Breast bumps and baby monitors

[Lakey]

Please could all you experienced Mum's give me advice on which Breast pump and which baby monitor you would advise me to buy!

Thanks

[Harrysmum]

I liked the avent hand held breast pump. I don't know anyone else who used it but I thought that it was good and not having used any others I don't know how it compares. It can be packed away in a small space so doesn't add to the enormous clutter that seems to arrive with one small baby.

[Alison222]

I've also used the Avent hand breast pump and found it to be good. I must say that getting the hang of expressing took a while so don't be discouraged if at first you get very little milk.
We have the Johnsons in touch monitor and its been fine. I would say that the useful bit is that you can run it off batteries so that you can walk around the house/garden etc if you need to with it. (useful for sitting in the garden on hot days when ds is asleep)

[Bells1]

I also used the Avent breast pump which I found to be fine (although very fiddly to put together) but to be honest it was absolutely no comparison in terms of efficiency to the hospital breast pump which I had on hire for 9 months and kept at work.

As for monitors, I think that one you can carry around with you is vital. Living in a tall thin house with lots of stairs, I wished I had gone for a 2-way model though. We would have found it very useful for requesting emergency deliveries of wipes etc!.

[Bugsy]

Hi Lakey, I used the Avent hand held breast pump with great success for 3 months. Don't be discouraged if you don't get much off initially, it just takes a while for you to build up a supply and get used to using the pump.
We used (and still use) the Tomy walkabout rechargeable monitor and have had no problems with it.
Good luck

[Jj]

Bells,

From which hospital did you rent the pump? Did you have to deliver there to have the service? I bought one of the electric Medela pumps and used it with my first, then my sister used it with her first and then it needed to be junked. (Not due to the quality of the pump, but because we lost some parts and didn't take very good care of it. ) At any rate, it wouldn't work in the UK, so it's ok. I loved it though as much as I could; I felt like a cow. Now I'm trying to find one to hire for my second.

Thanks.

[Bexi]

I'd also recommend the Avent hand-held breast pump. Once you get the hang of how it fits together it's really easy. I too found that the more you use it the easier expressing gets and the more milk you end up with. I also used the avent breastmilk-freezer-bag things which I found to be really useful so that my partner could have a good supply of milk when I went to work. You have to get them out of the freezer in time to defrost though - something I never quite got the hang of.

[Bells1]

JJ, Ameda Egnell (based in Devon) providea a nationwide delivery service of hospital pumps. They are on 01823 336 362. They will usually deliver within 24 hours and I think it is around £20 a month although I could be wrong. Annoyingly, when I called them at first, the salesperson talked me into instead buying one of their own electric pumps for around £70. I found it no better than the Avent hand pump and not a patch on the much much bigger hospital equivalent model that I eventually went back and hired from them. I think the NCT also hires them out.

[Joe]

I couldnt get hardly any milk off with the Avent pump, how did you all do it. I managed say 1 - 2oz in about 10-15mins. I started to think maybe it was in my head that I was trying to do this and it was effecting let down reflex. I tried all the tips but nothing worked, I gave up in the end. It is still in my cupboard, maybe I will be able to do it when the next one comes along.

[Croppy]

I used to get 2 oz in about 40 minutes for the first month or so!. I used to sit in front of the telly and pump away for ever. AFter about 4 weeks of perseverance (and an horrendously sore hand) I eventually achieved some sort of flow.

[Azzie]

I couldn't get on with the Avent at all. I used a Medela pump - I started with the hand pump but quickly bought the mains adapter, and I found it absolutely excellent.

[Bugsy]

When I first started with the expressing I got very little off too. I think the first time I expressed I got less than one fluid ounce. However, I felt so pressurised to provide my baby with breastmilk that I expressed every 3 hours initially (including during the night for the first couple of days) and very quickly developed a good supply. After a two weeks I was getting loads off with no problem at all.

[Ali72]

What about other gizmos for a newborn? My JMB catalogue arrived today with lots of excellent looking things in it. I am particularly taken with the idea of the 'bear with a heart' that stimulates a heartbeat when the baby cries. I wonder if it actually works to sooth them?
I could go crazy with this catalogue shopping having dreamed last night that I was in labour but still hadn't bought a thing!

