Please Sign the Healthy Child Healthy World Petition

Help change the way companies do business and please sign the Healthy Child Healthy World petition for toxic free baby bottles and join parents from across the country to send a message to leading baby bottle manufacturers that toxic chemicals like BPA don't belong in our children's products! If you have not already been to their website it is great and a wonderful resource for parents. If you are still on the fence about how you feel about this subject check out this artical from The Center for Health, Environment and Justice or the article Polycarbonate: The Plastic that Keeps on Giving…BPA from Healthy Child Healthy World.

Born Free Bottles and Sippy Cups

Once I decided to change Jack's daycare bottles to Bisphenol-A-free (BPA-free) bottles I had to decide which bottle I was going to use. I did some research and decided that I wanted bottles from companies that do not use polycarbonate, which leaches BPA. This narrowed my choices to three bottles; Born Free, Green to Grow and Think Baby. My choice came down to what was available locally; I wanted to make the switch over the weekend so that we would be ready for daycare Monday morning. My choice was Born Free; they were available locally at Babies R Us. I have to admit that I was a little taken aback by the price $19.99 for a two pack, but I figured this was important.

One great feature of their bottles is that all the parts are interchangeable from the bottles, trainer cups and drinking cups. This was a big selling point for me because this means that I will be able to change the bottles into trainer cups and then into drinking cups all just by changing the nipple/spouts. Another feature that I like about these bottles are the disc shaped covers that go underneath the colar and nipple to help eliminate leaks. I always seemed to have leaks with my old Avent bottles. So far I am very happy with these bottles and the peace of mind that they give me.

A Tale of Two Sippys

Okay, so Allie (2.5 years) has now gotten her two new sippy cups.

I got her the Sigg water bottle, 0.4L (13 oz) shown to the left, which has a twist action sport top and mud cap. These bottles are made of non-leaching stainless steel and the company is committed to both safe paint for the outside of their bottles and to using safe materials to make the bottles. All materials used are safe and made of non-leaching materials (no BPA).


"The inside of every SIGG bottle is coated with a proprietary baked-on inner lining that is taste neutral, resistant to fruit acids and isotonic drinks, and guaranteed for easy cleaning and no taste transfer. It is a water-based epoxy resin exceeding FDA requirements and independently tested to prove 0% leaching. The liner is flexible and crack resistant, even if the bottle is dented.
Not all manufacturers of stainless steel or aluminum bottles use a liner. Look for the SIGG logo to be sure you are getting a genuine SIGG with a 100% safe liner." quoted from Swiss Knife Shop

Allie really likes this cup, she calls it her "big girl cup" We have been using it for a week and so far we haven't had any problems with it leaking. I really like this bottle/cup a lot and I am planning on getting one for myself, Matt and Jack (when he is ready for it). There are so many diffent designs, sizes and types that you can get... there is DEFINATELY a bottle for everyone.

PRO'S:

• These cups have lots of designs to choose from to personalize the cup for each child. They have several different top designs to choose from.
• We found the 0.3L to be better for babies/young toddlers and the 0.4L to be better for older toddlers.

CON'S:

• The ActiveBottle sports cap is difficult for young children to use and I would recommend using it for children at least 5 years old. To drink from the ActiveBottle sports cap, you need to give it a small twist and press the top down with your mouth - there's no need to touch the mouthpiece with your fingers. A wide opening creates maximum flow for the drink. When you set the bottle down, the mouthpiece closes automatically and the top is sealed once again.
• In the winter we found that the outside of the cup gets very cold. They do make a pouches that fit both the 0.3L and the 0.4L bottles; this would help.`

The second cup that we got Allie was the Safe Sippy by Kid Basix. This is also a great cup, the design and style is much different from the Sigg bottle. However it too is made from non-leaching stainless steel and the company is very committed to safe products for our babies and children. This cup is more of a standard "sippy cup", eventhough it looks like it has a straw it is really a sippy spout. Therefore the cup needs to be tilted back to drink from. The Safe Sippy comes with the handles pictured, which are removable and it has a Thermoplastic Rubber Sleeve, which provides insullation both for the liquids that are inside and for the little hands that are holding the cup. This cup also has a straw like spout which is supposed to be better for developing mouts, than the more traditional wide spout designs.

PRO'S:

• This cup is well made and designed. I like that the consulted with speech developement experts to get the best design possible.
• The Thermoplastic Rubber Sleeve- that keeps liquids cold and little hands comfy.
• Their website has a store locator. I bought mine at Bellani Maternity in Warwick, RI (Thanks Meg, for picking this up for me!)
• The choice of choice of colors pink/orange, blue/orange, and green (teal)/orange.

