Lansinoh Manual Breast Pump

If you've been reading my other reviews on breastfeeding-related products (and if you haven't, you can find them easily by clicking on the "breastfeeding" tag at the bottom of this review), you'll know that I'm not a great fan of breastpumps. I've tried several, from the bottom to the top end of the price range, and I never seem to get anywhere with them. However hard I try, I only get a small amount of milk and then I start worrying about whether or not Pierre is getting enough milk when he feeds (even though I know he is really !).

So I came to this breastpump with pretty low expectations, expecting to be totally unimpressed. And at first glance, it looks just like any of the other breastpumps on the market. In fact, it looked so similar to the others that I didn't even bother looking at the instruction manual - I just emptied out the box and managed to assemble it from scratch in seconds.

Having packed the girls off to school and settled Pierre down for a nap, after feeding him on one side, I sat down in front of the telly for a milking session (moo !!!) on the other side. The first thing I noticed was how comfortable it was. I managed to do one-handed pumping with no effort at all and didn't get a sore hand after a few minutes, as I often have in the past with other pumps. The second thing I noticed was, it was actually working ! The milk flowed easily and there was no leakage at all and no uncomfortable feelings of too much suction. I got about 60ml of milk in a matter of minutes - which, when added to the milk collected during Pierre's feed from the Milkies (see my review here), made almost enough for one bottle at the childminder's.

The bottle is small enough to fit comfortably in your hand while pumping and also slots easily into the fridge door to chill before freezing. It can also go in the dishwasher, which is really handy.

What I absolutely love is the fact that it comes with spare parts and extras. As well as the basic pump, you get two extra white valves and a spare silicone diaphragm, as well as two milk storage/freezing bags, a little cleaning brush and a small guide book with very good advice on how to make breastpumping easier.

This may actually be the breastpump to reconcile me to expressing milk - how's that for praise ? (Even if I do still prefer the effort-free expressing with Milkies because I'm a lazybum/multi-tasker at heart !!)

RRP £24.95

Bravado - The Essential Nursing Bra Tank Top

The amazing thing about this top is that it is a bra that has been added to, to make it a nursing top, rather than the other way around as is usually the case. That means that the "full built-in bra, lined with 100% cotton against the skin ... not just a flimsy shelf 'bra'!", really does offer you the full support you'd expect with a normal bra. According to the manufacturers, it is "beautifully supporting up to a G cup" but I'll have to take their word for that !

The material - a mixture of cotton and spandex - is lovely and stretchy, clingy in all the right places without feeling too tight or restrictive. It is advertised as being "perfect to wear out for easy nursing, around the house for comfort, for yoga class, or even as sleepwear", and it's certainly comfortable enough. As the top of the top is the top of the bra (how many times can you write top in one sentence ?!), I did find it slightly too revealing and low-cut to wear out and about, but I just slung a big baggy shirt over the top - problem solved ! I tested the black top but the manufacturers say that the outer fabric isn't see-through, even in white, which is always good to know ! The hip-length is flattering, nicely covering up post-baby wobbly-belly syndrome too !

As with all of the other Bravado bras I've tested recently, they use flexible sizing, so the top and the bra inside adapt comfortably to your changing breasts and body shapes. It could be worn right through pregnancy and breastfeeding and the label says that "the fabric gently stretches while retaining its shape after washing". That makes it great value for money as you won't have to buy a new top and bra every time you go up a size.

The nursing clips allow full breastfeeding access, but I did find them a bit tricky to open and close, even with two hands. The straps are adjustable but when I tried to tighten them while wearing it, I found I'd need six foot long arms to reach the clip ! Once you've found the perfect fit, they do stay nicely in place though so you won't ever have to adjust them again - or at least until your body has totally changed shape and size again !

It's a great all-purpose top, that can be worn on its own for slobbing around the house or in bed, but would also work under a posh jacket for a night out. As they say on the packaging, "Only you'll know it's a tank for nursing !", because the clips are very discreet. It's very comfortable and flattering and it's fantastic to find a top that really does offer support without needing a separate bra underneath. A big thumbs up from me !

RRP £35

star rating : 4.5/5

Lypsyl Lip Balms

"I kissed a girl and I liked it ... the taste of her cherry chap-stick" - Katie Perry must have done wonders for boosting the sales of cherry-flavoured lipbalms ! Lypsyl - or Lipseal, as I used to think they were called, when I was a teenager !! - have been around for 30 years and one is sold every two seconds ! Wow, they must be doing something right !

