Medela Products Review

So in this blog, I am going to give a review on the Medela products I have used. I have found Medela to be a great company from their customer service with fast response time and lovely advisor's to the Breastfeeding advice they offer, having an on hand liaison. I was lucky enough to receive samples of their products which I have found great to use. 

So here they are: 

Medela Harmony Breastpump

The Medela Harmony Breastpump is a handy little pump, great for it portability. It's design allows you to stimulate before you go into expressing. It's lightweight and reasonably small so you can take it out with you. It comes with the Calma Bottle which is amazing but I will tell you more about this product later on. I also like the way that it comes with a handy little stand which helps ensure the bottle doesn't fall over, which as any mum who is expressing milk knows, it's so upsetting when you loose milk, especially if you are struggling with your supply. 

Now for me the functionality of the pump was slightly flawed. I really struggled to get much 

milk off, after 30mins of usage, I got 20mls which was a lot of effort and very time consuming especially when I was very full. Not easy when you have a baby to look after. To be fair it maybe my technique but after reading the manual and watching a youtube clip, it still hasn't got any better and have found hand expressing much quicker.  

I personally don't think it's any good for daily use but maybe as a one off or to take a little off if your over engorged. This is obviously based on my personal use, other people may find it easier to get more milk off in a shorter time. I did contact Medela about my troubles with the product and I was referred to the Breastfeeding liaison who gave me lots of handy tips (see I told you, wonderful) but sadly none worked. 

 Medela Calma

The Calma bottle is amazing, I love this product and will recommend it to anyone and everyone. It's designed to replicate a breast so can only be drained when the baby is sucking which means nothing comes out when tipped. Charlotte has terrible reflux and has refused all other teats, we have tried everything but this one she seems to love. I think it's because it doesn't over power her and is entirely at her pace, depending entirely how fast she likes to take her milk. The bottle is also great for measuring milk as it has clearly identifiable markers. Since using it I have gone on to buy more and unless something just as wonderful comes out for my next baby, I intend to use these again. It is a truly fabulous product. What makes me love them even more is that a baby will happily go from bottle to breast and back again. I feel it is a must buy for any Breastfeeding mum who is also intending on using a bottle aswell. 

Medela Purelan Nipple Cream

Medela Purelan Nipple Cream is great, it's completely natural which means you don't have to wipe it off before you feed your baby. It doesn't contain peanut oil unlike some which obviously isn't good to introduce to a baby. It's easy to rub on and sooths any soreness really quickly. After using it, I would recommend it to others. 

Medela Pump & Save Bags 

Medela Pump & Save bags are great, I love the way they attach directly to the pump which makes it less likely for any milk wastage. They are a good size bag to store a decent amount of milk but not to big where they take over your freezer. They are also very easy to label so you know how long you have stored your milk for. The only downside for me is they are very long, which makes them hard to position. They also crinkle quite loudly so don't use them in the same room as a sleeping baby. 

Medela Disposible Nursing Pads 

Medela Disposable nursing pad are wonderful, they are extremely comfortable and very absorbent so no leakages. I have tried quite a few and the best on the market seem to be these and Lansinoh both very similar in design. 

Dreams can come true...

Well in my last blog my intention was to tell you a little about me but it was more like my life story. It ended where Ricky and I had just found out we were pregnant so I thought I may aswell tell you the rest. 

After finally getting over the shock, the excitement really kicked in. I was desperate to tell everyone but we decided to wait hoping to get to the safety zone of the 12 weeks scan. 

After a couple of weeks being at work, I had terrible morning sickness throughout the day. Whoever calls it morning sickness is sick and twisted. It's definitely  false advertisement :/. After making all the excuses I could, at 8 weeks pregnant I finally decided to tell my boss that I was pregnant and then everyone else could know. I was on a temporary contract so was very nervous about the whole thing.

