Breast Feeding – tips & advice!
There are many type of breast pumps available on the market so there is bound to be one that suits your needs! A breast pump is vital to assist in the breast feeding process. It helps you control your feeding routine so you can express even when baby is not ready to feed and providing you with milk reserves.
But how do you decide what breast pump is correct for your breast feeding needs? One of the biggest factors in deciding what breast pump will suit you is time. If you know you will be breast feeding at work, whilst traveling or on the go, an electric breast pump is for you. If you plan to only use your breast pump on occasion perhaps once to twice a week then a manual breast pump should suffice. Many mothers find using both a manual and electric breast pump together to be the best solution as manual pumps are great to use for let down and once the milk is ready to flow then switch to an electric breast pump for fast and effective expression of milk.
Dual electric breast pumps enable mum to express milk from both breasts simultaneously making this method the fastest way of expressing milk. The motor for the pump is normally contained in a separate unit making it quieter than single electric pumps.
Breast pump pros and cons
Manual Breast Pumps
Pros
Cheap, portable and very easy to use
No electric componentsCons
Slower to draw milk than electric pumps, require manual hand use to express milk
Single electric breast pumps
Pros
Quick and efficient, battery operated versions are portable
Cons
Less gentle than manual pumps, may not be portable if cannot be battery operated
Dual electric breast pumps
Pros
The fastest way of expressing milk, stronger and quieter motors
Cons
Provides less mobility whilst expressing, larger than manual and single electric pumps
Breast Pads
Breast pads (otherwise known as nursing pads) are used by Mothers to absorb any leakage from the breast during the period that Mother is breast feeding. The breast pad is worn under the maternity bra and most breast pads are designed to contour to the breast and concealed within the bra.
Breast milk containers
Did you know there are now many different ways to store breast milk? Breast milk bottles have long remained the traditional choice to store breast milk, however, some bottles can turn into breast milk containers and you can even store breast milk in breast milk bags for more compact storage.
Breast Milk Bags
Pros
Compact, airtight, portable, great for freezing, easy to label, cheap, easy to store
Cons
May need to transfer milk back into bottle for feeding