Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Breast Pump options - (Indian Market) Apple, Pigeon, JustBorn

Buying and using breast pumps abroad is easy and a normal everyday task because there is a lot of awareness and help. Medela is one good brand everyone suggests but buying it in India falls into an expensive item list.

Challenge I - People who sell pumps, they themselves do not know the total functionality. in one shop, they didn't tell me how to clean the pump. In other shop, they showed the cleaning process, but didn't show me how to release the vaccuum. Manual available is most of the times not suited for the needs.

II - Our parents do not know about it to be able to advice. The count of experienced mothers is also very less. So, you get near to zero knowledge transferred from tried & tested people (again...its for me. But thanks to sree, she helped me out)

III - No privacy place in office for pumping, so you can't pump at work place, no pumping zone in short.

IV - Not all offices have fridges, or we feel a little shy to keep the milk in cafeteria fridge. I did work in big branded companies, but no office maintained fridge for employees. All the refrigerators are maintained by cafeteria people for their purposes.

V - Even if offices do have fridges, commute is another headache. My ped suggested not to keep the extracted milk outside for more than 1hr & refrigerated milk for more than 15-20mins. So, in Hyd, i do not think any one can reach home from office in less than 20mins :)

VI - They are costly as per our thinking. I did debate over whether to buy one or not, because after spending much money, i didn't want it to go waste bcoz i cant pump at work.

having all these challenges considered, i at one point, thought let the life go on its own way. No pumps, nothing. Let me go work and let the kid be managed how yesteryear's kids got managed when their moms worked. But, now i say a big NO. Please, Please do buy breast pump and make use of it as it is the best thing anyone has ever invented for working moms and babies and moms with babies having latching concerns.

I work between 9-3pm and the commute is of 1hr each side. So, all in all, its more than 8hrs. At present, i'm pumping everyday after i return from work. As soon as i return, i take a quick bath and get back to the pumping routine. I'm able to get about 6oz during the session. My kid drinks close to 5oz per feed when she is absolutely hungry.

before work, i make sure that i nurse the kid. If the kid is in deep sleep and not interested to take milk, i pump.

Because i nurse the kid before leaving, its mostly one feed before i return that is between 12:30 to 1PM. I return home between 4 to 4:30, pump the milk first and go ahead with nursing again. What an easy way to get away with lumps.

With the help of breast pump, kid is rarely on formula. For the people who are away from kid for more than 9-10hrs, 1 formula feed might be needed. But thats is till the baby completes 4mths, after that anyway in India, we introduce them to cerelac (I do)

So, finally i suggest do not have a second thought on buying breast pump even though you are not pumping at work. Just go ahead and you will easily be able to draw the routine based on your baby needs and your body style.

Which breast pump to choose:

  • If pumping is a daily routine, do not choose manual one. Go for electric. Manual is very stressful. To tell you people. i bought one manual and two electric pumps (with this money, i could have got medala). Using manual pump for 3 days, my hand muscles pained like hell.
  • Go for the one which has speed rotator, so you can adjust it and get near to child sucking pattern.
  • Test it on your palm. Test the pressure the machine is releasing. Keep the shield on palm & ON the machine. If the shield is stuck to your palm, then its enough.
  • Check the containers as well. Few will come up with their own range of containers. so, if need to buy the containers only which suit the pump, check for their availability and quality before you buy it. If they dont set properly in the slot given, the equipment doesnt work well, so go for the ones which can be set with any other feeding bottle that is available in the market. Also, since it is an expensive item you can pass it on to your friends or relatives and they can just throw away the old containers and by the new ones.
  • Go for electronic or dual mode both battery and current operated ones, usage however is good and has good results when done in an electric socket.
My Experience on pump:
I bought one manual pump which is Apple (600rs). Sorry Apple, couldn't use it with the stress you are causing. I'm basically a person who can take strain pushing the comfort to back chair. Still, i couldn't do away with it. Its so much stressful.