At 10 weeks, I met with my midwife who took my blood and did the initial assessments. I was advised as my BMI was 39 and due to my family history, I was classed as high risk which means I would see a consultant, probably have growth scans later in my pregnancy and would generally be kept a close eye on.

Later that week, I was suspended from work and they eventually sacked me, giving appalling excuses when it was obviously down to me being pregnant. Typical for me the law had just changed, meaning that I had to pay to take them to a tribunal, for which I had a good case. Obviously being out of work and with a baby on the way this wasn't possible as where would be get the money. As if being pregnant wasn't hard enough, I was now jobless and worrying about how we would manage. I decided nothing was going to pull me down, I had received the best news ever, I was expecting our little one and we had to just find a way. 

As I was in my 3rd year of my teaching course, it meant I was qualified as a higher level teaching assistant. I therefore decided as nowhere seemed to be hiring and let's face it who would take a pregnant woman on anyway, I would sign up to an agency and get as much work as I could. I waited weeks to be allowed to work as they had to do checks and get reference and when I was finally offered work it was hardly worth taking, paying minimum wage. But work was work and every penny counted, especially with us still doing up the house and preparing for our little one. 

On 29th August 2013, the 12 week scan date had arrived. I couldn't wait to see our baby. For me it still didn't seem real. I couldn't wait to see the beautifully, amazing person growing inside me.

12 Week Scan, Baby due 8th March 2014

Seeing our baby was unbelievable and such a relief to see that little heart beating. 

By now the sickness started to settle down thank goodness, I wasn't being sick all day just in the morning and sometimes just felt it in the evening. No one every tells you this stuff about pregnancy :(. 

At 16 weeks, now finally feeling little flutters of our baby's movements, I met with the midwife once again. She said my blood had come back fine except for the fact that I was rhesus negative. She said this wouldn't be a problem for this baby, as it was my first but could potentially be a problem for a future pregnancy. She said they would give me an Anti-D injection at 28 weeks and after birth so it would prevent any future issues.  

I started to develop discomfort down below, feeling a lot of pressure when I was walking or standing aswell as pain in my back. I spoke to my midwife about it and she decided to refer me for physio. She said it was likely that I had SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction) or PRGP (pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain). Whilst waiting for the appointment my anomaly scan was fast approaching. I was so desperate to know that everything was ok and see our little one again. Ricky and I had decided we wanted to know what we were having but I was adamant we were having a girl. I felt I already knew the answer and just needed the scan to be certain so we could start buying :), the exciting part. It seemed to take forever for the date to come round and few times I almost booked a private scan but then I read some bad reviews and we couldn't really afford to waste money on a scan we was ready getting for free, granted you get a lot more with private but let's face it our baby was worth the wait. 

On 21st October 2013, we went for the anomaly scan. I was so excited I could hardly sleep. We waited forever in that joke of a place but finally we were called. I was so nervous, I wanted my perfect little baby to be ok. It took a while for the sonographer to say anything and I was so sure something was wrong but it turned out that the baby would sit still or get into the position needed to be measured, just like Daddy, awkward :). I was asked to go and have a walk around and come back apparently stairs are good to help babies move into position. So after doing 20 laps up and down the stairs, to Ricky's delight, we returned. Thankfully everything was perfectly fine, but they could only say they were 70% sure she was a girl as the umbilical cord was between her legs. I was so relieved she was ok but so disappointed as I had to know. I had waited all this time, didn't get a private scan and I didn't know for certain if we were having a girl or not. 

20 Week Scan 

Either way our possible girl was perfect. After a little hormonal cry, I pulled my hormonal self together and bought a neutral outfit. Baby shopping was always good for cheering me up :). 

The next day we had to return to the hospital for our consultant appointment. We saw a lovely doctor who got all the scan images up on screen, as I was concerned they didn't get to see everything they needed to. It was amazing to see her again and the images they take. The doctor talked me through all the images and what they were of, her heart, liver etc. He then confirmed what I knew all along, I was having a girl. A perfect little princess. 

