Yes, I said BPA.  Do you know what BPA is?  Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used to make plastic things like baby bottles, sippy cups, toys, water bottles, the lining in canned food, and all sorts of things.  Even very small amounts of BPA have been linked to cancers, impaired immune function, early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes, and hyperactivity, and other problems.  OK, I’m thinking I don’t want anywhere near this stuff!  Canada has already banned it’s use!

I started reading about BPA about two years ago, before it became so widely known as a no-no.  I was heating up cow’s milk in Avent bottles for my toddler every morning.  I came across a few articles, freaked, and bought glass bottles.  Then, I also realized that the sippy cups he was using had BPA in them.  And then I realized some of our toys had it in them.  Yikes!  How could I get away from this stuff??

Now that BPA is more widely known, you can find “BPA free” stuff in many more places.  Z Recommends has a wonderful report on feeding products, bath toys, and teethers.  SafeMama has some awesome shopping cheat sheets with BPA free products.  There is one for bottles and sippy cups, and one for pacifiers and teethers.  You can also shop at The Soft Landing for BPA free products.

The places I mentioned above have helped me so much!  Anytime I need to purchase a new sippy, or teether, I can just check there before shopping.  I’ve also been able to look for products we already had and throw them out if they were not BPA free.

A few months ago I was feeding my baby his lunch out of the small plastic container that Gerber baby food comes in when I noticed a #7 inside the little triangle on the bottom.  I was like, great, here I am buying organic baby food that comes in a BPA container.  But some quick research revealed that #7 doesn’t always mean BPA.  I wish it was a little more clear cut, but in this case, it isn’t. Another place I wasn’t happy about finding BPA is in our big 5 gallon water bottles that we take each week to refill.  I cannot find an easy alternative here, so we’ll be installing an RO water filtration system in our home soon.

For now, I don’t think we can get completely away from BPA, but here are the steps you can take toward ridding it from your life:

• Avoid plastics with 3, 6, or7 in the recycle triangle
• Choose toys and books made with natural wood, paper, cloth, or metal
• Use glass, stainless steel, or ceramic in the kitchen for food storage and reheating
• Use glass or ceramic when reheating in the microwave
• Use wax paper or paper towels to cover food in the microwave
• Check product packages for “no phthalates” or “no bisphenol A (BPA)”

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