My SO has just bought us the Tommy Tippee Closer to Nature Complete Starter kit as I plan to express my milk via a breast pump sometimes so that he can join in on feeding his son, if we are out for the day or if LO is staying over at his grandparents. The starter kit will also be great when it's time for LO to stop breastfeeding. I'm so glad to finally have this 'big list' item as I call it ticked off.. It feels like a little milestone for me. However, I'm now looking at the electric breast pump that is next on our wishlist. It too is Tommy Tippee but after reading reviews, some of them are not so great.. & some are amazing. I've now been looking at the AVENT pump reviews or the Medela Swing & I don't know what to do.. Tommy Tippee would be ideal as the bottles that we have ordered will fit the pump but I don't want to waste my time or money. Although I would rather the convenience of the bottles fitting.. so I'm in a bit of a jam. Any tips or advice ladies & what are your plans on feeding?
I'm a FTM, so take that into account when reading my response, I know STM will have better answers... As far as I know, it's not a big deal if you don't have a Breast Pump that is this the same brand as your bottles. I plan on using a Medela pump, but my bottles will be Playtex drop-ins. I am more concerned with storage bags for the breast milk, which I will be using Medela brand. Then when I use the stored breast milk, I'll just pour it into the bottle. That's at least my plan. Good luck with your decision.
I'm a FTM, so take that into account when reading my response, I know STM will have better answers... As far as I know, it's not a big deal if you don't have a Breast Pump that is this the same brand as your bottles. I plan on using a Medela pump, but my bottles will be Playtex drop-ins. I am more concerned with storage bags for the breast milk, which I will be using Medela brand. Then when I use the stored breast milk, I'll just pour it into the bottle. That's at least my plan. Good luck with your decision.
Thank you for your response I'm a FTM here too. I have so many questions flying around my head haha.. I was more just excited about buying our feeding equipment as it's making everything seem more real! I was also curious about everyone's plans for feeding! I was worried about that as I know brands tend to only make their products fit their brand and not like universal.
And to add on I really want these for storage: link
They come with converters to fit lots of pumps and you can hook your bottle nipples onto them. It's a dream, I don't know if I'll actually get them on my own.
I have the double Avent pump that I used with DD and it worked great. If you are concerned about storing in bottles, you can always express the milk into the bottle that comes with the pump and then pour into storage bags. This is what I did last time and will do again. I find the bag is easier to store anyways. You may also be freezing some milk so you won't want to use a bottle for that anyways.
Same here. I have the Avent pump, I liked it well enough, but I always poured the milk into storage bags and froze it anyway. At first I pumped and stored in the bottles and it was a mistake. I ended up pouring out the milk way too many times because it went bad before I had a chance to use it. Plus then your bottles are being used as storage instead of clean and in the cupboard, ready for a feeding. This time I'm not making that mistake. I'm pumping and freezing as much as possible right away.
I can't remember if you live in the states or not. Have you looked into getting a free pump through your insurance? I just received mine a few days ago and didn't pay a penny. I don't know anything about the pumps you mentioned. I ordered a medela; they are one of the best ones out there; and like I said, completely free. Whatever pump you do get should end up coming with bottles. Whether or not you use those bottles to feed from is up to you. I rented the hospital medela last time, and then just used a manual medela (I think the Harmony one you mentioned) and they both came with a bottle or two. I pumped into those bottles, and then poured the milk into Lansinoh storage bags (we had the best luck with those; fewest leaks, layed flat for easy storage). We did not like to feed with the Medela bottles - too many bubbles/gas. So my pumped bags mostly went into the freezer. Then I would unfreeze and warm them up in water and pour into our Dr. Browns bottles. So 3 different brands in the whole process - Medela bottles because they came with the pump and fit it, Lansinoh bags, and Dr Browns bottles to bottle feed.
Post by honeybunches101 on Apr 11, 2015 0:13:49 GMT -5
I wouldn't get too worried about bottles not fitting onto the pump. Your baby may or may not like the brand of bottles you picked out, DS refused some types and was fine with others. So get the kind of pump you want and figure out the bottles later. You won't store the milk in the bottles anyway, unless you plan to use it right then. I also liked the lansinoh bags even though the Medela ones clipped onto the pump.
Agree with the other ladies. Don't worry about the bottle fitting the pump unless you don't plan to store/freeze it. Milk goes bad within hours of being pumped. Also I if you do use it when going out, I would pump and freeze/store that milk and use one you had froze before to keep the cycle going and so you don't have to toss any milk. "Don't cry over spilled milk unless it's breast milk" and it's oh so true lol.
