news-record.com

New moms wanting to save some money, or save the environment, have long been going to the Internet for hard-to-find products such as cloth diapers.

A store in Greensboro, Peaceful Beginnings, hopes to solve that and give women who are expecting a chance to explore all their options.

Peaceful Beginnings, owned by registered nurses Linda Donovan and Heather Hogan, sells a wide array of cloth diapers, as well as baby slings, breast-feeding products and aromatherapy products.

"Greensboro has a big community of people who do care about the environment," Hogan said of moms who choose cloth diapering over disposable diapers.

In addition to the store, Donovan and Hogan offer classes for pregnant women, including breast-feeding classes and "hypnobirthing," which teaches women techniques to reduce the fear of giving birth and allow for a process free of painkillers.

The store opened at the beginning of the year, and a grand opening is scheduled for early spring.

Donovan said the store has had great word-of-mouth publicity.

Felicia Joyce, whose fourth child is due Feb. 8, traveled from her home in the mountains, an hour outside Boone, to visit Peaceful Beginnings.

For Joyce, who is considering a switch to cloth diapers, environmental benefits are just an added bonus.

"This is our fourth child, and we want more," she said. "So we're looking for ways to save money."

She says she wishes she'd made the move sooner because cloth diapers can last through multiple children.

"If we'd done this with our first child, the savings would be tremendous," she said.

She came to Greensboro, where she has family, to see and touch the diapers in person, rather than wing it on the Internet.

Donovan noted that women also find the in-store experience helpful when picking out baby slings. Peaceful Beginnings stocks four brands.

"They're glad they can have some place to shop, to try it on their babies."

Contact Kavita Pillai at 373-7157 or kavita.pillai@news-record.com