Yesterday, I said goodbye to an old friend. As a mom of a
preemie who needed to express milk every two hours WHEREVER I MAY BE, my trusty
pump was my constant companion. It brought me relief when my baby could not
latch on to me yet and it enabled me to bring my precious milk to my little one
at the NICU.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I was fortunate to have
been lent a Philips Avent Duo IQ Isis unit by certified lactation consultant,
Abbie Venida Yabot (0917-8292268), as she instructed me on the rudimentary
know-how of breastfeeding and milk expressing. And yesterday, I returned it already as it is on its way to be used by another mom of a preemie (of course the tubes and flanges that I used will be replaced).
This pump was really great and I'm glad I had this unit with me during those critical months of establishing my milk supply. The Avent Isis IQ Duo came in a big sophisticated black bag (that looked like a
cute bowler’s bag) and complete with two pumps, an electric motor, separate
parts for manual expression, two milk bottles and cute silver bags to house
those small parts. It was really intimidatingly “professional-looking”. Little
did I know that I would be so adept at it that I would be carrying that pump
wherever I went, even to client meetings (I put the manual parts in a
sterilized Lock & Lock). It was like my bestfriend.
 |
| Got this image from Amazon: Philips AVENT ISIS iQ DUO Electronic Breast Pump |
I started expressing milk October 22, two days after my baby
was born (I used the hospital’s milk expressing facilities prior) with the
schedule of two hours during the daytime and every three hours at night every
day, as if baby was already with me. Sure, I felt like a cow but a momma's gotta do what she's gotta do! I followed this schedule until about third week of November, that is, until I
could finally go to NICU to have my baby try to latch on to me. Even during and
after this, I used the pump to express extra milk when I had plugged ducts,
mastitis and bouts with engorgement. Yes, the challenges of breastfeeding are there, but all worth it ;) Good thing I had a pump to help me express milk when I needed to.
My rigorous pumping schedule was by no means easy to follow,
but it was really made so much more pleasant because I had a dependable, sturdy pump
that was intuitive, easy to use and really, just so incredibly efficient. All I
needed was 15 minutes per session. And I must say, there were two specific things I really loved about this pump is
a) the built-in memory of the electric mode wherein I pump manually a few times
then it stores and continues my natural pumping rhythm b) the super soft breast
suction petals that feels really comfortable. I thought the pump was going to be painful to my breasts but not at all! The electric motor was also a
silent machine that I could pump in the wee hours of the night without waking
my husband. The Avent pump was in my hands (or should I say, on my breasts) almost three-fourths of an entire day so
needless to say, we knew each other inside and out J
I’d always recommend investing in a good, trusty breast pump
for every mom, not just for working moms. Any breastfeeding mom can attest that
there always will be possibilities of plugged ducts or engorgement and having a
pump handy can help greatly, besides direct breastfeeding. Not to mention
needing one when you have to go out and have to leave milk for baby. And if any
mom would ask me, I’d definitely reco the Avent Isis IQ Duo. I do miss my old
friend already, and I think it’s time to get one of my own J
*Note: This is not a paid endorsement. This is just a
personal review of the author.
No comments:
Post a Comment