~ The age of your baby/ child
My twins are 22 weeks (17 adjusted).
~ Whether you'd used a pump before and your general opinions of breast feeding and expressing
I tried a TT manual with my first child with very little success, threw it in the back of a cupboard and splashed out on a Medela Swing - I found the swing to be excellent and used it on a daily basis for 18 months first time, and a few times a day when I returned to work part time. My eldest was 5 months at this time it helped me to continue exclusively breastfeeding past age 2.
The swing is still going strong 4 years later and I've been using it again since the twins were a few days old.
Overall I found breastfeeding to be pretty straightforward, and much easier than I was expecting with the twins... Still very hard work, particularly in the early days but we quite quickly got to a stage where I felt BF would be easier than the alternative because I'm too damn lazy to get out of bed in the night. With the exception of 35ml for DT2 (prem and low birthweight) we've been able to avoid using any formula at all. I find expressing is useful for my sanity and doesn't take much time - I prefer to use the pump hands-free while doing other jobs or feeding. It's helped us keep going through two bouts of thrush when it was too painful to feed direct.
~ Your overall first impressions of the Comfort electric breast pump
I couldn't wait to try it! The unit looked well designed and I felt the soft comfort cushion would be a nice change from the Medela. The pump unit is attractive and looks fine left lying around but was heavier than I'm used to and not as portable.
~ How it was to use - first times and subsequent uses.
Very easy to assemble, few more parts to put together but still quick. No way of contaminating the tubing or pump unit so a massive bonus there. I searched through the manual to see if it could be microwave sterilised and couldn't find any mention (but a very helpful lady at Philips said it was safe). I thought the bottle was a bit small but is compatible with other AVENT bottles.
The first use was really disappointing, I got about 40mls first thing in the morning when I'd normally expect 150ml+. I checked all the parts were connected but still had minimal success so thought I'd give it a go without the cushion because I'm an idiot. DO NOT DO THIS! It hurts - but did demonstrate that the was no problem with the suction!
I tried again the next couple of days to get a better seal and had more success but felt I was causing my supply to dip so switched back to the Medela in order to build up again. I'm now using it most days and getting around 60- 100ml in 20 minutes, quite a bit less than usual. I find I have to keep the pump rammed pressed very firmly against my breast and alter the angle a few times while pumping to keep the flow going but it is still more comfortable to use than a hard shell. As long as I'm paying attention it's reasonably efficient, but it's far too easy to break the seal and hence loose vacuum.
I'll keep trying and update in a week or so.
~ How would you rate the feeling of the pump on your skin? Would you say it felt "warm and natural on the breast"?
Uum... I'm not sure I could ever describe a pump as feeling "natural", but I reckon it's the closest it'd get! It's comfortable and certainly not cold. As mentioned above though the pressure I need to exert is the overwhelming sensation so I'd imagine if it fitted me better it'd be much more natural.
~ How did the pump help with the flow of milk? How long did it take to use?
The stimulation mode takes about 30 - 60 seconds to get a let down, slower than a baby but equal to my other pump. When tightly held on maximum the flow once it starts after a few minutes is very quick indeed, perhaps 2 minutes for the first 50ml of so - but because of the problems with with needing to adjust after this point to keep the flow going the total time for 100-130mls is more like 30minutes - I haven't given up before. I'm afraid it's often quicker to hand express whilst feeding.
~ Where did you use the pump? What sort of occasions did you use it (or express for?). Did the pump make this easy/easier?
I now leave this pump upstairs next to my bed to and use it at the same time as feeding one of the babies to take advantage of being able to recline.
I usually express twice a day, once for the milk bank and once to get enough for the babies to have with their daily vitamins. I also like to be able to throw a bottle in the changing bag for the times they demand simultaneous feelings in public!
~ How did you find the four settings - stimulation, low, medium, high suction?
Stimulation worked fine, would've preferred it a bit stronger. The rest of the time I use the high suction, which is still comfortable.
~ The pump will hit the shops (firstly in Mothercare) in January - is this a product you could recommend to other mums who want to express breastmilk?
Judging from the other reviews I seem to be very much in the minority so I certainly wouldn't discourage, but I would have to recommend a competitor.
~ The RRP is £115 - do you think this represents value for money?
The price is pretty comparable with other good quality pumps so if it works then absolutely. If I was spending that money I'd probably go for an alternative double.