ChowBaby

when i posted my new year resolutions, stacie commented that she wanted me to ditch the pull-up bar and research water filters that remove (among other things) flouride. well, i didn't ditch the pull-up bar (in fact, i'm going to get it today!)—but i did look into some water filters. and, man, is it confusing. so i'm going to try to keep it simple. and here's what i found.
 
first, a little background. as per my new year resolutions blog post, there are lots of reasons why bottled water is really bad for the environment. we all know more and more about about why BPA plastics are bad for our bodies. and stacie already blogged about why many experts think flouride is bad for our kids.

here's where i'm at now. i have one of those poland spring home-delivery water dispensers in my kitchen. the big 5 gallon version. we go through 7 jugs a month at a cost of $53.55 per month. and we do our best to use our klean kanteen bottle (the whole family has them in different sizes) in lieu of buying disposables when we're on the go. starbucks will fill them with everything with water (for free) to tea and coffee (although that isn't the focus of this post). this solution addresses the issue of flouride, but still has less-than-stellar environmental and BPA consequences. so i'm ready for something better.

turns out, there are tons of pitcher, faucet-mount, counter-top, under-the-sink, and whole-house filters that remove various contaminants from silt to heavy metals to pesticides. the quality counter-top and under-the-sink ones seem to run in the $100-$200 range. and it seems that only the reverse-osmosis products also remove flouride. the counter-top versions can be installed in 5 minutes with no plumbing experience. the under-the-counter versions require some plumbing expertise. but not too much—ie, i can do it but i'm not sure about stacie (wink).
 
now let's do the math. because in this economic climate, the bottom line matters more than ever. sure, i try to make the best environmental choices at every turn. but if i can't afford the best environmental option today—even though i know it is the most valuable option for our kids, families, and earth long-term—well, then it just isn't an option. an initial filter investment of about $150 would equal 3 months of my current poland spring delivery. and since the average replacement filter costs about $55 dollars and should be changed every 6 months, i'd need to buy 2 filters this year for a total of about $100. that means that less than 6 months of poland spring equals 12 months of filtered water in the first year. and next year, i only have to buy the filters—at a cost equal to 2 months of poland spring delivery. so now i can save money AND do the best thing for the environment. woohoo!
 
so which should you buy? i wish i tell you, but i haven't even decide which i'm going to buy yet. luckily, there are lots of brands out there. PUR, Brita, Kenmore, Whirlpool, Clear2O.... the list goes on and on. you might want to check out the green guide for tons of great info on the various contaminants in water, product reviews, and the environmental impact. i'm leaning toward this Crystal Quest stainless steel water filter from Pure Water Essentials. mostly because i live in a rental apartment so don't feel like taking the time to do any real plumbing work. plus, i like the way it looks.
 
bottoms up!
 
—m

it's about time. though still not enough and not fast enough. but something is better than nothing, for sure. here's the article from today's New York Times.

-S

i thought i'd never have to say my son is a picky eater. after all,
food, in all its many splendored varieties, may just be my greatest
pleasure. planting it. growing it. picking it. reading about it.
cooking it. sharing it. and, especially, eating it. no surprise i fell
hard for my husband since he's a (now retired) professional cook. and
even if i'm not the best on-the-fly savory cook, i can follow (and
even tweak) a recipe with the best of them. plus i'm a rocking good
baker.
 
anyway, i was hell-bent on having a kid with a good palate. one who
could go to any restaurant and eat off the menu (and i don't mean the
kids' menu!). one who could travel unencumbered by any special foods
from home. one who proved, once and for all, that if we feed our kids
a varied diet we'll raise kids that will eat just about anything.
 
and that was true for the first 2 years of atticus' life. spicy
curries. dark and bitter leafy greans. fennel olive breads. i admit
it. i was proud. and then, one day, out of nowhere came the cry: i
want plain! plain pasta. plain yogurt. plain chicken. plain bread.
plain rice. i was ready to kill myself. or him. what had gone wrong?
 
i did some digging and found out it's not me. some say it's biology.
evolution, in fact. this article describes that kids get picky between 2-years-old and 4- to
5-years-old because taste buds "shut down" around the time toddlers
start walking to prevent them from putting just anything in their
mouth and eating it. i also learned from one of my favorite baby food resourcs that some say it's a development issue. an opportunity for kids to
flex their independence and experiment with cause and effect (ie, how
funny it is when he says "no, yucky" and i roll my eyes and sigh).
suddenly, i didn't feel so bad.
 
