Sippy Cups: should I buy more plastic ones?

I have always been in the camp of plastic = bad when it comes to contact with food and water. So why is it that when I reach for a sippy cup for my son's milk I am reaching for a plastic one, even though we own 3 stainless steel sippy cups??  My current working theory is that they are a pain in the #$% to clean, but upon further inspection, they really are not! There is one extra small step in the cleaning process (I wash all sippy cups by hand because the dishwasher never really gets them as clean as I like...I live in an old rental house with old appliances!) Anyways, I'm at the point where the 3 plastic sippy cups I own have been chewed through to the point where the spout of one leaks 100% of the time. This negates the whole purpose of a sippy cup when your toddler holds it upside down...;on purpose!



What to buy?
I was at the grocery store (not your typical Krogers or Safeway) when I saw a new product that I hadn't seen before. Life Factory makes glass bottles and sippy cups but they have a silicone protective sheath over the glass.


And the best thing about these is that you can buy accessory parts to make the 9oz glass bottle into a baby bottle or a toddler sippy cup! I even read several reviews that Dr. Brown's patented air flow system for baby bottles fits in these bottles with no leaks! This is great news for me, since we used the Dr. Brown's glass bottles when my son was a baby and we kept them for baby #2 (if and when). So if I buy any of these for my toddler, they can be used again baby to toddler stage. They are also freezer safe for breastmilk (Lifefactory baby bottles are made from borosilicate glass. Borosilicate glass is known for its superior durability, chemical and heat resistance, and is excellent for use in chemical laboratory equipment and cookware. This allows the baby bottle to go from the freezer to boiling water pot without incident), can be thrown in the dishwasher without even removing the silicone sleeve, AND they have a longer lifespan than any plastic sippy cup (in regards to degredation...this doesn't apply if for some reason it breaks - which according to the website seems very unlikely).

I'm still happy with my stainless steel sippy cups (I own Kleen Kanteen, Oggi and EcoVessel which all use the Avent sippy cup tops) but I'm going to try the glass, see how it goes. I love knowing I can use something for multiple baby/toddler stages like the Life Factory baby bottle/toddler sippy cup.

     

Price

You can expect to pay anywhere from $10-18. When I consider spending about $4-5 on a plastic sippy cup that will most likely not last the duration of my son's toddler phase...well, I'm definitely going to spend double on a glass or stainless steel sippy cup that will probably last 2+ kids (although it won't look so shiny and new ;-) I recommend looking on Amazon.com for the best prices.