Breast Pump & Storing Breast Milk

G

Grace Bellis

Registered User
I'm currently breastfeeding my daughter and planning to start bottle feeding her in the next couple of weeks. Here are the queries that I have and would appreciate if anyone could give me some ideas :

1. Breast Pump
I'm planning to be pumping about 3-4 times a day. Friends have suggested me renting Medela Latina or Symphony breast pump, instead of buying the mini-one from the shop. Would anyone know if there is big difference between the Latina/Symphony and the mini-pump.

2. Storing Breast Milk
I was once suggested by someone that it'd be best to freeze breast milk in small ice-cube size. Would anyone have ideas on locating disposable bags for this?

3. Introducing bottles
I've been breastfeeding my daughter for about 4 weeks. Does anyone have suggestions on what the best way is to introduce bottle-feeding?
 
Hi I rented a Lactina pump for about 6 months. and yes, at least for me, there is a huge difference between an hospital grade pump and the mini electric pump. The latter was painful to use, and is slow. So I rented the Lactina and was quite happy with it for a couple of month when a friend suggested that I try the AVENT ISIS hand pump and to my amzement - that worked best for me - it was inexpensive, extremely effective (in fact I managed to pump more milk out using the Avent Pump) - it took me about 10 -15 minutes to pump 8-10oz, twice a day.

I did not like freezing breast milk though, as it smelled really strange after defrosting. But that is just me I think as most of my friends did not have the same problem.
 
I bought the mini electric and it worked well for me. I pumped 2X a day and didn't find it painful.

We gave D his first bottle of expressed milk at 6 weeks.

Did anyone see that new show on Star World last night, "Yes Dear"? The couple on the show were trying to wean their baby too and the task was left to the Dad. Basically we went through the same ordeal. Daddy was responsible for introducing D to the bottle. There was a bit of protesting and fortunately he took to it very quickly. After that I continued to give him at least 1 bottle of expressed milk a day. This was usually at his last feed at 10/11pm.

I used to freeze milk in disposable bags. Initially its best to make 3-4oz bags which is approx 1 feed for a young baby and as their appetite grows you can increase this to 6-8ozs.
 
i breastfed my bb boy for 1 year and i used the minielectric from medela for the first 9 months. for the last 3 months, i received a medela pump in style as a gift and that was just the perfect pump for me as i work during the days and needed to pump twice (i managed to get 8 oz each time). i liked to use gerber ziplock milk bags for freezing and i started off with 3-4 oz bags and increased as bb grew. my 2nd bb will be due next march and i plan on using my pump in style along with the gerber bags! good luck!
 
Avent also has a set that consists of an outer plastic bottle casing that goes with pre-sterilised bags that are marked with volume - the bottle with the bag fits DIRECTLY onto the Avent hand-held breast pump using the standard Avent rings that comes with all the bottles. It's a neat system that I used in London (so not sure if you can get it here - the Eugene stores seem to have a reasonable Avent range) and I still have some spare unused bags with the neat little clips and labels for the date . The problem is - my little one was fussy and never accepted the "thawed" version !

Gabs
 
I'm 6 months into b/f and am back at work. I use the Medela mini-pump twice a day once at around 11am and then in the afternoon at around 3.30 but continue to b/f my daughter before I leave for work and once I return home. Never found it painful and manage to get around 8oz each time but this does vary depending on how tired/stressed I am.

Started bottlefeeding when she was 6 weeks old and she also takes 4 ozs formula a day - we've never experienced nipple confusion or any other problems.

I have major difficulties giving Calla the bottle and the only time she takes it from me is when we are out and she's in the Baby Bjorn all other times either my husband or our helper bottle-feed her.

I still freeze in 4oz amounts and use the Avent disposable bags that you can get at B2B or Mothercare.

If you plan to bottle-feed and b/f then I would suggest that you watch out if she starts to experience difficulties latching on although no-one I know who introduced a bottle early on has experienced nipple confusion.
 
