Category: Breastfeeding

As a breastfeeding mum, I know I have to rely on a quality breast pump to express milk for times that I am away from my 7 month old baby, Ivy. When I am out of the house without my baby, my husband gets to feed Ivy. I need a pump that is comfortable, effectively collects my milk, and my husband needs a good bottle that Ivy can easily feed from. It makes all 3 of us happy when this task is done well.

Family trusted brand Nuby have just launched an all new electric breast pump that is ideal for mums planning on expressing every day. I like to pump daily so I have a good supply of milk in the deep freeze ready to grab when I head out of the door to defrost, but now that weaning has started we can use my expressed milk in her porridge or even making breast milk ice lollies to soothe her teething pain. Before putting the Nuby pump to the test, I had been using a smaller electric pump from the brand Medela that was not designed for daily pumping, only for occasional expressing sessions. I have also been using an Avent manual pump for times when I am not near a mains supply… like when rocking it a few feet away from the Reading main stage during the Royal Blood set back in the summer. Possibly my most awesome pumping session to date. 😉

Why is it special?

The new Nuby Natural Touch digital breast pump has a series of special features. It has 2 different pumping modes. The first mode stimulates milk flow and the second is the active expressing function, both modes working on the breast like a baby would, meaning that you get more milk expressed in the most efficient way. The speeds and strength of suction can easily be adjusted too to suit your comfort at the simple touch of a button. There are 5 settings for each (speed and suction) and if preffered you can have a fast suction speed but with a low suction strength, or mix and match between the 5 different settings. Anything goes!

The digital screen is bright and easily read in both daylight and at night in the dark. Everything is displayed clearly and easy to understand. The top of the screen shows which mode you are using the pump, and the bars show what strength or speed you have the pump set to. There is also a handy timer that shows how many minutes you have been pumping for.

The horn of the pump is covered with a super soft silicone shell, what feels very comfortable on your breast tissue and gives extra comfort when pumping. Unlike the Medela pumps which just has bare plastic against your skin, this pump is much more comfortable. A Nuby bottle is supplied with the kit that is easily held, and has a great 9oz capacity. Great for women who produce a lot of milk.

The pump also comes with a handy bottle stand, to minimise the risk of knocking over your bottle and spilling your liquid gold. They say never cry over spilt milk. Unless it breastmilk and you worked hard to get it!

How easy is it to use?

So easy. It doesn’t take long to initially set the pump up and is simple to do. The pump comes with some great instructions to follow too. I don’t know if I found it so easy to use because I’ve been breastfeeding and pumping for 3 children now, or if it really is just a simple pump to use. Lets go with the latter.

The pump is simply just plugged into a mains socket when in use. I would have liked to see the pump come with an option to use batteries instead of the mains when needed, But Nuby do sell a couple of fantastic manual pumps for very low prices.  When finished expressing the pump is very easy to disassemble and clean. All parts of the pump (except the digital bit, obvs) are easy to sterilise, whatever method of sterilisation you choose. The pump does not take up much space, and as electric pumps go it is not too big at all. As I mentioned previously, I have been using a Medela Mini which is a very small pump, but the Medea Mini is not recommended for daily use. The Nuby Natural Touch breast pump is a fair bit bigger, but it has been designed with a much bigger work load to take on, being a daily-use pump.

The Bottle

The Nuby  Natural Touch Breast Pump came with 1 Natural Touch bottle. I found the bottle lovely to feed Ivy from. Ivy rarely takes a bottle and it has been hard to find bottles with teats that she finds appealing to feed from. We had no problems with the Nuby bottle at all. The teat is breast shaped, and a size 1 (slow flow) designed for new born babies. The silicone teat is very soft hand has the natural texture and flex of mothers breast.

Ivy is now starting to want to hold her bottle by herself and she found the bottle very easy to grip, despite being quite a large bottle, holding it on her own seemed very easy for her. The bottle and teat were easy to wash, with no fiddly-to-clean grooves to work around. A lovely bottle for new born babies and older babies alike.

Final thoughts.

I honestly think that the Nuby Natural Touch breast pump is a wonderful design that is excellent value for money and has easily become my favourite pump that I have ever used. Now I have a pump for every occasion! The new Nuby Natural Touch Breast Pump for at home, or when staying away in hotels etc, my mini pump for stashing in my handbag when at work or taking a long journey and my manual hand pump for when I am rocking it out at a music festival!

It is comfortable, soft, easy to use (even when sleep deprived), easy to clean and assemble. The new Nuby Natural Tough Digital Breast Pump is available for £89.99 and can be purchased directly from Nuby’s online shop.

 

 

I was sent the product in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was nervous about starting my vegan challenge as a breastfeeding mum 30 days ago. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to find all of the essential vitamins and minerals that my body would need to create a good quality, satisfying milk. I quickly learnt however, that with a good varied diet including lots of mineral rich food, I would be OK, my milk supply and quality wouldn’t suffer. In fact, I can say that I actually get more vitamins and minerals now I am on a vegan diet than when I was on an omnivore diet.