They are available in five flavours : original, cherry, strawberry, mint and peach. At just over a pound a pop, you could splash out and buy the whole range - keep your partner guessing as to what you'll taste like the next time he/she kisses you !!

They contain vitamin E and aloe vera and are instantly soothing if you have chapped or dry lips. If you put some on at night, you'll wake up in the morning with lovely soft lips. They're great for soothing and healing but also preventing chapped lips, so now is the time to stock up and start applying regularly before the weather turns too cold and windy.

I tested the Original and Cherry varieties and loved both, but just a word of warning - the cherry one stains lips slightly pink, so if you apply loads, going over the corners of your lips if they're cracked and sore, you'll look like someone who really doesn't know how to apply lipstick ! When Mike put some on, he had gorgeous pink lips too and didn't realise until I told him !! I actually used this pinkness to my advantage though, and gave one to each of my daughters - they both want to be grown-up and be like mum and wear make-up but I managed to fob them off with a cherry Lypsyl. Not only it avoids any lipstick stains on clothes or dodgy Lolita-esque overmade-up kiddie faces, it's good for their lips too !

My advice is - keep one in your pocket all autumn and winter. Once your lips start feeling dry, you'll automatically lick them, and the more you lick them, the drier they'll get because of evaporation. A quick slick of Lypsyl and you'll have soft, kissable, moisturised lips all through the mistletoe season !!

RRP : £1.18 (cheap as chips !!)

available in Boots, most supermarkets and independent chemists

star rating : 5/5

Savlon Advanced Healing Gel

You know a brand is good when it starts being used as a generic name for anything vaguely resembling one of its products, even if it isn't made by them - think hoover, sellotape, tampax ... In our house, ever since I was a kid, any antiseptic-type cream is referred to as Savlon. So when I was asked to test their new Advanced Healing Gel, I had high expectations.

It's designed for use on superficial burns and minor wounds (such as grazes and cuts) and can also be used, under medical supervision, on bedsores and open wounds. Even on minor wounds, you should consult your doctor if the wound is extensive, weeping or infected, or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Luckily (or should that be unluckily ?!), as a mum of two little girls who love dressing up as princesses but also both have a huge tomboy streak, I knew I wouldn't have to wait long to test it out on a grazed knee or elbow ! Sure enough, Sophie did the honours today !

It doesn't actually look all that different to regular Savlon cream when you squeeze it out of the tube. It's a creamy gel that sinks into the skin fairly quickly leaving a thin protective layer on top (we put a plaster over the top so it didn't get on to Sophie's clothes). It smells very faintly of nappy cream but the smell isn't unpleasant and doesn't smell at all medicated. Sophie said it didn't sting at all and actually stopped her grazed knee from stinging so much because it felt cold. I rubbed the excess into the dry skin on the back of my hand and it actually looks like it would make a pretty good moisturising, non-greasy hand cream ! Reading on the tube, it says it can be used on sunburn too, and with the combined cooling and moisturising effect, I would think it would be great for both soothing and healing sunburn.

The manufacturers describe it as "a hydroactive colloid gel for the treatment of wounds which supports the healing of skin by covering the wound and creating an optimal moist healing environment." Its hydrogel effect for dry wounds makes them moist and dissolves damaged tissue, but on moist wounds, it absorbs excessive fluid and restores the water balance in the wound. Confused ? I know I am !! But whatever the science behind it, in layman's terms, they tell you it will accelerate skin renewal and therefore reduce the likelihood of scarring. Sounds good to me.

Sophie's now 8 so she's too old for the "magic cream" story, but she wiped her tears away as soon as I applied the gel and went happily off to play again so it obviously stopped the pain. I love the fact that it keeps the wound moist so I won't have tears at bedtime when I have to pull off a plaster that's stuck fast to a bloody, scabby knee !

RRP £3.99

star rating : 5/5

Vital Eyes Brightening or Moisturising Eye Drops

If "the eyes are the window to the soul", the red-eyed bleary look is never going to make a good first impression ! Whether your poor iritated eyes are suffering from tiredness, spending too long in front of a computer screen, too much air-conditioning or the effects of a smoky atmosphere, the manufacturers say that Vital Eyes eye drops can help soothe away redness and get the sparkle back.

So, refreshing or sparkly ? - the choice is yours ! Vital Eyes Brightener contains natural plant extracts and helps gently soothe away redness, leaving eyes brighter and sparkly. Vital Eyes Moisturiser is enriched with Vitamins A and E and helps to refresh and soothe tired, overworked eyes, helping them look and feel healthy.

