BeliBea Nourish pumping & nursing bra

How many of you have ever tried to nurse and pump at the same time...or pump hands-free? (Me!)

I wasn't very successful because I'd end up slouching over and holding the pump flanges with my forearm while I tried to use my "free" arm to read or check email. Once, in desperation, I cut slits in an old bra that I had outgrown. Voila! A functonal but very inelegant hands-free pumping bra! Of course I couldn't really *wear* it outside the house because hello, I had two slits smack dab in the middle of my bra. It looked rather funny.

I've also tried a different brand of hands-free pumping bra, one of those huge contraptions that covers your entire torso like a gigantic Ace bandage. They work, but they certainly don't resemble a normal bra. And they are only for pumping--not for nursing.

I was excited to try out a BeliBea Nourish bra: it's a nursing bra AND a hands-free pumping bra (or both at the same time).

So here's how it works:

It looks like a regular nursing bra...(ignore my flat-chested mannequin!)

But when you unhook the clasp, you find a second layer inside. It's a hands-free pumping bra!

If you unhook both layers, it turns into a nursing bra!

The BeliBea also has removeable molded inserts.

My thoughts on the BeliBea

Great idea having the two sets of clasps. It solves the problem of how to have a pumping bra without having a big slit showing in the middle of each cup! Because it's actually designed like a normal bra, rather than a corset-like contraption, you could easily wear it night or day.

I don't like molded or padded bras, so I promptly took the pads out. I don't need any more cleavage thankyouverymuch! So another thumbs up for having removable pads.

I wish this bra were less expensive. It's a great idea: comfortable, functional, practical. But over my almost 9 years of nursing, I've never spent more than about $15 on a nursing bra. (Or a non-nursing bra for that matter.) Perhaps some day I will discover the joys of expensive underthings...

The BeliBea is very stretchy. It comes in just four sizes (S to XL) so each size accommodates several band and cup sizes. It's very comfortable, but also less supportive than the bras I'm used to wearing. Ever since I became pregnant with Zari, I have had to wear underwire. I'd say that this bra would be fine for everyday use if you're an A or B cup. Beyond that, it's not supportive enough for daytime use. (I'm currently between a C and a D.) It feels like my favorite sleep bras.

Right now, the BeliBea Nourish only comes in a pale nude color. It would be great to at least one darker tone (and perhaps a few basic colors down the road) for all those mamas who aren't of Scandinavian ancestry :)

More about BeliBea

• www.belibea.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/belibea
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/belibeabra
• The Nourish by BeliBea retails at $49.95. Gift certificates available to purchase here. 

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MIT Breast Pump Hackathon

I'm super excited about MIT's upcoming "Make the Breast Pump Not Suck" Hackathon. It's a collaboration of 150 experts--from parents to engineers--working to improve/hack/reinvent the breast pump.

If you have suggestions for improving breast pumps, MIT is actively soliciting input. Please participate!

Here's what I submitted:

Mom of 4 breastfed babies...I never pumped for them, but I did pump and donate to other moms.

I'm sure you've already received lots of comments about the noise, about how the pump flanges have to be held just so to get the suction right, making replacement parts cheap and easily available, making pumps simple and easy to clean (the Ameda Purely Yours has been the simplest design out there from the pumps I've tried) about how it's awkward having these flanges and collection bottles sticking out...

The the biggest thing I'd like to see is something that actually replicates the *feel and motion* of a baby's mouth. Breast pumps work by suction to pull the milk out of the breast. But a nursing baby has entirely different mechanics. The baby's mouth creates suction, but what actually expresses the milk out of the breast is the rolling motion of the baby's tongue on the underside of the breast (relative to the baby's mouth)--NOT suction. That is the biggest flaw in all breast pumps. They don't replicate a baby's mouth, and hands-down a baby is more effective than a machine in triggering let-down and in expressing milk.

A breastpump needs not only adjustable suction levels, but also adjustable pump cycles. When a baby nurses, it starts with fast, short sucks until the milk starts to let down. Then the baby moves to long, deep, slower sucks. This cycle repeats several times while the baby nurses.

I've used several pumps, including a Medela double electric, an Ameda Purely Yours, a Hygeia EnJoye, and more. Some had adjustable cycle speeds, but even those often wouldn't go fast enough for my preferences. I found that I need at least 78 cycles/minute for optimal letdown, maybe even faster for triggering letdown. Many pumps max out at 36-60 cycles/minute, which is way too slow for me.

Another essential design element: a sealed system. The Ameda and Hygeia have sealed systems, which means that bacteria/mold/viruses can't enter the motor housing via the pump tubes and then reinfect the milk. Ameda's design used a simple silicone diaphragm. The Medela does not have a sealed system.

