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There's a new parenting and pregnancy resource in town, Gurgle.com http://www.gurgle.com.

Everyone knows I'm an eco-saving-hippie, so whenever I look at a new site, I always pay special attention to anything that stresses being green. The first thing noticed on Gurgle was an article about green parenting. (Woo hoo! They've already made me a fan.)

The article stressed a personal love of mine... washable diapers. When it was just me, my husband, and my first child, washable diapers weren't a big deal. I had enough time to wash my babies dirty nappies. But after my second child was born, I admit that I wasn't as loyal. I just didn't have the energy to keep up with all the cleaning. Looking back, I wash I had used a diaper service. (It wouldn't have cost much more than buying disposables.)

The article went on talk about another one of my passions, recycling kids' clothes. I honestly don't understand why parents insist on buying a giant closet-full of new brand-name clothes for their babies. Babies would honestly prefer to be in cute pajamas all day, and they'll probably just spit up all over those. Older kids are just going to go out and play in the mud. I can't even begin to tell you the number of times I've watched parents freak out because their kid is getting their new designer jeans filthy. They're kids! What did you expect them to do? Yes, it's nice to have those cute outfits for our kids, but there's just no need to spend so much money on an entire wardrobe. Get your kids' clothes as hand-me-downs or buy them at a thrift store. It makes sense financially, but it's also good environmentally. Why? Because some people actually take those perfectly good but somewhat used clothes and throw them in the trash! (It just drives me nuts to think of all the poor kids who could wear them.) After they leave the trash can, they often head to the landfill (and that is very un-eco-friendly).

Another Gurgle.com article that caught my eye was about sibling rivalry. I have a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old. Up to now, the sibling rivalry revolved around arguments such as "mine! no mine!" Now, they're starting to get more complex. "She didn't say sorry!" "She said my picture was ugly." "She says I'm doing it wrong." I spend at least 20% of my day trying to teach my kids how to respect each other's differences.

The Gurgle article suggested that having kids 2 or 4 years apart caused the greatest amount of sibling rivalry and that gaps of 5 or more years reduces sibling rivalry. That's not the first time that I've heard this. I learned that back in college. But what the article forgot to point out was that children who are born with larger gaps also tend to have relationships that aren't very close. I've seen studies, but I've also seen this to be true among myself and my friends. We all tend to have closer relationships with siblings who are closer in age. Yes, we also remember having more sibling rivalry when we were growing up, but it's mostly a source of jokes now, and for some of us the taunting and fighting taught us how to handle more threatening situations (such as bullies). Overall, I think the benefits of a close relationship by far outweighs the drawbacks of sibling rivalry.

Now, here's the thing I would highly recommend for all of my friends who are expecting a baby and for anybody who ever plans to take care of a baby (that means you 12-year-old babysitters). The videos!

Gurgle.com has a bunch of videos that explained basic things, like cleaning your babies teeth. The kids just don't quite get that up-down-left-right thing with the toothbrush, and you just haven't lived until you've wrestled a 9-month-old during a tooth brushing session. They even have videos about how to change a diaper, how to feed with a bottle, how to breastfeed, etc. I wish I had those when my kids were babies.

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