Avent will be producing BPA-free bottles!

Breast Milk Cheese!! - hoax??

Stan shared a blog with me (which he got from Paolo) about breast milk cheese. There is a French company called Petit Singly which uses breast milk in making its cheeses. However, the website is in French and the Google translation is awful - I can't make sense of it. I googled "Petit Singly" and came up with a link to the Museum of Hoaxes. According to the Museum of Hoaxes, Petit Singly is a hoax because the site has ads and it is hosted on a lycos account.
Another website with a better translation shares that "the cheese is produced exactly like it would be for cow’s milk and apparently tastes like it has hints of hazelnut." Also, "the cheese is rich in vitamins and nutrients x x x and have an 'AB' label, which is the official label for organic products." LOL
Well, for those interested, you can order online here and email the company at petitsingly@lycos.fr.

BPA-free Playtex and Rubbermaid Products

Two companies which have products readily available in the Philippines recently released statements and lists of their BPA-free products. These companies are Playtex and Rubbermaid. Playtex's Original Drop-in Nurser is BPA-free and is available in SM's Baby & Co. Meanwhile, Rubbermaid products are also available in leading department stores. The Rubbermaid website is very informative as it includes pictures of BPA-free and "BPA-full" products. Rubbermaid also has a FAQ and listed numerous websites for reliable information about BPA. This is very good news since we now have immediate alternatives to the polycarbonate plastic products we are using.

Spoon-feeding Naima

In preparation for my going back to work, we've started to teach Naima how to drink milk from a spoon. We previously had problems with nipple confusion so I am adamant that she not drink milk from the bottle as much as possible. Considering that some doctors already start babies on solids at 4-months, I thought that we could also start teaching Naima to use a spoon. She won't be starting solids though but will be drinking mommy's expressed milk. We used a small chinese soup spoon. It has a groove so more milk can be scooped up. Plus, it's not made of plastic. However, it is made of porcelain so when Naima starts teething, we have to be really careful that she doesn't bite parts of it off. Here are some photos of her drinking milk:
Today is Day 3 of the spoon test. We have been giving her half an ounce of milk. For the past 2 days, she barely finished half of the half ounce! But today, only a spoonful was left! Hopefully, she'll take to spoon-feeding soon so we can increase the amount of milk to give her. This way, she can skip drinking from the bottle and just take milk from the spoon when I'm not around.

BPA-free Munchkin Bath Toys

Here's the email I got from Munchkin customer service. They listed the materials for each product. I know that the tubtoy organizers are available here. But not sure about the other products. Still waiting for their reply about teethers.

------ Forwarded Message
From: Munchkin Customer Service
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:38:10 -0400
To: xxxxxxxxx
Conversation: Contact Customer Service: Received
Subject: RE: Contact Customer Service: Received

Hello Jennifer-

Twisty fish- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, Phthalate-Free Polyvinyl Chloride, Polypropylene, steel shaft, Polyoxymethylene
Caterpillar Spillars-Polypropylene
Tub Toy Organizer-Polyester Fibers, Polyvinyl Chloride, Nylon, Polyester Fabric
Bath letters/numbers-EVA Foam
Sea and Learn Bath Shapes-EVA Foam

We do have a variety of teethers, can you please advise which one(s) you are inquiring about, so that I can give the material listing?

Have a great day!
Thank You-
Munchkin,Inc.
Consumer Relations


From: xxxxxxxx xxxxxx [xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 8:11 PM
To: Munchkin Customer Service
Subject: Contact Customer Service: Received

First Name: xxxxxxx
Last Name: xxxxxx
Email: xxxxx@xxxxxxx.edu
Phone: 703xxxxxx
---- COMMENT BELOW ----
Hello! I'm interested in purchasing several products from Munchkin for my daughter, particularly teethers and bath toys. However, I would like to confirm which teether and bath toy are BPA-free and not made from polycarbonate plastic. The items I'm particularly interested in are: Twisty Fish, Caterpillar spillers, tubtoy organizer and the bath letters/numbers, sea&learn bathshapes. For the teethers, FunIce Teethers and the Twisty Teether lines. Hope to hear from you. Thanks a lot.


