Two Services

There are two things that I'm looking into with this baby that didn't happen or have a possibility of happening with Alex.

The first is diaper service. I went through so much research with Alex about how to diaper her. The arguments about landfills and plastics and waste water and energy use and which was worse for the environment. I crunched numbers for over two weeks (the joys of unemployment) and came to the conclusion that if I could find an environmentally responsible diaper service, cloth would win out over disposables. Between my energy consumption on the washer that was older than I was, the wear and tear on the septic tank, and the fact that I would have no help out in the middle of nowhere, I was swayed by the allure of disposable diapers. I now live in civilization. There is a diaper service and they have environmentally friendly washers and driers. They also have rates that, after paying for the diapers, are comparable and better to buying box after box of disposables. So, hint-hint, I think I would really like to go with the diaper service.

The other thing is something that never occurred to me while I was pregnant with Alex. Placental encapsulation. Don't laugh. Mammal mommas have been eating placentas since the dawn of time. The site has some really interesting information about the benefits of ingesting the placenta. I spent a bit of time wondering about the placenta when I had Alex. There were jokes made about placenta omelets and smoothies, but I thought there had to be something... important about placentas. Just a few months ago, a friend of mine from college, who is now a labor and delivery nurse in Chicago, had her placenta encapsulated. She seemed to have no post-partum depression at all. Since I have struggled with depression for over a decade, I think that this may be a tool to help keep me off anti-depressants for as long as possible. I have no idea how much it will cost but there is a woman in Montpelier that encapsulates placentas. I'll email her when I have a bit more nerve...

So those are the two things I've been researching lately. If after reading up on the subjects anyone has any ideas, comments, or suggestions, just leave a comment.