I have had several people ask questions about BPA-free bottles and returning the Avent bottles to Babies R Us. So I thought I'd do a post going into further detail about what I've done. First of all, I am NO bpa expert. I'm just a mom who wants the best for my kids. And with all the recent reports about bpa, I am certainly concerned about using products that contains it. BPA is a chemical that is commonly used for plastic items...like plastic baby bottles! It has all sorts of side affects, such as an increase in prostate and breast cancer, genital abnormalities in male babies, early onset of puberty in girls, type 2 diabetes, obesity, ADHD, etc.! Ummm...NO THANKS.
So when I found out my beloved Avent bottles I used for Mylo contains small levels of BPA "within the FDA regulations", I wasn't taking my chances in using them again for Phinean. Canada recently finished a study that NO levels of BPA are safe.
I had heard that Babies R Us was taking back all Avent bottles. They can be used and you don't have to have a receipt. I called my local BRU first to see if they were doing it, because I heard it varies from store to store. Here's how my BRU is reimbursing:
Small bottles:
set of 3 - $9.99
individual - $4.99 each
Large bottles
set of 3 - $12.99
individual - $4.99
So basically if you have 10 large bottles, they would package it as 3 sets of 3 and one individual.
I had 10 bottles total, 5 small, 5 big and got a $46 store credit.
When researching new bottles, my best resource was the Safe Mama website. I decided NOT to go with the new BPA-free Avent bottles. I just had a bad taste in my mouth about them. The features I was looking for were a wide neck nipple (since I mostly breastfeed and its closer in shape to the breast), venting system, and not too many parts to clean/keep track of. I found the ThinkBaby bottles met and exceeded all of my requirements. Something just "felt right" about them. And they are less expensive than the BPA-free Avent bottles. Unfortunately, you can't get the ThinkBaby bottles in stores, so I had to spend extra money to order them online. Then I just used my BRU store credit for Christmas presents! (yes, I'm DONE with my Christmas shopping!!)
So that's that! Check out that Safe Mama website...its a GREAT resource for all sorts of safety and health information for children!
4 comments:
Oops! I wish I had known you were looking for "safe" bottles- I have my entire stash of glass bottles sitting in my closet from the boys. Let me know if for some reason you want them...
I called the toll free number for babies r us and was told they are not taking bottles back! Maybe it depends on how nice the people at each store are? I don't know, but I did see the bottles you bought at target.com-is that where you got them?
Great post! My kids are out of the age of using bottles, however I thought you may be interested in knowing that there are chemicals just like BPA in most babies' shampoos and soaps. I know I would never use products with SLES, parabens, or propylene glycol. Enjoy being home with your son - I know I have fun with my three at home!
Don't forget that BPA can be present in things like infant toys, tableware, and sippy cups too! If you want more information on which products are free of BPA, you can search the mom-created and researched ZRecs database of safer kid's products.
Post a Comment