I bought one electric pump - Pigeon (2,200rs). I'm almost mad with it. It is basically a battery operated one, which is compatible with power adopter as well. It didnt come with one though. I bought one for it. It worked Okay for first 1wk-10days. and then, it started slowing down. Air pressure is very very less. And there is no speed rotator as well. I had hard time pumping the milk. So, warranty undi kada ani shop ki teesukuni velthe, he said as long as it is working it does not come under warranty limits anta. Its working, but not meeting my needs. Its almost waste. He also said that it is my fault that i didn't take enough precautions in cleaning the pump and water might have gone inside. What the hell?? Machine loki water velthe, poorthiga pani cheyyakoodadu kanee, performance enduku tagguthundi...dont know.

I landed up with JustBorn pump(2000rs) which is my darling now :) Its meeting all my requirements. It has speed rotator, massaging nipple shield, power adopter, compatible with any branded bottle feeder (johnsons, hello baby, wipro...) It is compact in size aswell. I'm 200% satisfied with it.

26 comments:

  1. Loved the refined version sree..it is more clear now.

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  2. it is all yours, just changed 2 or 3 telugu sentences that is it :).. cant wait for more from you.

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  3. thanks much Sree.. this is the best article i read on the subject. I am gonna try JustBorn breast pump; not sure if it would be available in tvpm though...Thanks again

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  4. Hi Shree,

    This is shruti here.

    Thanks for the vital information about the Just born Pump.

    Would like to know more about the pump. Hope its not a hasle to answer the questions.

    Does it work on batteries also? If so what kind and how long does it last.

    What is the cleaning process for the pump? Is it easy?

    Hope its not like Pigeon. I have seen a number of blogs which does not vote good for Pigeon. I will def not go in for that brand. I am doing a survey on which brand is good so that I can buy the same.Please help.

    How did you come to know about this pump?
    Does it have a warranty period. If so how many months/ years?

    You can mail me at shrutiraman100@gmail.com

    Thanking you
    Shruti

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  5. If Avent brand is available in India, that is good as well. I have been using Manual and Automatic Avent ( Philips) pump.

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  6. Hi where in hyderbad can we get just born pump..am planning to buy one..its kinda urgent.can u please guide

    Thanxs in advance

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  7. Just born pumps are available in Just born stores-Somajiguda...

    Not sure if they are available anywhere else...

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  8. Hi,
    Im kiruthika. I have a one month year old kid(boy). He has a latching problem on one side and is feeding only in one side.So, He is feeling hungry and we are giving him formula when needed. So, I went ahead and bought pigeon electric pump but I have problem using it. I was not able to collect milk with it and feeling uncomfortable. Can you just let me know, how long will it take for me to get comfortable and the time taken to collect milk. I am really worried. Please help. Kiruthika.cnr@gmail.com is my email id.

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  9. Hi Sree, you really dont know how much ur exp helped me out. I got stress relieved out now. I am almost at the edge of thinking...why these machines and headache after so much of thinking. let my babe grow like anyother kids in past. but now after ur blog... i decided. i will go for this. thx a lot.
    Even i work in hyd.
    I will not be thr for 11-12 hours incluing journey, totally at home. I hav some questions. Plz clarify.
    1. i start by 8AM in the morning. So i shud nurse her by 7 and sit on pumping. right?! what do u say?
    2. i cannot take the machine to work. We dont have private place or a fridge either in our floor. So the pumped milk in the morning should serve the purpose. How many feeds do u expect it will serve?
    3. If i start pumping after the babe drinks, will thr be enuf production? Are they not empty?
    4. I dont feed all in the day. Then when i come i want to feed her myself, not the bottle one. So Until morning, will it be sufficient?
    5. I shud start going to work in 15 days exactly. But the machine will not be availanle for me till next week. So i and babe will have only 1 week to get adapted to this pumping and drinking mom milk in bottle. [We started feeding her cereal one time and NAN1 one time in the morning, following by feed, planning to avoid my feed till 4'O clock in the evening from this monday]
    Please please reply me as soon as posi.
    Also... please answer my questions in line so that i will not miss any. Thank you so much in advance..

    Best Regards
    Deepti

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  10. Euphony@Deepti, can you leave us your mail id for your queries to be answered.. I dont think I can publish it due to personal content without your permission.

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  11. Please find my answers to your queries below,

    Hi Sree, you really dont know how much ur exp helped me out. I got stress relieved out now. I am almost at the edge of thinking...why these machines and headache after so much of thinking. let my babe grow like anyother kids in past. but now after ur blog... i decided. i will go for this. thx a lot.
    Even i work in hyd.

