Archive for 'Feeding'

Good bottle warmer with simple and easy to use.
This bottle warmer helped me and my wife a lot for feeding our twins.
It is easy simple and easy to use. It warmed up a milk bottle pretty fast actually but felt really long since twins were always crying for milk.
If you tried to use it 3-4 times and you will know how much water you need to put for your bottle with water measuring cup. You have to clean the warmer regularly otherwise there will be some stuff in the bottle warmer.
It lasted exactly 12 months for us. It only has 90 days limited warranty. Good product for the money.

Pointless item
It may be my son only but he doesn't care if his bottles are cold or warm and I use water that is in gallon containers which sit on the counter so his bottles are generally at room temperature anyway. This product did work, however, for my standard size Playtex Vent Air bottles but did not heat up my friend's wide mouth bottles when she tried to use it. All in all, this was a pointless purchase on my part; but the return of the item was easy cheesy!

This is a LIFE SAVER!
I have a newborn baby boy and he is relentless when he is hungry. I was stuck warming up my breastmilk by leaving in hott water and it took *forever* to say the least. When I found this online it was like a godsent and I couldnt wait for it to arrive. My little man has been much happier not having to wait as long for his bottle and mommy has been alot happier not having to swirl the bottle in hot water for 15 minutes.

Excellent
This is easy to use, quick working. Just add small volume of water, and pull the button. Only several minutes, I can serve milk for my baby!

Not convenient
I bought this warmer thinking it's more convenient than warming milk with hot water, but actually it is not...the amount of water needed is little therefore it has to be very precise to get to the temperature you want! It takes longer to fill the correct amount of water than needed. Also you have to wait 10 minutes to try again, if a bottle is not warm enough, you have to use something else anyway! The instructions state that the unit needs 10 minutes to cool down if you need to use it again, but it may actually take longer than that...I would prefer to use hot water than using this warmer.

40% improved milk production
I can assure you that Philips Avent Pump will help you to increase the amount of pumped milk. I am that certain because before purchasing this pump I was using Evenflo electronic pump.In addition, from the day I started to pump I have been writing every single ml that I pumped. Therefore, I am able to compare the performance of those two pumps based on numerical facts. If you asked me the performance of Evenflo pump that time I was going to say okay until using Philips Avent Breast Pump. After using Avent breast pump for two weeks, my milk production was increased 40% . Since then it has been still increasing. I certainly recommend this product to low milk supply moms. Good Luck

I'm torn on this product
I actually bought this based on the reviews here on Amazon and in the Baby Bargains book. Looking back, I wish I went with another product.

Pros:
- Easy to set up
- Long extension cord
- Parts are pretty sturdy
- Takes about 15-25 minutes to double pump and empty both breasts
- You can adjust the length and intensity of each pump yourself, like you would with a manual pump

Cons:
- Did NOT come with a manual pump set up
- Does NOT run on batteries - I don't know why Amazon advertises this. This is a AC adapter only.
- Funnel is wrong size for me, can't order a bigger or smaller funnel

I started out exclusively breast feeding, but was advised to move to a pump after I had a bout of mastitis and my milk supply was very low. I use this pump about every 2-3 hours at home. My nipples are so sore after using this though. The petal 'inserts' catch my nipple during the pump and have caused purple bruising around that area of the nipple. They have also caught my nipple and cut it a bit. The mm size with the petal insert is a standard 24 mm. If you take the petals out the funnel becomes a 27mm size. I need the 24 mm size, but don't like using the petals. I wish Avent made different sized funnels. My nipples also become sore and partially numb after each pumping session. I have to slather on lanolin like crazy after using this pump. I broke down and decided to rent a hospital grade Medela pump for a bit before deciding if the issues were me or the pump itself.

There is NO WAY I could take this pump with me to work though, very bulky bag and set up. I have no idea how people can consider this entire unit a portable product. The travel bag is the size of an airline carry on bag.

I don't know, I'm torn about this product. Yes, it works, I just wish they made different funnel sizes.

Wish we would have purchased one earlier
This product is perfect. I spend many hours researching all products and reviews and finally purchased this pump. This works very well and we wished we purchased this before the two manual phillips pumps that failed after a few times.

Great pump with minor annoyances
I work full time and pump 3x per day at work in order to send breastmilk with my son to daycare. Previously, I had been using an Ameda Purely Yours, so that is the only pump I have to compare. With the Ameda pump, I usually pumped 3-4oz during a 20-30 minute pumping session, however I still felt that it wasn't emptying my breast properly. I decided to take a chance on this Avent pump based on the mostly positive reviews and the unique design that gives you total control over speed and suction. I am so glad I did! I now regularly pump 4-5oz in 15 minutes, and have pumped as much as 7oz on a few occasions. Yes, many of the complaints noted in other reviews are valid, but for me, these are minor issues that I can deal with because the bottom lines is that it does a great job at extracting milk. I am no longer stressing over my pumping output and that is far more important to me.

