Hitting the Bottle
When I was pregnant with Joseph last year, I was proudly hydrating myself with lemon water in a Nalgene bottle. That bottle and I were inseparable, and I was chugging 64+ oz. per day. That came to a screeching halt when someone I know made an offhand comment about plastics leaching nasty things. WHAT??!!! This lead to a full-on research binge that led me to a hormone driven frenzy. The end result of this freak-out was useful, however. Here is what I learned and what I did:
Polycarbonate plastic (#7) is suspected of leaching Bisphenol-A, a known endocrine disruptor. The potential leaching is more likely to occur if the bottle or container is scratched, cracked, or run often through the dishwasher, or when heated. I decided that I needed a non-plastic solution, so I found the KleanKanteen, a stainless steel water bottle. They make many sizes, including sippy cups.
Additionally, much to my husband's dismay, I tossed out most of our tupperware, and only use glass containers, plates, etc. There is plenty of info on plastics out there; check out the Blue Butterfly Campaign for more info. Bottomline - avoid plastics #7, 6 and 3.
So...what about baby bottles? We decided that when Joseph was born, we would go old school glass all the way. Those bottles were purchased, sterilized, and set aside in anticipation of BPA free feedings. But as most best laid plans, this one was blown to bits in the face of nursing challenges and Joseph's early weight loss. We worked with a great lactation group, and they use Avent products. So we trashed our little glass gems and bought the full Avent line, thinking this was our only option.
At about the 5 month mark, I started looking upon those Avent bottles with growing suspicion. They had been knocked around, scrubbed, soaked, etc. Not acceptable for Toximom. Fortunately, there is a great company called Born Free that produces a full line of bottles and sippys in polypropylene (#5). This version is BPA free, although there is probably something else in there that we will find out about later. But anyway, for now, they seem like a good solution. So bye-bye Bisphenol-(A)vent! Hello my friend #5.
Polycarbonate plastic (#7) is suspected of leaching Bisphenol-A, a known endocrine disruptor. The potential leaching is more likely to occur if the bottle or container is scratched, cracked, or run often through the dishwasher, or when heated. I decided that I needed a non-plastic solution, so I found the KleanKanteen, a stainless steel water bottle. They make many sizes, including sippy cups.
Additionally, much to my husband's dismay, I tossed out most of our tupperware, and only use glass containers, plates, etc. There is plenty of info on plastics out there; check out the Blue Butterfly Campaign for more info. Bottomline - avoid plastics #7, 6 and 3.
So...what about baby bottles? We decided that when Joseph was born, we would go old school glass all the way. Those bottles were purchased, sterilized, and set aside in anticipation of BPA free feedings. But as most best laid plans, this one was blown to bits in the face of nursing challenges and Joseph's early weight loss. We worked with a great lactation group, and they use Avent products. So we trashed our little glass gems and bought the full Avent line, thinking this was our only option.
At about the 5 month mark, I started looking upon those Avent bottles with growing suspicion. They had been knocked around, scrubbed, soaked, etc. Not acceptable for Toximom. Fortunately, there is a great company called Born Free that produces a full line of bottles and sippys in polypropylene (#5). This version is BPA free, although there is probably something else in there that we will find out about later. But anyway, for now, they seem like a good solution. So bye-bye Bisphenol-(A)vent! Hello my friend #5.
posted by Toximom at 7:09 AM
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