sharing bottles and breastpumps for EBM..advisable?(sorry long)

[hazlinh]

Started work about 2 weeks ago, DD now 2 months.I have been expressing milk for her, am using the Avent disposable system as well as the 4oz bottles with the newborn teats (they're well good!no nipple confusion at all and DD took to bottle-feeding with no problems!) Been using the Avent Isis at work with the disposable bags and transferring the EBM into the bottles when I get home as I only have 6 of the 4oz bottles and she needs all of them at home during the day, cos she has 6 feeds.Plus those Avent bottles ain't cheap! But those disposable bags are a bit fiddly and I find that they sometimes leak, and since they are bags after all,they're a bit floppy unless they've been frozen.
So been wanting to take the avent bottles into work instead and Wondering if I can cut costs and use my sister's Avent bottles first(she's 4 months pg and has bought a starter pack),is it advisable to share bottles meant for EBM this way?Or are there health risks involved?

Also, I have a medela mini electric pump which I use at home, was just wondering if sis could use that so she doesn't have to fork out money to get another one.

Thanks, if anyone can answer these queries...(as I'm sure a lot of you can!)

As long as you wash the bottles properly and sterilise them prior to expressing into them, there are no health risks. I would think that the same applies to breast pumps, too. I spent around 8 months (I think) expressing at work, and always used bottles. Much less hassle, it could go straight into the freezer as soon as I got home.

I lent my Avent Isis breast pump to my sister in law ... and then she gave it back to me and I am using it ... so it has been used for 3 babies - 2 of mine and one of hers ...
I don't think there is be a problem as long as they are carefully washed and sterilised.
On the other hand I have not used DS old teats for DD ... mainly because a) she is still only 10 weeks and only sometimes has a bottle of EBM with newborn teats and he had formula and cow's milk from 3 holed teats ... and b) his teats are over 4 years old ... so I chucked them out when DD was born ...
If I were in your shoes I would share the bottles but buy my own teats ...

Pupuce (a doula and breastfeeding counsellor who posts regularly on MN) told me that there is a slight risk of contamination with sharing electric pumps, because there can be some milk spray into the bits you can't wash. Having said that, it's your choice (ie I personally would be severely tempted, and if I had another baby I'd use my electric pump again). I'd definitely express into bottles and use them for another baby - dammit, that's what I've done for my two daughters! HTH. Oh, and I think you are doing brilliantly to express at work, as well - I work from home and sooo admire women who manage the whole kerfuffle in an office.

I would have thought as long as you sterilise them you are fine. I certainly used second hand bottles for mine.

Hazlinh, I've used second-time round bottles (really OLD Avent with maroon writing on them...) for EBM this time, but a new Medela pump. Very interested to read MI & Pupuce's info about slight risk of contamination because of milk spray in the pump, had not thought of that one. But thoroughly sterilised bottles and lids must surely be OK?
I gave up using the bags for the same reasons as you but have just seen that Avent have brought out a new range of reusable/disposable BOTTLES as opposed to bags. I am definitely going to track them down and use them as I am too tight to buy more 4 oz bottles too. I think they are called Via and only available from Boots at present. Anyone seen them or used them?

thanks for the advice, everyone..did hear abt that risk of contamination, motherinferior, esp about HIV, but wasn't sure if the risk was big enough to warrant having to buy a new pump...still contemplating...

not really handling the pumping at work bit very well tho, i dont even have a suitable place to pump, so have ended up having to do it in the loos! stopped that two days ago, and now express in the car on way home from work just to relieve the pain!!!

have also checked out the avent website and saw those new Via disposable things you're talking about, Marina. they look way cool, haven't seen any in the shops yet tho..will try and track them down too..altho the website doesnt say how much they cost. wonder if more cost-effective compared to the 4 oz bottles..?

also, found some playtex bottle liners which were much much cheaper than avent. bought a whole box of 100 for a third of the price of avent bags.apparently they also have that disposable bottle system, in either 4 oz or a larger bottle.don't know if their teats are as good as avent's tho...maybe that would be a different thread??

am gonna use the playtex liners just to store my milk, will have to get caregiver to pour the thawed milk into bottles when time to feed..