CONS:
- At first, setting up the pump was a bit intimidating compared to the Ameda. There are lots of cables and tubes, and I wasn't sure what was supposed to go where. I've been using it now for a month and a half and the setup is now old hat. I actually keep it partially assembled inside the bag itself so I don't have to worry about most of it.
- The box I received from Amazon was missing many parts. I see other people complaining about this as well, so I have to assume it is a fairly common experience. CALL AVENT! From my experiences with their support, I believe they will make it right. I was missing the 2 9oz bottles, the parts to convert it to a manual pump (handle, top, 2 manual diaphragms), and the spare parts (6 extra white valves and 2 diaphragms in addition to the 2 while valves and 2 diaphragms that I did recieve). They shipped everything to me the same day that I called, and I had it within a week. Nothing that was missing prevented me from using my pump.
- You cannot get larger flanges for the pump, so to compensate for this I do not use the massage cushions. If you use the pump with the massage cushions, the flange measures 24mm. If you leave off the cushions like I do, it measures 27mm. In comparison, the standard Ameda flange measures 25mm. I also use some lanolin on my nipples just in case they rub against the sides of the flange.
- Milk collects underneath the diaphragms when you first start to pump. When it fills up that small space, it then starts to flow into the bottles. The first time I used the pump I didn't realize this, and I spilled milk when disassembling the pump. Now, I just make sure to carefully pour this "extra" milk back into my bottles when I'm done.
- I don't like or use the cooler or cool packs that comes with the pump. Like another reviewer mentioned, my cool packs cracked and leaked blue gel (Avent replaced those for me too). Each cooler can fit 1 4oz bottle and 1 9oz bottle. I pump into two 9oz bottles, and I'd have to use BOTH coolers to fit my bottles with one bottle in each bag. Seems like a big waste of space. I use a Playtex fridge-to-go instead, which fits great inside the very generously sized carrying bag.
- The bottles are definitely unsteady when attached to the tubing, and the bottle stand that comes with the pump does not fit the 9oz bottles. Again, a little extra care is required to make sure they don't topple over. I just make sure to unhook the bottle as soon as I am done pumping. I don't trust it to set it down on a surface for more than a couple seconds if everything is still attached.

PROS:
- I get lots more milk in a shorter period of time than my previous pump. This by itself outweighs all the items on my list of cons!
- You have total control over the speed and suction of the pump. You can get speed/suction combinations that I don't think are possible with other pumps that require you to manipulate dials. I believe this primarily accounts for my increased output.
- I love that the controls are right in your hands at all times. It makes it so easy to change up the pumping rhythm whenever you want. No more balancing the bottles on my knees while I reach for the dials to adjust.
- I really like the carrying bag, even though it looks a bit like a piece of luggage. The bag is large enough to fit all parts to the pump, my playtex cooler, plus some extras like a towel, lanolin, small purse etc with lots of room to spare. It's attractive and seems like it's made of quality materials. I've even gotten compliments on it. I keep the pump motor in the front zippered pocket, along with the tubes and power adapter already hooked up to the pump. It's a tight fit, but it all fits in the front pocket.
- The included documentation that came with my pump states that it carries a 2 year warranty, which is double what I've seen for other pumps on the market.
- Closed system pump, so it is not possible for milk to get into the tubing and you never have to sterilize the tubing.

More thoughtful than medela, ameda
I have been pumping full time for five months and this is my third pump. I also have the medela harmony (manual) and the ameda purely yours (double electric). Of the three, I like this one the best, by far.

As a side note, I looked at the medela freestyle when I was shopping for a new pump (my ameda's crappy loud motor has already worn down), but it was much more expensive and it had a lot of whistles and bells that I didn't really feel I needed. So, having not used the freestyle, I can't really say which is better.

