Crossing the Line to New Mom Paranoia
I’m sitting here at 9 o’clock at night, two days before my due date, trying to unpack some more of my baby shower gifts. I received some baby bottles that I was very if-fy about. Although they’re cute, they’re made from #7 plastic, the kind that may (or may not) contain BPA. They’re going back to the store first thing tomorrow.
I also noted a recommendation (albeit, from 2007) from the Baby Bargains authors to stay away from older Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow bottles. I just received four from Freecycle. Those, unfortunately, will get tossed.
I received as a gift some adorable melamine bowls with one of my favorite characters on them. But they are manufactured from melamine, and made in China. ‘Isn’t melamine the stuff in formula that was killing infants?’ I asked my husband.
Without a definitive answer regarding if this is the same melamine, he sent me to Google, where I found this blog talking about the potential hazards of melamine. The author’s points make sense, and the bowls will, sadly, go back to the store, as well. I haven’t even begun to check out all the new nipples and pacifiers to make sure they’re made of silicon.
Then I wonder if I’m taking ‘new mom paranoia’ too far? I grew up with melamine bowls and BPA-laden plastic bottles and managed to survive (as I’m sure many BOL readers did!) Pregnant women drank and smoked back then, too, not that I’m advocating it.
A few more experienced moms laughed at me when I called crib bumpers ‘baby killers,’ but there’s a warning printed right on the crib. It’s irresponsible, in my opinion, for stores to continue selling them. And it definitely leads to awkward moments while you plaster a smile on your face and thank someone for the gift;which you know was well-meant and extremely generous!
I don’t even want to think about baby formula and the challenges moms who use it face today. I’m holding out hope that I won’t need to supplement with formula. Originally, my decision to breast feed was financially-based, and, as I did more research, I realized it is also the right decision for my baby’s health. Now, it’s a matter of not wanting to drive myself crazy checking for recalls and staying up-to-date on all the news reports on more than a professional level.
Fortunately, there are several resources out there for moms to easily find information on bottle and formula safety. I recently came across this site and it’s helped me sort through a lot of the information. Of course, I never trust just one single source off the Internet; I always research in several places, follow links, and then try to make my own decision.
Which brings us back to my question: Where does a new mom draw the line? There’s got to be a happy medium between tossing all the plastic (and, while I’m at it, canned food my husband and I eat!) in the house because of the latest alarmist study, or raising an infant the same way people have been doing for decades, with disregard to the hidden dangers around us.
Experienced moms, how do you know when you’re overreacting to the latest study and when you’re making a sound decision that will hopefully positively impact your child’s future health?
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Science-mom says...
LOL… Haven’t started on lead requirements yet, have you? Seriously, Dawn, it’s a crazy world isn’t it? A friend asked my “expert” opinion as to why our foodstuffs are so bad nowadays, what with all the contamination and GM modification, etc. I told her these safety issues have always been there…we just didn’t know about them. The question is, like you said, are we better off knowing? Or do we believe in the philosophy that what you don’t know can’t hurt you?
Heiddi says...
Dawn I knew it was you!!! Haha. Once the baby’s born, you’ll be too busy taking care of her to be anxious about the many dangers of the products we use. OMG takes up too much time when you have a newborn baby to take care of. Once you have her with you for awhile and get to know her likes and dislikes, you’ll be able to laugh at other soon-to-be-moms! Like I’m doing right now in response to your article! Roflmao! Great article! Don’t drive yourself crazy. It’ll all be okay.
Heiddis last blog post..On the Menu
Dawn says...
Lead… AHhH! THANKS Science-mom.
I’ve been pretty skeptical about buying toys made in China, esp. the cheaper stuff at super-low-end discount stores (Big Lots, etc.)
I’d LOVE to be able to afford all Made in USA, wood toys for my daughter, but I know that’s a dream… esp. when she can talk and wants the latest Elmo-whatever. LOL
I keep my eyes on product recalls, I guess that’s about all I can do. And if something looks *really* cheaply made, I don’t buy it.
Browsing the aisles at Toys R Us, though, it just seemed as if toys were more solid/well-crafted back when I was little.
At least I can make my own baby food from organic produce… but then you get into the whole organic standards. Yup… it can drive ya crazy if you let it.
So the blog is a point to ponder ,but in reality, I hope to find a happy medium somewhere between safe and insane. (Hmm… that would have been a good title for this post!) LOL