The Moisturising drops are not to be used while wearing contact lenses and the Brightening drops should not be used by children under 12 or during pregnancy. That made me wonder whether on not they are safe to use while breastfeeding, as most products lump the two together, but there is no mention of this on the product. They also say to avoid the Brightening drops if you are being treated for high blood pressure, depression, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid disorders or Parkinsons, so make sure you read the label carefully.

Having spotted these warnings, I thought I'd read the whole label and I found some of the ingredients surprising. I wasn't at all sure about the idea of putting orange flower oil, lavender oil or - surely the least appealing ! - boric acid anywhere near my eyes ! So using breastfeeding as my get-out clause, I told Mike he had to try them out for me !!

He said they feel very cool and don't sting at all. He was tired after a long day at work and he said his eyes felt less sore and he didn't want to rub them any more after using the drops. In a word, they were "nice" - if it was me writing the review, I'd probably talk about them being as soothing as freshly-cut cucumber slices straight from the fridge but he's a man, so you won't get anything as eloquent, I'm afraid !!

You only need one or two drops in each eye two or three times a day, so the little bottle will last for ages. In any case, it needs to be discarded a month after opening to avoid possible infections.

For anyone with over-tired or sore eyes, these little bottles of drops can provide instant relief so it could be a good idea to keep a bottle in your desk drawer or handbag.

RRP £3.52

star rating : 4/5

Savlon Day Out First Aid Kit

If you're the kind of person who likes travelling light, this is the ideal first aid kit for you. If you have a major accident, chop a finger off, break a leg or get first degree burns, it won't do you much good. But let's face it, most of the stuff - tweezers, gauze, elastic bandages, slings ... - never get used. 95% of accidents involve a grazed knee, a few tears and nothing that a sticking plaster and a "magic mummy kiss" can't fix !

So this tiny first aid kit, small and light enough to fit in a coat pocket, the car glove box or even the tiniest of handbags, contains the essentials you're most likely to need. The zip-locked kit contains 2 Savlon Cleansing Wipes with Antiseptic, Savlon Antiseptic Cream (15g), 4 Savlon Hypoallergenic fabric plasters, a 50p money-off coupon for your next Savlon purchase and a specially created 'Savlon Little Guide to First Aid' with some basic but very good advice.

The only thing to be aware of is that the Savlon cream does have a use-by date on it, so although shoving the first aid kit in the car and forgetting all about it until it's needed is a great idea, remember to change over the little tube of cream every now and then.

For all those everyday emergencies, like your child falling off their bike or a nasty blister on your heel from a new pair of shoes, you have everything you need at hand to follow the four steps mentioned in the guide : Cleanse, Treat, Heal and Protect. The pouch is also just about big enough for you to add any other small items you might need, like a pack of paracetomol or a few Calpol sachets.

The pouch can be refilled and reused as many times as you like, but because of the funky blue colour, Sophie already has her eye on it as a purse for her pocket money once it's empty !

star rating : 5/5

RRP : £3.99

Available at Superdrug and Tesco stores

Wipe-Clean Food Diary & Medicine Diary

If you're a working-mum, or even a stay-at-home mum with several children to look after, there are times when trying to stay on top of everybody's timetables and remember who needs what and when can get very complicated. Your brain goes into overload and unless you're really organised and have permanent access to a diary/calendar/personal organiser, you're bound to forget something. If it's just a forgotten PE kit or birthday card, it's not too serious, but if you have to remember vital things like medication, it can be of the utmost importance.

These Medicine and Food Diaries are a handy tool for all mums and dads, allowing you to keep a convenient record of what has been given to your child or children throughout the day. If you have a child who has food allergies or intolerances, this would be a really useful way of keeping track of what kicks off a reaction. Similarly, for children with illnesses that need rigorous medication, such as diabetics, it would be a very reassuring day-by-day guide to keep things in control. Older children could even be given the task of filling it in by themselves, so that they gradually take on the responsibility of keeping themselves healthy in a controlled way.

Even in our house, where luckily (touch wood ! ) nobody has any dietary or health issues, they are a great way of making sure everybody gets a balanced diet and remembering who liked which dishes. It's a great tool for busy mums who want to plan menus ahead and remember which recipes got the thumbs up and which foods were fed to the dog ! We also customised our Food Diary with reusable stickers, and the girls loved keeping track of their five-a-day fruit and vegetable portions, sticking stars on each healthy portion and proudly adding a reward sticker to the bottom of the page if they hit their target. It could therefore be a really motivational tool for fussy eaters. Or even for mums on a diet who want to keep a journal of what they've been eating !