------ End of Forwarded Message

Check out Z Recommends!

This website has a report on BPA-free products. It is very well organized and identifies each company and the products with BPA or not. Some of the companies sell their items in the Philippines so it will be worthwhile to check this list before you go shopping!

Mealmates are BPA-free

Here's the email I got from Learning Curve when I inquired about their mealmates. However, they didn't reply regarding Tumblemates. Fortunately, this company has been reviewed by Z and tumblemates is also BPA-free :)

------ Forwarded Message
From: CustomerService
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:01:59 -0500
To:
Subject: Re: Care and Safety Question or Feedback for LearningCurve.com Customer Care

Thank you for your inquiry,

Our Meal Mates are polypropylene which is number 5 on the recycling plastics list and does not contain bpa.

Thank you
Consumer Services


----- Original Message -----
From: xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.edu
To: Learning Curve ; Learning Curve
Sent: Saturday, April 12, 2008 3:51 AM
Subject: Care and Safety Question or Feedback for LearningCurve.com Customer Care

Hello! I'm interested in purchasing the following products for my daughter and would like to know if they are BPA-free: Meal mates 3 stage spoon set (Y1816) Meal mates suction bowl with Lid (Y1810) Tumble mates 3 bowls with snap & stay lids (Y1725) thanks!

Bisphenol-A - the threat is real!

I just received an email update from the softlanding blog. It appears that the danger in using polycarbonate products which contain Bisphenol-A (BPA) is real! Canada has identified BPA as a dangerous substance. This raises much concern especially since a lot of the products available in the Philippines are not BPA-free. The Washington Post has a recent article on how to limit BPA exposure.

But what is BPA? From Wikipedia: "Bisphenol A (abbreviated BPA) is an organic compound x x x which is a difunctional building block to several important polymers and polymer additives." Harmful effects of BPA, identified by the U.S. government's National Toxicology Program's report, is discussed in this article:

"[BPA] appears to mimic the effects of estrogen, interfering with hormone levels and cell signaling systems. Previous studies have shown that people exposed to high levels of BPA have a greater risk of developing uterine fibroids, breast cancer, decreased sperm counts, and prostrate cancer. Babies and children are thought to be at greatest risk from the exposure. In fact, the scientific evidence warrants 'a higher level of concern than those expressed by the expert [scientific] panel for possible effects of bisphenol A on prostate gland, mammary gland and early onset of puberty in exposed fetuses, infants and children.'"

What does this mean for Filipino moms? First, it may mean that you have to toss out those Avent bottles! I have tons of them - inherited from my brother and sister-in-law. Luckily, I have had the luxury of stopping work and Naima directly breastfeeds from me. I've also invested in BornFree bottles in case we would need to bottle feed her. However, I'm hoping that she'll soon learn to drink milk from a spoon so we could skip the bottles.

The Softlanding Blog and SafeMama have come up with guides which list BPA-free products:

Safer Kids Cup and Dish Guide and
Safer Pacifier Guide and Pacifiers and Teethers
Safer Sippy Cup Guide and Bottles and Sippy Cups
Safer Baby Bottle Guide
Safer Bath Toy Guide
Safer Teether Guide
BPA Free Nuby Product Guide
BPA Free Sassy Product Guide

Unfortunately, most of these products are not available locally. You can order them from multiply sellers but they take about a month to arrive. I called Rustan's to inquire about the availability of Sassy products but was informed that they have been pulled out. At my last visit to Rustan's I could only find Munchkin products. SafeMama has identified some Munchkin cups as BPA-free. But information on other Munchkin products are not available. Since we have a bathtub and Naima is almost teething, I emailed Munchkin to check which of their products are BPA-free. I've received their email about bath toys and still waiting to get feedback about the teethers. I've also emailed Zojirushi and learning curve for some products and received replies as well. One of these days, I'm going to Rustan's and list down all the products I want to get for Naima and email the manufacturers to make sure that they are BPA-free!