Better for our babies, better for our planet.
Eco Baby Expo is all about the natural, organic, unprocessed lifestyle. We wanted to take a moment to showcase those who are raising their children to be responsible and eco-friendly, those who put their family’s health first, those who make an impact on our children’s future, and those who live a healthy lifestyle that may inspire others.
By sharing their stories, we hope to bring inspiration to our like-minded followers. We hope you can share in the joy of motherhood, fatherhood, and the joys that growing up green can bring! #GrowingUpGreen
#GrowingUpGreen Stats
Name: Christa West
Children: 2 girls (twins)
Licenses / Certifications: Certified Placenta Encapsulation Specialist, Licensed Midwife
Titles: Crunchy Mommy, Twin Babywearing Mommy
#GrowingUpGreen with
Christa West
Licensed Midwife / Owner of Coastal Midwifery
My name is Christa West. I am a Licensed Midwife and owner of Coastal Midwifery, a Certified Placenta Encapsulation Specialist and a mother of 2 year old twin girls.
My proudest achievement towards a green lifestyle is most certainly cloth diapering my twins from birth, solely breastfeeding without ever having to supplement and feeding them as organic and healthy as I possibly can. As you can imagine having twins is challenging and time consuming but cloth diaper twins is a whole adventure in itself. I am very proud that I successfully nursed both babies and am STILL nursing toddlers.
Some challenges I have had to overcome in our green lifestyle have arose since I have gone back to work. It is definitely difficult to maintain my girls gluten-free, dairy-free, organic diet while working long hours. I have learned to plan and prep in advance, always have extra homemade meals in the freezer and of course having a supportive “Nana” helps too.
If I had more time in the day I would do more meal prep and spend some one on one time with each of my girls separately to make them feel special.
Creating balance in my work and family life in an ongoing learning experience for me. I have recently decided to take Mondays & Fridays off to dedicate to my girls (unless a baby is bring born, of course). We go to the park, museum, play dates and sometimes just have a lazy day at home. I am still trying to balance life as a midwife and a mama, it is certainly more challenging now than before I had the girls.
I pay most attention to what we put in our mouths and what we put on our bodies. Since our skin is the largest organ and it absorbs all of the toxins we put on it, I make sure that my girls stay away from the nasty chemicals found in most skin products. We eat mostly organic, non-GMO foods and I do not approve of traditional western medicine antibiotics to treat most illnesses.
I believe everything I have spoke about so far explains how I am raising my children to be eco-friendly because not only do these things have an impact on our health and well-being but all on the environment. I also teach the girls to turn off the water when brushing their teeth and they are obsessed with turning the lights off when going out of a room and they know the difference between recycling and trashing it. We will be starting our garden next month so I think that will also instill some good eco-friendly principles in them.
My girls favorite snack foods right now (they change every week) are dried fruits (apricots, raisins, cranberries, apples, mango) and nuts (pistachios, cashews, slivered almonds). I LOVE that they snack on these foods instead of cookies and chips, it makes me so proud!
I am excited to meet all the vendors at the Eco Baby Expo but I would love to see some eco friendly mommy and me classes/groups.
This concludes Christa West’s #GrowingUpGreen interview. To nominate another mom / dad that you think deserves to be recognized, please contact #GrowingUpGreen editor – info@ecobabyexpo.com