[Pupuce]

Jj,
I am with you... need to rent one next time but the NCT is currently hopeless with my request (I left 5 messages in 1 month and I am still no further).
Boots and Jojomamanbebe (also on the web) sells the Medela handheld electrical pump which I used (got milk very easily.... at the end I had a pint in 30 minutes!). It's a good one but it is noisy (hence I want to rent one).... especially if you express daily (which I do because I am GF follower!!).... at anyrate, Medela is good but I will rent a professional one this time.
Bells - Last baby, I tried Ameda but they were sold out! so if NCT isn't forthcoming in the next few days, I'll try Ameda again.

[Jenny2998]

my son was born with a cleft lip and palate, and so couldn't breastfeed. i was determined to give him a good start in life, and so i expressed milk for him for 10 months. i started with an electric pump (loaned to my by my midwife)whcih worked for a while. then tried varios manual (hand) pumps. didn't get on with those at all. in the end, i found the best way to do it was just by hand. It worked really well for me, and i did it for most of those 10 months. there is a knack to it, but once you've got it it's nice and quick. also, of course, nice and cheap, no equpment to buy, and none to have to carry round! hope this helps!

[Joe]

Jenny2998 - Wow good for you, 10 months, wow. I struggled to get a couple of ounces off, maybe I wasnt determined enough.

[Midge]

I am particularly impressed with one pint!! the most I ever managed was 3 oz at a time and then not very often!
I also recommend the Avent. I used the Ameda pumps (3 different styles!) on loan from hospital and they were ok - large, noisy and with a tendency to make me feel like a cow - the Avent was a nice quiet choice and equally efficient.

We have used a Safety First "Angelcare" monitor (apnoea mat and/or sound monitor) - it is a no frills forerunner to the Johnson In Touch monitor for half the price, available, amongst other places, from Tesco Direct. Whether to use an apnoea mat or not would appear to be a contentious subject but it is the best nursery purchase we made and we wouldn't be without it.

[Jklawrence]

Re expressing: I use both the Ameda twin electric pump and an Avent manual pump. I have also hand expressed when I felt the need to get every last drop - I find both pumps stop extracting my milk when there's still about 1/2 to 1 oz left. I like the portability of the Avent but the Ameda is more than twice as fast and leaves one hand free (ironically the single-side Avent needs both hands).

I find that the amount I get depends on how often I express/breastfeed. If I do it every four hours, my supply increases. If I leave it over 6 hours, my supply decreases. When I started I got about 8 oz per session, and that's now down to 4-5 as my son is drinking less (10 mos. old).

Re monitors, a walkabout is a must. I now have the Safe&Sound Rechargeable which I bought second hand, and it has proved to be a brilliant bargain. I can still listen in from the other side of the garden, despite the thick stone walls of our old house.

[Jj]

Bells, thanks for the info on the Ameda pumps. They sent me their catalogue and it's great to feel like that's something already sorted. Just hope they're not out when the baby arrives. Did you buy the Lactaline Personal-Dual pump? If you don't remember, don't worry about it.

Baby's due in just under 7 weeks. I'm hoping he'll be a week or two early, since my first was big (9lbs 4oz) and, well, I'm just impatient. Hope yours is a few days late!

[Bells1]

Yup JJ it was the Lactaline. No doubt it varies from person to person but I just didn't find it nearly so effective as the big model and no better than the hand held Avent. Tks for the warning on the potential of them being out of stock - I shall definitely get my order in early.

[Jj]

When I asked if they ever ran out of pumps, the woman on the phone said, "Oh no, never". Not what I heard here! (I'm going to believe Pupuce and not that woman, I think.) So my order is going in a week or so before the due date.. it'll be nice to have it waiting at home when we get back here, too.

[Alih]

Jj - I am an Ameda Pump agent - basically this means that if anyone in my area needs to hire a pump, they can get one from me. This is a voluntary service offered as part of our local NCT branch. If you have an NCT branch locally (which I am sure you will have) you may also have a pump agent nearby.

If you let me know your location, I can tell you if you have a pump agent nearby (I have a national list). Hopefully, you won't need it though.

[Jj]

I live in Islington near the Angel. My to-do list includes getting in touch with the local NCT. Is it too late for me to do that? The baby is due in just under 6 weeks and I didn't attend antenatal classes. Are most of the people involved new parents or do a fair number have more than one child? I have a 3 1/2 year old son and am getting nervous about handling two at once and all of the new issues involved.
Thanks!