The books are sturdy and wipe-clean. They come with a special wipe-clean pencil ("for films, plastics, china and glass"), but they can be used with any high quality wipe-clean pen or pencil. The pencil is delivered slotted in the ring-binder end of the book, which is a pain because it keeps falling out. We got round this by replacing the pencil with a pen and using sellotape to stick the lid of the pen to the front cover, but it would have been nice - especially at this price - to have had a more convenient pen or pencil supplied. It was also slightly irritating that we had to go looking for a pencil sharpener before we could use the pencil that came with the book ! Each page is laid out as a list with, for the food diary, places for date - time - food type - notes and, for the medicine diary, date - time - temperature - medicine type - amount - notes.

I'm definitely going to be using this when Pierre goes to the childminder's, so that we can keep track of who has given him what and avoiding doubling up on medication or repeating the same foods during weaning. It will be reassuring and interesting to see which new foods he has tasted and how he reacted to them - it's a lovely way for working parents to find out what they've missed while they've been at work. I think these books would also be ideal for elderly people who tend to be forgetful, so that they can remember what medication and meals they have had.

It's a great idea and it can be adapted to fit your needs. We found the plain white pages a little boring, so the girls jazzed them up with little pictures drawn around the edges with the special pencil and colourful reusable stickers. There are 62 pages in each book, which seemed too much, so we combined the two, using some pages for food and some pages for medicine. We also added a "messages" section at the back (handy for childminder-parent communication that otherwise invariably ends up involving easily-lost scraps of paper or quickly delivered (and forgotten !) messages at hometime !) and a shopping list page. It would actually be handy to have a smaller pocket-sized version combining all of these, that could be slipped in the changing bag for day care or into mum's handbag for when you're out and about.

Price : £15 (or £10 on the website)

star rating : 4/5

Bravado - The "Sublime" Nursing Bra

Bravado's slogan is "Bras fit for for breastfeeding". So does that mean they're fit for the job, they're a perfect fit or they make you look fit ?! Well, when it comes to the Sublime Nursing Bra, I'd have to say all three !

It's all too easy when you're breastfeeding to feel more like a dairy cow than a yummy mummy ! With their soft delicate lace, cotton lining and gorgeous colours that you don't find for many nursing bras (even the names - French Vanilla or Black Cherry - scream sexy lingerie more than maternity wear ! ), these bras will have you feeling sexy and sensuous and allow you to get back some of your femininity.

The blurb on the packaging says they are "luminously feminine, fabulously supportive (up to a K cup) and perfect for both pregnancy and breastfeeding". To help you be even more of a yummy mummy, you can also buy matching knickers.

I have to admit that they are not quite as comfortable as some of the stretchier nursing bras I've tested, tending to feel slightly tight and pinch a bit just before each feed. The cup opens very wide, making breastfeeding easy and comfortable, and the clips are very simple to open and do back up with one hand. One negative point is there is nothing to keep breast pads in place.

But these slight disadvantages are far outweighed by the fact that this range shows that breastfeeding and sexiness don't have to be mutually exclusive ! Guaranteed to put a smile back on Daddy's face !

RRP : £35

star rating : 4.5/5

Bravado - The "Body Silk" Seamless Nursing Bra

"The Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bra was designed to melt onto your body, and give you comfort unlike any you've experienced from a bra before - nursing or not! " Well, with a statement like that, they've got a lot to live up to !

When I took it out of the packet, the fabric did seem very soft to the touch, especially as it has a seamless construction so there are no rough edges anywhere. I put it on and was amazed at how well it fitted. It is quite stretchy so, even when your boobs are full of milk just before a feed, it doesn't feel too tight or restrictive. The elasticated stretchy rib band is a genius idea - according to the blurb on the packaging, each size is designed to fit 2-3 rib and 2-3 cup sizes, which is brilliant. Ordering a pregnancy or maternity bra is always a nightmare because you never know which size to choose - you have to guess how big you'll end up, then guess how much leeway the manufacturer has calculated and hope that your "guesstimate" is somewhere close enough to offer the right amount of support and comfort. Even if you're spot on, your body changes so much during pregnancy and breastfeeding that some days it will fit, some days it won't. Well, the stretchiness of the Body Silk bra is the perfect solution and makes it great value, because it's the equivalent of buying several different sized bras in one.

