FertilityZone

Oooh the nesting begins!!

I tried both breast pumps and preferred the electric one (I had a philips avent isis) as they memorise your pumping rhythm and you don't have to keep squeezing the trigger like you would on a manual. As you can be pumping for a while it all helps.

I used the philips microwave steriliser and had no problem, it was really easy - just pour in 200ml of water, stack your bottles and zap for 3 minutes. I personally couldn't be doing with the faff of sterilising tablets, but you'll get used to which ever method you choose! If you do go for a microwave one, check it'll fit as they can be bulky.

I loved the preparation phase and the gathering all of the stuff - enjoy it, it's such an exciting time!!

Hey

I starting off trying a manual breast pump but it was too much like hard work! In the end my friend lend me a medula one and it's ace. I would say electric over manual every time! I used to express small amounts at a time and freeze them.

We have bought the buzz 3 too. I have tommy tippee microwave steriliser and starter bottle set, not buying expressing machine until I am sure I can breast feed.

Hiya

The fun begins! Shopping, planning and organising - I loved it .....

Breast pump - I got a manual one and only managed to use ot for one day before I sent DH out to the shops to buy an electric one which was great - I had a Medela Swing. It was £90 but worth every penny as to start with I had to express every feed for Meg but in time it just ended up beign 1 or 2 feeds a day so I still got my monies worth. It also really helped me when I got mastitis to get rid of any blockages etc.

Steriliser - I've got an electric Phillips Avent one which I think is great and would recommend to anyone but my sister's got a microwave one she loves too and I've used that when I've been at hers and like it too. The only problem with the microwave one she's got is that when she brought it to a weekend away in Edinburgh it was a tight squeeze in the microwave and meant the turntable wouldn't move round which we didnt think was a problem until we got it out and it had melted her breastpump so if you do get a microwave one please make sure your microwave is big enough for it.

Well done on choosing the pram

Hello and congratulations.
I had a manual pump and as babies were in special care this was not practical at all - I was lucky enough to have a milk group near me that could hire me the medala (speling) double pump for just £10 as i had twins in special care. I then purchased a medala one from ebay, It was a godsend thats for sure, noisy but very practical! I then sold it on abay for more then i paid for it - Now thats a bargain!
Sterilising - the job that i hated, it took only a few minutes to wash up bottles and sterilise but i just hated it, I had the avent 6 bottle electric sterilser and i alo had a breast flow microwave steriliser. I found both just as good as each other. like moonshine said, just watch the size of the microwave ones as some are particulrly bulky.
Good luck with everything xx

It's just lovely to read your post ag, about preparing for lo's arrival!!

I use a tommy tippee electric breast pump and would not recommend it. It seemed flimsy and often the pump action would not work - it would have to ne dismantled and put back together again - the pump equivalent of switch off, switch on I suppose. The medela seems to be the best. I actually sent John out from hospital to buy a medela but he came back with the tt as it was cheaper - for a reason.....


For sterilising, I use the Philips avent microwave one and it's brilliant - not as bulky as the electric, simple and quick to use. When I'm travelling, rather than lug it around as it's an awkward shape, I just bring sterilising tablets - does the job too and a fraction if the space.

I'm trying to think if the other things I found useful in the first few weeks - a Moses basket, a few soft cellular blAnkets fir swaddling, lots and lots if sleepsuits. Oh, actually the best thing for bfing is a bfing cushion. I didn't bother with the one that you can strap around, just a standard kidney shaped one that can fit around the front half of your torso. Got it in mothercare fir about e14 and i found it helped with keeping deelet in the right position. Now, she's too heavy for me to hold for extended periods (at 10oz! ) it takes her weight. And I can sit her up in it when she's nosy and wants to look around.

Good luck with the shopping xxx

I had this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Medela-030-0005-…00863500&sr=8-1
not endorsed by FZ

and it was great, I have to say only because of it I managed to breastfeed my DD until 4 months, as she wouldn't take breast at all and generally from day 0 it was a such struggle. I absolutely loved it and it is so easy to use. Def recommend.