PROS:

- It is quieter than the ameda, but it's no mouse. My husband sleeps through it fine.
- I like being able to control the suction.
- This pump may have more parts, but they are so easy to clean! This pump is much easier to clean than either of my other pumps. It's the main reason I got this over the medela pis (which is set up about the same as the medela harmony) -- I have washed it by hand and in the dishwasher. NO PROBLEM. Just to demonstrate the difference, the way the medela pump is set up, you cannot get the some of the inner parts, not even with the little nipple brushes. If you don't clean the medela pump right away, it gets awful. I have to use a toothpick to clean parts of it. With this pump, though, you can easily reach all parts.
- This pump is made very very well. The parts for my other two look/feel very cheap. These parts are so much more durable. If I weren't pumping exclusively, I wouldn't feel I needed to buy any spare parts (see below in the cons section).
- This pump has covers! No more throwing the open pump parts around! You can cap off the open flange and where the pump meets the bottle. Much more sanitary!
- I've read reviews by people who say that using this pump gets messy because milk puddles around the massage petals. Well, a little bit of milk does pool, but I have that problem with any pump. I wear a pumping bra, and I find that when I release suction, the milk gets caught between the flanges and the petals, which hold it in there. I find that if I remove the petal and hold the bottle under it, the milk drops right into the bottle! Bottom line: this is less messy than any of my other pumps.
- I can pump more in slightly less time. There is a learning process for this pump, as it's different than my other two, but once you get it, it's more efficient. And complete control of the speed and suction is excellent!
- For this price (I got mine on sale for 0) they really did put a lot of thought and consideration into this pump. They thought of almost everything.

CONS:

- My other pumps use standard size bottles, and Avent makes it clear that their pumps are not standard size. I knew this beforehand, but I'm still a little sad about it. They make you use ALL of their equipment, and their bottles are much more expensive than the cheap little gerber ones that for some reason are my daughter's favorite. Also, I'd like to be able to pump directly into storage bags, but since Ameda does not make any, I cannot.
- WARNING: not everything listed in the box comes with this pump! There are no spare parts for the pump (there are extra lids for the bottles. It does not come with all the parts needed to make it a manual pump!
- There is a trick to using this pump -- you have to have it set up perfectly or you'll get really frustrated really fast. You need to pump next to a table where you can put the bases for the bottles so they don't come over, and you have to be sitting on a relatively flat surface. So although the bag for this pump is excellent, the pump isn't very portable. I can't vouch for using it in a pumping room at work, because I never have...
- This isn't that huge a deal, but as a side note: I was so impressed when I saw that this pump comes with completely removable insulated milk storage bags and cold packs--I thought "they really did think of everything!" Then I used my cold pack in my diaper bag (it has those typical side pockets for bottles, so I stuck a thin gerber bottle and the pack in it for a short trip). When I removed the bottle, I found that the cheap cold pack had broken and leaked the blue gel all over my bottle and my diaper bag! My diaper bag is machine washable, and I had to wash it to get out all of the blue goo. So yes, the pump is great, but be careful with the cheap cold packs!


Overall, this pump was excellent for what I'm using it for (pumping in one single spot at home multiple times a day). You can tell it's made with nicer materials than any of my other pumps. It just feels sturdier, and it's more sanitary, and they really did think of almost everything. DEFINITELY the best pump for this price!

Fantastic!
a great buy. Our baby isn't on table food yet but this let's him "sit at the table" thanks to the recline setting. My dining room is far too small to house a free standing highchair. The tray is generous and easy to take on and off. There are two belts to secure the high chair to the kitchen chair and you can tighten or remove them easily. The only thing I would change are the grooves on the inside of the armrest which cant be tricky to clean.

Smart Features and Super Easy to Use
This high chair has many clever features that make feeding baby much easier than with other chairs I've used. This chair is also really comfortable for baby and is easy to clean. You really can't go wrong with this product.

Perfect!
I love this highchair! We have seating for 8 at our table. So I figured why buy a full size high chair when we already have plenty of extra chairs sitting around. My son is 5 months old and sitting with support. He seems to like the chair. He does not fuss when he is in it.

The material is a very soft vinyl. Easy to wipe clean.

The highchair doesn't fit under the table, as others have said, but that doesn't bother me. By the time he's old enough to sit up there to eat during a regular dinner, we will probably have a different booster seat for him anyway.

Compact and Great Quality Chair!
I read the reviews on this chair and knew I had to have it. I was not disappointed when I received the chair. The chair itself assembles easily and can be quickly/firmly strapped to just about any normal chair. The chair backing is made of vinyl but feels more plush due to the filling inside. The restraint straps are easy to adjust and the plastic bit between the legs keeps my son firmly in place. My only slight complaint, is that I sometimes have a tough time attaching the table potion to the rails on the chair. My wife and I had a difficult time with this at first, but over time, we are mastering it. Great chair overall!

Pros:
Compact design
Good price
Can be strapped firmly to any regular chair
Plush and easily cleanable chair backing

Cons:
Plastic table can sometimes be difficult to attach to chair

Saves space, not for big babies
We love this chair for its portability and its ease of cleaning, but from the start it was difficult to fit our hefty one-year-old in it. We took off the padding and the back of the chair to make it into an early booster sit with a tray. It's definitely a good buy, but would work a bit better for a less chunky baby.