Group Writing Project #1 - Favorite Family Product

Does Mommy Love It is hosting their first group writing project. The topic for this month is a favorite product our family can't live without.


If I weren't confident in my abilities as a mother, I would feel threatened by you. You spend uninterrupted hours with our children while they dream. A simple touch from you provides them with comfort and warmth. My children allow you to tame their raging tantrums and cuddle with them as they read their favorite books. You are definitely something our family couldn't live without. You are their blanket, blankie, or beck, depending on which child is asking for you.

Mind you, not just any blanket will do, it has to be a Baby Morgan Thermal Blanket created by the J.E. Morgan Knitting Mills. A blanket that is so soft - bound with two inches of nylon satin. This blanket was once widely available at our local JC Penneys in a variety of colors. In 2003, the J.E. Morgan Knitting Mills closed down causing a little panic attack for this mommy!

Morgan blankets are now a staple for our family. All of our children have had one and loved them dearly. The Baby Morgan blanket production was sold to Bright Future. It has been difficult to find them in our JC Penney. I stalk eBay and patiently wait for the right color to become available. Another baby is on the way so I am on the hunt once again . . . . this time for a green one!

Recently, I found this website that carries the original Baby Morgan Blanket. They'll even monogram it for you. The original is more expensive than the Bright Future one, but I can truly say these blankets last forever and can be washed over and over again.

One word of advice . . . if you decide to purchase one of these wonderful blankets stock up so you can rotate them and always have one on hand!

Friday Round - Up

I've searched the world wide web over, and I'm bringin' you some linky love!

• If you're like me you have probably wondered, "How many PB&J sandwiches is too many to feed my children?" Well, making a PB&J may not make you feel like a gourmet cook, but take comfort in the fact that you are doing something good for the environment (yes, it is possible to connect everything to "green living"). Check out the PB&J Campaign to learn how these wonderful little sandwiches are helping to slow global warming.

• My Bag & Me is a board book written by Karen Farmer. It's never too early for your child to learn about the 3 R's: reusing, reducing and recycling. My Bag & Me follows a child and his reusable shopping bag on a trip to the grocery store. By the end of the story, your child will say Paper and plastic no more! Includes a FREE reusable Tyvek shopping bag! Children can tote on their next shopping trip to show-off their eco-awareness!

• TerraCycle manufactures affordable, potent, organic products that are not only made from waste, but are also packaged entirely in waste! This company is definitely worth a look - they're doing a lot of great things with waste!

• Back in November, we signed up with 41pounds.org. We paid a $41 fee to stop our junk mail over the next 5 years - so far so good. Another FREE option that's been getting good reviews is ProQuo.
  

• Is your mom the best mother in the world? If so, enter why you think she should win the title 2007 Mother of the Year! She can win some great prizes including $5,000 cash!

• Are you coming to The Ultimate Blog Party? It's a great opportunity to meet a lot of people and have a chance to win some great prizes! The party is for everyone, not just bloggers! Check it out!
  

Giveaways:

Laura Williams' Musings has a great giveaway going on now from Stuck on You. Stuck on You helps parents manage their busy households by offering a variety of products to help you keep track of your family's belongings. Go over to Laura's and check it out - giveaway runs through February 28th.

5 Minutes for Mom is hosting a giveaway for an Oreck XL Ultra vacuum cleaner. This vacuum only weighs 9 lbs. It has a hypo-allergenic filtration system that eliminates 99.9% of all allergens. You have until 2/28 to enter for a chance to win.


February 15, 2008
Swango, Ideal Bite, A Green Ferret Mission, Consumer Consequences

February 8, 2008
Valentine's Edition

February 1, 2008
10 Ways to Deal with Blogger's Block, The Dirty Dozen Chemicals in Cosmetics, The Lost Blog, Blogging Basics 101

January 25, 2008
31 Days to Becoming a Better Blogger, PaperBack Swap, Crunchy Chicken's Book Club

Three R Thursday - Organic Children's Clothing

They’ve been sitting there for over a week.

Lonely. Confused. Free from toxins.

In a virtual shopping cart. Somewhere on the Internet, sits a basket full of organic baby clothes.

Why, you ask?

Because I am a month away from bringing another beautiful baby into the world, and my neurotic mind is trying to justify spending $20 on an organic onesie.