When I do use bags, Hazlinh, I use the Playtex ones. There is little in it but they are a couple of mm larger than the Avent ones, so fit the Avent system fine, and they are much tougher. Trouble is that the Playtex system is otherwise not compatible with the Avent disposable, v. annoyingly. Ds was happy with the Playtex system, but dd this time went straight to Avent soft spouts.
I think the Playtex system is great and definitely the most like b/f - provided your baby agrees. Tbh, as your dd is doing Ok with Avent I'd stay with it. Avent is easier to find in the shops and the Playtex teats don't get on with steam sterilising!
Sorry you are having to express in the loos...is there any way you can get better provision? I know how embarassing it can be to make an issue of expressing, though. My office is a fire escape route (long story) and our smirking office facilities manager made me explain why I wanted a lock on my door before telling me that wasn't possible "in case you passed out and needed rescuing, or there was a fire outside your office". And I guess he went straight off to the pub with his team of lads and had a good laugh about it all.
So now I wedge the door shut with a huge box of books. Not ideal but better than your situation I suppose.

Marina, I haven't actually opened up my box of Playtex bags yet so havent had a chance to see whether they fit in the avent bottles or not. Do they fit in the avent disposables fine? what do you mean by 'otherwise they're not compatible with the avent system?

i did read somewhere that playtex teats are one of the best ones in terms of similar to b/f and in reducing colic, but as you said, my dd is comfortable with avent, and I'm so scared to try out something new (teat-wise) in case it all goes pear-shaped!but dd does suffer from a touch of colic, so wondering if it's worth it to try out the playtex teats?

Are the teats supposed to be boiled then if they can't be steam sterilised? that's what i have to do with my medela pump, it's quite annoying having to boil them all the time, and i don't have a dishwasher. i hardly have time, and i use the pump at least 2-3 times a day, i end up boiling them only once a day! (if I find the time!!) wonder if it's hygienic.....

hazelinh, the Playtex bags will fit the Avent system because they are a couple of mm wider than the Avent bags. But you can't use Playtex teats with the Avent system, or vice versa.
I have a Medela mini-electric and I have been steam sterilising it daily with no ill-effects (not the motor bit obviously ). But that's an electric steam steriliser, not in the microwave. None of the parts seem to be damaged by this and I've been doing it for at least 12 weeks.
According to the bonus German language leaflet that also came with mine, they seem to think it is quite OK to only sterilise the kit once a day and just rinse it between times, so I expect you are all right. I sometimes wonder if we are a bit sterilising mad in this country.
Which leads me to confession time - like certain other Mumsnetters whose children don't seem to have suffered long term consequences I never sterilised or boiled my Playtex teats. I just scrubbed them hard with salt and then washed them in very hot soapy water with a good rinse at the end. EBM leaves much less of a residue to scrub off than formula, IME.

hi all I am returning to work in june and want to get prepared,
hazlinh, i think it's dreadful that you had to express in toilet. There are laws that cover pregnant women, mums within 6 mths of giving birth and breastfeeding mums. acording to HSE, employers are required to have somewhere for pregnant and breasfeeding mothers to rest they state that it is not suitable to use a toilet for this purpose.
did you inform them that you intended to continue breastfeeding when you returnd to work? If so they have to do a risk assesment etc.
here's the site with pdf leaflet with info for
b/f mums

I haven't heard about cross contamination with pumps. Is pupuce around?
I was thinking of renting an electric pump from nct as I don't want to shell out dosh if pump doesn't suit me. but wouldn't want to if there was risk.

ds2 still wont drink from a bottle properly. had an excited time in boots a month ago when he had some water from pre-sterilised disposable bottle thought he'd do it from then on, but no. he had some drink from a cup yesterday so hopefully by June he will be takin ebm.

off to check out new avent disposables

marina!! hi!! how are you???

Hi champs, our August thread needs 240 volts doesn't it! Hope you are doing OK
I initially used a hired pump and the thought of contamination never crossed my mind...I hope Pupuce can explain more but I think it's got to be a very tiny risk.
Could not agree with you more about hazlinh's situation being unacceptable, but some workplaces make it much harder for you to raise the issue because of the personalities involved. It only takes one sexist tw*t to render all your employer's alleged b/f policies unworkable...or so I've found Hope you have much better luck, Champs.
PS Dd went straight on to soft spouts - she has never taken a teat either...not properly anyway. Have you tried any types of spout with ds?

