A can of worms...better yet a sippy cup of worms

Addison is getting to the stage where we can introduce a sippy cup with handles, so I wanted to find out which ones were the best kind. I asked a friend in my baby group, and low and behold, I was informed of the current "plastics paranoia" that is rumbling underground, and now starting to emerge in the mainstream. Have you gotten any of those emails warning you to not heat your food in plastic containers in the microwave because it releases toxins into your food? Well, there is a chemical called BPA (Bisphenol-A) that is a plastic softener, used in TONS of plastic products, including baby bottles and sippy cups! BPA is a synthetic estrogen, and a growing number of scientists are concerned about BPA leaching into food, which could lead to a huge host of problems including obesity, breast cancer (Sheryl Crow swears this is how she got breast cancer) infertility, diabetes and more. After finding out about this, it enraged me that the most popular bottle companies (Avent, Dr. Brown's and more) are making bottles that contain BPA. There are some companies that are "BPA Free" including Born Free, which is sold at Whole Foods and Babies R Us.

I'm going to pick up a couple tomorrow to see if Addison will take them. She's gotten very used to the Avent bottles, but if I'm poisoning her each time she takes her formula/breast milk, I'd be happy to BURN the Avent bottles!

Here is a blog (Z Recommends) that has tons of information about BPA, and they did quite a bit of research on the different kinds of sippy cups and bottles out there, and which ones are safe. You can actually look at the bottom of your sippy cups and you should see a number there, and the website will tell you what kind of plastic it is, and if it's safe. I just looked at one of the water bottles that I drink out of all the time, and found out it's one of the worst! I got it at REI, and it's going in the garbage! Just think of what your ordinary bottle of water from the store is made of, probably the cheapest, ickiest plastic out there!

Sorry for the paranoia, but I wanted to inform everyone, since many of you who read this blog have kids, or will have kids soon, and I know that if you knew this, you'd think twice about buying bottles/sippy cups made with plastic that has BPA. This is legit, in case you were thinking that it's a hoax. I've heard bits and pieces about it, but I guess today there is a big article about it on www.salon.com I haven't had time to read it yet, but I will soon.

Ok, off to pump, and store the milk in a poisonous bottle! This will change tomorrow...