these look great. getting ready for #2 and though I have tons of stuff from #1, I would try out these products for sure.

Yikes, you have your science completely backwards.

Cow's milk does not last very long unrefrigerated - half an hour to an hour, maybe, before you're taking your chances. It has been pasteurized (both good and bad bacteria have been wiped out) and also went through a lot before it reached your refrigerator.

Breastmilk is jam-packed with antibiotics that are specifically tailored to babies. It is also very fresh, since it did not travel by truck and through a store to get to you. For these reasons, breast milk is "safe" to drink for up to ten hours! Here is one source of this information; I'm sure La Leche League and pediatrics sites can offer similar info.

Of course, this begs the question of why an insulated thermos for the breastmilk would be necessary. I guess in a very hot climate, during the summer, if you were outside all day, breastmilk might spoil more quickly. But beyond that, who needs to keep a sippy cup of breast milk out of the fridge for more than ten hours?

You ought to correct the factual errors in this post. That said, you guys are doing a great job with this blog!

OK, I'm not trying to mess with people here. This site doesn't accept linkouts in comments, so I'm including the reference I cited above in the URL for this second comment. Again, though, I'm sure La Leche League has great information on this - the site above is just the first citation I saw for the ten-hour rule repeated pretty much everywhere.

For moms who express their breastmilk for their babies, the milk is not necessarily "just squeezed." It could have been in the refrigerator for a few days, in which case keeping it chilled is essential to keeping it fresh.

Yeah, I noticed the HUGE error as well. It'd be great if you guys could correct that.

Other than that, an insulated sippy cup, and a stylish one at that, is ALWAYS a good thing. So, thank you for the post.

Since my son was born two years ago I've been obsessed about feeding my son anything out of a hunk o' plastic (sippy cups, plastic bowls etc etc) and I got him drinking out of glass and ceramic as quickly as I could. It's promising that Thermos has come up with a stainless steel interior for their sippy cups. But do we know what kind of plastic is used in the spout? Should we be concerned about that?

Quote: "It could have been in the refrigerator for a few days, in which case keeping it chilled is essential to keeping it fresh."

Janie, I'm sorry, but you're really, really off base with this and you need to correct it, not rebut. It does not matter if breast milk has been stored in a refrigerator for a few days, or if it has been frozen and thawed. It still will last ten hours.

Please check a source for accurate information before you speak authoritatively on this topic! The information is very easily obtained.

I agree with the others. Please change the post. I enjoy this site for its fresh ideas, great finds, etc. and am surprised to see something this obviously incorrect.

That's right; breastmilk stays fresh (even at room temperature) much, much, MUCH longer than formula or cow's milk and even if it has been thawed from frozen. You really should correct this post!

Thanks for the comments. I think everyone agrees breastmilk requires refrigeration whether after 4 hours or 10 hours of being expressed (depending on the guidelines you follow). My post about Foogo is that when I take refrigerated breastmilk out with us, I usually pack it in a cooler with ice packs until baby drinks it. With Foogo, you can just take the chilled milk in the container sans cooler. On the other hand, if using formula you can just bring the bottle of formula without ice packs. I've also heard from numerous moms (and one dad) who left older breastmilk out at room temperature after being refrigerated and had it go bad (seriously sour) within an hour or two. It depends on the situation and whether baby has drank from the bottle/cup and thus contaminated it with bacteria from saliva. Either way, the post is about the benefits of an insulated sippy cup. Thanks to all those who stopped by.

Janie, you have some good points. But I am still amazed that you are willing to stand by the statement that breast milk "spoils much more quickly" than cow's milk! This is a matter of basic scientific fact. Have you ever left cow's milk out of the fridge?!

You should feel free to revise and selectively edit your posts, even after they have been published, when they cause this much confusion and concern among your readers. On a news blog a policy of editing post-post might create some problems, but when it comes to shopping blog, you would hope your posts live on a bit as a resource, and would prefer that they be as clear and accurate as possible.

Z Recommends, as someone about to have a baby, I think this debate is interesting, but I also think you should give up on insisting that you are right. It's just boring after multiple posts.

Either way, the point is that there is an insulated sippy cup, and breast milk or cow milk, it seems like a handy contraption.

Obviously I am not the only person here concerned with the facts of breast milk storage! Cut me some slack, I acknowledged that she had some good points. While most sources agree on the ten-hour window, that is for storage below 79 degrees, and a few sources suggest a slightly shorter window in a different temperature range (the CDC says 6-8 hours up to 77 degrees).

What interested me in the topic in the first place, beyond wanting to correct misinformation, was that parents are often asked to make purchases to "be safe" when they are already behaving in a perfectly safe manner. Marketers often sell parents "peace of mind" that is based on fears they planted themselves. I am sure you will learn this all too well when you have your child, beginning with the helpful formula-company reps who do rounds in the hospital with free kits of formula and bottles for mothers who "may not be able to breastfeed" (the first week of breastfeeding is often hard, mothers often fear that their child will starve before figuring out how to do it). In fact, less than 2% of mothers are actually physically incapable of breastfeeding their baby, but the "consultants" are there, at the ready, watching with "concern."

I'm glad you found the discussion interesting. And yes, I'm tired of the subject too! I'm sorry if I seemed to belabor it. Anyone looking for solid information on how to store breast milk should check out La Leche League's guidelines, here:

http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html

Wow, all I can say after skimming all this is, Z recommends, how do you have this much time on your hands? You made your point well the first time. You really need to have the last word don't you? Were you the youngest child in your family?

I think the cup is great. Thanks for telling us about it!

The post has been corrected, Annabelle, which is all I asked for in the first place. Cheers to AT for remaining open-minded regarding readers' concerns.

If anyone is confused by some participants' hostility here, I love this blog...

ha ha you just confirmed annabelle's point!

The reality is for you to do what you feel most comfortable with. Don't do something because someone nags you to death about doing it their way. So, besides "milk" I assume this sippy cup will keep liquids cool for some time. I am trying to find something since we live where it stays over summers are long and hot, and we are an active, outdoorsy family.

someone above mentioned this as well...what is the spout made of for the sippy cup and what is the straw made of for the straw bottle? stainless steel seems to be the way of now and the future (kleen kanteen, sigg), so what's with the plastic spouts? are they made of the "better" plastic?

Enough about the breastmilk freshness debate! The real thing to note about these sippy cups is the design, construction, and washability of the nipple & valves. The many pieces look like a pain in the butt to wash and to put together before use. I don't like to use plastic either, but one piece nipples with no valves are important to me. Nuby (plastic) sippy cups are BPA free (always have been) and the Kleen Kanteen is the best stainless steel (although not insulated). Compare all the pieces and valves before you buy and you'll see the foogo looks like a loser. There is a new stainless, insulated sippy cup on the way, stay tuned and I'll try to return with the name of it. I just saw it today, but can't remember who was the manufacturer.