NYT Op-Ed on BPA, baby bottles, etc.

[TxCat]

Just read this online - not completely sure what I think of it, but thought that I would share:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/opinion/09browning.html?_r=1&hp

[citymama]

I read this. Terrifying, isn't it? Glass bottles seem a whole lot more attractive.

[essnce629]

Yeah, glass and stainless seem like the safest options for everything. As well as steering clear of canned food.

[kristac]

:( sigh.

[DietCokeLover]

I feel so frustrated.

[janine]

Depressing because there is no proposed solutin (other than regulatory reform) - what's a parent to do in the meantime. We've used BPA free this whole time, but with #2 on the way, now what? The glass ones are a PIA but guess will have to at least buy one.

[crl]

Depressing because there is no proposed solutin (other than regulatory reform) - what's a parent to do in the meantime. We've used BPA free this whole time, but with #2 on the way, now what? The glass ones are a PIA but guess will have to at least buy one.

I think glass and stainless steel are the long-term answers regardless of regulatory change. In my totally non-expert opinion, plastic has issues no matter what the exact formulation is and I don't think they are going to be able to solve that. So, I am just trying to switch everything over to glass or stainless.

BTW, in case anyone is wondering, they do make stainless steel baby bottles now. We have the Earthlust ones.

Catherine

[boogiemomz]

Ugh. As I sit here with DD drinking milk from her playtex sippy and eating fruit off the shiny blue tray of her FP booster. Feel like we can't win. I just can't convert EVERYTHING to glass.

[janine]

What about all the other products that come in a can/plastic bottle? Formula, water? It seems impossible to avoid it.

[AnnieW625]

Ugh. As I sit here with DD drinking milk from her playtex sippy and eating fruit off the shiny blue tray of her FP booster. Feel like we can't win. I just can't convert EVERYTHING to glass.

:yeahthat: I hear you 1000%.

I packed my salad today in my BPA free snapware set, but somewhere in the back of mind I probably should've packed it in a china bowl that could break, oh and my strawberries, and my sliced chicken for the salad are packed in plastic baggies. I have become way more aware of reheating in plastic, which I usually don't do (unless I eat an occaisional frozen lunch meal). I also have thought about getting one of those expensive Planet Box lunch systems for my DD1 who will go to kindergarten next year but I am still gun shy as sending her lunch in either ziploc baggies or reusable ziploc or gladware containers is way easier than flipping out when the $25+ lunchbox system doesn't come back from school.

I have 6 glass Evenflo bottles on my counter I got for DD2 and I never used them because she got mild nipple confusion when she drank out of a narrow nipple Dr. Browns bottle as a newborn (she'd nurse from me with no problem but her suck would be off for about half of the feeding and it was uncomfortable as hell) so we switched to Avent, and now currently Playtex drop ins and no problems and no spit up!

[TxCat]

What about all the other products that come in a can/plastic bottle? Formula, water? It seems impossible to avoid it.

Exactly. It's so frustrating.

And then I feel bad about throwing out all the BPA-free plastics that I have already, and replacing it all with glass... no easy answers.

[daisymommy]

Just an FYI...there are wide-neck breastfeeding friendly glass bottles out there (such as Born Free). You can even get silicone sleeves to go over them so they won't break if you drop them, and they aren't slippery when wet.

[crl]

According to my minimal research (think my source was EWG), formula cans do have BPAa in the lining but there's no evidence it leaches into the dry powdered formula. I'm sure I'm oversimplifying that so definitely do your own research if that's an issue for you. Anyway, I decided not to sweat that one.

We seldom drink bottled water. Instead we use refillable stainless steel Kleen Kanteens. I figure I'm going for improvement not perfection so when we go to family camp, we will be using bottled water. And I serve it that way at kids parties and so on. But overall, we have reduced our exposure (and the cost of drinking water, plus the environmental consequences) a lot.

My house is definitely not plastic free. I figure one step at a time is great. My first priority is things like bottles and sippies because the kids use them and they contain liquids and the liquids sit in them for a long time sometimes. Next I started on ds' lunch containers, partly because I didn't already have a bunch of plastic stuff. Since I had to buy anyway, I bought stainless. Then I moved on to food storage, because food sits in those containers for a long time. I have made a lot of progress there, but still end up using zip locks a lot. My next project is replacing the cups the kids drink out of--tumblers--at home.

Catherine

[BabyBearsMom]

We seldom drink bottled water. Instead we use refillable stainless steel Kleen Kanteens. I figure I'm going for improvement not perfection so when we go to family camp, we will be using bottled water. And I serve it that way at kids parties and so on. But overall, we have reduced our exposure (and the cost of drinking water, plus the environmental consequences) a lot.



:yeahthat: This exactly. I think we can only do our best to limit exposure, but can never hope to completely prevent exposure.