breast pump, manual Vs Electric ? Bottle brands ... much needed advice plz :)

[mlbear]

Hi all, I am sure there have been lots of posting about this previously but looking for them I get distracted by other topics ... :)

I want to breastfeed, but also want to express so DH can bond with baby too.

Can anyone recommend a pump, which is better, manual or electric?
Which brand can you recommend?

I have no bottles, sterliser, pump etc yet...

I know I want a microwave sterliser - do these only fit bottles of the same brand??

What bottle brands did everyone use? I have been looking into Dr Browns anti colic bottles.

Any advice / tips would be greatly appreciated - once I have this I can sit back & wait for baby to arrive :)

Im planning same as you, I will do the lions share of the feeding but am hoping to be able to express some to give me a little break/let DH take over etc. I havent bought a pump yet, thought I would see what my supply is like or if I even manage to breastfeed before I invest.

Likewise with bottles, it might take a few tries before you find one baby will take so not worth buying loads of one brand just in case.

I have bought an Avent microwave steriliser (was only £6 from aldi) but a quick google revealed you can use with lots of brands. If I end up using a brand that doesnt suit im not bothered for £6

They are all the sorts of things that you can get your hands on very quickly if needed so im trying not to worry about them until after the baby arrives, I could have any of it next day

That's a good price :) I have cleared my diary for Aldi baby event on 30/01 hoping I can get any last minute bits from there...

I do defo want to get a couple of bottles in now, in case I can't breast feed & have some formula ready.

There are so many 'starter' packs that seem really reasonable, but I dont want to spend a chunk of money on a full set if its no good & like you say have a full set of one type of brand of bottles if baby doesn't take to them.

My 2 week old daughter can't latch so at the moment I'm exclusively feeding her breast milk through a bottle. I bought a cheap avent manual pump before she was born ('just incase')and found it worked well however upgraded to a Medela electric pump pretty quickly. It works well,getting about 300ml between both boobs at a time however I only have the single pump (couldn't afford the double which was almost £150). Bottle wise using the medela bottle and teats,they are especially designed to help baby move from breast to bottle and my little one is getting on really well with them. Got the pump,bottles and teats for about £100 on amazon.

As for the steriliser I'm using a Milton cold water one,basically a big bucket of water,stick some sterilising fluid in it and it sterilises everything in 15mins and you dont meed to rinse before using everything. And you only need to change the water every 24hours. It is honestly the best baby purchase I made!

Thanks, that is a great tip re bucket & milton! this did not even cross my mind & I have just been looking at microwave ones! Once I am ready to buy I will get from Amazon, so much cheaper to shop around online than go into store :)

I was looking at the Medela electric as it was given 5* by mumsnet.

It depends on how much you plan on your DP feeding. I used a manual as DP only did 1 feed a day. If you plan on you doing most of the feeding then it's not worth buying electric IMO. It's nice if you can afford it but not necessary.

This is a bit of a soapbox topic of mine. There are lots, and lots, of good reasons to express. It can be fabulous for getting a bit of time off. It can be useful (usually after the first few mad weeks) for getting a good stretch of sleep in the early part of the night. It can be amazing if your baby has trouble feeding directly.

But feeding a baby is not the same as bonding with it. That is a big con put about by the formula industry to sell their product. Which then trickles down to bf-ing as well. Feeding has nothing to do with bonding. If you did every single feed and your partner did everything else, guess who would be spending more time with the baby? Ok, so changing a shitty nappy isn't very 'bonding', but cuddling, settling, winding, changing.....

So express for lots of good reasons (recognising that it is more work than feeding direct), but please don't feel it's something central to your partner bonding with his child.

Assuming you want to express, pumps:

• Manual: cheap, easy to take apart and clean, quiet, some people get better results with a manual. But can be slow and only one side at a time.

• Electric: more expensive, can be noisy, some people getter better results with an electric. Some can do both sides at once.

If you are thinking of electric, have a google of open and closed systems. Personally I would never buy an open system, especially second hand. I had an Ameda Lactaline, which is pricey but good.

As for sterlisers, Milton is fine (though as you are meant to rinse some people don't like the thought of the chemicals/taste). Traditional boiling is fine (and some pumps require this method and can't go in microwave or steam sterilisers). Don't have a microwave so can't comment on that, but the steam one was ok. TBH, I didn't express that much so by DD2 we gave it away because it took up so much space and just boiled things in a pan.

Bottles- there isn't really a 'best'. I'd just start with whatever fits your pump and change if you don't seem to be getting on with it. I've heard some people really don't get on with Dr Brown bottles (a friend complained that they leaked) but lots of my friends seem to use Tommee Tippee.

Hope that helps a bit.

I would post this in breast and bottle feeding as well for more advice.

I would say keep an open kind when the baby turns up. I wanted to breast feed with an occasional bottle for baby but she never ever ever took a bottle. We bought every brand on the market!

Expressing doesn't work for everyone and can be time consuming and as mentioned above there are lots of other ways to bond with a baby.

I did love my medala swing breast pump and would reccomemd it.

Thanks kiwi good thought to consider re manual vs electric, making manual seem more reasonable now on cost per use etc.

penguins I do want DH to feed for bonding time, but great point that you've made re formula companies, anything to sell their products...! I don't want all the responsibility of being the only one able to feed baby. DH is really keen (right now!) that he wants to be involved & do his share of the night feeds too. But I don't want him wearing himself out when he goes back to work, so the pump might not get used as much as we intend!
But it would be nice to have a rest when other people come round to feed.
I do like the idea of just using Milton & a bucket etc, I have been reading stories of microwave sterilisers not fitting microwaves !

Think I am just going to get a few bottles to keep me going for now, in case I'm not able to BF, then buy when baby is here :)

That's a good idea. We got in a great routine of DP doing the 'last feed' at 10-11pm using my expressed milk that I'd gathered during the day. It meant I could pump a good load out at about 9pm and then get my head down early, that way I got at least a 3-4 hour uninterrupted sleep before DS started waking in the night.

That is totally fair enough. Bear in mind that 'sharing' night feeds is pretty difficult in the early days - you'll probably need to be up pumping if you want a decent supply, so it's not like you can go to bed and leave him to do the next two wakings (sadly!).

As you say, having a baby who will take a bottle can be lovely for feeling that you can go out and have some time 'off'. Like getting a haircut or whatever. Sadly both mine were very resistant, so when I left them with DH is was more 'battle' than 'bond'

Also, and not suggesting for one minute that your DH is like this, I have seen a lot of women whose partners are very keen to do feeds. But having done them then feel that they have 'done their bit'. The same can be true of well meaning relatives who come round. TBH, sitting on your bottom feeding a baby is one of the easier baby-related tasks. I'd rather get a break by sitting doing that and having visitors run around doing the washing up, bringing me tea etc

Kiwi - I agree, that set up (once bf-ing is established) is often the best way to get some extra rest in

Medela was great.

i had an avent electric pump (not double) last time, along with avent bottles. all worked just fine and will use again this time.

also got a microwave steriliser but tended to have big bucket of milton on the go instead. couldnt help but feelthat the strong chemically smell would result in some kind of residue so did tend to rinse. definitely found milton easiest.