Glass Baby Bottles and Food Jars

I can’t remember exactly when the proverbial glass shattered for me regarding plastics…I think it was about four months ago when I came across the website for Healthy Child Healthy World (as I was shopping online for my Honest Company products – HCHW is a partner).  As I learned what those little triangle-numbers actually meant, I started to freak out. I ran around my house turning bottles upside down and cross referencing my Healthy Child iPhone app, and barfed out a giant run-on sentence diatribe to my husband about leaching. Things got weird.

These freak outs have been a part of my journey into my new healthy lifestyle. I tend a bit toward anxiety in general, and sometimes information overload can be the death of me. I have to gently remind myself of the 80/20 rule, and that nobody spontaneously combusted from their lips grazing a Starbucks lid. Seriously. So I just knock back two glasses of pinot and things seem a lot better.

That said, my cherubic little baybay falls in the 80% – so mommy found some glass for this cute butt:

That's one type of glass bottle...

So, all baby bottles on the US market are BPA free – but does that mean they are totally safe? All plastics have the potential to leach toxic chems, especially when heated. Even BPA free bottles may still contain other (untested) chemicals which could leach into your babe’s lunch. So to avoid ALL that drama, just go glass!

I popped over to The Baby Grocery Store per usual, and picked up these beauties. There were several options, but I settled on Lifefactory because they are made to fit Medela nips. How brillballs!

So, I rest easier at night, but I will confess there are drawbacks: For one, they are heavier, so it may be longer before she can hold them herself. Also, the ounce marker is much harder to see. But all in all they are pretty sweet. Totally dishwasher safe, including the silicone sleeve, and pretty dang cute if you ask me.

More fun glass baby accouterments - these wonderful glass baby food jars from Wean Green. They are the perfect size, freezer/dishwasher/microwave safe, and just too damn cute. I have no worries heating Dylan's frozen baby food cubes in these (I usually plop them right into the bottle warmer).

Here are a couple uber-simple rules to remember for plastics:

1. Look for the little number on your plastic item: #2, #4, and #5 are the safest.
2. Always avoid heating food or drinking liquids in plastic (especially in the microwave).
3. Consider replacing all your plastic food storage with glass. Plastic degrades in the dishwasher and microwave, and then you've got a creepy leaching situation on your hands.
4. Don't reuse plastic water bottles. They are okay straight out of the vending machine, but don't refill them as they are only deemed "safe" (hah) for a single use. Buy a stainless reusable bottle and keep it with yo hot self at all times.

How do you avoid plastics - any tips? Do you ever get plastic anxiety like me, when you realize virtually every freaking item in America is made of plastic?! Bah!