Breastfeeding your baby has many obvious benefits to mum and child. A breastfed baby has a boosted immune system, reduced risk of developing diabetes, reduces the chances of sudden infant death syndrome, higher IQ rates, healthier joints and muscles, less chances of suffering with constipation and diarrhoea, fewer ear and eye infection, less likely to develop arthritis… the list goes on. For mum, reduced blood loss after birth and the uterus will contact back to pre pregnancy size quicker, reduced breast and ovarian cancer rates, lowers chances of developing osteoporosis, reduced diabetes risk, more sleep… need I go on?

Eating healthily during pregnancy and breastfeeding is essential, whether you are vegan or not. Your body needs to be happy and healthy to grow your baby, and keep your baby growing as it should. Many women take folic acid during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy (many taking it during conception too) to ensure that baby develops a healthy spine and neural tube. Vegan Folic acid supplements are easily available, and naturally found folic acid can be sourced from green leafy foods such as spinach or spring greens, brown rice, fortified cereals, broccoli, asparagus, lentils, beans and pulses… to name a few. The name Folic Acid comes from folate – green leafy foods- foliage!

We are all advised to have our 5 a day of fruit and vegetables. When breastfeeding, it has been noted that this number should rise to 7 (Although I cannot remember where I first saw this piece of advice). 7 portions of fruit and veg really isn’t hard to achieve when eating a vegan that’s for sure.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women should aim to include a portion of protein with each meal. For meat eaters, finding protein isn’t a biggie because meats include protein. But nuts, soy products, beans and peas all contain great levels of protein, and including a portion with each meal seems to happen easily with almost no second thought. The same rule of one portion of iron per meal is also recommended. Iron is also found in beans, legumes, dark green vegetables and soy products. Vitamin C helps with the absorption of iron, so snacking on oranges, berries or tomatoes will really help. Try keeping a pack of frozen berries in the freezer, the make a sweet treat, last for ages and are a cheaper alternative to freash berries that will have to be eaten quickly. They also cool down a smoothie perfectly in the summer when thrown into the blender.

Calcium for strong bones (for you and your baby) is a biggie. As a vegan mother getting calcium for dairy products such as milk and cheese is out of the question. Calcium can however be found in tofu (yummy when scrambled and on wholemeal toast!), almonds, sesame seeds and tahini.

During pregnancy a woman’s immune system is lower, making the risks of falling ill higher (one reason why pregnant women are advised to avoid soft cheese and undercooked eggs). It is important that vegan and vegetarian mums wash their food thoroughly, especially when eating any raw foods to avoid listeria getting into the body, which can cause premature birth, or even miscarriage.

Veganicity have an amazing range of vegan supplements that are all 100% vegan, 100% animal friendly and 100% Vegan Society approved. This bottle of  Veganicity Pregnancy Essentials is ideal for any vegan or breastfeeding mum, as it contains 25 vital vitamins and minerals in one convenient tablet, containing folic acid, vitamins C, D, E and B complex and Vegan D3. The tablets look a little big and daunting to take, but they are nothing unmanageable. You simply just take 1-2 tablets daily, with food. The Pregnancy Essentials tablets are also sugar free, gluten free, lactose free, yeast free and wheat free and contain no colouring and use minimum natural fillers and binders. Veganicity’s Pregnancy Essentials can be purchased from the Veganicity website and are £9.95 for 60.

Some of my favourite vegan breastfeeding grub:

Avocado’s. Oh man, so creamy! They are packed full of good fats. BURSTING with vitamin K, fibre and one avocado equals to about 22% of your daily Folic acid intake too! They also contain 60% MORE potassium than bananas. Amazing! They mix well into a yummy green smoothie, or you can whip out a mean guacamole!

Flax Seed. This bag of Milled Organic Flaxseed by Linwoods is a healthy superfood that can be added into sooooo many recipes, from smoothies to cupcakes and porridge to casseroles. Just 2 heaped dessert spoons provides you with 5.8g of Omega 3. Flaxseed is a convenient and quick source of iron, magnesium and calcium and is absorbed quickly into the body, meaning that you feel its benefit instantly! It’s also suitable for freezing, great for people like me who like to cook up batches of food for the freezer. A 425g bag of Linwoods Milled Organic Flaxseed is £5.99 and is available in Holland and Barrett.

Rolled Oats. Great for milk production, full of iron, filling, low fat and very versatile. Don’t just use it to make porridge, but throw a handful of raw oats into smoothies, make your own flapjacks or cereal bars and tie some up into a muslin cloth and throw in the bath when the dreaded chickenpox arrive (like they have this week in our own home).

Blueberries. Oh, they are like little sweeties! A tub of blueberries doesn’t last very long in our house at all. We all love them. I like to throw handfuls into smoothies and cakes (which I bake a lot). They are a superb antioxidant, and are packed with Vitamin A, calcium and potassium… which all go into make great milk.

So, there you have a brief lowdown on how being vegan and breastfeeding CAN work together, it isn’t hard with a little planning and patience to learn.