Not been around for a while, but hoping to get back into the swing of things in the next couple of d...
Not been around for a while, but hoping to get back into the swing of things in the next couple of days!
Member since:11.10.2004
Reviews:15
Members who trust:2
When my baby was born 5 months ago, we quickly found out that he wasn't taking enough breast milk from me - bless him, he was falling asleep before he had a chance to fill his tummy. So, my midwife suggested that I use a breast pump to express some milk off, and that I give him 20 ml in a small cup towards the end of every feed.
Now I had bought a manual breastpump when my daughter was a baby, but to be honest with you, I'd never really got on with it. I found it quite uncomfortable on my breast, and it really made my hand ache trying to work the thing! So, I decided to look into the various options available for an electric breast pump.
I eventually settled on the Medela Mini 'Electric breast pump, which I bought for £50 from Boots.
When I got the pump home, I unpacked it (nicely packaged) and popped the non-motorised bits and pieces into the steriliser. Then I sat down to read the instructions. Now, I have to be honest, I was expecting the operating instructions to be in a mixture of English and Gobblygook, so I was very pleasantly surprised at how easy they were to understand. Basically, there are just a few pictorial explanations which are really easy to follow. In fact, I had to re-read them several times to make sure that I hadn't missed anything!
As soon as all the bits and bobs were sterilised, I collected them together and assembled them. That was as easy as it looked on the instruction leaflet - phew. Then I attached the contraption to my boob and switched it on. Hey Presto! It worked! I always find the 'milking process' a bit disconcerting. I mean, it's what cows do, isn't it. But at least this method was quick, clean and incredibly easy.
After a few short minutes I had collected enough milk, and so ended my first session. The pump was as easy to take apart as it was to assemble, and the attachments are all very easily cleaned - in fact, they're dishwasher safe, which makes the whole process even easier!
One little thing that I particularly liked about this breast pump is that you don't have to use the bottle they supply to pump the milk into. When I was in hospital, the midwives gave me some small plastic bottles with lids to decant my milk into, and these fitted the pump perfectly. This meant that I could store several batches of milk at the same time - all pre-measured into 20 ml servings!
I've now stopped breast feeding, as I wasn't really making enough milk, but even though I only used the pump for a couple of months it was well worth the money. Not only did it provide my son with the top up that he needed in those early days, but it was also a godsend on the couple of occasions that I became engorged.
The other bonus with this is that, when I finished using it, I packed it back up in it's beautiful box, and advertised it on E-bay - and got £30 back for my efforts! (If anyone is considering buying one new, there is loads of interest from potential buyers on E-bay for this item, so you should easily be able to sell it once you've finished with it.)
So, this item ended up costing me £20 - fantastic value for money I'd say!
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Good review - sounds really helpful! Think I'll get one of these.
AnitaM 27.10.2004 12:28
I got on really well with this. Very noisy though. I couldn't imagine going back to work and discreetly expressing milk in the loos!
RClure 25.10.2004 10:18
I was the opposite, I hated the hospital electric pumps but got on really well with my ISIS hand pump ~ I managed to breastfeed for 10+ months against all the odds. Cx
Perfect for expressing breastmilk when out and about or at home. Single or double pump set ... more
can be selected. Mains or battery operation can be used. Equipped with double pump set and mains adapter. Double expression considerably reduces pumping time and...
Postage & Packaging: £10.00 Availability: Usually dispatched within 4-5 business days...
Oct 21st, 2004
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