I didn't know that there were more things (other than the pump) needed when wanting to work and still exclusively breastfeed Maisarah until I was introduced to SusuIbu.com which was during my confinement period. You would need some sort of milk storage, a cooler bag and chillers to store the expressed milk during the commute to and from work. In this entry, I will list down my reviews on the milk storage gadgets I've used so far.
1. Moms Precious Milk Storage Bottles pack of six
I use these bottles to store milk after expressing at work. I usually store 4 oz per bottle which is the amount Maisarah drinks each feed. Even when I used the iQ Uno, after each session I will pour the milk into these bottles so that I only have to bring one Avent bottle to work. This save space in my cooler bag and is less in terms of cost. Now that I use the Spectra 3, I express directly into these bottles. This is the great thing about these bottles, it can be used directly with Spectra and Medela breastpumps. Plus it is BPA free. These bottles are certainly very convenient for me and easy to sterilise. I just immerse them in hot water for 10 minutes minimum. These bottles can be used to freeze the breastmilk too. However, I don't use them for frozen breastmilk.
2. Playtex Liners - there are two sizes 8 oz and 4 oz
I use the liners to freeze the expressed breastmilk (EBM). These liners are are be a bit pricey and you can only use them once. I have no choice but to use them as I don't have much space in the freezer so I can't freeze the EBM using the milk storage bottles above. So what I do is, when I get home, I will pour the milk into the liners and then tie it with a rubber band. Then I stand them in a covered plastic container so that it doesnt get contaminated by the odour from the other items in the freezer.
I use the 8 oz liners to store the 4 oz of milk. The most I've filled is 5 oz in each 8 oz liner. This is so that there will be some room to spare before I fold the liners and tie them up. You need to leave some space as breastmilk expands slightly when frozen. The 4 oz liners are used when I express 3 oz and less, i.e. during my confinement period.
3. Medela Milk Collection Shells (not actually milk storage but I'll just include it here)
This is useful when expressing one breast at a time. I use the shell on the breast which is not being expressed to collect milk that flows out whenever I get let down. I actually can collect up to 1oz of milk when engorged. I've also used this on both sides when I was at a seminar and didn't have time to express. So, whenever there was a let down, the milk would be stored and not wasted in the breast pads.
My Recommendation:
If you have ample space in your freezer then just use the Moms Precious Milk Storage Bottles for freezing EBM. You can save costs as it is reusable. Plus you can then thaw the frozen EBM, warm it up and then feed you baby directly by replacing the sealing disc with a teat. This is better than what I'm doing now since Maisarah is still fed using Avent bottles which unfortunately is not BPA free.
The Milk Collection Shells was a good buy for me as I used to leak a lot especially when I did single pumping.
6 comments:
nisa,
ok x spectra 3 tuh? dok baca review dlm susuibu cam ok...still single pumping tp rugi la..kalu ok, pk nak beli..as for now, am still using my medela's swing..
-lilie-
Hi Lilie,
I memang suka sgt dgn Spectra 3 (S3) tu. Dah jatuh cinta! hehehe...I memang recommend the S3 with extra breastshield as a good double pump. Lagipun you memang dah ada manual pump kan? So kalau tak de electricity you have back up.
My expreince using the S3, Within 5 minutes dah boleh dpt 4 oz. Very time saving. At first I was worried jugak sebab S3 tak de 2-phase expression sebab the Isis iQ Uno can control to get different expression rythm. But after using S3, it doesn't matter pun. I terus pasang je S3 and within few minutes dah dpt let down. Of course it takes a few days to get used to the S3 tapi once dah biasa, senang aje.
i dah ada manual n electric..both are medela's..beli kat ne? igt nak g susuibu jer...ada jual kan kat sana..
-lilie-
I beli dekat Moms Little Ones (MLO). Susuibu pun jual jugak. Actually, you boleh try the pump dekat susibu and also MLO. BIla try boleh la compare performance dgn swing.
i nak tanya la pasal mom's precious bottle tu. dalam mom's little one website, they said the bottles cannot be in contact with boiling water or sterilizing tablet, takut damage the bottle. macam mana ye cara nak sterilize this bottle? u selalu rendam dalam hot water tu u buat macam mana ye? (coz i nak carik storage bottle for breastmilk yang reusable. pastu i nak sterilize the storage before the next use. do you have any suggestions?)
thank you :)
Hi Ayida! Selalunya lepas I basuh botol2 tu, I masukkan semua botol + tutup dalam tupperware. Then I masukkan air panas yang baru dididih. Isi air tu sampai cover semua botol2 tu and then tutup rapat2. Paling minimum I biarkan is 15 minit. Kadang2 I biar sampai pagi baru buka tutup tu and keluarkan semua botol2.
I rasa apa yg dia cakap dalam website tu is jangan boil air sekali dgn botol tu atas api.
Botol ni memang useful sebab dia reusable. Memang I suka guna botol ni.
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