Check out my review on the New Glass Sippy!

A few months ago I wrote a lengthy review of BPA free sippy cups. I reviewed, compared, and rated 5 major sippy cups that are BPA free…Klean Kanteen, the Sigg, the Foogo, Born Free, and Avent Naturally. A few months before that I also wrote about BPA free baby bottles and particularly glass baby bottles. I wrote another one just a few weeks ago. All of these posts draw a lot of daily traffic to this blog so I know this is a topic of great importance to parents. It also turns out that ever since I wrote that sippy cup post I have been contacted by several companies that make BPA free products to ask me to review their products and to keep writing about this important issue…keeping BPA or Bisphenol A out of the products we give to our babies.

I recently heard about a mom that wrote a letter to a baby formula manufacturer asking them to remove BPA from their product. The response she got was essentially that “the government says the tiny amount of BPA in our product is safe…we aren’t breaking any laws…tough cookies”.

This response infuriates me. Yes that one can of formula may have “safe limits” of BPA but what happens when parents go home and feed their babies that BPA tainted formula inside a BPA tainted bottle? After feeding time maybe they give that child a teething toy that has BPA in it and for nap time maybe the child sucks on a pacifier with BPA in it. The total exposure to BPA is getting quite large when you look at ALL the products in their small lives that may contain this harmful chemical. For ANY company to sit back and say that they don’t care about that is morally reprehensible IMO. We as consumers need to withhold our financial support of such companies until they clean up their act.

I am happy to report that MANY new companies, and some not so new companies, are stepping up the the plate and making safer products. In fact I have six new BPA free sippy cups to review! Several of these came to us gratis from some great companies so thank you! We now have an amazing collection of BPA cups including a cup that is perfect for older kids.

Fluid No Spill Toddler Cup from Boon (Price $6.00) - This cup is really kind of special and you can see why immediately. It has a very unique shape….kind of like a doughnut. It is uber stylish drink-ware for kids. The Fluid has an ergonomic two handled grip and an angled spout that requires less heading tipping. The price is very reasonable too.

A big plus for me is that it is a two piece system unlike so many other sippy cups. I am also happy to report that it is dishwasher safe because washing this thing by hand wouldn’t be very easy. The drying time required is a little long IMO though. I wondered how my son would react to the shape of this cup and at first it seemed we had a dud on our hands because he screamed and refused to drink out of it. :) But I left it front of him during dinner and he eventually took a cautious sip and now he likes to drink out of it. However I usually try to reserve this cup for meal times because while it will not spill if knocked over, it will drip if turned upside down…a bonus feature for my two year old.  My kids give this cup an A+ but mom gives it a B.

The Safe Sippy by Kid Basix (Price $16.95) – This cup is kind of deceiving. Just by looking at a picture I would not have discerned that it is stainless steel…but it is. It is a non-leaching stainless steel cup with a hard plastic, angled spout, removable plastic handles, and a cool rubber-like plastic sheath similar to the ones we are know seeing on some glass baby bottles. All plastics used to make these cups are free of BPA, DEHA, and phthalates. This is even declared on the packaging which is a HUGE bonus IMO. The packaging is also made from recycled paper and soy based inks. The cups come in pink, blue, and teal.

My 4 year old daughter LOVES this cup. She opted to remove the handles as they were awkward for her but now that they are gone this is her favorite cup…knocking her Sigg and her Klean Kanteen down to seconds. She tosses it around quite a bit and it does not leak. What I like about this cup is the sheath on top of the stainless steel. It keeps her little hands from getting cold when a cold drink is put inside of it. The other two cups I mentioned do get pretty darn cold and cold is not cool in winter time.  She tells me that the pink color is perfect for princesses too. She gives it an A+ and so do I.

Nuby No-Spill Sport Sipper (Price $3.95) - This cup is probably the most affordable BPA free option for parents and as such it gets big props from me. Yes I personally prefer some of the more expensive cups but lower income families should not be relegated to using toxics because that is all they can afford. This Nuby cup is very durable and attractive with lovely shades of purple, red, blue, yellow, and green.  We have the green cup and it is a very pretty lime hue. It too has a hint of that rubber-like sheath that is getting so popular with a no-slip grip around the middle of the cup.  The middle of the cup is also curved allowing little hands to get a good grip. I think the easy grip is one reason my two year old REALLY likes this cup. It also has a soft silicone nipple-shaped straw. I am not sure how long the straw part will last in comparison to the rest of the cup but time will tell. My kids gave this cup a B. I think it wasn’t fancy enough for them but the low price and the overall appeal have prompted me to give it an A.

