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December 2010 Moms
jillybean800
member
Ask a Dec Mom: Question 2
jillybean800
member
1) If you went back to work full time, what pump did you use? Did you like it? WHY
2) Were swaddles useful for you?
-CamJackMom
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Ask a Dec Mom: Question 2
This exactly.
First off, I would not buy a pump ahead of time (or keep that receipt somewhere safe!) For many people who *really* want to breastfeed and pump, things don't go as planned unfortunately. I had a Medela one and with it being my only frame of reference, it got the job done.
Swaddling and the other S's a la the happiest baby on the block work amazingly well. The book doesn't lie!
Swaddling really really helped my son sleep. We used SwaddleMe swaddlers and had lots of success with them.
I have a Medela PISA. yes, it was expensive, but so far, 3 friends have used it after me, so I'm happy it's getting the use it deserves, haha! Maybe one of your friends has one you can try out?
I exclusively pumped and the Medela PISA worked for me. I used the Symphony in the hospital and that would have been nice to rent also.
My little guy loved being swaddled. He was swaddled every night until 5months. We used receiving blankets at first (he was too tiny for the swaddle me), then the swaddle me and miracle blanket were wonderful. I wouldn't invest in them until you know if your baby likes swaddling though!
I am a SAHM- but I rented a hospital pump for 15 days and then bought a PISA when I decided that it was working out.
My guys never liked the swaddle- but in the NICU they just used a regular receiving blanket and wow they were great swaddlers- so I guess practice and don't buy expensiv swaddle blankets.
I had a Medela Swing Pump. The only bad thing is that its a single pump.
YES. SwaddleMe blankets were great cause they velcro shut. Griff was good at escaping swaddles, even the escape proof swaddle.
I am a SAHM but I also have a Medela PISA. Love it! I also tried an Ameda Purely Yours Ultra when the PISA I was borrowing died and it really just didn't compare. To me, the suction motion felt different and no matter which way I adjusted I couldn't get the Ameda to match the Medela, and I never got as much output. I went out and bought a PISA of my own shortly thereafter.
Halo Sleepsack swaddle family here. H loved being swaddled and we did it every night until about 5.5 months old. We have a Swaddleme but the velcro just wasn't strong enough.
1) I don't work full time but I do work 12-13 hour shifts and I use the medela freestyle. It works really good and i like the freedome to not be connected to a wall or backpack.
2) we used blankets (aden and anais) were our faves for swaddling. When he learned how to break out we did use swaddlemes which worked well until he got bigger and could houdini out of them and then we used the youtube unbreakable swaddle for awhile. Its good to have one or two in your sleep arsenal while figuring out what they baby likes. We did use halo sleepsacks too (but didnt have the swaddle attachment). We stopped swaddling at 4ish months though and didn't have any problems, but some babies like their swaddles and I would read posts about how hard of a time they were having breaking the swaddle habit. Like all good things, must come to an end....however they were a lifesaver in the early days to get an extra hour or two of sleep.
I didn't work full time but I had the PISA
Also, Swaddling was a life safer. We actually needed the escape proof swaddle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaB63OMf-sU
WE love swaddling! I had a nice fleecy one for winter which was great.
I'm a sahm, had a PISA, got very little from it. I only got good quantities of milk from a hospital grade pump leant to me by my LC. BUT I think I may be unusual.
Medela PISA. I liked it, but it was super heavy to carry it back and forth every day.
Yes. We swaddled until 5ish months. The Halo Sleep Swaddle Sacks were the only thing that would contain her at that point, before that SwaddleMes were fab. I never got the hang of doing it with receiving blankets and I tried all different kinds.
BFP #2 4/13/10. Bridget born 12/28/10
BFP #3 Finn born 8/11/15
[url=http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=UBB&utm_campaign=tickers][img]http://global.thebump.com/tickers/tt1cb8c4.aspx[/img][/url]
1. I work full time and used the Medela Pump In Style Advanced to pump at work. I did use a hospital pump while I was in the hospital and I think that thing was great. I really liked the PISA too.
2. Yes, swaddling was a lifesaver. Aden+Anais blankets were great because they are large and lightweight and can be used in various ways (blanket, swaddle, burp cloth, etc), but we absolutely loved our Miracle Blanket. Seriously, get yourself a Miracle Blanket. Whenever my friends have babies, I always give them one.