A few days later, I attended my physio appointment and it was confirmed I had SPD, by now it had got a lot worse and moving generally was quite uncomfortable. I was really struggling with the work I had as I was on my feet a lot, when I got home I just slept I was so exhausted. Although I felt much better now I was into the second trimester. I was just miserable in the first. I plodded in on with what little work I was getting now. Certain jobs I was now having to refuse due to the children I would work with being to violent. I couldn't afford for something to happen. By now we had already decided on a name. Well to be fair we knew it from the beginning but explored other names just in case. It would have been Jacob Steven, Jacob after my great grandfather and Steven after Ricky's Granddad or Charlotte Elizabeth, Elizabeth being after my Nanna. We were even calling her Charlotte now, she was already here even though she was still inside me. 

As the weeks went on, my pregnancy got more unbearable. By now, I could hardly walk. Thank goodness I had little to no work coming through, financially it was hard but physically I wouldn't be able to managed. I couldn't cope standing for more than a few minutes and being on playground duty really took it out of me. I cried as I walked upstairs, so just mostly stayed in bed. I loved my baby and felt lucky for being able to carry her, but I hated pregnancy. People say it's such a magical time. Yeah carrying and growing a child is, seeing them inside you and feeling them is a true miracle but it's also hard and sore and difficult.

By now she was kicking like crazy, never stopped but even that was tiring and painful. She kicked so much, when she had quiet days it worried me and on a few occasions we made visits to the lovely people on MAU. It would always be fine, except for once when I had a slight bleed and was given the Anti-D injection but always worth while checking. Normally she would make me out to be a right liar and start moving not long after we got there :/ cheeky baby.

I had to go for a GTT (glucose tolerance test) due to my BMI, to ensure I didn't have gestational diabetes. What an awful test that is, nill by mouth from 10pm the night before which means only sips of water, not good when you have cravings. Then your blood is taken first thing in the morning, you have a horrible drink and have to wait around the hospital in uncomfortable chairs for 4 hours before you can have it taken again, to see how you have responded to the sugar. Thankfully the results were fine but I do not envy anyone who has to go through it, especially with SPD.  

 

Christmas 2013 

Christmas came and I was miserable. I couldn't believe I still had 10 weeks to go. How was I going to get through this and even more to the point how was this ever expanding baby going to get out of me :0. 

At the end of December I had a really bad night, I woke up with what felt like contractions, I was so worried as I was only 30 weeks. After an hour they finally died down but my original plan of a water birth was now out the window and I knew I wanted the drugs. 

I had my extra scans at 28 and 34 weeks and everything was going perfectly, except they kept telling me I was going to have this huge baby. By now I couldn't even walk, I was counting the days until she was out. I was so scared I might go over, as I couldnt cope with this discomfort much longer. I was now bed bound and cried when I crawled to the toilet. The pain of movement was so bad I just stayed in bed and cried. Thankfully Ricky would feed and water me when he got home but during the day it was so hard, I would hobble downstairs in the morning and bring up supplies to last me the day. The weeks went by so slowly.

At 34 weeks, I started my raspberry leaf tea, the tea leaves as my Nanna was adamant they were the best. Getting this wisdom through my mum, I drank a cup every night before I went to bed hoping it would improve my stages of labour and ensure I didn't go over. I was willing to do anything to bring her here. I wanted to get her to at least 37 weeks, as I knew she would be safe then.  

38 weeks pregnant and miserable

I had another consultant appointment at 38 weeks. I was ready to beg the consultant to induce me. By this point I was on crutches and walking at a snails pace. I already started with cramps the night before and that morning, so I was hoping if the answer was no, she would be on her way anyway. I asked the doctor if it was possible to be induced and she advised me that my consultant, who needs to make that decision is on holiday and I would have to come back next week. She did however give me stretch and sweep in the hope that it would start me off, ouch. 