    I will not be thr for 11-12 hours incluing journey, totally at home. I hav some questions. Plz clarify.

    1. i start by 8AM in the morning. So i shud nurse her by 7 and sit on pumping. right?! what do u say?

    From each pumping session you might produce around 6-8 oz milk. Since your are planning to feed her (breast milk) only once at 4PM, that quantity would be sufficient. You'll have to note how much you can produce after your baby latches. If it is less than 6oz you can pump once in the night (or during her early morning nursing session) and store it in the refrigerator and again once at 7AM before you leave. Breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator for abt 12-24hrs.


    2. i cannot take the machine to work. We dont have private place or a fridge either in our floor. So the pumped milk in the morning should serve the purpose. How many feeds do u expect it will serve?

    I've no idea about how much milk you can pump (could be app 6-8oz per session, but it differs for each individual). Normally babies consume around 5-6oz of milk per one feed (I'm assuming your baby is around 5-6 months age).


    3. If i start pumping after the babe drinks, will thr be enuf production? Are they not empty?

    Does you baby latch on both the sides during the feeding sessions? If not yet, try changing the breasts during the feed. This provides good stimulation and there would be enough milk to pump. If your baby is latching only one side per feed, are you experiencing any leakage from the other side? If yes, you can save that milk too.


    4. I dont feed all in the day. Then when i come i want to feed her myself, not the bottle one. So Until morning, will it be sufficient?

    I think you'll have to feed her breastmilk thrice (after you return from work, just before sleep and again once during the night or very early in the morning). Normally a 6 month old baby would require 6-7 feeds of breastmilk in 24hrs. Since you are substituting one milk feed with NAN1, she requires 5 more feeds.At 7AM, 4PM and thrice during your stay at home

    My feeding sessions were like,

    10 feeds of BM for the first 2 months
    8 feeds of BM from 3-5 months
    7 feeds of BM from 6-8 months (I used to give solids once a day from 6th month)
    6 feeds of BM from 9-12 months (2 solid feedings per day + fruits)
    4 feeds of milk (2 BM and 2 NAN) during the 13th month, with 3 solid feedings per day
    3 feeds of milk (Packet milk) from 14th month with 4 solid feedings per day

    I'm sharing this just to give you an idea on how to plan your baby's feeding schedule, HTH



    5. I shud start going to work in 15 days exactly. But the machine will not be availanle for me till next week. So i and babe will have only 1 week to get adapted to this pumping and drinking mom milk in bottle. [We started feeding her cereal one time and NAN1 one time in the morning, following by feed, planning to avoid my feed till 4'O clock in the evening from this monday]

    One week would be sufficient for you to adapt to pumping routine. Once you start pumping you'll have an idea of how much you can pump during one session. Then you can decide on the pumping schedule. Good luck!!!

    Answered by Keerthi!

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  12. @Keerthi, thanks a lot, since there has been no reply to the personal content permission, I went ahead and published both the query and answer!

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  13. Sree...
    I dont see Deepthi's mail ID, hopefully you will pass on the answers...

    Keerthi pretty much answered all the questions...i just want to add one tip.

    Always first pump and then BF the kid. Thru my experience, i realized that Pumping after doing the BF is little painful & takes more time. Kids drink less milk during nights, with this..you will have more milk in the morning, so as Keerthi said, take once in early morning and then again before you head to work.

    Renuka

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  14. one more... whats the company name. you said JUST BORN. that only? is thr any model numb or something? i am not in hyd now. i told my sister to check in Justborn Somajiguda. i hope it will be available thr. Let me know if thr are any new models now. thx thx again!

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  15. hey girls,
    i am glad i found this blog. i have a good news to share with u. i bought a medela swing pump at city centre hyderabad costed 9550/-. and trust me i could express 100 ml in less than 15 minutes when i am not full. imagine, how much it would if i am full!!

    its an awesome one. loved it and bows to the inventor. i am relived a lot now. Thanks a lot to sree, renuka and keerthi for ur inputs.

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  16. Hi All, This blog information was very useful. I do not find Philips Avent Electric ones available in shops nowadays. I will check on Just Born or Madela and share my experience.. Thanks..

