congress is listening!

For anyone who isn't a regular safemama reader, I thought it was worth passing along this great news they posted yesterday!

.............................................................................................

Yesterday, Congress voted on the Children’s Safe Products Act which approved a nationwide ban on phthalates in products intended for children under 12. We’ve been waiting for this so we’re happy to say goodbye tophthalates DEHP, DBP and BBP… three chemicals used to soften plastics in children’s toys like bath squirties, soft books and “rubber” ducks. The Act is part of a final Bill to reform and improve the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). This is obviously good news and further confirmation that there is enough doubt in their safety as well as demand for strict regulations on children’s products. And don’t think you didn’t have anything to do with it. Members and supporters of MomsRising.org alone sent in over 100,000 letters to congressman urging them to support the Act.

.............................................................................................

This ban will take effect in 6 months so in the meantime be on the lookout for products loaded with phthalates.  I know I've started loving more "natural" toys to avoid plastic all together.  I've enjoyed sites such as Inspired Play and Natural Pod (a Canadian store).  Don't get me wrong, we still have plenty of plastic toys that I have no intention of throwing out, but I am trying to get smarter especially about the toys that Sydney is likely to put in her mouth.

In other news, I was happy to see that Safemama published their safer bug repellent report.  Turns out the brand I was already using (Burt's Bees) is one of their favs.

baby's first tooth!

We've had a rough few nights in the sleep department. I had thought it was because we were no longer swaddling our baby girl. But now I think I know the real reason: her first tooth (at 5.5 mo) is just peeking out of her gums. Poor girl is in pain!

Time to break out the anbesol tooth chart to track her teething for her baby book, which I'll probably complete in say 5 years from now (if I'm lucky). *sigh*

I'll be interested to find out if the Hyland's Teething Tablets work this time around.  I've had many people recommend them to me but they never seemed to do much for my son.  We just stuck to occasional Tylenol for him.

It's also time to break out those teethers again!  But what about BPA in teethers?!  To be honest, I haven't taken all precautions I could when it comes to the plastics concern, partly because of the conflicting information out there regarding how big of a concern this topic really is.  I have not thrown out plastic kitchen items that I have not been able to determine the safety of and I am not planning to throw out all of our plastic toys.  However, when it comes to things children suck on like bottles, teethers, pacifiers, sippys and dinnerware, I'm not taking any chances.  For those items, I've ensured that we use only plastics having recycle codes that are considered "safe" and I try to use stainless steel sippys and water bottles, especially outside in the heat.  

I threw many of our teethers away because they were not found on any of the safe teether guides that I'm aware of (see links on the left side of my blog).  These lists are not necessarily all-inclusive, so it's possible some of the teethers I tossed are BPA-free; however, after a ton of use from our son (he loved 'em), they were getting old anyway.  So, I bought this BPA-free teething kit from The Soft Landing:

How freakin' cute is that giraffe? Unfortunately that dang giraffe is what drives up the price on this sampler.  But I'm a sucker and since I just got a job I went for it.

While I was shopping at The Soft Landing I also bought a few more Sassy teethers

and this cool Klean Kanteen tote by Built NY.  I love that it can insulate not only our Klean Kanteen sippys but bottles too, and it can attach to a stroller or diaper bag!

I'll leave you with a really cool blog I found recently.  It's called "Z Recommends".  Here is a link to a post in which BPA information is broken down by brand.

Z Recommends: The Z Report on BPA in Children's Feeding Products, Third Edition

The dreaded plastics

Well, it's safe to say I'm overwhelmed. It feels that even the simplest decisions like what sippy cup to buy could affect our children's long-term health and well-being. That's a scary thought. I'm adamant about taking action on any information I know to-date; however, I can't help but sometimes feel like throwing in the towel because of the information I'm sure I do not yet know. In the end, I'm not yet ready to give up and this is the primary reason for the creation of my blog. It serves as a place to organize all of the great resources out there available to me.

One big health hot topic today is in regard to plastics and whether or not they contain BPA, phthalates, and/or PCV - all of which have been deemed "bad", especially when heated as some plastics will then breakdown and release the toxin(s). Click here for a recent story on this by MSNBC.

This is obviously a huge concern for parents because plastics are in things like baby bottles, pacifiers, teething rings, formula, and toys - in short, things that have direct contact with our children. SO, how do we know what plastics are "ok" (at least by today's standards) and what plastics are not? Here is an excellent resource to help:

Smart Plastics Guide from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

There is conflicting information out there of course and it's enough to make my head spin. For instance, although we've heard a #7 recycling code is "bad", apparently that's not totally true. Check this blog out at The Soft Landing for further details. The fact that no explicit rules exist is enough to make my head spin.

Like many in tune with this issue I will likely error on the side of caution and stick to using glass or plastics with recycling codes 4, 5, 1 or 2. But I'm not sure what to do with those items that have no recycling codes other than toss or call the manufacturer.

Below are other resources I've either found or have been referred to me that help make sense of it all and assist with your shopping for new products as well.

• Safer Baby Gear News and Reviews by The Soft Landing
• Shopping Spot for Feeding Baby Safely by The Soft Landing
• Cheat Sheet on safer bottles and sippy cups by safemama.com
• Cheat Sheet on safer pacifiers and teethers by safemama.com
• Cookie Magazine examples of safe bottles and sippies