Nuby 10oz Sippy Cup with Handles (Price $4.95) – This is another great cup from Nuby. It is smaller and is made with a harder plastic than the one above. It has twin handles with a wide soft silicone spout, and a pressure sensitive Vari-Flo feature that regulates fluid intake and doesn’t leak.  This Nuby is probably ideal for kids just making the transition to a sippy cup but the quality is really very nice for such an affordable cup. My youngest son didn’t seem to prefer this cup but we didn’t have any leaks when he used it. Overall my kids gave this cup a C…but the affordability once again can’t be ignored. I gave this one a B.

Note: I need to mention that Nubi has MANY sippy cups on the market that are not BPA free so use caution. My reviews of the two cups above are product specific and do not apply to the whole Nuby line.

Think Baby 9oz Training Cup (Price $8.95) – The Think Baby line is free of BPA, PVC, Nitrosamines and Lead. The sippy cups are made from a safe, durable and heat resistant plastic called PES (Polyethersulfone). The actual cup body is a lovely honey color and the top and handles are melon colored. The color scheme was hit for me as was the fact that it came in recycled packaging. This cup is ideal for training babies to use a sippy cup so the handles are kind of big and chunky and the spout is soft and nipple-like. Other nice features inlcude the fact that all Think Baby bottle and training cup parts are interchangeable and it is dishwasher safe. We removed the handles and it is working well for my youngest although I think if left unattended he would chew on the spout and ruin it. I think this cup is definitely for younger kids. My kids gave it a B and since it does have a specific and narrow market I would also give it a B. For the same price I could buy each of the Nuby cups described above and have a transition cup AND a toddler cup.

The FUNtainer Straw Bottle by Thermos (Price $12.99-14.99) – This is the BPA free cup option that will appeal to older kids. It is made by Thermos who also makes my favorite sippy cup…the Foogo. In fact the taller Foogo straw cup is pretty darn similar. The FUNtainer is a fantastic stainless steel straw bottle with a plastic lid made of non-toxic polypropylene and the straw is made of silicone. The lid stays attached to the cup so losing it is not an issue as it is with so many other cups. You simple push a little tab and the lid pops up and falls back to allow drinking. It is really very nifty. It came with an extra straw for the inside and the out which is nice too. I would have to say that this cup is a bit hard to clean though so I only allow water in it. Which really is good because I want my kids to drink more water.

Another big plus for this cup is the fact that it comes in a lot of great styles. You can get a FUNtainer designed with Barbie, Pirates of the Caribbean, Cars the Movie, Scooby Doo…there are many different options. The lower price is for more generic designs like flowers and the upper price is for cups with licensed characters like Barbie. We have the Cars FUNtainer for my seven year who is a big fan of Lightning McQueen. He carries this cup in his Laptop Lunchbox bag or in his backpack if he doesn’t pack a lunch. He gives it an A+ rating and I would have to give it the same.

So, which cup rates the best in our family? Well, for this round we have to pick two different cups. The Safe Sippy comes out  a winner because it is stainless steel and has a protective sheath that makes it more practical for cold beverages (or cold weather – I live in Ohio). The FUNtainer is also a big winner because it is perfect for older kids and my oldest son wants his own special cups that don’t look babyish.

Now if I include the cups from my previous sippy cup review I would have to say that overall I still like the Foogo with its Thermos ability to insulate drink temperatures and its gorgeous design. The Safe Sippy may just have to be our colder weather cup though. And my favorite cup for older kids is the FUNtainer. Lots of readers asked about cups for older kids so I was happy to find a nice solution.

Also check out the BPA Free Klean Kanteen Kolors – This super stylish cup is now in color!

Make sure to check out our reviews on BPA Free Plates, Bowls, and Utensils!

Have a great weekend everyone! I leave you with a few cool links to check out over the weekend.

First, did you see it?! I have been named a Green Mom Extraordinaire by Green Mom Finds. Read my interview here. I am so happy that people are enjoying this blog AND I am ecstatic at the amount of questions I get via email now. Keep them coming and I will try to address them here. If you know of any topics that I should cover just contact me. :)

I am always on the lookout for ways to save money and resources by way of my energy usage. I found an awesome new blog called Energy Boomer written by a guy that lives about 45 minutes away from me. One of his latest posts I found particularly interesting about how we should save money by spinning twice. It is a good read. 

I wrote a post over on my cloth diaper blog about how Prefolds are the New Pink! Some cool diapering finds awoke my sleeping hyena.

I spied a cool gift idea at Green Kits. They offer complete packages or kits of green products in a variety of themes. Need a housewarming gift? Why not try their green cleaning kit? Need a baby shower gift? Why not try their green baby kit? Pretty nifty…

I also found a cool company that recycles wool (from sweaters maybe?) into mittens. Their mismatched mittens get polar fleece cuffs and vintage buttons to make art work for the hands. They are gorgeous!