A $20 organic onesie that will inevitably end up with a breast-milk-induced-poop-explosion all over it. A $20 organic onesie stained and in need of some chemical-laden stain remover, totally defeating the purpose of buying organic in the first place. In the end, leaving the $20 organic onesie unwearable.

Have I mentioned the average organic onesie is about $20?

Decisions, Decisions…

Choosing to buy organic food for our family was an easy decision. Many of the things we consume on a daily basis are organic. We are willing to pay a little more knowing what our family is eating is better for us and the environment.

After researching the production of conventional cotton, my decision became a little easier. Just because my kid’s not going to be eating his organic onesie - doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be safe for him!

I decided to empty my shopping cart today. I want to spend a little more time looking for organic products that hopefully hit the “Green Trifecta” – organic, fair-trade and local (or at least made in the U.S.).

Hopefully, the day will come when words like “natural” and “organic” will be obsolete. A day when concerned mothers can safely assume manufactures are participating in safe practices bringing safe products to our families and into our homes.

I’d love any suggestions or comments you may have. I’ll update you with my findings and hopefully my purchases next week.

Below is my little “pros & cons list” I came up with as I was researching. I’m sure there are a lot more “pros” , but the EPA’s findings pretty much sealed the deal for me.

Pros

1. Organic cotton is produced using materials and methods that are better for our environment.

• Cotton occupies 3% of the world’s farmland, but uses 25% of the world’s chemical pesticides and 10% of the insecticides.
• The EPA considers seven of the top 15 pesticides used on cotton in 2000 as “possible”, “likely”, or “known” human carcinogens.
• According to the Sustainable Cotton Project, it takes about one-third of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers to grow enough cotton for just one T-shirt.

2. The production of organic cotton protects the health of people and the planet.

• The toxic chemicals and synthetic pesticides used in the production of conventional cotton ends up in the ground, air, water, and food supply.
• Can lower instances of allergies and asthma

3. Better value over time.

• Organic cotton becomes softer with each washing. It's also stronger and more durable than a lot of other fabrics.

Cons

1. Organic cotton is more expensive.

• I know the market drives prices. It is going to take an increase in demand from families like ours to make these prices drop.

2. Getting what you paid for.

• If you are going to invest in organic clothing, make sure you are getting a certified organic product. Read the labels or ask the merchandiser if the cotton has been certified.

Friday Roundup

I've searched the web over, and I'm bringin' you some linky love:

• Adventures of a Twenty Something Mother introduced me to Swango - the only online clothing swap where everything is 99 cents!

• If you haven't discovered the Ideal Bite yet, you need to check it out. Ideal Bite delivers easy, eco-living tips to your in box daily. The tips are short, sassy and practical.

• My friend at The Ferret Online has found some hip and stylish reusable bags for us to use.

• In the mood for a game? Click here to find out if you're living a sustainable life.

• GreenStyle Mom is having a Sigg baby and adult water bottle giveaway. To enter, just go on over and visit GreenStyle Mom and leave a comment. The contest runs through February 20th.

• Doodlebug Designs is having a great giveaway to celebrate their Grand Opening! Go over and check out the details. You could win a FREE completely customized blog design for a blogger blog!

• Our Blessed Arrows is offering a giveaway for a pair of pedoodles.

This Sunday, Gray Matters will be featured on 5 Minutes Around The Blogoshpere sponsored by 5 Minutes for Mom.

5 Minutes for Mom is a great resource for all moms. You can submit your own blog or read what other mom's are blogging about. Susan and Janice are two moms that have their hands full! Along with running the 5 Minutes for Mom site, they run two toy stores: A Rocking Horse To Love and Pedal Cars & Retro Collectibles.

Check here to see previous Friday Round-Up Posts

Friday Roundup - Valentine's Edition

I've searched the web over, and I'm bringin' you green love.

• Check out TreeHugger's Valentine's Day Gift Guide to help you give greener love. (Disclaimer: not all gifts are G-rated)

• Crunchy Chicken and Nature Moms Blog have some tips for planning a greener Valentine's Day.

• If you are so inclined to send out V-day cards this year try a plantable one from Botanical Paperworks. Or choose from one of these recycled cards from Etsy. Better yet, send an electronic card to the ones you love.

• Here you can find some great Valentine's craft ideas for your children using recycled materials.
  

Check back next week for ideas on recycling the cards your child brings home from school.