I can't remember if you live in the states or not. Have you looked into getting a free pump through your insurance? I just received mine a few days ago and didn't pay a penny. I don't know anything about the pumps you mentioned. I ordered a medela; they are one of the best ones out there; and like I said, completely free. Whatever pump you do get should end up coming with bottles. Whether or not you use those bottles to feed from is up to you. I rented the hospital medela last time, and then just used a manual medela (I think the Harmony one you mentioned) and they both came with a bottle or two. I pumped into those bottles, and then poured the milk into Lansinoh storage bags (we had the best luck with those; fewest leaks, layed flat for easy storage). We did not like to feed with the Medela bottles - too many bubbles/gas. So my pumped bags mostly went into the freezer. Then I would unfreeze and warm them up in water and pour into our Dr. Browns bottles. So 3 different brands in the whole process - Medela bottles because they came with the pump and fit it, Lansinoh bags, and Dr Browns bottles to bottle feed.
Hi nope I'm from Scotland in the UK . We don't have insurance unfortunately. I'm surprised at the amount of ladies that are using different brands & expressing & then freezing ect. It makes me feel a little calmer about the situation. FTM worries.. I'm being a little SS.
I wouldn't get too worried about bottles not fitting onto the pump. Your baby may or may not like the brand of bottles you picked out, DS refused some types and was fine with others. So get the kind of pump you want and figure out the bottles later. You won't store the milk in the bottles anyway, unless you plan to use it right then. I also liked the lansinoh bags even though the Medela ones clipped onto the pump.
Wow I didn't even think of this - that LO could refuse to feed from certain brands. We are off to Mothercare today. I don't know if you have those stores in the US? It's the sort of the big name baby store across the UK. I'm looking forward to going as soon as I can wake SO.. He's been sleeping now for three hours whilst I've laid here awake. I haven't had the heart to waken him as he looks so peaceful
STM here. I recommend NOT opening that mega pack and buying 1-2 of a few types of bottles. Baby will likely have a preference and it may not be what you've bought. (anecdotal evidence from my BMB with Ds1, majority of us went through it)
Also, I had a medela pump and liked lansinoh storage bags better. We ended up using Avent bottles. It's not a huge deal to get a pump of one brand and use bottles and storage of even more brands.
Also, instead of an elaborate storage system, get a small sized gift bag (yes, for presents) and lay your pumped milk storage bags flat in them. They'll take up the least amt of space in your freezer. I certainly don't have loads of extra freezer space.
I had a Medela pump, used Lanisoh bags, and Tommee Tippee bottles. I tried the Medela freezer bags, and while they attached to the pump they were hard to securely close. One particularly full bag fell over and spilled all over the kitchen. It was Lanisoh bags only after that incident.
DS1 was exclusively FF from the beginning and I have no regrets. But with this one I want to do some BF, even though I know it will be short lived. What I want is to supplement with formula from the very beginning but I have zero knowledge on how you mix the two up. How does that even work? Wouldn't I still have to pump every few hours anyway?
So if anyone out there has input on this let me know. Of course we'll ask at the hospital too, but this has been very on my mind the last several days. Early feeding is just the big unknown for me right now.
Post by sugarbean17 on Apr 11, 2015 10:46:08 GMT -5
I always just pumped into glass bottles that fit my pump and then poured thr milk into storage bags. The storage bags make it way easier to thaw the milk.
I wouldn't get too worried about bottles not fitting onto the pump. Your baby may or may not like the brand of bottles you picked out, DS refused some types and was fine with others. So get the kind of pump you want and figure out the bottles later. You won't store the milk in the bottles anyway, unless you plan to use it right then. I also liked the lansinoh bags even though the Medela ones clipped onto the pump.
This. I tried probably 10 different bottles with dd1 before I found the one of her. Then with dd2 she didn't like any of those 10 and only wanted the parents choice bottles. This time I have a bottle I would like to use but I only bought one because the chance of this LO not liking it is great.
DS1 was exclusively FF from the beginning and I have no regrets. But with this one I want to do some BF, even though I know it will be short lived. What I want is to supplement with formula from the very beginning but I have zero knowledge on how you mix the two up. How does that even work? Wouldn't I still have to pump every few hours anyway?
So if anyone out there has input on this let me know. Of course we'll ask at the hospital too, but this has been very on my mind the last several days. Early feeding is just the big unknown for me right now.
Not necessarily, maybe a little at first to get your milk to come in nicely but after that your body adjusts to how often you feed baby. I would probably do breast then formula, breast then formula ect.
Im late to this thread but ill say that Medela is the brand leader for pumps. The kind of pump you need is lifestyle specific but in general Medela double electric > tommy tippee, although price would not be in your favor OP. Pumps tend to come with at least a few compatible storage bottles. Store in bottles in the fridge what you can use within a day or two and freeze the rest in bags. I would never pump directly into the bottle baby would drink out of; that doesnt seem efficient and its not like you are going to produce exactly the right amount.