Last up…my friend Carrie over Natural Moms Talk Radio resolved to eat more veggies for 2008 so to that end she has release a fun e-book called the 365 Salad Recipe Collection. It has a salad for every day of the year so you never get salad boredom! She was kind enough to gift me a copy and I am pretty excited about all my salad prospects…Drunken Chicken Salad, Frozen Cranberry Salad, Glass Noodle Salad, Oprah’s Mock Caesar Salad…yum! This will come in handy when I am planning meals with the veggies I grow in my garden or ones that come in my CSA box.

[tags]salad recipes, wool mittens, energy saver, green gifts, green kits[/tags]

Welcome, Carnival of Breastfeeding readers!

I don’t really talk about breastfeeding all that much on this blog but I really should because it is one of the most natural and “green” things you can do as a mom.

I have breastfed three kids now. My oldest only got 4 months of breast milk because I had to return to work and my place of employment was a big corporate office with a shared bathroom and my office was all glass in front. I would have had no place to pump so he was weaned a lot sooner then I would have liked. I STILL feel guilty about it.

3.5 years later my daughter was born and not a drop of formula ever passed her perfect lips. It was one of the happiest times in my whole parenting career getting to stay home with her and breastfeed on demand. I loved every second of it…well except that time she bit me and I had a huge, infected gash on my nipple. That sucked (no pun intended). ;) I breastfed her through my third pregnancy and after my last baby was born I was still nursing her. I would have continued nursing her and my youngest just as long as they wanted. I used to estimate that I had another 3-4 years of nursing left but that plan was foiled by cancer and my daughter ended up weaning at 2 years old and my son at six months. I didn’t even get to gradually wean them since I was in the hospital having my colon cut out and reconnected. My family got to wean two kids for me. Have I told them today how much I love them??

Reading the book Mama Knows Breast by Andi Silverman was a welcome trip down memory lane for me. Right away I knew I would like it after reading some of the informal, girlfriend’s style writing. The way she worked breast into many of the titles was cute too…Mama Knows Breast, The Breast of Times and Worst of Times, etc. The illustrations were awesome too and made me very nostalgic.

Ms. Silverman and I had different values as to length of time to breastfeed and tandem nursing but overall it is a good beginners guide to breastfeeding. It is not preachy and it doesn’t incite feelings of guilt.

Chapter one addresses the ups and downs of breastfeeding. I have romanticized breastfeeding so much I forgot about the downs but there a few, such as the fact that only you can feed the baby and there are many sleepless nights (at least in the beginning). The positives include bonding, giving your baby the best nutrition, and health benefits for mom and baby. The book also goes into the mechanics of breastfeeding, the lack of sleep issue, breastfeeding in public ( I was a shamelessly public breastfeeder), getting support from your spouse, your sex life while nursing, and the issue of weaning. It is a well rounded look at the issues that most commonly concern nursing mothers.

I really like the real mom anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book. Moms that have lived to tell about it are inspiring right? It was an enjoyable read, even if breastfeeding is part of my past now…sniff, sniff. :(

Other participating blogs:

Bad Ass Dad

Weaning a Toddler

Adventures of Pip and Sqeak

Breastfeeding Mums

Mama Knows Breast

Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

Crunchy Domestic Goddess

Breastfeeding 123

Breastfeeding Beginnings

[tags]mama knows breast, breastfeeding, baby, nursing, book review[/tags]

Not in baseball and not at Chuck E. Cheese….. unless your mom gives you water and Larabars instead of pizza and pop…then maybe. :)

[tags]wordless wednesday, chuck e. cheese[/tags]

This past October I REALLY wanted to attend the 2007 Holistic Moms conference in New Jersey but I wasn’t able to go. I missed wonderful presentations by Elizabeth Pantley (who I have met online but never in person) who wrote The No Cry Discipline Solution, Chef Ann Cooper who wrote a wonderful book called Lunch Lessons, and Peggy O’Mara the editor of Mothering Magazine. I was so bummed. :(

BUT I discovered a few days ago that the Holistic Moms Network was offering a DVD recording of all three presentations! Woot! I think it took of all 5 seconds for me to order, it came quickly and it is a wonderfully informative DVD. Elizabeth Pantley had excellent ideas on using positive discipline, Chef Ann had some alarming statistics to share about school lunches and the way our kids are eating, and Peggy O’Mara spoke about trusting in your ability to parent. I can honestly say I am not disappointed in missing the conference now because instead of paying the $1200 I had allotted for the conference I got to see it for only $29.95 and my husband did to. :)

If you missed out you can order a DVD or an audio CD here.