While I was in hospital after having Aria, in amongst all the visitors and flowers, I received a lovely and thoughtful delivery from Medela: a bag full of goodies to make breastfeeding easier. They must have known how nervous I was about the whole deal.

Before I get into what I received and how it all works (and maybe a sneaky giveaway…), let me tell you a bit about Medela, in case you aren’t familiar with them.

Medela was founded in Switzerland in 1961by Olle Larsson. At their core, they are a research based company which is how they have become one of the global players when it comes to breastfeeding products and medical vacuum technology. They are passionate about the benefits of breast milk and because of this, have developed many different products for moms to make breastfeeding as easy as possible.

Let’s get into the goodies, shall we?

First up is the Calma Solitaire Teet (about R225 each). Although my wanted to exclusively breastfeed Aria, I wasn’t about to be the only one feeding her. My plan was to express milk every day so that Dan could give her one feed at night. My reason behind this was two fold: first and foremost I think that it’s very important for Dads to be made part of the routine and to have a special time each day where they can bond. My second reason was so that I could have some free time, even if it is just the length of one feed. I can have a longer shower, or paint my nails, or flip through a magazine. That’s where the Calma teet comes in – it has been designed as an alternative to breastfeeding for moms who still want to feed their babies with breast milk. Your baby will have to create a vacuum on the teet as they would on the breast to start the flow of the milk and because of the design, they will maintain their natural sucking behavior which means that they will transition seamlessly between breast and bottle and back again without nipple confusion.

Two other teets that I was given are the Calmita Starter and the Calmita Advanced. Now I am very lucky in that Aria was not a premature baby, but lots of babies are prem and that means that breastfeeding can be a whole lot more challenging. These teets are specifically designed for prem babies and to support their oral feeding development, teaching them how to latch and suck properly. The difference between the two teets is based on baby’s ability to form a vacuum. So the Starter teet is for a low threshold, and the Advanced is for a higher threshold. They are both disposable products.

Whats a teet without a bottle right? Enter the 250ml Breastmilk Bottles (about R250 for a set of two). These fit the Medela breast bumps as well as the Medela teets. So you can go from expressing to storing to feeding without having to change the container that your milk is in, making life a whole lot easier. Another plus is that because they are 250ml, you can use them for all ages and not just when baby is still tiny. They come with leak-proof lids so they are perfect for the nappy bag and you won’t have to worry about milk spilling everywhere, big sigh of relief!

While we are on the topic of storage, let’s chat about the 35ml Colostrum Collection and Storage Containers. In the first 3 or so days after you give birth, you don’t produce actual breast milk, you produce a thick, yellow substance called colostrum. This is incredibly beneficial and nutritious for baby but sometimes, because baby has just been born, you might have some problems breast feeding. Aria, for example, would latch perfectly but the poor kid didn’t know to suck. And so I had to express colostrum and syringe feed her for the first day. These containers from Medela make expressing colostrum a lot less messy and because of the curved bottoms, it means that there will be very little wastage when you transfer the colostrum from the container to the syringe. Just remember, these containers can only be used once.

Now some products to help mom, and believe me, they help!

If you watched my video over here, you will remember me talking about how Purelan 100 (about R99 for 7g or about R205 for 37g) saved my nipples. The first few days of breastfeeding I thought,  “Oh this is a breeze, I don’t know what those women are on about when they talk about sore and cracked nipples”. Well, by day 5 I wanted to shoot through the roof whenever Aria latched, it was ridiculously sore and I have a very high pain threshold. I started applying Purelan every night after I showered and literally within 3 days, the scabs and cracks had disappeared and my nipples were back to their happy selves. Purelan is made of all natural ingredients and so you don’t need to remove it before breastfeeding. It also works like a bomb on chapped lips by the way, so it’s really useful to keep around.

Still on the boob front, I also received some Disposable Nursing Pads (about R99 for 30). The day that I came home from the hospital also happened to be the day that my milk came in. That night as I got undressed to hop into the shower, I felt something drip onto my feet. I thought I had imagined it, and then it happened again. Turns out, milk was leaking out of me. I was horrified! But, that’s just one of the things that comes with breastfeeding. Now, it’s all good and well that happening in the privacy of my bathroom, but imagine that happening while you were out having coffee with the girls, or cruising the veggie aisle in Woolies?! No, no, not a good look. The Medela nursing pads are super absorbent and are made with a soft lining making which means that they are comfortable to wear.

Last but not least, and the most practical of the lot, is the Quick Clean Microwave Bag (about R299 for 5). I think these are fantastic for your nappy bag, they fold flat and take up next to no room! Each bag can be used 20 times and you can actually fit a decent amount of things inside of it to sterilize.

Medela products are available on Takealot, Baby Group and selected stores.

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