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To pump or not to pump?

I've been pumping and donating since Ivy was 2 weeks old. Every night, I hook myself up to the pump, settle back into the couch, and pump a cup of liquid gold for my donor family. Sometimes I would be so tired when it came time to pump. I just want to go to bed...maybe I'll do it in the morning...but still every night I would sit down, plug in, and pump.

I love nursing my children, and I would be devastated if I were unable to breastfeed. That's why I pump, even when I don't feel like it.

I've wondered how long I could continue pumping after I was done nursing my last baby...months? years? decades? Some wet nurses continued to nurse babies into their 70s and 80s, so I suppose there is no absolute upper limit on lacatation.

With our upcoming move to France, however, I knew my pumping days would likely end. I don't have a 240V pump and our new apartment doesn't have a proper freezer. Two strikes, you're out. When I realized this, I was excited at the thought of freedom from pumping. When I'm tired, I can just go to bed!

My visit to Seattle two weeks ago might have answered my dilemma about when to stop pumping. I didn't bring a pump. I figured Ivy would take care of the extra milk if I gave her more opportunities to nurse. I did get a little engorged, but not uncomfortably so. I tried my sister's single manual pump (Isis Avent) and that thing is worthless! I easily express 8+ ounces with my double electric pump, but only got a half an ounce with the manual pump.

When I came home from Seattle, I didn't pump the first night...or the next...or the next.

I think I am done.

I've been working on saying no to more things. Even though I could do them, I choose not to. I'm a little wistful because this might be my last opportunity to donate. But I'm also ready to move on and enjoy a few more minutes of sleep every night, a few more minutes not tied down to a machine, a few more minutes when my body is mine and no one else's. 

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Not enough milk: one mother's story

A blog reader, Michelle, sent me her breastfeeding stories. She has four children and was never able to nurse exclusively, despite trying everything. I'm so glad she was willing to share her experiences. Some women cannot produce enough milk for their babies. For those who want to nurse but cannot, the regret and frustration can be overwhelming. 

Michelle commented to me: "I am very grateful that I was able to nurse my girls for however long I could. I wish I were still nursing my fourth! I am glad to that I finally decided to pursue all solutions because I needed to realize that nothing I did would help. That knowledge helped alleviate a lot of guilt. If I ever have another child, I won't beat myself up so much and just enjoy what I can give them!"

I want to encourage anyone who can to donate breastmilk to mothers in need. You can go through a milk bank, or you can donate directly. I chose the latter option because milk banks charge upwards of $4/ounce and they pasteurize the milk. I was screened for any common infectious diseases (the same ones that milk banks screen for) and shared the results with the donor family. You can visit Human Milk 4 Human Babies to connect with families in need.


My first pregnancy was very easy. The only unusual thing about it was that my breasts didn't grow, but since it was my first, I didn't notice. After a traumatic delivery with 4th degree tearing, I struggled getting my baby to latch but she eventually did. 72 hours postpartum, my milk came in and we started our nursing relationship.

At five weeks postpartum, my milk supply suddenly dropped. I thought it was because of two reasons-- the first being that at two weeks postpartum, I had gone back to school to finish my last year of college and, since I didn't have a breast pump, instructed the babysitter to feed my daughter formula when she was hungry. The other reason, I thought, may have been because my daughter was going through a growth spurt.

After two weeks of near-constant nursing and lots of crying, I realized I needed to supplement. I had been co-sleeping, drinking a lot and taking brewer's yeast (the solutions suggested to me by my lactation consultant) but I simply wasn't producing enough. I started supplementing a lot but continued nursing a little until we weaned at eleven months.

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My second pregnancy was also easy and this time my breasts did grow a little. I had a much easier labor with very little tearing and nursed almost immediately after. My milk came in at 48 hours and all seemed to be going well until I got mastitis twice the second week postpartum. After that my milk never recovered and I started supplementing at three weeks postpartum. I also experienced postpartum depression, which negatively impacted my milk supply and my daughter weaned herself at 7 months. I was very sad, but my daughter was finished.

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My third pregnancy was a joyful one and healing in many ways. My breasts grew a lot and I had an easy, natural delivery. My third daughter latched easily and nursed well. My milk came in well at 48 hours. I was determined to do everything right and nurse full time, so I obtained a hand pump and for the first six weeks, I would pump one side while nursing on the other--even in the middle of the night. I got mastitis but caught it early enough that it didn't affect my supply.