After screaming the place down, it was eventually over and I was on my way home with confirmation that I was 1cm dilated, whoop but Charlotte was still very far back and my cervix very hard. By the time I got home, it looked like things had already started so I did anything and everything to help her on her way. I changed the bed, did washing drank 6 cups of raspberry leaf tea. It nearly killed me I was in so much pain but at least I knew there was an end in sight. 

That evening, I started with cramps again but they seemed to die down so I tried getting some sleep. the last time I checked the clock it was 2am then all of a sudden I woke up at 4am with cramps. These cramps were breathe taking and so painful. I decided as crying by itself wasn't curing the pain, I would get a bath. The bath didn't seem to do anything and they just kept getting stronger and stronger. I had these cramps before, at Christmas but they eventually just stopped. I didn't want to wake Ricky, who was up for work for nothing. So breathing through it was all I could do. 

At 7 Ricky's alarm went off and I was rocking on my front and crying into a pillow. The pains were 15 minutes apart and unbearable. Ricky said he would book the day off but I told him not too as I didn't want him to loose any of his paternity leave and this could be a false alarm. After another hour of no reprieve, Ricky called work to let them know he wouldn't be in while I got in the bath again as I mooed with each contraction, to Ricky's amusement. I was even scaring the cats.

Finally, we decided to contact MAU, as this had to be labour, it was to painful not to be. They advised me to take a bath and have something to eat and call back in another hour if it still continued. With the pains getting stronger and now closer together we decided to call them back and as advised made our way down. When we got there, I was sent to the waiting room for over an hour, scaring anyone who came in. 

Eventually I was finally seen, when they examined and only 2cm which demonstrated some progression as my cervix was much softer but she was still to high. Due to my contractions being only 5 minutes apart and in so much pain, they wouldn't let me go home and I was admitted to anti-natal for pain management, as MAU said they could give me Gas & Air and Diamorphine. 

So it was finally starting, my beautiful girl was on her way and I just wanted her out. At that moment I couldn't think of the excitement, just the pain. As my mum says they don't call it labour for nothing.

Where it all began...

Well this whole blogging thing is new to me but I figured I would give it a go and it would be something I could look back on.

So here it goes...

I've wanted a baby ever since I can remember. My earliest memory was when I was very young and a cousin asked what I wanted to be when I was older and the answer was always a mummy. That dream has never changed but when I was 16 I was told I probably couldn't have children, due to me having ovarian cysts. It never stopped me dreaming but it's always been my biggest fear, as what if after everything, It wasn't possible!

I'm the kind of person that has quite a negative view on life, as that way it's easier to face any disappointment. I was considered a geek at school and any friends I had somehow managed to stab me in the back. I was also bullied a lot and was never really very happy, to be honest I lived a life of misery. Now I'm not saying this for people to feel sorry for me. It's just how it was. I lived a miserable social life and was very much a loner. The only thing that saved me was my family and my dream of a future. I planned to qualify as a teacher, which everyone said I couldn't do, due to me having dyslexia, buy a house and a car and start a family. This was my plan and I had tunnel vision to do it. I believed I would never meet anybody because who could love me? So my plan for this was to do it by myself and if I couldn't, I would adopt. Nothing was going to stop me being a mummy.

So determined, I got myself through high school not getting all the grades I needed but it was enough to get me into college. In fact at college I got all A's when I was told I couldn't do it. I even got myself into my dream university by passing equivalency tests and I was well on my way. I was the happy confident person that I always dreamed of being. Nothing was going to stop me. 

At New Year I went to a friends party where I met my future husband. Talk about fate, neither of us was actually going to go that night but thankfully we did and my life changed forever. 

Sadly almost a year into my course, I had to leave due to family circumstances and being so far away. I was now turned everything upside down because my plan was failing. What was I going to do now...