One of the features is "removable, moulded foam cups for a lining when you want it (to hide nipples or breast pads), and the ability to take it out when you don't", which I thought was just superfluous. Who needs extra padding when any breastfeeding mum looks worthy of being on a Wonderbra advert anyway ?! But if you take out the padding, the clingy material is a bit too revealing so for discretion, especially under a thin T-shirt or top, it is a very good idea.



The nursing clips lie totally flat under your clothes and the bonnet opens very wide making breastfeeding very easy. The little ribbon to pull on makes finding the nursing clip very easy (I'm not entirely sure that's what it's supposed to be for, but it works !) and it is easy to open with one hand, although I did need both hands to do it back up again after the feed.

This is the best all-round nursing bra I've tested, combining comfort and support. Its stretchiness makes it a great investment for the whole of pregnancy and breastfeeding. It's available in four colours - ivory, black, butterscotch and cherry - so you could even get one of each to see you through !

RRP : £29

star rating : 5/5

Milkies Milk-Saver - for Breastfeeding Mums

I love breastfeeding - it's practical, time-saving, money-saving, healthy and you can't beat the close-up snuggles with your new baby. But it does mean that you're the only person who can do the feeds, which is a pain when you want or need to go out for a couple of hours somewhere alone. The solution is expressing your milk with a breastpump. But I hate using breastpumps almost as much as I love breastfeeding ! They never seem to work very well if you try to use them between feeds so you end up feeling frustrated and disappointed - not to mention slightly worried. If the pump isn't getting any milk, does that mean baby isn't ? (When I asked my doctor what the best breast-pump was, he said there's only one that works really well - a baby !! Give the man a doughnut !!) They do work well if you try to pump one side while feeding on the other but if you aren't a qualified juggler, this isn't easy !

So I was thinking of maybe going on to mixed feeds ("boob-juice" morning and night but formula during the day) when I go back to work in a couple of months.

Then I got my hands on a Milkies milk-saver. It looks just like a souped-up, bigger version of the usual breast shells so I wasn't really expecting much. But I thought it would be a good alternative to using bibs, muslin cloths and breast pads to mop up milk leaking from the non-feeding boob. It just slips into your bra or nursing top as you feed.

It felt quite bulky and, as Pierre fed, he squashed it up against me, which was slightly uncomfortable. But when I went to remove it and wash it after the feed, I was amazed to see how much milk had collected in the bottom. I think the fact that it compresses your boob slightly during the feed helps to express the milk - it's the lazy-girl's way of expressing milk without ever using a breastpump !! Bonus ! I now use it at every feed and collect, on average, just under 50ml (2oz) each time, which gets poured into a milk-storage bag throughout the day (be careful to chill it before adding it to milk already in the fridge, to avoid contamination), then frozen each night. Little-by-little, I'm building up enough for a few feeds without ever using a breast-pump, which to me is quite unbelievable !

The blurb on the box praises the eco-friendly nature of the milk-saver : no more disposable nursing pads, less water/detergent for washing reuseable pads, towels, shirts, etc. This is true but the one thing that I didn't like about the product was the excess packaging. It comes in a huge plastic carrying case which is totally unnecessary - a small bag or pouch would have done the job perfectly. (The small compartment for standing it up is very handy however, while you wait to pour the milk into a bag or bottle and need your hands for something else, like putting baby back to bed or changing a nappy.) The gatefold cardboard box, with added information and photos on the extra fold-out part, also seemed unnecessary and a waste of cardboard/extra amount of landfill that seems to go against the company's environmentally-friendly ethics.

One word of advice - do not attempt to put baby back into his cot before removing the milk-saver. I did this the first time and the whole contents poured out all over the sheets and Pierre ! It seems obvious but at 4am, you're not always thinking straight !! It can also be used with breast milk storage bags attached, which would possibly avoid this happening.

It's a brilliant product. I would have to disagree with the claim that it is "discreet" but it far exceeded my expectations for all the rest and I'm over the moon that it's helped me - with zero-effort - extend the amount of time I'll be able to exclusively breastfeed Pierre.

As they say on the box, "Don't let your precious breast milk be absorbed into a nursing pad and thrown away ! The average nursing mom leaks 1-4 ounces of milk each time she feeds her baby. Save every drop !"

star rating : 4.5/5 (it just loses half a point for the excess packaging ! )

for more information, see http://www.mymilkies.com/

RRP £24.96 (but £5 off at the moment if you're quick !!)