Good luck AG, so happy for you!

Hiya AG, I hope you are enjoying this bit of pregnancy. The amount of choice of baby equipment out there can be a bit over whelming and the people who sell it obviously wnat you to spend as much money as you can. All you really need is a pram (which you have), somewhere for baby to sleep, half a dozen babygros and some nappies. Cute outfits people will buy for you, and Boots and Mothercare will be open once your baby is born so you can get any other bits you find you need.

For feeding your baby, you already have all the equipment you need. Expressing milk to give via bottle is useful if your baby is born early (most are not) or there are other feeding difficulties but its not essential. TBH I found it an unnecessary faff when I could bypass all the scrubbing, sterilising, pumping and storing of milk by just shoving a boob in her mouth! The most important thing you need is information, its a skill that needs to be learned and knowing the mechanics of it before hand can help make that process easier. This thread Breastfeeding Basics - What to Expect is a really good place to start. Also have a word with your midwife and see if you can go to a local breastfeeding group before baby arrives to see how its done and find out where to get support if you encounter any problems. Good luck.

Hey, Almost everyone I know as ended up with a Medela Swing. So even though they seem expensive it's a false economy to try something else and then end up buying it anyway! I'm not sure it's in every Boots but I did see one marked down to half price in ours the other day, the box was damaged I think so maybe it was a one off but well worth having a look. I did find mine for about £70 online somewhere but it was 2 years ago so not sure. Have just ordered myself some replacement bits to make it all fresh and shiney for this LO.

Re sterilisers, I think someone else has already said but you'll probably be happy with whichever method you choose, they are all simple enough. My Avent digital one is fab but I also use microwave bags when I go away as less bulk to carry. When DS1 was small I took a large tupperware tub and some milton tablets on holiday with us and that was easy too.

Hello,

Moses baskets, we were going to buy one but ended up borrowing one and thank goodness we did because she used it for all of about 7 weeks! After that she was in the cot!

Agreed - our moses basket lasted only 5 weeks! Wouldn't bother this time if I didn't have one already.

Hi AG

I had the Tommee Tippee manual breast pump & found it great. However I ended up with really cracked nipples and so my cousin lent me the Avent Electric one and that was fantastic. As someone said, it remembers your usual pumping speed and doesn't require you to keep messing about and was really easy to clean and sterilise. I think with regards to the bottles/steriliser, they go hand in hand. Most sterilisers fit their brand of bottle best. I had the Tommee Tippee bottles & so went for their electric steriliser & really have found it easy. The lid has little feet on it so you can turn it upside down to provide a sterile surface to put the bottles & teats on whilst you are sorting them. Having said that, I also used the Avent electric one on holiday and that was fine too.

I decided to go for an electric steriliser because the microwave ones are quite bulky & most people I know have usually kept them inside the microwave. If you use your microwave for heating food etc, you will need to keep getting it out of the mircowave & putting it on the side so I decided I might aswell have one that was permanently on the worktop & easy to get to.

Good luck and happy buying...this is the fun bit!!

I too like the other ladies would not waste my time on getting a moses basket next time round, although mine shared one for a few months then went into there own for a short while, i found the transition to cots something that i would just not worry with next time. Just would start with a cot from day one. would also not bother with a baby bath, i got on a lot better laying them on a towel in the big bath and having two hands free to wash them, again congrats on your pregnancy xx

Great point on baths Sa-Leanne! Had completely forgotten the pile of them we have in the loft. Kept buying slightly different ones in the hope I'd find one that was easy but like you, in the end we found using the proper bath the easiest. We had this little thing from mothercare that sort of propped him up in the bath so we could have one hand free for washing. He'd happily spend his whole life in the bath now so it obviously worked for him too!

