Sleep Positioners/Electric Breast Pump

Hi, I'm trying to research and learn more about the Infant sleep positioners. Are you going to be using them? What's the best brand? Are there any pros and cons about these things? What do you know about these sleep positioners. The same questions apply to the breast pumps.Also I would like to ask How is the electric breast pump sterilized? Because I've heard that these can be rented out..also I see that they are selling them on Ebay. Is there any health risks by using a used Electric breast pump. Because I've even heard of hospitals renting these pumps out. Please bear with me if some of these questions are sorta dumb. But this is where I'm starting my research and then I'll start googling.Thanks in advance for any enlightment.

 

I can only reply about pump
you just buy the motor
and after that you buy the kit new yourself and it will include everything you need brand new so you will be using the sterile parts.

 

Rent a pump at the hospital. You buy your own kit that attaches to it so there is no contamination.. They work great. I never used sleep positioners.

 

I didn't breastfeed, so I can't help out there. :sorry:

As far as the sleep positioners go, I did get some. We used them for about a week or two and then stopped. My son didn't like them all up in his space ardon: and my dd was swaddled and didn't like them either. Plus I found the ones I got didn't do a great job of keeping them in place. Maybe others would have worked better, but if they wanted to sleep on their sides a blanket always did the trick. :good:

 

I agree, instead of using sleep positioners we used rolled up receiving blankets on either side of the girls & they worked just great :good:
I *tried* to breastfeed for a couple weeks (no luck) and I rented my pump from the hospital. It was more powerful than any of the ones I could buy & worked really well.
Any part of the pump that actually touches skin or breastmilk is brand new (hospital gave to me, in new packages)...it is just the 'body' and mechanics that you rent

 

Rental breast pumps are different from the personal use ones sold on ebay. Rental pumps are built in such a way that there is no risk of contamination from multiple users. Personal use ones do not have the same barriers in place so they are really only supposed to be used by one person because of the risk of cross contamination. The motors are also built differently so the rental ones are stronger and will be able to handle multiple users. Personal use ones tend to wear out sooner and aren't the best for establishing supply. I personally would start with a rental and not buy a pump until I knew that I would be using it enough to justify the costs. I pumped quite a bit with my first child, but my second wouldn't take a bottle so my pump got almost no use.

I can't say much about sleep postioners. We bought one the second time around and never used it. I'm not even sure why we bought it.

 

Sleep positioners are one of those things that is added to the "must haves" at the store but is not worth the $. I suggest you save your pennies and go without because they dont work half the time anyway. As far as a pump goes, start by renting one if you want to BF to make sure its something you will use, because they do tend to cost a pretty penny. I loved my medela P&S and used it constantly. Good luck!

 

1st years babt maeks a 7 dollar sleep positioner, that's what we bought. we had a medula breastpump given to us as a hand me down we just need to get the nipples for it to work for us. we haven't decided on breastfeeding yet but we were fortunate to get such a high dollar pump as a handme down.

good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

Thanks ladies...I have been enlightened!

 

we got two sleep positioners and i said something to one of the nurses and she said dont waste your money when they are little they dont roll over, O YA
never used mine.
we had the medelia brest pump, did not enjoy pumping but it worked very well.

 

We actually used the sleep positioner to keep Alice elevated even more due to her reflux.

And as for the pump? Yeah, I wish I hadn't bought one because I used it for 6 weeks and then there it sat. Lonely. No boobies to suckle upon. I hated pumping, I hated the whole lactating thing, and with Alice's reflux, it was best that she get thickened formula. So if I could do it again, I'd rent a pump.

 

I just wanted to add that yesterday I scored a Medela Classic on eBay for only $400! (They usually retail well above $1K.)

 

QUOTE(dowlinal @ May 27 2009, 12:30 AM) [snapback]1329325[/snapback]
Rental pumps are built in such a way that there is no risk of contamination from multiple users. Personal use ones do not have the same barriers in place so they are really only supposed to be used by one person because of the risk of cross contamination.

this is the most important thing to know. the chassis of a rented pump never comes into contact with bodily fluids. they rent you the pump and you get your own dedicated tubing and connectors. consumer grade pumps draw fluids into the body of the pump, and while they are designed to be cleaned you can't sterilize the chassis. some lactation consultants will tell you they can be cleaned enough, and it all depends on how comfortable you are knowing someone else's bodily fluids ran through the machine. i personally know moms who bought pumps on ebay because they weren't concerned about the potential remnants of another mom's breastmilk. you have to decide for yourself if you're comfortable using a machine that belonged to someone whose medical history and hygiene you're unfamiliar with.

for sterilizing parts i always used the medela sterilization bags. you clean your parts with warm soapy water, then put all of your parts into the bag. add a small amount of water, and microwave for a minute or so. the instructions are on the bag and they're good for something like 20 uses. i found the bags useful for sterilizing other things like nipple shields and bottle nipples, too.

http://www.amazon.com/Medela-Quick-Clean-M...s/dp/B000096QQ5


i used a medela symphony rental from the hospital. check with your insurance to find out whether you're covered for rental. because we had a short NICU stay our insurance granted us 90 days of rental without even a copay, and that's pretty common for many insurance plans. you may need to use the term "durable medical equipment" with your insurance company to get the right information. i would recommend finding out ahead of time what your options are and renting for a while before committing to a purchase.

 

QUOTE(twinssofar @ May 27 2009, 10:20 AM) [snapback]1329637[/snapback]
I just wanted to add that yesterday I scored a Medela Classic on eBay for only $400! (They usually retail well above $1K.)

