So, Halloween is over and we’re already looking forward to the next big event of the year – Christmas! I love Christmas. And given the eco-friendly tone of Dia this week, I would have loved to get up on my soap-box again and lecture you all about buying green gifts…but, oops, I guess I did that already. (See my green gift guide from last year).

Today, I want to talk to you about plastic. There is now a new thing to freak out all you paranoid parents, and it’s called Biosphenol A, or BPA for short.  Without getting too technical, BPA is basically a chemical found in polycarbonate plastic food containers, including, (are you ready?)  - Baby bottles, teethers and sippy cups!  When heated, it’s possible that small amounts of BPA will leach from the containers into your food. There is no conclusive evidence that these small amounts are harmful to humans, but personally, I don’t really want to take that risk with my baby.  

So, what to do? Well, first of all, avoid baby bottles and sippy cups marked on the bottom with #7. Plastics with the recycling labels #1, #2 and #4 on the bottom are safer choices and do not contain BPA.  BPA-free baby bottles have become a popular choice in Europe and the US, and are generally available at most health food stores and easy to find online, (see www.thesoftlanding.com).

Locally, Medela brand bottles used to pump and store breast milk are BPA-free and widely available in the Middle East, at Mothercare, among others. In Dubai, I know that you can find baby bottle brand Think Baby at the Just Kidding store, and glass bottles at Baby Shop. For sippy cups, go for bottles made of stainless steel, like the ones made by Swiss company SIGG, available at ABC in Beirut and at many sports stores. And of course, if you must reheat your baby’s food in the microwave, please do so in a ceramic or glass container, never in, or covered with plastic!

Now, back to the Xmas shopping: (much more fun)… All the information from last year’s guide still applies, but if you’d like some specifics, email me and I’ll recommend some gifts around town that are either locally made, organic, handcrafted or simply safer for your kids. I l do loooooove this time of year! Have I said that already? Pregnancy brain, you know…….