Baby Gear: Food & Drink

Breast Pump - it was pretty clear almost immediately that there is a "big dog" in this category, with good reason.  That dog is Medela.  Medela pumps are quite pricey but they are the best you can buy.  The hospitals use Medela pumps, doctors and lactation consultants use Medela pumps, all of my friends who pumped used Medela pumps.  So it was basically just a decision of what model?  I went with the middle-of-the-road InStyle Shoulder Bag.  I was debating between this model and the next more expensive, Metro Bag but at the time the only real difference I saw was that the Metro bag came with a "work surface" pad and a mesh bag so I didn't think that was worth the additional $50.  I have since found out that the Metro also allows you the ability to remove the pump from the bag and transport it with you, the Shoulder Bag and Backpack models contain the pump and it can't be removed.  I am still not sure it would be worth the $50 difference as I generally need the bag to crate around all the accessories needed to pump.  Another even more expensive option is the hands free model, but I heard that you also need to buy special bras to be able to use it and that just seemed silly.

There are less expensive models, but if you will be returning to work or pumping with any kind of frequency, they just aren't worth the money saved. One great tip: if you get your pump at Buy Buy Baby you can use the 20% off coupon (either theirs or an unexpired Bed, Bath & Beyond 20% off coupon) on pumps!  That makes a big difference at these price tags!

Pump Accessories -  although the pump does come with many necessary accessories, we always need more!! Just off the top of my head, the following are the Medela accessories I have purchased:

• additional (and larger) breast cones (they call them Breast Shields) because when you use them everyday it is hard to keep up with the cleaning
• additional storage containers
• additional tubing
• additional membrane covers
• a vehicle lighter plug adapter (I pump in the car when I am at off site work meetings and the battery pack blows through batteries)
  
• even more storage containers
• additional cooler (not Medela brand)
• Micro Steam Bags (to steam sterilize)
• cleaning wipes (to sterilize when I have to pump in the car)
• Freezer storage bags
  

I am sure there is more, but that is the most of it.  There is an awful lot that goes into pumping, but I think if you did the math you would still come out on top over formula feeding exclusively.  That combined with all the research that we saw in books and through the hospital about the significant benefits to breast feeding made the decision and easy one.  My goal is to breast feed until Anna is 1.  I am going through a rough patch right now and having some trouble getting as much milk as I would like.  At Anna's doctor's recommendation I have been drinking Traditional Medicinal's Mother's Milk Tea.  So far it seems to be helping so I just have to keep that up.  I am not going to lie - it is a pain to pump, especially at work, and especially since I am at off site meetings at least 4 times a month. . . but in the end 1 year isn't that big of a deal and it will be worth it.

Side note on breast feeding - if it is something that you want to do, it is the best gift you can give your baby, DON'T GIVE UP!  There were several times, especially in the beginning when I felt like there was no way I could go on.  I went through a period of absolutely excruciating pain when she latched on and I honestly thought I would have to stop because the pain was really that bad.  Luckily I took the time to meet with the Lactation Consultant on staff at Anna's pediatrician office and she made one minor adjustment and things rapidly improved.  I highly recommend at least 1 or 2 tubes of Lansinoh Lanolin for the first few months and the Lansinoh bra pads as well.  And you can do it! It is the way God intended babies to be fed and it will work out.

Feeding Pillow - I LOVE my Boppy!  It was one of the first things I knew I would register for before I even got pregnant.  I had heard from several friends how great they thought it was and it was a total no-brainer to me.  We have 4 slip covers and for the first 3 months we really needed them, Anna was a big spitter upper and we always had a Boppy cover going through the wash.  (and make sure you get some cute ones because we have tons of pictures of her with the Boppy as a background as evidenced below) Now one cover can last several weeks. The Boppy has also helped support Anna when she was learning to sit up on her own and she used to love to lay on it and nap (while we watched closely of course) so it really has been invaluable.  When we travel and I don't take it I really have a hard time getting comfortable to feed her.  I think the Boppy would be a sound investment even if you decide not to breastfeed, it is great for feeding no matter what and so many other things.

Also, I highly recommend taking your Boppy to the hospital with you when you go into delivery if you plan to breastfeed - it is a great help right from the start. 

Bottles - We have been through several brands and settled on a clear winner.  The first bottle Anna ever drank was just the one that came with the Medela pump.  That bottle was fine, very simple.

but we didn't use the Medela bottles much because Anna had acid reflux and I thought the vented bottles would be better for her as they are supposed to help reduce spit-up.  Other brands we tried: Avent (they leak) and Playtex Ventaire (we got one free).  What we settled on was Dr. Brown's bottles.  Though they are a pain to wash because they have 5 parts, they came with many recommendations from friends and they have a special venting system that helps eliminate gas.  We started with the glass bottles but quickly started to favor the polypropylene (plastic) ones.  At the beginning we only needed the small, 4 oz ones, and didn't use them very often.  We waited until Anna was 4 weeks old to try a bottle because we didn't want her to realize it was easier to drink from the bottle and start refusing to breast feed.  She did great though, no nipple confusion and she has been very flexible, she takes whatever bottle we give her and it doesn't really make a difference.

