Switching to BPA-free bottles was easy; the Born-Free nipple and valve system actually has a really good flow which K2 took to very well. We started by test-buying a Born-Free glass bottle because a) the plastic bottles have this dingy brown tint that makes you look poor, and b) there weren't any plastic bottles anyway because it was the height of the Great BPA Panic of '08.
The glass bottle worked just fine, though, and felt substantial and old-school, not fragile in any way I'd feared. So we got a couple more. Then the plastic bottles were back in stock, so we bought a pair of those, too. You know, so we wouldn't get mugged on the subway.
One unforeseen consequence of the glass bottles: their weight kept K2 from learning to hold her own bottle for several months. Even when I tried to explain to her that this time, it's a plastic bottle, she could hold it just fine, she defied me.
Still, once she learned to hold the bottle, she did so very well. Thus is was that, during a trip to the outlet mall with her mother and grandmother one weekend, K2 threw the bottle out of her stroller and it shattered on the sidewalk. Whose bright idea was this, anyway, to make heavy, dangerous projectiles for babies? That could've been my head!
And so then there were four. And there have been four bottles for a couple of months now, and it's fine, although the glass thing, combined with K2's since-improved throwing thing, and her running thing means we only really use two, the plastic bottles.
Which brings me to the whole point of writing, which actually had nothing to do with BPA or flacking for Born Free. It was just set-up, because it's been a week, and we can't find the other plastic bottle. Either K2's stuck it somewhere, or we've put it in some bag or some pocket somewhere--it's definitely somewhere.
K2's resisting, but we're trying to make the transition to milk in cups anyway, so it's not like we need it, but I'm still getting more worried every day. Not that we won't find it, just how disgusting it'll be when we do.
Buy your own Born Free 9-Ounce Wide Neck Bottles Twin Pack at Amazon [amazon]
image: Paula Hayes terrarium ganked from somewhere
On several occasions I have found old, milk-filled cups under beds and chairs. I'll tell you this: the longer it's been in hiding, the less bad it smells (think feta). I'd much rather find a month-old cup than a week-old cup.
A zip through the dishwasher's sani cycle and back in the rotation they go...
Under the passenger seat.
We have 1 glass bottle in the cupboard. We were out for the weekend, and left a Born Free valve at home. Only solution that we found was buying an entire bottle, and so we have an unused glass bottle. Much heavier.
Haven't misplaced one yet.
Mmmmmm, yogurt!
Ever tried Green to Grow BPA free baby bottles?
http://www.greentogrow.com/
I know folks who swear by them.
To transition K2 to drinking from a cup, try a Doidy Cup -- they're popular in the UK (our Edinburgh friend put us on to them). Our daughter completely skipped the bottle, using the Doidy exclusively.
http://doidycups.com/index.php?osCsid=c32453d0744df9e6dd6c83a81fa018ce
Cool colors, too. They're great for learning to drink due to the sloped side; and they won't shatter if they hit your head.
In the folds of the stroller canopy.