Previous Roundups
January 31, 2008
January 24, 2008

WFMW: Eco-friendly Kid Sites

In my effort to make better choices for our family, I've been researching eco-friendly products for our children. I've found a handful of sites I feel are doing a great job offering safe products. Most of these companies are family operated businesses, primarily started by moms.

At this point I'm just window-shopping. With a baby on the way and two little ones at home, my Wish List is definitely growing! Like this castle for my imaginative big boy. Any of these interactive cards for my creative little girl. And organic basics for our new arrival in March.

Apricot & Ivy's eco-friendly, predominantly wood and fabric products are chemical free, avoid harmful additives or colorings, and exceed European and US safety standards. Their wood toy products are of heirloom quality. The plush toys are washable and durable.

Kee-Ka strives to deliver expressive, eco-chic apparel and gifts for the littlest and most significant people in your life. They craft fashionable products in socially and ecologically responsible ways: using 100% certified organic cotton and low-impact dyes, as well as working with Fair Trade and Fair Wage suppliers around the world. Their products are packaged in award-winning, ready-to-mail gift boxes made from recycled paper.

Zoe B was started by a mom who was concerned about the amount of pesticides in the cotton (50 million pounds of pesticides annually in the US alone) used to make our clothing.

Stubby Pencil Studio was launched in 2006 by Kate Rosenthal. Stubby Pencil Studio offers two lines of eco-friendly cards, printed on 100% post consumer waste recycled stock. In addition to stationery, Stubby Pencil Studio also offers unique and earth-friendly art supplies, as well as small gifts made from forest friendly and non-toxic materials. *Right now at Green Mom Finds you can enter for a chance to win a “Green to the Letter” Gift Basket worth $60.

Sage Baby's mission is simple: to help new and expectant parents take the next step --beyond organic food-- in creating a healthier environment for their babies and children.

I included Zwaggle in my list because I love the concept. Zwaggle is an online community for parents to share with other parents. Using our points based sharing system, parents spend less money, time and resources providing for their children.

Be sure to check out other favorite shopping sites at Works for Me Wednesday.

Previous Works for Me Wednesday posts

Three R Thursday #4 - Something To Smile About

Fifty Million pounds of toothbrushes end up in our landfills each year. Imagine how high that number would be if we followed the advice of our dentists and actually replaced our toothbrushes every 3 months!

A toothbrush developed by Recycline called Preserve is a simple solution to this problem. The Preserve toothbrush is made from recycled plastics. They have formed a partnership with Stonyfield Farm Yogurt – the recycled yogurt containers are used to make the toothbrush handles. The Recycline website is very informative and does a great job describing their Plastics Recycling Process.

I can’t believe I’m this excited about toothbrushes . . . man has my life changed.

Today at Trader Joe’s I picked up a couple of Preserve Toothbrushes along with 2 pre-paid postage return envelopes. At the end of its lifecycle, you use these envelopes to return the toothbrushes, and they will repurpose them. Even their packaging is made from recyclable materials, and the clear container it comes in has "breathable" air holes making it useful for travel purposes.

The Preserve is available at natural food supermarkets such as Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, and Trader Joe's. There are also many online sites offering Recycline’s products (like Amazon) – there are even Preserve Jr. Toothbrushes for your little ones.

Bonus: If you shop at Trader Joe's and use your own bags you can be entered into a drawing for a $20 gift card.

Take a look at some Bloggers who are making a difference. They are making small changes that will have a huge impact and help REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE.

• Playful Professional at Play More, Laugh More, Live More hosted a clothing swap for her "Girls Night Out". You could also organize one with your "Mom's Group" for swapping kids clothes.

• Tickled Pink shares 13 little ways her family is going green.

• GreenStyleMom has a great beauty tip and is also having a great EcoGear giveaway.

• SortaCrunchy is looking for Another Way to free herself from all the "stuff".

These are all great examples of how small changes can make a big difference. Please share your small changes with us!

Anne Lamott - Traveling Mercies

I recently finished reading Anne Lamott’s Traveling Mercies. Lamott has been writing for a while and has written several books. I guess my soul was finally ready to discover her. I eagerly read her truthful words. They stung at times, but I needed to hear her words and gratefully let them wash over me. I am including some of my favorite parts in this post. I will refer to these truths for the rest of my life. My hope is to develop them into further posts dealing with my healing and grieving process. For now I am dipping my toe in the water and hoping the bravery Lamott shows in her writing will reveal itself in me and encourage me to write my own truths.

