The Gustafson’s joined the Green Diaper Babies family back in 2017! They are on the verge of diapering the most children at Green Diaper Babies yet! When Baby #4 joins in August they will become a team of six. With three boys to keep up with, Madeleine & Alex knew they couldn’t cloth diaper alone, enter Green Diaper Babies! From Chicago to the ‘burbs it has been our privledge to partner with the Gustafson’s in every season of life.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR FAMILY!
We’re Madeleine and Alex Gustafson. We met in college, got married after graduation, and now have 3 children with one more on the way. All our kids have been cloth diapered with Green Diaper Babies and we intend to continue! Alex hails from the Quad City area in western Illinois, and I was born here in Chicago. Our oldest was born in the city, but like many families, we’ve joined the ranks of suburban life. Green Diaper Babies has followed us as we puddle jumped our way to our now home.
Alex works in project management for experiencial events, with guitar repair and restoration as a very active side job/hobby. I work at managing a team of 3 spitfire boys while pregnant and a house that never seems to stay clean. I make art when I see a window of free time!
The kids have a beloved hermit crab, “Phillipe”, who has survived many close calls with tiny hands that haven’t mastered being “gentle” yet.
TELL US ABOUT THE LITTLE ONE WHO’S WEARING CLOTH DIAPERS!
Sweet Baby Gene is our current diapered babe. He delights the room by simply being. He loves laughing, but not as much as making his brothers laugh. He just mastered jumping and insists on it. He scales any and all high objects like a true spider man and is fearless when accidents happen. Alex and I have to constantly remind our older boys “HE’S ONLY 19 MONTHS OLD!” when the older ones deploy wild ideas involving Baby Gene. Just as one babe leaves diapering, another comes along and joins the GDB family. Gene was born August 2021, and our next is due August 2023. He won’t be our Baby Gene for long, but he’ll always be our Sweet Baby Gene.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT BEING A PART OF THE GREEN DIAPER BABIES FAMILY?
What’s not to love? Oh my gosh, let me GUSH. I’ve been an eco-minded gal since joining Ecology Club in gradeschool. I’m also not very organized or schedule oriented, and tend to jump from task to task. Doing this on my own would not guarantee clean diapers. The cloth diapering service fits the bill for skipping the disposable diapers and their dreaded destination of the landfill and having consistently clean diapers; win win!
Alex got on board when we found out we get to dodge the chemical craziness away from baby’s skin; no rashes! no problems! We can cloth diaper without having to wash the diapers ourselves, plus we can share the cloth with the GDB fam as they get cleaned and distributed (hello saving some water?). Over the years we’ve forgotten to put out diapers, thrown out dirties, run low, over ordered, you name it, and the Green Diaper team has handled it all. Also you know how your nose gets super powers when you’re pregnant and certain smells mean certain death or absolute pleasure? That clean diaper smell really takes me to paradise, I’m not sure why.
Ah, the smell of clean cotton in the morning! Thank you for your kind words, Madeleine. You name all the wonderful reasons to cloth diaper in one fell swoop!
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE ACTIVITIES TO DO AS A FAMILY AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH OUR COMMUNITY?
Our favorite activities as families often revolve around “projects”. Art projects, craft projects, planting projects, painting projects, music project, building projects, guitar projects- everyone is involved in a project. I’d say the kids’ favorite activity as a family is “Hey Mom and Dad see how long it takes me to do this!”. Alex and I are very good time keepers and the boys are very good at racing to beat the clock.