1) Medela freestyle! It is the most portable pump available. If you have to travel for work ever, it is a MUST. You can pump on the plane. If you drive for your commute (which I don't do and I still recommend it), you can pump in the car. It is the most valuable/important baby product we own and it is the item I most strongly recommend. There are rumors of suction issues, but they tend to be due to a need to replace the peripheral parts ($15) and/or a mishandling of said parts. I recommend buying the hard plastic cups that don't come with the pump, because then you can dishwash/boil them...the soft ones that come with the pump warp over time when you boil them.
I will second what other people said, though -- do not buy your pump ahead of time. I understand it's nice if someone will get it for you from your registry, but as long as no one did that just wait to get it. You never know what will happen with BFing. We were told to get one immediately, though--we needed it for DS to effectively drink, since he was bad at BFing at first. So we got one on the way back from the hospital and again, I'm so glad it was the freestyle! I often would do chores around the house while pumping.
2) we swaddled. Usually used a blanket but also used various products, which were helpful when DS got bigger and stronger.
I have a medela PISA, which I like, although it is heavy and if I could do it over I'd probably pick the freestyle- it just wasn't in our price range. Otherwise the pump is great. It's like my bff, we go everywhere together.
We used the Halo Sleepsack Swaddles and they were a god send. I recommend them (or any other swaddle outfit) to everyone. DH and I were terrible at swaddling the traditional way and these made it easy.
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1. I used formula because I went back to work failry early and didn't have a chance to pump (teacher).
2. We tried a lot of different swaddles and had the best luck with Swaddle Me. Our son HATED them. HAted them...and finally at 2 months, I granted him the wish of sleeping without them.
1) If you went back to work full time, what pump did you use? Did you like it? WHY
We had a Medela pump, one that comes with that carry bag so it was fairly descrete walking into the office. I did like it, it worked well.
2) Were swaddles useful for you?
Yes, we swaddled LO until we saw him rolled over in his bassinett. then we used sleep sacks until he started crawling, though we kept him in footsie pjs for the long sleeve aspect
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I EP and use the Medela PISA. I only went back to work for two weeks before I decided to take the year off but I never had any problems with the Medela PISA.
My DD wasn't a huge fan of the swaddle.
I used the Medela Pump InStyle Advanced. But, I never double pumped with it! I am not that coordinated!
Swaddles were useful, but we were really on again, off again with using them. We swaddled with receiving blankets mostly.
They are good to contain them when their arm movements are involuntary. They are also useful when they find their hands & they want to be chewing their fists all day & night, so keeping their arms in helps them get settled & sleep. But then it gets to a point where they want to be moving their limbs voluntarily & they break out of the swaddle & for us, the swaddle became pointless.
Then we moved on to sleepsacks and/or regular blankets.
Swaddling was great at the beginning. We swaddled her in the RNP. By the time she was 2 months she didn't want to be swaddled anymore.
I borrowed (am still borrowing) a PISA from my friend. Her son is almost 3 and she barely used it. I've been using it without any problems for almost a full year (!). However - at the beginning I rented the hospital pump to make sure breastfeeding was going to work for us and the pump was necessary.
I have a Freestyle and wouldn't have chosen anything else. Even when you think you have a great pumping situation (like I thought), you just have to be prepared for anything. In fact, today I had to pump (for the first time) in the bathroom. It would have been practically impossible with a bigger pump.
C really didn't like swaddles but we loved our Aden and Anais blankets for swaddling when we did.
I have the Medela PISA. I like it just fine, but I do wish that I had paid the extra for the freestyle. It's a lot to lug my PISA bag, my purse, my lunch, B's daycare bag, and B back and forth every day. Also, the PISA is not as convenient when you're traveling as others have mentioned. But for suction, output, comfort - it's worked great.
I can't say strongly enough - I don't recommend getting a pump until after the baby comes. Assuming the latch and everything is okay with the baby, you probably don't want to start pumping for at least the first 2 weeks - give your baby, your body, and your supply time to get used to each other. Renting a hospital grade pump is good option for a few weeks or a month to tide you over until purchase.
Some insurance companies will cover pumps if your OB writes a prescription for them as durable medical equipment. Also the store I bought it from waved the sales tax if I had the prescription from my doctor. Pumps are expensive so every bit helps. Oh - and you can also count your pump towards medical expenses if you have an FSA.
BFP #2 5/27/12. EDD 2/1/13. m/c and D&C 6/21/12.