All those years I fell for the great palace lie that grief should be gotten over as quickly as possible and as privately. But what I’ve discovered since in that the lifelong fear of grief keeps us in a barren, isolated place and that only grieving can heal grief; the passage of time will lessen the acuteness, but time alone, without the direct experience of grief, will not heal it.

She had a great deal of religious faith, and everyone assumed that she would adjust and find meaning in her loss – meaning and then acceptance and then joy – and we all wanted this because, let’s face it, it’s so inspiring and such a relief when people find a way to bear the unbearable, when you can organize things in such a way that a tiny miracle appears to have taken place and that love has once again turned out to be bigger than fear and death and blindness.

I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. It can be received gladly or grudgingly, in big gulps or in tiny tastes, like a deer at the salt. I gobbled it, licked it, held it down between my little hooves.

Works for Me Wednesday - Kid$ Piggy Bank

My kids love their piggy banks. They love the act of putting coins into the little slots. I love that I can entice them to go to their rooms for bedtime by saying "time to put some coins in your piggy banks".

I have not taken the time to appropriately explain the theory behind using a Piggy Bank to save money - this may have something to do with the fact I am not a saver; but rather a purchaser of really cute Piggy Banks.

My friend, Ilene at The Ferret Online found these great banks. The LearningCents Bank comes in two colors (pink and blue). There are three compartments: SAVE, SPEND, and GIVE.

Check out more Works for Me Wednesday tips at Rocks in My Dryer.

Eat Wild

Bob has been reading Omnivore's Dilemma and trying in a stealth-like way to impart the information he has been learning about the way our meat is produced. At first I wasn't listening because I thought it was going to be an attempt for him to encourage me to stop eating meat (not something a woman in her 7th month of pregnancy with no control over what she is eating wants to hear). Once I heard him say "it is more important to know what the animals are being fed and it is better to use meat more as a side dish and not so much the main part of the meal seven days a week" I perked up. However, I have decided instead of reading Omnivore's Dilemma (I am going to trust him to tell me what I need to know) I am going to cheat a little and read through Jo Robinson's website, Eatwild.com. Pretty interesting and eye opening stuff!

Eatwild.com is owned and operated by Jo Robinson, an investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling author who specializes in science-based health information. Jo has been investigating the differences between animals raised in feedlots and pasture-based farms for the past seven years.

Eatwild.com is your source for safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry, pork, dairy and other wild edibles. This website:

• Provides comprehensive, accurate information about the benefits of raising animals on pasture.
  
  
• Links consumers with local suppliers of all-natural, delicious, grass-fed products.
  
  
• Provides a marketplace for farmers who raise their livestock on pasture from birth to market and who actively promote the welfare of their animals and the health of the land.

Teaching Matters

Before I had the opportunity to stay home with our children, I was an elementary school teacher. As a classroom teacher, I became interested in the role technology plays in educating our children. I decided to pursue a Masters Degree in Educational Technology which opened up doors for my professional development. I was able to move out of the classroom and work with teachers as they began the process of integrating technology into their classrooms. I also had an opportunity to work with students in our school's computer lab. It was amazing to see how motivated they were by technology and how quickly they picked up new skills.

It has been over 5 years since I've been in the classroom. I have continued to follow the use of technology in the classroom, and although a lot has changed and advanced some things remain the same. Teachers have so little time to plan, much less learn new technologies and how to incorporate them into their classrooms. I was always focused on how to integrate technology into the curriculum in a natural way; not as an add on or additional burden to teachers.

Recently I came across a great non-profit in New York, Teaching Matters. Teaching Matters is a non-profit professional development organization that partners with educators to improve public schools. They use technology in the classroom to prepare teachers and their students for 21st century learning and achievement. Teaching Matters has developed a great tool for teachers, Pagekeeper. PageKeeper allows teachers to quickly and easily create a page of weblinks to manage student web use in their classrooms. The service is free and contains absolutely no advertising.

Feel free to check out My Page for the resources I have posted.

The Six O'Clock Scramble

I have a wonderful husband. Not only does he do the majority of the grocery shopping, he quietly looks the other way as I do the minimal amount necessary in the kitchen. I do not cook. I do not like to eat a variety of food. I do not want my children to continue developing my bad habits and attitudes towards food - as it stands now Meg is very happy to eat spoonfuls of ketchup and call it a day!

