stay tuned for results....