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  17. Hi All, i have 55 days old baby. Due to milk creation problem, i didn't feed him directly. now a days daily i'm pumping and feeding him. i have few queries , please see below

    1. he taking 80ml per feed. daily he takes 7 times. is it enough for him??
    2. it will take 45 min for pumping 80ml (using hand expression for extracting milk), is it electric pump will use for me. if so please mention the brand. also mention whether it will available in online or not.

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  18. Sindhu,

    Sorry for the delayed reply, i am not clear as to the reason for pumping these days, if the kid is latching properly, as the kid suckles more often, the milk production will be more.. please check the options under breast feeding label to increase the production.

    Pumping at regular intervals also increases productivity... the post above discusses such options, so you can read the content there of to get an acccurate idea.

    the kid is kind of taking 20 oz per day as of now, which I guess should be fine if the kid is having adequate wet diapers/peeing clearly (not yellow), growing wt.

    I am kind of out of the BF/baby feeding stage that it seems like ages ago and I do not seem to be helping you much, but this blog has been documented nicely, please take time to read under proper labels and all your queries will be answered.

    Good luck and happy parenting.

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  19. HI Shree,

    Thanks for your comments. I'm having retracted nipples so he not latching properly thats y i'm pumping daily.

    whether justborn pump will work for daily use??

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  20. HI Sree/Renuka.this si Vijaya from Chennai and i have 5+months old baby girl.im planning to go to office from 15th Oct.i leave to work at around 6AM and return back home at 4.30PM.Since this is my first child i have no idea about breast pumps.i have started giving her Kanji(semi-solid food) twice a day.My kid will need 3-4 feeds wen im at work.My Ped has advised me not to go for Formula feeds.so my only otion is using breast pump.So pls advise if i ll be able to manage with the above mentioned breast pumps ..I need to pump out 3-4 bottles(90ml) of milk before i leave for work. i ll feed her before i leave for work at 6AM.Then she needs her feeds at 7.30AM,10.30AM and around 2 PM.so please advise me on how to go with this.

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  21. Vijaya,

    can you go through the other queries options and see if it helps you, i have forwarded the query to Keerthi and Renuka to see if they can help you... in the above queries answered you will get answers to most of the questions you have, pls. check the comments as well.

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  22. Sorry about late response, Vajaya. You must have started going to office from today.

    For the question that if you can manage with breast pump, yes. You can very much, depending on how well you are lactating. Since the kid is already into 6th month, she can be put on semi solids, and if not 3-4 feeds, you might try for about 2 feeds and manage the rest of the time with one feed of solid. This should be sufficient for the 10+hrs that you are going to be away from the baby. Do remember to pump the milk early in the morning, and after pumping try to feed the baby just before you leave for work. Also pump as you return from work & then proceed to feed the baby. This way you can collect 2 bottles & she can consume them when you are away. so that way her routine will most likely be - 5:30AM -breast feed, 8:30-Bottle feed, 11:30 to 12:00- semi solids, 3:00 to 3:30-bottle feed. This is my assumption. But you should be able to draw the routine very quickly. HTH. Good luck!

    Replied by Renuka

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  23. Hi Vijaya,

    My 2 cents,

    Once you return from work whenever u breast feed your baby, pump out the remaining milk into a bottle and refrigerate it...do it after every feed during your stay at home...for eg, if you breast feed your baby for about 4 times between 4.30PM and 6AM you will have to pump 4 times and store the milk in 4 seperate bottles...this way, you'll be emptying your breast totally after each feed...and label the bottles with the time of pumping..and ask your baby's care taker to feed the milk accordingly..Refrigerated breast milk must be slightly warmed(place the bottle in a bottle warmer) before being fed to the baby, it stays good for abt 12hrs (some ppl say 24hrs, but I'ld recommend to discard after 12 hrs, bcoz of power cuts).

    If you pump at 7.30PM in the evening that bottle shld be fed at 7.30AM in the morming, first bottle to be fed first..After following this cycle for a couple of days you'll get an idea of how much you can pump for one session..then you can plan accordingly..hope this helps

    Replied by Keerthi

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  24. Hi,
    My bm is not sufficient for my 20 days old baby.
    Whn ever he is hungry i am nursing him ,but he keeps crying so i had to give him formula to satisfy his hunger.
    I am thinking to buy a breast pump to increaae my bm .
    Pls suggest is this a good way to try increase my bm?
    Hema

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