I would like to do a better job preparing meals for our family. I will probably stumble with this goal and I may fall flat on my face, but I think Bob will appreciate my effort and as always pick me up when I fall down. Who knows I might enjoy it and make something edible!

I am armed with the necessary tools:

• a couple of new cookbooks I got for Christmas along with a food processor (I believe I stored away in the cabinet above the frig),
• a husband who is willing to do most of the shopping and will eat almost anything (except for meat - did I mention he doesn't eat meat!), and
• the Internet

I found a great site recommended by my favorite magazine, Real Simple. Below is information from the Six O'Clock Scramble web site. There is a minimal subscription fee, but I think you can get a free trial to test it out. There are other sites out there offering similar information but you have to deal with a lot of ads and disorganization.

• Each Wednesday, you will receive a link to the week’s Scramble® newsletter, 5 FAMILY-TESTED MEALS including side dishes and a corresponding grocery list
  
• Use all the meals for the week or CHOOSE THE MEALS YOU WANT by swapping for any recipe in your recipe database to fit your family’s tastes and schedule. Your grocery list is automatically updated with your choices.
• PRINT OUT your selected recipes and grocery list.
• Make ONE TRIP TO THE GROCERY STORE, confident that you will have everything you need for a week of easy, healthy and delicious meals.
• Prepare A DELICIOUS, NUTRITIOUS MEAL IN 30 MINUTES OR LESS.
• BASK in the compliments!

I would love to know how you plan your weekly meals. Leave me a comment and let me know "what's for dinner" at your house tonight.

100 Mile Diet

I find the concept of the 100 Mile Diet very interesting. I would have to make a lot of adjustments in the way I eat, shop, cook and think. Might be a challenge worth pursuing - I can really only see benefits from eating locally.


When the average North American sits down to eat, each ingredient has typically traveled at least 1,500 miles—call it "the SUV diet." On the first day of spring, 2005, Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon chose to confront this unsettling statistic with a simple experiment. For one year, they would buy or gather their food and drink from within 100 miles of their apartment in Vancouver, British Columbia. Since then, James and Alisa have gotten up-close-and-personal with issues ranging from the family-farm crisis to the environmental value of organic pears shipped across the globe. They've reconsidered vegetarianism and sunk their hands into community gardening. They've eaten a lot of potatoes. Their 100-Mile Diet struck a deeper chord than anyone could have predicted. Within weeks, reprints of their blog at thetyee.ca had appeared on sites across the internet. Then came the media, from BBC Worldwide to Utne magazine. Dozens of individuals and grassroots groups have since launched their own 100-Mile Diet adventures. The need now is clear: a locus where 100-milers can get the information they need to try their own lifestyle experiments, and to exchange ideas and develop campaigns. That locus will be here at 100MileDiet.org—turning an idea into a movement.

Check out my FunPix!

Etsy

So I may have shown up a little late for this party, but this site is terrific! I was searching for stocking stuffers for my kids that didn't come from a "big box" store and found them here. Makes me wish I was a creative, crafty person!

Etsy is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade. Their mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers. Their vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice: Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade.

Toy Safety Info

As your are enjoying your holiday shopping and marking off items on your list your kids' lists, check out ToyInfo.org to make sure your purchases have not been recalled. This site is very helpful and contains safety information and recall information on tons of toys.

Parents Play an Important Role:

Along with industry and government, parents have an important role in toy safety. As a parent, you should always:

Buy Smart:

• Check age grading and all toy packaging labels to make sure the toy is appropriate for your child
• Avoid toys with small parts for children under age 3 or children who mouth toys
• Look for toys with sturdy parts and tightly secured joints
• Shop at a reputable retailer, one you know and trust
• Inspect the condition of second-hand toys and make sure you have the original packaging and instructions
• Batteries in toys should be firmly attached and not accessible to children
• Listen to toys with noises before purchase to make sure it's appropriate for your child

Read the Label:

• Labels and instructions on packaging can give excellent guidance for safe purchasing decisions

Organize and Supervise:

• Follow instructions for toy assembly and use
• Supervise children as they play
• Be a good role model and set an example for safe play
• Keep toys with small parts away from children under three and from children who tend to mouth objects
• Avoid all toys with sharp points or rough edges
• Keep toys in an easily accessible storage bin with a removable lid
• Repair or discard broken toys
• Teach older children to keep their toys away from younger siblings.
• Keep a separate toy chest for older children whose toys may contain small parts not suitable for their younger siblings.