@jimbobcooter supplementing breastmilk with formula is very common. You would still have to pump or breastfeed every so many hours but if your intention is to supplement you could probably get away with spacing it out more than others as long as you remain consistent with your schedule. Generally the rule of thumb is not to mix formula with breastmilk in bottles so as not to waste the breastmilk, so you would give a bottle of one and then later a bottle of the other.
Post by wegrowsheep on Apr 11, 2015 20:48:56 GMT -5
Agree with PP's, in that I wouldn't worry about coordinating the bottles with whatever you use to pump.
But can I just get a like from every STM who has realized that some spilled milk is totally worth crying over? Because the first time I accidentally bumped a freshly pumped little bottle of milk and spilled it, I sobbed.
Agree with PP's, in that I wouldn't worry about coordinating the bottles with whatever you use to pump.
But can I just get a like from every STM who has realized that some spilled milk is totally worth crying over? Because the first time I accidentally bumped a freshly pumped little bottle of milk and spilled it, I sobbed.
Totally wegrowsheep. That's why you need to get good storage bags too. When those things get a rip and your BM leaks all over in your fridge, it sucks!!! I quickly learned to put it in a glass when I would defrost it in the fridge.
Agree with PP's, in that I wouldn't worry about coordinating the bottles with whatever you use to pump.
But can I just get a like from every STM who has realized that some spilled milk is totally worth crying over? Because the first time I accidentally bumped a freshly pumped little bottle of milk and spilled it, I sobbed.
Yes! Spilled milk and spoiled milk! The first month I went back to work I remember accidentally leaving my medela storage bag on the kitchen counter instead of putting it in the fridge for the night and all 16oz I had pumped for the next day were spoiled the next morning. I cried! Looking back on it it sounds ridiculous.
As a side note I agree w all the PPs to get the best pump and not worry about matching bottles . I always transferred the milk into different bottles anyway. I used medela freezer bags but only for freezing my Friday pump sessions for the Monday feedings. Monday- Thursday I kept the milk in bottles in the fridge and just labeled them by date with blue removeable painters tape from Home Depot on the bottles.
Agree with PP's, in that I wouldn't worry about coordinating the bottles with whatever you use to pump.
But can I just get a like from every STM who has realized that some spilled milk is totally worth crying over? Because the first time I accidentally bumped a freshly pumped little bottle of milk and spilled it, I sobbed.
Yes! Spilled milk and spoiled milk! The first month I went back to work I remember accidentally leaving my medela storage bag on the kitchen counter instead of putting it in the fridge for the night and all 16oz I had pumped for the next day were spoiled the next morning. I cried! Looking back on it it sounds ridiculous.
As a side note I agree w all the PPs to get the best pump and not worry about matching bottles . I always transferred the milk into different bottles anyway. I used medela freezer bags but only for freezing my Friday pump sessions for the Monday feedings. Monday- Thursday I kept the milk in bottles in the fridge and just labeled them by date with blue removeable painters tape from Home Depot on the bottles.
Thanks everyone, I think I will go for a Medela pump and use different bottles, even though I have a few Tommy tippee bottles I will buy some other brands incase LO doesn't like them. I would rather get a good pump than spend my money on one that has bad reviews and end up regretting it. On our mothercare trip we saw a bouncer seat that we both fell in love with. Hoping to buy it soon. It's all so exciting!
Post by silv3rlining on Apr 12, 2015 9:55:34 GMT -5
With DS I used Medela PISA (will use again), and preferred Lansinohl (sp?) Storage bags. I was not a huge fan of the medela bottles for DS, he preferred Dr. Brown's (helped with gas). We did also use a few tommy tippee ones. For (freezer) storage old soda can boxes (12 pack kind) work great for standing up once frozen. As someone else said gift bags are awesome for storage as well. If you plan to freeze, lay the bag flat to freeze and then you can stand it up to store.
wegrowsheep I have a reminder on my phone still that says "milk in fridge?" because once I left the milk in my office (and went back to get it at 8pm, because no), once I left it in my bag in the car ( :: tears :: ) and once I left it on the counter ( :: sob :: ). Entire days' worth of milk down the drain. Sucks.
I used a medela double pump when I returned to work. I preferred the lansinoh bags for storage, and would pump into the medela bottles, then pour in 2-3 ounce "servings" into the bags after each pump session. Bags of milk freeze flat and then store by date stacked on their sides in shoe boxes. DD went through bottle refusal, so I had many, many boxes in our freezer.
My recommendation to FTMs is to have a manual pump on hand, and save the electric for later. One, you may find that breastfeeding isn't for you for whatever reason. Two, you may come to the decision to not return to work (even if you thought you would). Having the manual on hand will help you work through any early BF troubles and is loads cheaper. Also, if your electric ever has troubles (or you don't want to drag it with you on a short trip but need to express), it's good to have the manual as a back-up.
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