Polliwogged || Category || Sippy Cups

Make your own sippy cup leash

Kids love to throw things. And then they cry when they can't reach them to get them back. Or whatever they throw gets lost when you don't notice it has gone missing. I hate losing cups and pacifiers!

I'm sure you have seen those new cup leashes out there that attach to your cup, but also to your stroller or play area. Now you can make your own to fit your specific cups. You also get to choose the ribbon so it fits your style. Make it and Love it has come out with a great sippy cup leash tutorial.

All you need is some ribbon, strong velcro, and some shelf liner to keep it from slipping. Grab your sewing machine and put it together, and you have a great little leash for those cups or bottles. One of the commenters suggested using some elastic on one side to strap around the bottle if your kid likes to pull apart the Velcro. - Trisha

Photo by Andy Siharath, shared via Flickr.

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A great alternative to the classic sippy

I love my SIGG water bottle and use it all the time. I especially love that it’s more environmentally friendly than the case of bottled water I occasionally buy at the store. And until recently I had no idea there was a stainless steel option for the all-important, ever-present sippy cup!

Though definitely more of an investment than your traditional - and often unhealthy, environmentally unfriendly - sippy cup, Klean Kanteen’s Kid Kanteen Classic Sippy is made from BPA- and toxin-free stainless steel. It comes with a specially designed adapter that works with Avent’s sippy cup spout, which is also BPA-free. Unlike some sippy cups the Kid Kanteen will never leach chemicals, toxins or strange flavors into your baby’s drink.

The 12-oz. design is perfect for smaller hands and the large mouth not only makes cleaning easier (though it is dishwasher safe) but also means you can slip in ice cubes without too much effort. Now that’s one thing I can’t say about my SIGG! The Kid Kanteen is 100% reusable and recyclable and comes in six different colors along with brushed stainless. You can purchase Klean Kanteen’s Kid Kanteen Classic Sippy for about $15 from Amazon.com.

Z Recommends recently did a Sippy and Straw Cup showdown, and gave the Klean Kanteen a positive review. You can find links to all three tiers of their baby and toddler sippy cup rankings here. - Emily H.

Full list of BPA-containing bottles that should be disappearing soon

Playtex, Gerber, Evenflo, Avent, Dr. Brown's, and The First Years all agreed yesterday to comply with widespread requests from lawmakers and bans by baby stores and stop selling BPA-containing baby bottles in the U.S. Many of these bottles will still be available in the U.S. for months, however, so no one should assume that all bottles are now safe! These products may linger in the supply chain for half a year or more before they are actually "discontinued" in the real world of brick-and-mortar store shelves and Amazon listings.

By our reckoning, the companies should be discontinuing the following products:

Avent: Original Airflex, Tempo

Dr. Brown's: Standard PC bottle

Evenflo: Classic Bottle (non-BPA-free version), Elan

The First Years: Breastflow (non-BPA-free version), Soothie

Gerber: ComfortHold, Preemie

Playtex: Drop-Ins Premium Nurser, Insulator, Kinder-Grip (non-BPA-free version), Ventaire lines (non-BPA-free version)

By the same logic, we're looking for some of these companies to make the following products go "poof!" or transition to BPA-free status in the next six months.

Evenflo: SipRite trainer cups

Dr. Brown's: Training Cup

Avent: Freeflow and Nighttime pacifiers

Do you and your baby have a favorite BPA-free bottle? Tell us what it is! Need one? Check the ZRecs Guide's lists of top pick products in bottles and sippy cups for best bets. - Jeremiah

Photo by the|G, shared via Flickr

Everything’s coming up cozy

Have you ever warmed up your baby’s bottle and then been distracted by an emergency diaper change, telemarketer’s call or UPS delivery at the door only to find the bottle needs warming up yet again? Well, I have and though my baby is almost out of the bottle stage I am considering purchasing the Bottle Cozy from Petite Miette.

The Bottle Cozy was inspired by traditional tea cozies and is made from 100% organic cotton with a natural cotton twill drawstring. The cozy uses multiple layers of quilted fabric to keep your baby’s bottle warm. Just place the cozy over the bottle. I wonder if it would work just as well for sippy cups; I may have to test out that theory!

You can also use the Bottle Cozy for travel - simply invert the cozy, drop the warmed bottle inside, pull the natural cotton twill drawstring tight and secure with the sturdy cord lock. That’s it! The Bottle Cozy is available in five colors (my favorite is the pomegranate) and can be purchased online for $30 from One Stop Modern. - Emily H.