Philips AVENT Isis On The Go Set
by Philips AVENT
|
List Price: Category: Baby Product See more product details |
|---|
(Click here)
Baby Products Reviews of Philips AVENT Isis On The Go Set
Customer Review: The BEST pump EVER!
Summary: 5 Stars
I read all of the reviews for the different types of pumps prior to the birth of my son, and finally settled on this one. I was EXTREMELY pleased with it! My son was born in June '06 and I went back to work (teaching) in August '06 when he was right at 2 months old. I was, of course, worried about whether I would have time to pump, and where I would be able to do it, and how long it would take. I was additionally nervous because I started pumping while I was still at home, and wasn't able to pump very much milk. However, I was nervous for absolutely no reason! I wasn't pumping much while at home because my baby was nursing all the time, but once I was away from him, I had NO problems! And this pump was excellent. I ended up using the nurse's bathroom for privacy, and there was not an outlet in there so I would have been unable to use an electric pump. I don't think an electric pump could have done any better. I pumped 3 times a day, for about 10 minutes each time, and routinely expressed 4-8 ounces each time. Sometimes it was a little less, but sometimes your body just doesn't make as much because your little one doesn't need as much right then! I continued pumping all the way through the end of the school year, and then went back to breastfeeding full time since I wasn't teaching. I'm staying home now, my son is 19 months and we're still breastfeeding. It's worked out really well. I pumped so much extra during the school year that I ended up with a freezer full of milk. To help make sure you pump enough milk, try to have your babysitter or child care provider feed your baby only a couple of times a day. Then your baby will nurse more when you are home with them in the evening and at night (don't expect them to sleep through the night - the easiest thing is to put them in bed with you!) and you won't have to worry about not having enough milk to send. I used the breast milk storage bags that lay flat in the freezer and ziploc at the top by Gerber, they were great. I also highly recommend the Avent microwave steam sterilizer. It's great for at work, and at home too! I bought two, and kept one at work and one at home. There were some days where I found it hard to let down with the pump, but that also happens during breastfeeding. I just relax more and think about my baby, and generally that does the trick. And drinking water (or swallowing, pretending like you're drinking water if you don't have any close enough!) also helps you let down. Be sure to drink a TON of water while breastfeeding, it makes everything so much easier. The tote for this is great, no one knows what you're carrying around. And the pump is quiet (though not perfectly silent), so if you're in a bathroom stall or something, you don't feel really awkward :). All in all, I would definitely buy this again, I recommend it to everyone I know, and I have had a wonderful breastfeeding experience so far. Buy it!Customer Review: Convienient, discreet, and effective!
Summary: 4 Stars
I work full-time and bought this pump to use at work when I didn't have access to our lactation room which has an electric double pump. It was inexpensive and I thought that I could even use the black case after I didn't use the pump anymore. I use the Isis pump exclusively now due to how well it works. I've been pumping for a month now, and couldn't be more pleased. It has no noise, causes no discomfort at all, is not tiring to use (being a hand-pump), and cleans easily. It's so discreet that I pump in the privacy of my car in the parking garage. I listen to music while using the pump and just throw a towel over me when someone walks by. There are about 5 pieces, but once you've taken it apart and reassembled it, it's a cinch to do. I manage to get about 4oz in about 20 minutes off one breast. Maybe the electric pumps are faster, but my son only eats about 4oz, so it's perfect for me.
I never use the included blue ice packs- they thawed out after about 2 hours. However, there is a mesh pocket inside the black case which is big enough to hold a bag of frozen veggies that I use as my ice pack. I've even brought my lunch to work with me in this case. It's not huge, but it holds my pump, one bottle (I pump, then pour the milk into storage bags for freezing), a soda and sandwich.
I gave it only 4 stars because you need a bit of trial-and-error to get it to work well for you. Things that helped me:
1) Remove the petal shield and pump cover. The shield just fills with air and does not give adequate suction, and the shield is just unecessary.
2) When putting the pump together make sure the tiny white valve is *completely* pushed in. I noticed a lot of air comes in when this isn't flush with the pump.
3) DON'T screw the pump onto the bottle as tight as it will go. This will cause cracks and isn't necessary.
4) Pump the same way as your baby would suck- hold a little pressure (meaning don't squeeze the handle down completely), hold for a few seconds, and release.
5) Finally, I release the suction on my breast after pumping a few times; I don't keep the suction going for more than a few minutes. Then I restart pumping, build the suction again, express for a about 10 seconds, and break the suction again. (just pull the side of your nipple away from the pump. Don't pull the pump away.) This makes sure that the milk doesn't build up under the silicone diaphragm (the piece that the handle connects to) and it allows for greater "let-down". I noticed that my son releases my nipple frequently during nursing- this mimics his behavior. I hope it works as well for you!
Customer Review: Decent pump, but not the best
Summary: 3 Stars
I have both this hand pump and the Medela Harmony (this one was a gift); I also have the Medela Pump N Style which is the one I use the most often. For hand pumps in general, I enjoy the portability and relative quiet that they provide even though they can be slower since you can only pump on one side at a time. I really like the discreet packaging of this pump - the bag is great and I have used it a lot when I go to work locations where I will not have access to an electrical outlet so I need one of my hand pumps. I also like that the bottles provided for pumping are 4 oz and 9 oz sizes (Medela only has 5 oz bottles).