At six weeks I figured that I had established a good supply and stopped pumping. At around four weeks my daughter had started crying every night for hours and was growing slowly, but I felt like I had enough. When I stopped pumping, however, I saw a very fast decrease in my supply. At seven weeks, I began taking fenugreek daily to help my supply, which I did until she was about four months old. At that point I had to start supplementing, in spite of the fenugreek. Once I started supplementing, my daughter stopped crying at night and started growing faster. We supplemented and nursed until she was 14 months old. Supplementing brought about a huge personality change in her and she turned into a happy, easy baby.

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My fourth pregnancy was harder. There was a lot of stress, some antenatal depression, and I had incredible hip/sciatic pain. I would crawl to the bathroom in the middle of the night because it was too painful to walk. I was determined to breastfeed, but I started getting concerned when I couldn't express any colostrum one month before her birth. My breasts grew, but not nearly as much as my third pregnancy.

Her birth was an amazing, unassisted home birth. She started screaming as soon as she was born and didn't stop for 30 minutes. I tried to get her to latch and finally she latched at 30 minutes postpartum, but didn't nurse well or frequently the first 24 hours. I kept her at the breast for nearly 36 hours, but she struggled with her latch and bobbed on and off. She figured out her latch around 72 hours. My milk also came in about then, but I wasn't engorged. I never suffered any engorgement at all.

At 6 days postpartum, we received a call from her pediatrician stating that her newborn screening results had come back abnormal. We spent the next 3 days meeting with doctors and specialists, with a huge amount of stress and very little sleep. She was diagnosed with MCADD, a rare but fairly easy to manage metabolic disorder. One of the management techniques was frequent feeding, every three to four hours. She was a good sleeper, so I had to set alarms throughout the night to wake up to feed her.

By the time she was 10 days old, I was on Reglan to increase my supply. We were in the middle of selling our house and the stress of that, combined with the stress of her diagnosis and lack of sleep, impacted my already tenuous supply. My supply had dropped the few days we were learning about her diagnosis and I simply couldn't keep up.

In order to build my supply back up after taking Reglan, I started sleeping nine to ten hours a day, consuming about 100 ounces of fluid and about 3000 calories. I put on weight. I obtained a double electric breast pump and pumped in between nursing sessions. I co-slept, took my Reglan prescription (even convinced my doctor to give me a refill) and began taking the MoreMilk Plus tincture. I nursed her as frequently as she wanted, often sitting for three to four hours in the evening just to get her to sleep. I continued this regimen of milk-increasing tactics until she was 9 weeks old. By this point, we were getting ready to move and she was so hungry she screamed all day in my arms. I would nurse her every 45 minutes for 20 minutes, pump during or in between and do all the other things I had been doing. She would bob on and off, cry the whole time we were nursing and was not satisfied after. She would scream most of the day and nursed constantly at night. I was completely exhausted, mentally and emotionally.

In order to make our move easier, I began to pump instead of nursing so people could feed her while I was packing. I have an overactive letdown reflex and can easily pump. It was then I realized that I was only producing seven to ten ounces a day in spite of everything. I had only been supplementing with four to six ounces of formula a day up to this point. I realized her crying wasn't because of colic, but because of hunger. I was basically keeping her fed just enough to avoid a metabolic crisis.

So at eleven weeks old, six days before our move, I stopped nursing. The first day on the bottle, she ate five ounces every two hours. I wasn't even engorged. We realized that she was starving. We also realized that as part of her metabolic disorder, she was only able to use a certain amount of her food as calories and needed to eat twice as much as my other children in order to get enough calories. Even now, at four months, she is very petite but eats voraciously. I wasn't producing enough to feed a regular baby, much less one who needed extra calories.

That decision proved to be the right one. We were able to move much more easily. She started putting on weight. She hadn't smiled much but she began smiling more. I could finally take a short shower without her screaming. I could even put her down to do the dishes!

The biggest difference was her personality change. When we bottle fed her, she stopped screaming. She was still a needy baby, but she was actually content in my arms or a carrier. She slept peacefully. She cooed at me. She was a different baby.

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In the midst of the challenge with my fourth daughter, I came across some articles that talked about lactation failure and insufficient glandular tissue. I don't have all the physical characteristics, but I do have very wide set and small breasts. I found that there were almost some genetic markers in my family that could have clued me in too. In talking with my father's mother after the birth of my fourth daughter, I learned that her breasts never changed during pregnancy and her milk never came in with any of her three children. My grandmother has three sisters, and none of them had their milk come in. My great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother were also unable to nurse and relied on other things to feed their babies. My great-great had 13 children and gave them all meat broth!

It has been two and a half months since we weaned. I so desperately wanted to nurse all of my children, and, despite exploring every option, I simply can't nurse. The realization that I will never be able to nurse a baby successfully has been excruciating. I truly love nursing. I treasure the moments of closeness. Cuddling skin to skin in the middle of the night. I miss the peace that comes from nursing.