I don't know if Medela manufacture different kinds/types of breast pumps but I was just in a "Once upon a Child" consignment shop and they had a brand new never used before Medela Breast pump w/the back back for $150.00 everything was sealed and compact convient.I think that I may need to rent 1st and see how things gobefore investing in the pump.I do have a manual one..but because of how busy I am I thought that it would be more convient with the electric one. Also, I'm considering that I don't know if the boys will latch well on my breasts or if the electric pump will be nessasary.So for starters and the advice that I've been given I may rent 1st to see how things go.But the Classic seems like it may be more upgraded than the one that I saw.Saving $600.00 WoW that's a bargain! :good:

 

I will most likely be utilizing the breast pump yet again, did with my daughter. We rented a hospital grade one through the support center in the county I live in. You just get the motor, cleaned and all. Then they give you all new sterile parts. Hospital grade are WAY more efficient than the cheap ones you can buy at like Wal mart.

 

Hi! I'm not sure what model you saw, but if it's a portable double (can do both breasts at once) electric pump, that sounds like a good deal. The one I saw and purchased is a big hospital-grade pump (no putting that sucker in a backpack!), which I actually prefer over a regular electric pump, having had to rent a hospital grade when my son was first born. As others mentioned, these hardcore ones (which you can rent per week, month, etc.) are best for supply issues early on, especially when dealing with multiples. In addition to having much greater efficiency, I also found them to be quieter and less harsh. Buying one before the twins are even here and I know breastfeeding will even work out is definitely a leap for me, but as others pointed out I can resell the hospital-grade pump for at least as much as I'm paying for it. Anyway, just my two cents!

QUOTE(ktannor @ May 27 2009, 10:38 AM) [snapback]1329664[/snapback]
I don't know if Medela manufacture different kinds/types of breast pumps but I was just in a "Once upon a Child" consignment shop and they had a brand new never used before Medela Breast pump w/the back back for $150.00 everything was sealed and compact convient.I think that I may need to rent 1st and see how things gobefore investing in the pump.I do have a manual one..but because of how busy I am I thought that it would be more convient with the electric one. Also, I'm considering that I don't know if the boys will latch well on my breasts or if the electric pump will be nessasary.So for starters and the advice that I've been given I may rent 1st to see how things go.But the Classic seems like it may be more upgraded than the one that I saw.Saving $600.00 WoW that's a bargain! :good:

 

I had the Medela Pump in Style with my firstborn. It's fine, although I wouldn't recommend it if or any other personal grade pump you are planning on pumping all the time. If you plan to pump alot, rent a hospital grade - I rented the Medela Symphony for 2 months with my girls to help me establish my supply. I'm exclusively breastfeeding now and use my PIS to pump for the occasional bottles or relieve excess or pump after nursing during a growth spurt to help increase my supply. But, I don't pump that often now, so the PIS is fine.

You can see if your hospital rents them or check into local places. Your hospital may give you the tubing kit (saves you $50 from the rental place). My hospital had a policy of giving the kit to any mom of multiples or premies.

 

QUOTE(mollyelizabeth @ May 27 2009, 10:56 AM) [snapback]1329697[/snapback]
I will most likely be utilizing the breast pump yet again, did with my daughter. We rented a hospital grade one through the support center in the county I live in. You just get the motor, cleaned and all. Then they give you all new sterile parts. Hospital grade are WAY more efficient than the cheap ones you can buy at like Wal mart.

Sounds like the best route to go..That's what I think I will do! So I need to make arrangements for that..so that everything will be ready.Thanks! :woohoo:

 

I pumped after my last surro baby was born, using a Medela PIS. I loved it! I'm planning to use it again to pump for these babies - I'm so happy their parents want the milk this time - last time I had to find someone to donate it to, and ended up shipping it to Chicago (I'm in Alberta, Canada). I would agree though that it's probably best to rent for the first bit to see how it goes.

 

We used the BRU sleep positioners. I loved them. One of the boys had a very mild case of reflux and he would not lay flat on his back. It saved many nights.

Jenn

 

We used the sleep positioners here until they were about 5 months old. Even though they didn't roll then, I think it helped make them feel secure while they slept. We'd place them in the positioner [swaddled in a receiving blanket] and then wrapped a comfy blanket around them and tucked it under both sides of the positioner. That way they felt like they were being held and helped them self soothe and fall asleep.

As far as breast pumps go.. my OB faxed in a request form for a medula pump [it was free] and then I received it in the mail a couple days later. It worked great [for the few weeks that I pumped ]

 

QUOTE(Jenn Bland @ May 27 2009, 12:54 PM) [snapback]1329922[/snapback]
We used the BRU sleep positioners. I loved them. One of the boys had a very mild case of reflux and he would not lay flat on his back. It saved many nights.

Jenn


Yeah...now that is one thing that I did discover...I have heard that the BRU is like the top of the line for sleep positioners if I were to consider getting one. I have also seen them (if I am not mistaken) with the heart monitors on there. But from what I have gathered from the majority of the posters is that the sleep positioners are not really nessasary unless it is a case such as yours...if there may be a reflux issue...being elevated does look like a comfortable position for the babies.So if I get one I think that I will do like you and get the BRU brand with the elevation if there is reflux issues.Thanks! :itwins_boys:

 

I used the Medela Symphony from the hospital and it is great! You get a lot more milk than with pumps available to consumers. You only buy the tubes (air pressure goes through them, not milk) and the bottle kit and that's it! Most hospitals have a lactation center that can help you. Make sure someone walks you through how it works and you'll be fine. Good luck!