system overload...

last night D and i attended a local "new and expectant parents" meetup group. and last night's topic was cloth diapers and babywearing. for those of you that don't know me (and can't tell from my blog), i'm a bit of a hippie at heart. and the idea of cloth diapering/babywearing just fascinates me. so i was super excited for the meeting! as was D because he would love to find a way to hold the baby and play his computer games at the same time! :)

but yikes! talk about system overload!! there are just SOOOOO many options out there, and it can be so overwhelming for a 1st timer, like ourselves. it took all of my will power not to run from the room crying with my fingers in my ears. but then again, i'm easily stressed out. that's just part of my personality.

we are registered at target, and surprisingly enough they do have a selection (albeit a small selection) of cloth diapers and slings/baby carriers.

i think the brand of CD that we decided to go with is bumgenius. as i already mentioned, target didn't have much of a selection, but i've heard good things about BG so that works out well. check out how cute they look - man, CDs have come a long way...

and now onto babywearing....

we got to see/learn about SO many brands of baby slings and carriers it wasn't even funny. the thing that originally interested me in babywearing was the you could keep baby close to you, while you did other things (i like to be efficient). but i learned last night that there are other benefits to babywearing:

1. helps baby with their transition from the womb
2. reduces crying (sign me up!) and colic
3. improves baby/parent bond
4. helps with baby's growth, physically, intellectually, and emotionally
5. ....and it keeps strangers from germing up my baby!! :)

the 2 that i really liked were the moby wrap and the mei tai. the moby is a bit more complicated to tie than some of the other wraps/slings/carriers we looked at, but it seemed to be (at least to me) the most secure and versatile. and excitingly enough, target carries it, so we've put it on our registry. luckily i still have time to learn how to wrap it properly before Baby T arrives. the mei tai, however is not carried by target, so we'll have to order that online ourselves. but no biggie!

moby wrap

mei tai

and some useful resources, for those interested:

1. the baby wearer
2. diaper pin
3. cotton babies