To Do List

I am a list maker. I rarely get to mark all of the items off on my list, but I enjoy the process of making the list. I like to think making a list helps me stay organized, but if I look at it closely, I would see that it just feeds into my procrastination. After all, when you consider the amount of time I take to -write list-rewrite list in nicer handwriting-find a cuter notebook to write list in-rewrite in new notebook- I could have marked off all the items on my last 5 lists.

As I mentioned, I like the process of putting pen to paper, but I found a new site I might try out (in the hope of saving some trees). Ta-da is a simple tool that lets you create to-do lists for yourself and for others.

I also found an interesting blog, http://www.todolistblog.com
Sasha Cagen has collected people's To Do List from all over the world and written a book about them. To-Do List is a collection of 100 handwritten lists and the stories behind them. To-Do List celebrates the world of the overlooked and mundane, letting our lists serve as unique windows into who we are. Nothing is more revealing than someone's to-do list. A possible stocking stuffer for the list maker in your family!

Zwaggle

The need to nest has taken over, and I am no longer in control of my urge to clear out and get rid of things. Fortunately, Bob has the "bug" too and has posted a couple things on the Freecycle site I mentioned on an earlier post. He also spent time going through boxes of old office stuff and was able to get rid of a lot - I must say it made me tingly all over. Even though I am 6 months pregnant (and as big as a barn) staring at the boxes full of recyclable paper makes me feel a ton lighter! And the best part is tomorrow is curbside recycling day . . . YEAH!

Zwaggle is another option to get rid of your unwanted stuff in a responsible, eco-friendly way. Zwaggle is an online community for parents to share with other parents. Using our points based sharing system, parents spend less money, time and resources providing for their children.

By using Zwaggle, families are able to eliminate clutter, outfit their children, and participate in a trusted, on-line community of like-minded parents, while conserving our precious resources: time, money and the environment - leaving more of these for our children.

Zwaggle provides members with a trusted place to:

• give away used goods that are no longer needed by your family
• receive value from their used goods via our proprietary points based system, called Zoints
• use those Zoints to obtain items you need for your family

FreeCycle

Today we packed up trash bags and other shopping bags full of "stuff" and headed off to the Salvation Army drop-off truck. Of course, being the day after Thanksgiving the truck wasn't at its normal spot. After driving around a little I found a drop-off box and unloaded the van, but I was only able to put in the bags that were tied up which left me with a few bags I was unable to unload. Unfortunately, I am left with a few bags in the back of my car that will probably remain for awhile until I am gently "forced" by Bob to get rid of them. If this is not your idea of a fun Friday morning there is another option . . . The FreeCycle Network.

The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,173 groups with 4,109,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box or by clicking on “Browse Groups” above the search box.

For Safer Baby Bottles

Newsweek, Christina Gillham
Published November 19, 2007

As if parents didn't have enough to worry about with the confusing and seemingly never-ending toy recalls, now comes a new concern: bisphenol A, or BPA, a component of the polycarbonate plastic that makes up many baby bottles and sippy cups, which has shown the potential to cause a variety of health problems. While the Food and Drug Administration has not found reason to ban the chemical, some studies have shown that even low doses of the chemical in lab animals can cause neural and behavioral effects, and possibly lead to obesity, decreased fertility and some cancers. It's enough to get environmental organizations to press for change. "We think it's health-protective to really regulate this chemical to decrease human exposure," says Anila Jacob, senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group (ewg.org).

If you think it's better to play it safe, here's what you can do to protect your infant:

* Breast-feed if possible.
* Don't heat bottles with liquid in them or put warm liquid into the bottle. Heat can cause the BPA to leach from the bottle into the liquid. Get rid of bottles that are scratched or cloudy. Studies have shown that the more bottles age, the more likely the chemical will leach into what's in the bottle.
* Buy bottles made of glass or of polypropylene or polyethylene. Many manufacturers are now marketing "BPA-free" bottles made with these alternative plastics. Born Free (newbornfree.com) and Sassy Baby (sassybaby.com) are two such companies. Thermos and Luv 'N Care make BPA-free sippy cups (both available at buybuybaby.com).