marina--- lol@ volts.
i'm not holding my breath re work. they were rotten with my p/g and pay(refused to give me any) and they made my work life miserable, i would never have thought a well known store would be like that!! am dreading going back TBH, hopefully manager has left by now!!!

ihave tried one kind of spout, with a cup hadn't thought of the soft spouts, they come on the trainer bottle/cups dont they? Think I'll have a look tomorow.

hi guys, I haven't really sat down and had a chat with the boss about expressing breastmilk, he's a bloke, and really old at that, so not quite comfortable with even chatting about breastfeeding with him! Plus, office is reaaaally tiny set-up, there are only 6 employees! so you can imagine how hard it is....maybe I should just whip out the pump and do it in my cubicle...???

About the pump-contamination thing, apparently it's not a problem with the rented models, cos the system is outside the motor...hence those pumps are multi-user models..eg Medela Lactina etc (I think- better check with pupuce, motherinferior!) But pumps like Avent Isis, and maybe even Medela Mini electric are meant as single-user pumps, cos there is a tiny risk of milk getting stuck in the tubes for the mini electirc, and it's difficult to get the tubes really clean and sterile, and the old milk can get back into the bottles later on...well at least that's my understanding of it....maybe some of the resident experts can enlighten us..???

But I think, with the mini electric, if you buy new tubes, bottles, membranes etc, it should be ok, no?

am busy wracking my brain figuring out where to pump TODAY!!maybe I'll try the pantry this time....

PS: Marina, will try sterilising my medela pump in avent steam steriliser now that I've heard your story...hope it doesn't melt now...

My Isis has been used by 2 other mums! I didn't think it was single user, there aren't any bits of it that cant be sterilised, are there? Not that I ever bother, just put it through the dishwasher. Mine was used by me, then my sil, then me, then my bf and now me again!!
I didn't reuse teats but the avent bottles I have went everywhere with the pump.
I think we are a bit sterilising mad in theis country, but I did sterilise the pump by boiling (as don't own a steriliser) in between users.

well that's what these people say, though I am seriously contemplating sharing my mini electric-plus and avent bottles with sis...the cost of my mini electric is just too high, and it would be a 'waste' if I were its only user...

whoops, if that link doesn't work, it's www.breastfeedingonline.com/pumps.shtml

hi hazlinh, just saw the avent via in boots. it comes as a kit including pump, 5 via cups, 5 via lids, 2 via adaptor kits. Or as a feeding system (5 via cups, 1 (!!!!!)lid,and a adaptor kit. Or as a refil kit. I got the pump kit but now feel a bit frivilous(sp) cos I already got a pump. I think I'll take it back and just buy the feeder system kit.

marina, I found some avent magic soft spouts that fit onto their bottles will try them later.

will definitely check that out. is it worth it getting the via system or should i just buy the std bottles??how much is the via stuff?

just wasted 1 oz today..it leaked out of my bl* avent liner just as I was abt to transfer it to the office fridge!!!

Good luck with the soft spouts Champs!
Hazlinh, I go completely bonkers if I lose a few DROPS when transferring milk...bad luck. I had a leaky Avent liner the other day and was down about it ALL WEEKEND.

Susanmt, it's only the non-washable bits that could, theoretically, get contaminated. An Avent should be fine because you can take the whole thing apart.

Hazelinh, if you hire a Ameda Egnell Elite it comes with ready-sterilised tubes etc, which you use and then will be disposed of for the next user. If you buy your own electric pump, like an Ameda Lactaline or a Medela Mini-Electric, the tubes or other bits are, obviously, integral to that model, and shouldn't be washed or sterilised in case water gets into them. That's why there is the theoretical risk of cross-contamination.

I can refer you to the gory pics of all 11 breast pumps I recently tested for one of the baby mags...

hazlinh, i think you can just use the disposable cups for storage when at work, as they will be more robust than the bags. the cups can be used with the bottles as it comes with an adaptor thingy.
the feeding system cost £3.99 think the refil pack was about 1.99 or 2.99 cant remember the cups are pre sterilised and ready to use and can be sterillised up to 4 times. the adaptor is reusable and for keeps.
economically, it may work out better to get a few more std bottles as it may work out cheaper in long run.

Thanks Marina, haven't tied them yet, too lazy to get pump out as am ill at mo. hopes he takes to them.

very interested to see these pics, motherinferior...how gory can they be....??