I also feel guilty. Looking back on my third daughter, I realize that I wasn't producing enough for her. I feel a lot of guilt over my selfishness in wanting to nurse her and being unwilling to see she wasn't thriving. I feel guilty knowing that I'm not providing antibodies for my fourth daughter. I feel guilt that I'm using formula.

I pleaded with God to change my body, to help me nurse my babies. I pleaded that He would give me a miracle. But it seems that this experience has been one to humble me.

Breast is best and I love to breastfeed. I am grateful for the times I was able to breastfeed my daughters. I will always cherish those moments.

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Breastflow Memory Pump Giveaway!

I recently tested and reviewed the Breastflow Memory Pump by The First Years. The company has generously offered to give away a pump to a Stand and Deliver reader!

The fine print:

• Open to U.S. residents
• Each household is only eligible to win 3 TOMY products, via blog reviews and giveaways, each calendar year. Only one entrant per household per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Review of the Breastflow Memory Pump by The First Years

I've been pumping and donating since Ivy was 2 weeks old. I've used two pumps, the Ameda Purely Yours and the Medela Personal Double Pump (see my review here). Breast pumps are a big investment and are usually non-returnable. You can't test them out in the store, so you have to go by reputation, cost, or word-of-mouth.

The First Years company just came out with a new double electric breast pump, the Breastflow Memory Pump (approx $179), and offered to send me one to test out. It's an upgrade of their earlier model, the miPump Double Electric Pump (approx $79). The big change from the old model to the new? An electronically controlled pump that can store data (time, duration, suction & speed settings, and volume on each breast) on the last 10 pumping sessions.

The Breastflow Memory Pump comes with a lot of stuff:

• zippered cloth bag
• insulated cooler bag that holds 4 bottles
• reusable icepack
• two Breastflow bottles, nipples, and covers
• rechargeable pump with AC adaptor
• tubing
• two sets of flexible silicone shields (M and L)
• a handle that allows you to double pump with just one hand
• and, of course, two pumping kits

Okay, let's get down to how this pump performs. 

It is slow. Agonizingly slow. It sounds like a dying cow. It has 10 suction settings, but only 3 cycle speeds, the fastest of which is just 36 cycles per minute.

I need a much faster cycle frequency to get a good letdown response. I prefer Medela's 75 cycles/minute over Ameda's 30-60 cycles/minute. And I would probably use a faster cycle frequency at first if that were an option (as it is with the Medela Pump-In-Style). For more on cycle speeds, read my Ameda & Medela review.

I don't know if all women respond similarly, but it takes me much longer to pump a similar volume with the Breastflow Memory Pump than with the Ameda or Medela models. I imagine it would be relatively easy for the company to program faster cycle frequencies, since they are controlled electronically rather than mechanically.

I did a little experiment when I was testing this pump and timed how Ivy's suck patterns. When she first latches on, she nurses really fast, around 150 sucks/minute. Once my milk lets down, she slows down to about 80-100 sucks/minute. A good breast pump should come close to these patterns.

Pros of the Breastflow Memory Pump

It was fun to program in data from each pumping session, although I don't need to keep track for any particular reason. I wonder why the memory only extends to 10 previous sessions--why not 100? 200? If, as they advertise, the memory feature will help determine what settings get the best response, you'll need a lot more than a sample size of 10 to come to an accurate conclusion.

I like that the pump is small, rechargeable, and portable. The Ameda and Medela models both require a power outlet.

The optional handle lets you pump with just one hand. It's big and a bit awkward to hold, but it also frees up one hand. I used it about half the time. The other half, I just leaned over and balanced the bottles on my thighs.  I you really need your hands free--say you're pumping for all your baby's feeds or are at work--then I'd advise getting a hands-free pumping bra.

This pump comes with two sizes of flexible silicone shields. (They're labeled 1 and 2, but honestly I couldn't tell the difference between the two!) 

Includes an insulated cooler with a reusable ice pack.

Cons

Hands down, the biggest drawback is the slow pump cycles.

The Breastflow Memory Pump is an open-system pump. Like the Medela pump, contaminants can enter the tubing, work their way into the motor, and come back into your pumped milk. If you want a pump that won't contaminate your milk, or one you can share between users, go with an Ameda Purely Yours or Hygieia Enjoye. Both are closed-system pumps.

The First Years is not a WHO Code compliant company because of how it markets its infant feeding bottles. The only breast pump manufacturer that is consistently compliant is Hygeia. (Ameda sometimes makes the list, sometimes not.)

The pump kits have more parts than the Ameda or Medela. Not a huge difference for cleaning, but worth noting. On the upside, you can put all the parts--valves included--into the the top rack of a dishwasher.

Where to buy

Available at Target for $179.99

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