Baby Steps

Greening life with a baby one step at a time

We had our baby a few weeks ago and, as expected, our sustainable life has been turned upside down in an awesome and wholly satisfying way¹.

Now don’t get me wrong, it sucks to have backslid so much in terms of my individual footprint but, in the light of what it took to get us here², I don’t care.

We are adrift on a sea of disposable nappies, convenience food, and gift wrap, but I’m not worried. We’ve navigated this sea before.

We’re not being too hard on ourselves. We have a lot going on at the moment, and if ever we had an excuse not to be über-green this is it.

Besides, since starting this blog, I’ve learned that individual actions and small changes are a stepping stone to greater things: political involvement, activism, behavioural changes, etc. If I’m already doing some of these greater things then I can cut myself some slack if I’m using more single-use plastic lately

So be assured that we will get ourselves back on track, just don’t expect it to happen all at once. It’ll be step by step, much like it was the first time³.

Footnotes:

¹ I can’t convey how emotional, inspiring and transformational this whole journey is and continues to be. When I’m a better writer maybe.

² For the record: vasectomy reversal, five rounds of IVF, and pregnancy during a global pandemic

³ Some things that need to happen:

• That sea of disposable nappies to be replaced with reusable
• Likewise transition out any other single use cleaning products
• Learn to cook for baby (when it is time to wean) with local natural ingredients
• Sell or otherwise donate outgrown baby clothes
• Start walking or cycling places again
• Get on top of the household rubbish and recycling
• Source ethical and sustainable cleaning products, toiletries, etc.