Over the next few months I got severely depressed, I started working a dead job which I hated. Less than minimum wage, I was miserable and poor. Thankfully the family issues were on there way up and things were getting better but everything else, except for my wonderful boyfriend was falling apart. Thankfully I met my soul mate when I met Ricky and he helped me keep it together and get my life back on track. With Ricky's and my mum and dads help I re-enrolled in college to get my official GCSEs due to my equivalency tests which got me into University not meaning anything to anywhere else. 

A year later, I was back on my way with official GCSEs under my belt and I re-enrolled in a closer university to be nearer to home. Feeling like my life was back on track and my relationship getting stronger Ricky and I moved into our home in February and in the July we got engaged. Everything was going great and a new plan was invented. I was going to pass university, get a job as a teacher, get married (although I did want to do it sooner) buy our own home as we were still renting and start a family. I finally felt I could cope again. I passed my first and second year at University and things were looking up. 

In January 2011, to celebrate the day we met, we decided to set the date for our wedding. I would be a Mrs on 14th July 2012. I started a new job and was working towards my goal. 

If planning and saving for a wedding, going to University and working wasn't stressful enough, then ending up ill with Whooping cough, having to be a witness in a family court case and having the worst school placement of my life would send anyone over the edge. I therefore decided to I suspend my studies and concentrate on my Wedding and what was important. At this stage, after having such a bad placement, I wasn't sure I could go back. That place truly broke me and I didn't know if I could face it but I was hoping some time away would help me re-evaluate. 

On Saturday 14th July 2012, I married the love of my life, my rock. It was an amazing day. Some people just think it's a piece of paper but our day was so special. It was amazing and we made memories which will last a lifetime. 

Getting married changed our relationship for the better. It made us strong. Planning a wedding is enough to make or break a couple. Ours just made us fight for each other more and made us love each other more. 

When we got back from our fabulous honeymoon and decided the next step was to buy our own house. As coincidences go a perfect little house had just gone up for auction and we decided to give it a view. When we walked in, I knew it was home. That sounds daft, I know but it did. Clearly we liked being poor, buying a house after we had just paid for a wedding, so what the hell. We went down to the auction house and placed our bid. Oh my god, it was so scary, I could hardly breathe as the bids went in but Yay we won it. Our pathetic little shouts of joy made the whole room laugh. I can say now, I will never go to an auction again, it's to flipping stressful. 

So here we are married and owning our own house. Little did we know how much work it was take to get ready. We moved in in September and gutted the place from the bottom up. It was hard going but well worth it. We had Christmas jumping over holes in the floor and managing without a kitchen. Microwave meals were the only option, I could never go back to them days but needs must. 

As it was coming up to our first wedding Anniversary, I was feeling under the weather and decided to go to go-to-doc. I had a water infection and was sent away with antibiotics. 

After not feeling better, I went back a few days later on 2nd July 2013, the doctor suggested we do a pregnancy test to rule it out. Adamant I wouldn't be pregnant, I was very reluctant for the doctor to do a test. Ricky and I sat there and joked about being pregnant, while the doctor was testing my sample and we laughed about him being strange to suggest it. I mean I was late but only by a few days and it wasn't the first time, id been late before and I couldn't have children anyway. 

The doctor came back with a smile on his face and said would you like to know the results. Ricky and I looked at each other like no why don't you keep them to yourself :/ stupid question, of course we want to know what we already did. Well your pregnant he said. No I'm not, I blurted out. I was determined to argue with this liar. He said you are, look, showing me the test. Seeing the two pink lines I broke into tears and starred at it for a while not believing my eyes. Ricky looking like he had been hit by a train just starring in utter amazement. Then it hit me, id had sore breasts, was tired, late. It's all coming together now. Happiness is not a strong enough emotion to describe where I was. I was on cloud 9 how could I not be, the life I wanted was finally happening. I turned to Ricky and said are you happy. Still in shock he nodded his head with a smile. We walked out the hospital and he held me like a delicate flower, like I could break. I was still emotional and kept thinking did that actually happen.