"I think i'll def go for the medela swing"

again, I can't stress enough how useful it was, my BF story wasn't good (of course it doesn't mean you may have any problems) but as I said DD didn't take breast at all and I cried day and night and I wasn't sure if I want to spend money etc, will it work etc.... but it did, of course it didn't replace breast but only because of it my DD had milk until age 4 months (I said it already), it is so easy to use, reviews are also very good in amazon, I do recommend it, it was extremely useful for me.

we didn't have moses basket (decided it was waste of money) but DD didn't like her cot for 1st months or so, I think because it was too big and she wanted (after being inside) something cosy... so she slept or on my hands (yep for weeks) and then we moved her to pram and she slept in pram... but then very suddenly started to sleep in cot, which we still use and very happy with it.

Hiya

We have got the Qunny buzz and although not used it in real terms - i've pushed it round the house with the cat asleep in it (i've covered it with a sheet so no fur, he's not allowed in it now and certainly knows that :-)) and it is very nice. I guess it depends what you want from a pram.

Also re Medela, I was at the DAU the other day and happend to be looked after by their breast feeding expert midwife. She really, really recomends medela and says they are the best ones as they can actually keep your milk going if for some reason your baby doesn't want to take it direct from source. She aslo said that they are one of the few companies that actually do a lot of research into breast feeding ect and that their products reflect this. She does not reccomend anything less than the swing tho and said to avoid tommie tippee as they are useless. I guess it depends how much you are going to use it. Also medela have not long bought out a teet thing called Calma which apparently creates a vaccumm in the same way that a baby would in its mouth when they are on your boob. This means the baby has to work harder to suck it and they use the right facial muscles as opposed to normal teets that let the milk through easily. Apparently this means the baby is less likely to get confused between boob and bottle. She said it sounds like she works for Medela as she can't reccommend anyone else (she doesn't). I think I'm going to just wait and see what happens but almost certianly will be going down the medela route.

scoffs what you say about the medela is really helpful. My health visitor came and said they have electric puimps they can lend out. I might find out what brand they have and borrow one and then if I like it, I can buy one. I have been given a moses basket so just got a new mattress but I guess it will depend on how BB takes to it, we have the cot too so I will just have to play that by ear.

I have the microwave steriliser whicg I tried in the microwave as people said it might have been too big! luckily it did fit in. I am hoping to BF so may not need it, if I end up bottle feeding then I will see how I go wiht it and can always get another one if i need to.



I have been given a baby bath but i dont think I would have bought one, just used the bath with one of those chair things.

Medela are brilliant and have a fantastic reputation. However, if you regularly express instead of breastfeeding you won't produce as much milk. If you don't produce as much milk you won't be able to express.

It doesn't matter how snazzy or well rated the breastpump is, the most important key to successfully breastfeeding a baby, is to breastfeed regularly. Especially in the first few weeks when your supply is only just being established. Even the most fantastic pumps and techniques can produce poor results in the early days but more feeding and more time is all that's usually needed.

And, you can be really successful at breastfeeding and never be able to express more than a dribble. Or find that your baby won't take a bottle. (Or in my case, both!).

Lovely to see you getting all prepared AG

Quoted from "Bells"

Medela are brilliant and have a fantastic reputation. However, if you regularly express instead of breastfeeding you won't produce as much milk. If you don't produce as much milk you won't be able to express.

It doesn't matter how snazzy or well rated the breastpump is, the most important key to successfully breastfeeding a baby, is to breastfeed regularly. Especially in the first few weeks when your supply is only just being established. Even the most fantastic pumps and techniques can produce poor results in the early days but more feeding and more time is all that's usually needed.

do agree and God knows I tried... but without Medela my DD wouldn't have BMilk even for 4 months. Also AG, don't waste your money on non-electrical pump (or maybe this is me), before medela we bought one and it was such hard work and basically didn't work at all... maybe it works if you have tons of milk, I didn't.