Bottles, pacifiers, teethers, and utensils
The question about the best materials for products that go into your little one’s mouth – whether baby bottle, pacifier, teether, or utensils – has been a tricky one for me. The more straightforward choices for me are glass instead of plastic for bottles (and even instead of stainless steel) and non-toxic (aka tested for toxins and not made in China) stainless steel for utensils. But the question of the safest material for baby bottle nipples and pacifiers is a more complex one – should one use silicone or natural rubber/latex?
To summarize what I have so far uncovered in my rudimentary research on this to date, there are pros and cons to each option:
We went mostly with silicone. For baby bottles, we used Philips Avent glass bottles with silicone nipples, and for pacifiers, we also used Philips, which are medical-grade silicone. We did have a few natural rubber pacifiers (Natursutten – see below), but we didn’t use these as often because I had questions about their safety, as above.
I tried to switch my daughter to another baby bottle brand because I had some concerns about the Avent bottle’s nipple and the fact that they are made in China. I called Philips to get more insight on the silicone used, and they were only able to tell me that it was both food grade and hospital grade, whatever the latter means. They were unable to tell me if it was 100% silicone or had any additives, which gives me some discomfort.
But she attached to the Avent bottles quickly and didn’t want the others that I bought for her, which were: Natursutten, Hevea, Lifefactory, and Lollaland. (I do not recommend Lollaland – the paint on the outside started to wear off from boiling, which concerned me. I notified them, and they reassured me there was no lead in the paint, but, in any case, I did not like that it was on there. It looks like their product may have been taken off the market anyways.) The ideal would be to have a bottle with a medical grade silicone nipple.
Baby Bottles
If I had the opportunity for a do-over, I probably would have started with Lifefactory glass baby bottles. I feel somehow reassured by Lifefactory that the bottles are supposed to be fully non-toxic. They use borosilicate glass, and the bottles are made in the US and France. They also offer stainless steel baby bottles, though I am more hesitant to use those since I have read about the possibility of leaching heavy metals when using them with hot liquids. Glass feels safest to me. We use other Lifefactory bottles now for my now toddler and for us adults and like them a lot. The only catch is that I don’t see on their website that the nipples are 100% silicone, but that could be easily cleared up by contacting them.
I like Hevea’s stated focus on offering non-toxic, natural materials, including natural rubber for their nipples and pacifiers. However, they had their baby bottles recalled in recent years – 2018, I believe – because they were using lead paint on the outside of the bottles. This is very concerning. I understand they no longer use lead paint, but it can be hard to rebuild trust with a company once they have done something as egregious as that.
Natursutten is a Danish company. Their glass bottles are borosilicate, made in France, and they use natural rubber for the nipples. They claim to use no chemicals in the production process and also that they remove the allergen in latex. If all true, then this is a compellingly safe product!
Pacifiers, Pacifier Clips, and Teething
My hesitations around using a natural rubber pacifier more regularly were mainly around the cons listed in the table above. Natursutten seemed like the most reliable option that I found, in terms of their commitment to safety and no chemicals, so we did have my daughter use them some. If I could do it over, I probably would have balanced – maybe 50/50 – use of the Philips Avent medical grade pacifiers with use of the Natursutten pacifiers. This is primarily because natural rubber pacifiers tend to be softer, which could have helped to prevent the pacifier teeth that my daughter now has – she was a vigorous sucker!
Natural rubber options to consider: Natursutten, Hevea
Medical grade silicone pacifiers: Philips, Loui
Here are a couple of other related products that I tried and trust:
- January Moon pacifier clips – I especially appreciate the fact that their products go through third party testing for toxins.
- LouLou Lollipop‘s teethers and pacifier clips. They also test their products for toxins, which is great.
- Kleynimals toxin free stainless steel “keys”. My daughter loved these, especially using them with the book “Good Night, Gorilla” to help the gorilla unlock the elephant’s, tiger’s, and giraffe’s cages.
Utensils
- Kleynimals – We continue to use these forks and spoons into toddlerhood. They are not only toxin-free and made in the U.S., but also adorable – you can get safari animal or ocean animal themed utensils. They are just the right size for small mouths too.
- January Moon – We used these early on when my daughter first began eating solid foods. They are good but a bit clumsy in terms of the ability to pick up and hold food. Still, I liked how soft they were for my daughter’s mouth, and she liked to use them (and play with them without any food around too). They are made of birch wood and food grade silicone. In general, I haven’t used a lot of silicone because I find that it picks up oils and grease from the dishwasher, which I then need to clean off by hand.