CON'S:

• This cup is difficult to get at this time. Many sites that I checked were on backorder.
• Younger children may have a little bit of a harder time with this cup because you need to drink from it with the spout facing away from you. Allie figured it out quickly, without needing help; however I could see that she would have possibly had a more difficult time when she was younger.
• I did find that the cup does leak but ONLY if you aren't sure to screw the cap on securely.

What is Bisphenol A?

What is Bisphenol A?
Excerpt from Safe Mama:
Bisphenol A is a hormone-mimicking chemical used in polycarbonate plastics and resins commonly used for items such as shatterproof baby bottles. Bisphenol has estrogenic properties which, in animal tests has shown to cause a bevy of health problems such as an increase in prostate and breast cancer, uro-genital abnormalities in male babies, a decline in semen quality in men, early onset of puberty in girls, metabolic disorders including insulin-resistant (Type 2) diabetes and obesity and neurobehavioral problems such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Research is showing that when plastic containers, mostly those used to hold liquids and foods, are leeching Bisphenol into the foods and liquids they are holding. Heating food and liquids with these plastics is shown to increase the leeching of this contaminate.
Many companies use this chemical in their packaging including cans, soda cans, and plastic food containers. There is a risk of absorbing this chemical through the use of containing foods and liquids but can also leech into our water systems through landfills.
Many leading experts argue that the use of Bisphenol is safe to the human public but research may begin to further prove otherwise.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:
“Bisphenol A has been known to leach from the plastic lining of canned foods and, to a lesser degree, polycarbonate plastics that are cleaned with harsh detergents or used to contain acidic or high-temperature liquids.[16] Infants fed with liquid infant formula have among the highest exposures of anyone eating canned foods. Infants fed canned formula with polycarbonate bottles can consume quantities of Bisphenol A up to 13 µg/kg/day.”

Cheat Sheet for BPA free Bottles, Teethers, Pacifers and Sippy Cups

BPA Free Bottles

~Born Free Bottles
~Green to Grow
~Think Baby Bottles
~Siliskin
~Wee•go Glass Baby Bottles
~Evenflow Glass Baby Bottles
~Nuby Baby Bottles
The 3 Stage Non-Drip Standard Neck Bottle is an affordable BPA free alternative.

BPA Free Pacifiers

~Playtex “Binky” (one piece silicone pacifier)
~Gerber Silicone NUKs (All Gerber pacis are free of polycarbonate plastic)
~The First Years Soothies Silicone Paci’s
~Vice Versa Binky w/ Case
~Natural Rubber Natursutten Paci


BPA Free Teethers

~Sassy Jelly Fish Teethers
~Sassy Coolin’ Teether
~Sassy Chilly Dilly Daisy
~Luv n’ Care Icy Bite Teether
~Nuby Jiggle Giggle Teethers (cow and butterfly)
~Nuby NibblerNuby Ice Gel Teether Keys on a Ring
~Nuby Bug-A-Loop Teether
~Je Je Vibrating Teether (rubber)
~Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether
~Vulli Chan Pie Gnon Teethers
~Comfort + Joy Teether (coming soon)
~Leapfrog Gentle Vibes teether
~Sassy Buzz n’ Bites teether

Sippy Cups

~Sigg

~The Safe Sippy
~Born Free Training Sippy Cup
~Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Reusable Bottles
~Foogo Sippy Cups and Straw Bottles by Thermos

The Soft Landing Blog also has a great list of Nuby BPA Free products. Becareful though because some of the Nuby cups have PBA in the lids.

*This list contains the BPA Free products that I am aware of. If there is a product not on here, it does not mean it’s not safe. Inquire with the toy maker about materials used if you are unsure. If you see that a product is not listed here that should be please let me know so that I can add it.

For my favorite websites to buy PBA free products check out my list to the right of this blog.

Websites/Blogs that I uses to reference this shopping list Z Recommends and The Soft Landing

Bisphenol-A in Baby Bottles/Sippy Cups/Water Bottles (Video Clip)

This is what started it all for me, my mom saw this segment on Good Morning America about Bisphenol-A (BPA) and so did my friend Missie. Go to SafeMama to watch the segment.

"A new study was conducted by the University of Cincinnati recently that found Bisphenol-A (BPA) can leach into liquids when boiling water was added to polycarbonate containers. The new study revealed it’s the liquids temperature that has the effect."