Toxin-free bottles don't have to break the bank

It seems like every day there’s a new mommy scare out there that sends me into a tizzy of examining each of my daughter’s toys and bottles for toxins. I’ll admit I drive the extra 10 minutes to buy hormone free milk from Winder dairy, and I’ve had toys tested for lead. I’m a mom — I can’t help it.

But when the latest mom scare broke out last year about Bisphenol-A in baby bottles and sippy cups, I felt too overwhelmed to tackle it. I just tucked all the warnings away and kept using my cups.

This week I decided it was finally time to do some research and find some BPA-free sippy cups. I’m not saying I wholly buy into the theory that using a bottle with BPA in it will inevitably lead to developmental delays and brain damage, but I don’t want to take the chance.

So, I looked at a couple brands friends had told me about, such as Foogo and Born Free, and I was dismayed to find that a single sippy cup can cost as much as $15. Whoa. I’m all for taking precautions, but I can’t afford stainless steel sippy cups for my 1 year old.

Before I invested a small fortune in high-tech sippy cups, I checked out the company Web sites for some of my daughter’s cheaper dinnerware. To my surprise, the company sites had detailed lists of what products had BPA and which did not. Most of my Nuby and Playtex cups did not have BPA, although a couple did, and I threw those out.

Most of these less expensive versions of baby bottles and cups still don’t have clear BPA-free labels, but before chucking all your cups and ponying up the cash for “safer” ones, check out the Web sites.

In addition to company Web sites, here are some links I found helpful:

http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/07/z-report-bisphenol-in-polycarbonate.html

http://thesoftlanding.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/which-nuby-bottles-and-sippy-cups-are-really-bpa-free/