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Plastic Paranoia

I'm pretty sure I sucked down my fair share of formula from plastic bottles as an infant. But ever since I first heard the word leaching (as in toxins leaching from water bottle into water - shudder), I've been a little obsessed over cutting down on the plastic I have in my life. I use a BPA-free Brita pitcher every day, carry my Biter bottle with me everywhere, and definitely, always pass on the plastic bags at the grocery store. I'm forwarding today's tip (flagged "important") to everyone I know who has an infant...or a plastic water bottle. I even pop my Amy's organic frozen dinners out of their plastic dishes and nuke them on a real plate instead, and so far the only drawback is one more dish to wash, so I'm sticking to it.

-NY Editor Beth...off to pick up a glass storage container for my leftover beef and broccoli...

Posted by: hsnavely on 05/08/2008
related tip
It's an eyeful you'd probably rather avoid. Unfortch, many baby and adult water bottles are made from plastic that contains the toxin bisphenol A (BPA). Opt for BPA-free bottles, and hide your eyes from the rest.
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Idealbite Team Member tmeronek   on May 08, 2008 at 04:09 PM 21
Lisa, You can read more about the 2007 and other BPA studies here: http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/scimedemail/la-na-plastic16apr16,0,51... And a whole lot more about the issue here: http://www.ewg.org/reports/bisphenola
Carla Placido  on May 08, 2008 at 07:01 PM 22
I think you need to be very careful when discussing breastfeeding - not only in your "bite" but in other people's comments. I fully believe breast is best, but there are circumstances where breastfeeding doesn't work. I have hypersensitive nipples and breastfeeding is excruciating. My inability to breastfeed led to post-partum depression and huge feelings of failure. I have been pumping and happily feeding my son from glass bottles for 4 1/2 months now. So for everybody who can't, or chooses not to breastfeed, Evenflow makes glass bottles that are readily available and relatively inexpensive. This is a very touchy subject with women at an especially sensitive time in their lives, so be careful.
Evelyn Saungikar  on May 08, 2008 at 07:46 PM 23
It wasn't that long ago that I heard we were supposed to get rid of aluminum pans, because of a possible relationship between Alzheimer's and aluminum. Why is it now suddenly safe again?
chrysta  on May 08, 2008 at 09:26 PM 24
keep plastics to a minimum in your homes and lives! We breast fed for 14 to 16 months on all our children but used only glass and kleen kanteen or sigg bottles(totally leak proof when closed) post num-nums. All the hype concerning plastics may or may not be true(I.E. proven)but, if there is even a small chance that they could be problematic why would you chance it?
Johanna  on May 08, 2008 at 11:32 PM 25
Yeah, plastic water bottles and plastic cups creep me out. I adore my SIGG bottle and really want to get the Ninja SIGG for my kidlet. Oh, and I loved the extended breastfeeding comment. The same kid who is getting the SIGG bottle also breastfed till just before his 3rd birthday. I did use bottles (expressed milk) and I wish I knew what I know now about plastic :( But honestly, it was so stinkin hard to get him to take anything other than milk fresh off the tap that I really couldn't be choosey. I did use the "breastbottle" for a while though. Kid would gag on just about anything. /ramble
Sondra  on May 09, 2008 at 06:53 AM 26
I recently got BPA free bottles at Green to Grow and love them, http://www.greentogrow.com/ I wish that you had listed them in your daily tip email as well. I didn't want glass but need an alternative to plastic bottles because I work full time and pump so the little guy gets feed from a bottle most times. They also have sippy cups there as well.
Dave  on May 09, 2008 at 08:34 AM 27
Ya, plastics are everywhere. In the process of getting rid of all my plastic cups & glasses I found myself sucking on a plastic straw!! Found some really cool glass straws though @ glassdharma.com.
Colette  on May 09, 2008 at 10:32 AM 28
Evelyn Saungikar: Here's some information on aluminum and Alzheimer's: "Pans - cooking in uncoated aluminium utensils can increase the amount of aluminium in certain foods such as fruits which are high in acid. Cooking foods in coated, non-stick or hard anodised aluminium pans adds virtually no aluminium to food." copied from: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=... SIGG aluminum bottles are coated with a non-leaching coating.
Cindy  on May 09, 2008 at 12:06 PM 29
I would bet that most of your readers who have a baby are breastfeeding their babies, at least for the first year (if not for 3+ years like some of us). These 25 oz. bottles you wrote about are USELESS for those of us who need to pump breast milk for later feeding to our babies--we need more like a 4 to 6 oz. bottle. Please think about this whenever you next write about plastic/glass/silicone bottles. Thanks.
Jessica  on May 09, 2008 at 12:28 PM 30
Um... I think the 25 oz bottles mentioned are for adults to drink out of. I don't know about your guys' babies, but my son never drinks 25 oz in a sitting. I don't think my boobs will hold 25 oz either.
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