so until this phase passes, what is the parent of a picky toddler to
do? don't make a big deal of it. but don't give in to it either. i
don't support, and neither do many experts, the strategy of hiding
veggies in foods your kids like (ie, hiding pureed butternut squash in
macaroni and cheese)--because kids aren't learning to appreciate the
food in question. i do, however, like the idea of continuing to offer
the foods they reject along with the foods they enjoy. and not making
a scene if they don't eat it. it helps that we cook so much at home
since we're invariably making some staples (like rice or pasta or
chicken) that he will eat. so before we plate our meals and let every
food (gasp!) touch the other, we make a special plate (like this fancy schmancy BPA-free and phthalate-free one from Skip Hop) for atticus where the foods he doesn't like remain far from the foods he does. and
sometimes, if we act over-the-top excited about how yummy the yucky
food is (but not so over-the-top that atticus gets suspicious), he'll
ask for a bite. and sometimes, just sometimes, he forgets it's yucky
and eats it all up. yum!
 
--m

as i was importing all of our old blog posts i noticed the flurry of info on bisphenol-A from way back when. it made me wonder about the status of things and then--voila!--there it was in my news this morning!

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5irooZMZkEUrHW2eA20P8eEM1--uQD943RJJ00

the upshot:
"The panel was very clear [that the margins of safety defined by the FDA as 'adequate' are in fact, inadequate], but we don't know if the FDA is going to listen," said consumer activist Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women & Families. "If they do, it could be a couple of years before they do anything. The FDA's assessment should have been done right the first time. Now it's going to have to be redone."

-S

Two articles from the New York Times that demonstrate how America is at the tail end of the curve when it comes to regulating products for our babies...

Article on how Simulac’s organic formula is the sweetest on the market thanks to sucrose/cane sugar:  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/19formula.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1211284994-CWVayD3WEUMzCLUqOWJdtg

Op ed piece that rounds out the latest on BPA regulation here & in Canada: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/opinion/20tue2.html?ref=opinion

-S

Great site. Especially useful for sippy cups, food storage containers, eating utensils, etc.

http://lifewithoutplastic.com/

-S

It gets even more exciting!

The Canadian gov’t moved Friday to ban polycarbonate infant bottles after officially declaring one of their chemical ingredients toxic.

 ALSO… great news for those of us in the US, apparently Senator Schumer is due to introduce a bill on Monday that would ban many uses of BPA-related plastics.  The best part: It would prohibit them in all children’s products, including nonfood items they may put in their mouths, as well as in any product used to contain food or beverages.

Reminds me of the time that I had a terrible interaction with a customer rep from Fischer Price back when Isaac was 5-months-old. He’d been putting this ball in his mouth and I wanted to know if it was BPA free. The rep repeated, over and over, something pre-written about how they’d stopped using BPA in most products intended for use in the mouth (which is, of course, not the case w/ a ball). When I asked what “most” meant and if she could give me a list of their BPA-free toys, she just read the statement again. I don’t blame her—she was just doing her job—but go Senator Schumer! Any parent knows that not being intended for use in the mouth has absolutely no relationship to what actually goes in our babies’ mouths.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/19/business/worldbusiness/19plastic.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=plastic+canada&st=nyt&oref=slogin

-S

More news on the plastic front. I love it! Revolution!

Wal-Mart announced that it is immediately halting sales of baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, water bottles & food containers made with BPA throughout Canada.

This is big news for a retailer giant like Wal-Mart to be making a commitment like this.

 When is the US going to follow suit?!

 http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Retail_Giant_Wal_Mart_Ditches_BPA_Containing_Baby_Bottles_16560.html

-S

CANANDA LIKELY TO LABEL PLASTIC INGREDIENT (BISPHENOL-A, AKA BPA) TOXIC!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/business/worldbusiness/16plastic.html?scp=2&sq=plastic+canada&st=nyt

-S

Nice blog for eco-minded ChowMamas. I’m linking directly to her list of BPA free cups & utensils, which I thought would be useful.

http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/2008/02/21/bpa-free-feeding-gear-for-kids/

-S