Eventually she started to take more milk or formula at a feeding and I bought some 8 oz bottles.  At this point we probably had 4 glass 4 oz, 3 plastic 4 oz and 3 plastic 8 oz bottles and it was fine.  This was before I went back to work.  I was hand washing the bottles every time, Dr. Brown's come with a special brush for the small parts of their vent system and I went through several bottle brushes.  The first one was the Babies R Us generic brand brush we had gotten as a gift - it worked fine but eventually broke.  Next I bought the Dr. Brown's bottle brush and that one broke pretty quickly.  Next I bought a Munchkin brand brush.  This one has lasted a long time and works pretty well, my only complaint is that it doesn't reach the bottom of the 8 oz bottles very well, that doesn't matter as much anymore because now we are putting the bottle in the dishwasher but more on that shortly. . .

I also was sterilizing all bottle and pump parts after every wash because we have well water at our house and our lactation consultant recommended it.  At first I was using the Medela steam sterilizer bags for everything and setting them out to dry, then when we got into bigger bottles I was boiling them for 5 minutes.

That got old really fast.  I ended up buying the Dr. Browns sterilizing tray, it was only $25 (there are sterilizers out there for close to $100) and it is pretty easy, you just have to microwave it for 5 minutes.  In general I have to load it up 2 or 3 times to get through everything, but it is working out great.  This is what it looks like all loaded up:

I also got the Dr. Browns bottle drying rack for letting them air dry after sterilizing.  Since going back to work we probably have 9 of the 8oz bottles and I need to wash them about every other day.  At that rate hand washing was taking over an hour so I decided to try the dishwasher.  I got the Dr Browns dishwasher basket which I really like because it is made to hold all the little Dr. Brown's parts, but I don't like that it only holds enough for 3 bottles.  We probably should get another basket or 2 I guess.  I also have a more generic dishwasher basket for all the bottle overflow and pump parts.  Everything needs to go on the top rack but it is working out pretty well.  I also saw a recommendation that you should not use a rinse agent like Jet Dry when washing baby bottles so we bought a different kind of soap to accommodate that. I still sterilize them after they come out of the dishwasher, just in case :) Since then I have just been upgrading nipple size as Anna get's older and can drink faster. 

Formula - We resisted using any formula for a long time, I had this delusional thought that I would be able to provide enough milk to keep her exclusively on breast milk until she was 1.  Well after going back to work it was pretty clear that wasn't going to happen.  We started with just a few ounces a day and now we are up to more formula than milk on days I am not with her unfortunately, but it is all about supply and demand and it is hard to keep up demand when she is not feeding every 3 hours.

When we started using formula we used what we had gotten for free from the hospital both during our prep classes and after the birth.  I believe it was all Similac.  My personal preference is for the Similac Isomil Advance but that is just because it smells better to me than the Similac Advance EarlyShield.  Anna likes them both equally as well as the Enfamil Premium Lipil.  I also really like that Similac offers 8 oz nipple ready bottles, they are liquid formula that is ready to go, you can just attach a nipple from a standard bottle and go, they are great for the diaper bag in case you get in a situation where you either need to feed the baby quickly or you can't get to water to mix powder or you don't want to bring the big powder jug.  Of course you pay a premium for that convenience, but they are nice to have a few on hand anyway.  

Recently we have switched to the Costco Kirkland brand formula just because it is so significantly cheaper than the other brands and we trust the Kirkland brand more than the generic at any other store.  However, I am not sure we will continue to buy Kirkland formula, it seems to create a foamy head (like on a beer) more often than not and I don't like that, it makes it hard to tell when she has run out of liquid and she is trying to suck the foam through the nipple, it is just strange.  Whatever we decide I am sure we will still get it from Costco though, they sell all 3 brand names mentioned above in larger size containers. 

Solid Food -
Bowls and  Spoons - We use Munchkin Brand bowls and spoons, actually I use a lot of our normal bowls too but the spoon is important because she needs it to be the right size and to be soft enough not to hurt her, I really like the Munchkin spoons.

First Foods - I think it is almost a given that everyone starts with Gerber Rice Cereal. We followed that up with several cases of Earth's Best Organic Baby food first fruits and first vegetables.   Anna really enjoyed them :)

Second Foods - we have moved on to Stage 2 foods from Gerber, Beech Nut and mostly more Earth's Best.

High Chair -  We did a little research on high chairs and it worked out well that the one that appeared to have the best features was also made by the same manufacturer who makes our travel system and pack and play so we were able to get it in a coordinating pattern.  Pros to the Chicco Polly Highchair, it folds up, adjustable height, back reclines, easy to clean, tray top goes in dishwasher, and the tray stores on the legs of the chair when not in use.  Cons according to the reviews I have read are that the leg bar that goes in between baby's legs to stop from sliding out hooks onto the tray not the chair . . . well, what they didn't say is that there is also a strap built into the chair that goes between the legs and you don't have to install the bar at all.  The complaint is that once this bar is hanging down off the tray you can't set it on a flat surface, but A) I rarely need to set the tray somewhere level other than on the chair and B) the tray has an easily removable top that can be set flat anywhere so that really has not been a con for us at all.  We love the chair!  By the time we started using it, around 5 months, Anna really didn't need th shoulder straps and they were easy to remove.  We have only used the recline feature once so far, she was looking very tired at dinner so we just laid her back and she took a little snooze in her chair :)

Feeding Seat - I got the Bumbo for several reasons, 1 - everyone was talking about it and how much they loved it, 2 - I knew it would be a good tool to help her learn to sit up by herself.  However, sitting in the Bumbo must have put a strain on her little belly because she spit up all over it everytime.  And now that she can sit by herself I hardly touch the thing - it is easier to throw her in the high chair then to drag the Bumbo out so for now I feel like it was kind of a waste.   Of course, she did look awful cute in it . . .

Sippy Cup - This is the next milestone for Anna, I'll update after we give it a shot soon!