What I dislike about this pump:
1. There are so many pieces - there are lots of "moveable" parts - and removeable parts for this pump that it takes longer to wash/assemble than a Medela, and it is easier to misplace a piece. While any hand pump has a good number of pieces, when compared to the Medela I like that the membrane on the Medala is held firmly in place (although removeable so it can be cleaned after each use) and does not move out of place while pumping.
2. Which brings me to the next point - I have to pay more attention to this pump than the Harmony b/c as I pump more pressure builds up in the pump/bottle and causes the star membrane to pop out of place which requires that I unscrew the bottle from the pump and readjust the membrane - or I just need to be more careful in the first place and not let the vacuum in the bottle/pump build up so much, which can be tedious.
Now, no one else has mentioned this, so maybe this is just my experience with the way I prefer to pump.
3. As for the set itself, as I mentioned the bag is great and it is deceptively large, but the ice packs provided do not keep cool for very long (especially when next to a bottle of warm milk) and if you need to take all four bottles along to fill throughout the day (going on a trip, at work for longer than 4-6 hours, etc) there is not additional room in the bag to replace the small gel packs with larger cool packs. You can find some better quality, slim cool packs though to put in their place, it is just an added expense to keep in mind.
All in all, this is a good pump, will get you what you need (high quality food for baby), but in my experience it is not the most user-friendly hand pump on the market so if you are looking to own only one... this may not be it.
Customer Review: Great Pump, but Has Little Quirks
Summary: 4 Stars
When my son was put in the NICU, he immediately stopped nursing. I'm assuming it was due to the stress. While I was at the hosptal, I used their Ameda Elite hospital pump, but at home, I was pumping full time with this pump. It gets the job done quickly and the handle is very comfortable.
The milk can leak out the sides, which can be very upsetting, especially if you're pumping for a hospitalized newborn and you need every drop you can get. You just have to make sure to keep the pump perfectly upright. Don't tilt it at all!
I didn't have any problems with creaking, and if I did, I'd just take it apart and put it together and the problem was solved.
I also know some had problems with the milk getting backed up and the silicone star not letting the milk flow to the container, but you just have to be sure to release the handle completely so the milk can flow out. Another way to get it into the container is the break the suction between the pump and breast and pump the handle a few times.
This pump worked great and I was able to come up with ways to avoid problems until I had used it (full time) for a month and a half. The star would start getting sucked up into the top even if I slightly pumped the handle. I emailed Avent and they emailed me back and had some great tips (great customer service, by the way!). They said to boil the silicone parts for 10 minutes in water and 2 teaspoons of white vinegar... and viola! Problem solved. If you use it as much as I did, the tackiness of the silicone wears and has to be fixed by the boiling.
Lastly, I read some had problems getting everything to fit in the bag. It takes talent, I tell you! My advice is this: Remember how it was packaged in the first place! Before you take it out of the bag, take note of how it's arranged. After several attempts, I finally got it all back in.
All in all, it's a great pump if you don't want to invest in an electric pump, or if you're only pumping occationally and you work around some of the little issues. In those instances, I'd definitely recommend it! I have an Ameda Purely Yours as well, and overall, I'd suggest paying the extra money and get an electric if you're working or having to pump full time, or you just want more convience.
I hope this review helps, as I wanted it to be my best, considering all the experience I've had with so many pumps!
Customer Review: This breast pump helped me continue nursing.
Summary: 5 Stars
I am sold on the Avent Isis Breast Pump--it works great for me. I nursed my 2nd child exclusively for 13 months, and I used this pump to express milk so that my husband could feed him. He never really took on the bottle, but that's a different story. Anyway, I just couldn't justify having to spend a couple of hundred dollars for a pump--maybe if I was working and wanted to continue breastfeeding, I probably would have. But I was a stay at home mom and just used the pump to express every now and then. I had no problem expressing 4 ounces of milk in about 10 minutes, and it didn't hurt either--it actually felt comfortable. I had the Evenflo electric pump for my first child--now that one was very uncomfortable--it felt like it was sucking the life out of you. Maybe it was me being a first time mom, but I swore off that pump. I still nursed my first child for 13 months but not exclusively--he got both breastmilk and formula.
Now, I am on my 3rd child. I figured after having such an easy time breastfeeding my 2nd child, it would be a piece of cake the 3rd time around. Well, it wasn't. She did not latched on properly and I got really sore within the first couple of days. But I did not want to give up breastfeeding, so I purchased another one of the Avent Isis Breast Pump, because I wanted to help increase my milk supply. It worked and I got to breastfeed again exclusively--my baby wasn't getting frustrated anymore because my milk supply increased. Then when she was 6 weeks old, I had to leave her (unexpectedly) to attend my father's funeral in California. I couldn't take her with me--she was too young. I was gone for 3 days, and I did not want my milk supply to dwindle down, so this pump helped a lot. I was able to express some before I left so she would have some breastmilk along with formula supplement while I was gone. And then I pumped while I was gone--I did it on the plane restroom and airport restrooms very discretely, and I was done in about 15 minutes at a time. And because it is manual, I was able to express whenever and whereever I needed to. This helped me keep my milk supply while I was gone so when I got back, I just continued on like I was not gone. Thanks Avent.