Things To Reduce My Waste

So, I recently made a post about what I have packed in my bags for my three day stay at the hospital and I feel like I didn't go into detail about what I was using in order to cut down on whats being used at the hospital. 

     Before you start stressing over what your baby needs you need to remember that things are going to happen to your body that you want to be prepared for. If you haven't started already you need to be prepared for lactating, even if you dont plan on breastfeeding, leaking can stain clothes and just ruin a nice day. One good thing that you can have ready to go is reusable nursing pads, depending on your body they can last for hours and you wont have those disposables to go out and buy again and again. 

     Next thing that you shouldn't be afarid of is blood, it can be a lot and seem unmanageable. At the hospital they give you mesh underwear and gaint pads that make you feel like you're wearing a gigantic diaper. To help with this I ordered cloth postpartum pads and you may say ew gross but everyones had to clean up blood before, why not save some money in the long run. I also ordered some high waisted underwear just because they feel more comfortable to me after a c-section. 

       If you do these two options its great to have a wetbag packed away to keep everything completely sanitary. I have one for the nursing pads and one for the postpartum pads, you can pack a large one as well for any soiled clothes like the clothes your water broke in or the ones you husband wears and gets spit up on because hearing a burp from that tiny baby is hard. 

        Eating at the hospital creates a lot of waste as well. One way to cut down on this is having cloth wipes you can use old towels and rags or you can order the nice ones for 9.99 for 12. You can have this for napkins, face wipes, or just cleaning off your hands after you use the restroom. You can also use your own utensils, if you're always on the go you can spend some extra money and buy the little utensil set they sell on EarthHero or Amazon. But if you dont want to spend extra cash just wrap up a spoon and fork and get on with your day. Last thing is staying hydrated, you want to drink a lot of water and nothing is easier then packing a water bottle into you're overnight bag. 

      Now you think hey I got all of this stuff down to a 'T' but I want to get clean too what about shampoo, conditioner and soap. Luckily for me I live close to a zero waste shop and since I didn't want to bring 2 gaint shampoo and conditioner bottles I bought small reusable pump bottles and I'm refilling them with shampoo and conditioner to keep them from making a mess I'm also using a reusable Ziploc bag to keep it seperated from my clothes and other supplies. In the same bag I'm putting my package free bar soap. If a zero waste shop isn't an option for you you can order Plaine Products on Earthhero. They sell them in different scents and sizes. And you can return the container for refills when you're done. No waste on there part or yours. 

       Now for baby I have extra clothes, cloth diapers, cloth wipes, and burp cloths packed. 

If your nervous about cloth diapers and wipes because of poop let me tell you a little secret, poop gets everywhere reguardless of what type of diapers and wipes you use. Why not stop the diaper you use today for existing for 400+ years and use cloth today. And if you wash them regularly and keep the stains down, the resell value is great, or keep then for your next baby. 

         I know a lot of this seems like extra work and not everyone will want to do it but even the little changes you can do can make a big difference. 

        Its not about being perfect zero waste, it's about as many people trying to reduce their waste.