ISIS ALL the way!

i used the mini electric (medela) until i went back to work at 6wks ... then a friend gave me an ISIS hand pump (avent) and i haven't put it down. i swear by the avent (although i still freeze in the medela bags) It's super easy, once you get past the fumbly assembly --more parts to remember than the mini. With the ISIS i get 8-10oz in under 20min (8-10 ea side) but w the medela i still only get 2-3oz in the same time. i found the mini-electric noisy and especially once back to work, very inconvenient --noise, slow, needs a plug-in ...)

I freeze (started at 2ox then increased to 4-5oz now) in the medela bags and defrost only as needed -under a warm running tap or warm water in a mug or left in fridge over night. it was suggested to us in hospital to keep frozen milk in a tupperware box of some sort just to be sure of no cross-contanimation from other freezer foods -

i got dh to intro 1st bottle (2oz) at 6wks and i went for a walk ... baby refused while i was still indoors --?could he smell me? now bub takes bottle from ANYone --he'ss 11wks. he gets at least one bottle a day when i'm at work ... and when we go out together i now pack an extra bottle just in case i need it (packed w ice to keep cool/cold). i did find that when he was getting "too many" bottles he was FAR less efficient on the breast .. so just decreased his bottles and he had to "figure" his way thru again. I have to admit, I like it when I pump, cuz i can "see" exactly how much bubs is getting ... but now that i'm more confident with "how much each side 'holds' " I am once again more confident with the bfeeding.

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW for those mom's who pumped 2x at work, how did you re-sterilize your pump? I'll be going back full-time in the new year adn will have to pump twice a day ... ???
 
with the medela system, i bought 2 sets of funnels so i didn't have to sterilize and used ice packs to keep the milk cool during the day. i found the gerber ziplock bags really nice for freezing coz they're quite thick and the ziplock is really handy and there's ample space to mark dates etc i never had any problems defrosting them in a mug of hot water or under the tap - one downside is that they're not so readily available in hk. the way i used to do it was number the bags 1, 2, 3... etc and put a list on the fridge. i would ask my helper to use the oldest bag first etc and cross off each one as we used it. i b/f my boy once in the monrning and once before bedtime at night and pumped twice at work. i managed to b/f him just past one yr - i then became pregnant and lost more than 1/2 my supply! i had a stock of 40 8oz bottled in the freezer at one time but as my supply decreased, they didn't last for 2 weeks at the end! but my bb has not had a single cold/fever during that yr so keep it going for the good health of your baby!!
 
I'm another big fan of the ISIS Avent hand pump. I first used it 6 years ago - and I'm using it again this time. With my first daughter I too could get about 8-10oz in 10/15 mins early in the morning. Before I bought the Avent pump I hired an electric Medala pump, but could hardly get any milk off.

I would pump straight into the bottle she would use for her morning feed, and then at work pump straight into the bottle for her afternoon feed.

To RebeccaMB: I brought in extra sterlised bottles, but left the pump in Milton solution in a plastic tub with a lid between "pumps"
I also know people who bought two pumps - the ISIS is well priced enough to do this. But so much to carry!

I introduced my first daughter to a bottle of expressed milk when she was a few days old, and continued to exclusively breastfeed from the breast and bottle for 9 months with no confusion.

Because I'm not working now, I am freezing my milk to cover the times I want to go out for a while. My baby takes the thawed milk fine if it isn't too old. They say frozen breastmilk can last three months, but I don't think a 6 month old is happy with the milk they had at 3 months.

Avent has a special kit for expressing at work - it comes with the pump, carry case, bottles and cooling bags. The big issue at work is where to pump. It seems in HK that the most common place is the toilet sadly. Before I went on ML I asked my HR to help me come up with a solution...but nothing transpired. I did find other women very helpful with suggestions like using private meeting rooms. I used the toilets and it was OK. Given this was in the wake of SARs they were very very clean!

Good luck. As much as my babies have benefitted from the milk, I too got a great deal out of feeding after returning to work, especially at night when I found the final bedtime feed very special and relaxing.
 
Also to RebeccaMB - I was just washing up my pump when I thought you can probably also use a microwave steam steriliser. I use the Avent one and it fits most microwaves (and most tea rooms at work seem to have a microwave). This is a good option if you don't like the smell of the Milton.
 
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