It's a Market Out there

Breastfeeding moms are rapidly becoming a huge market. Aside from the staple breastfeeding clothes, lingerie and accessories, there has been an amazing variety of products targeted towards the nursing mom. I first posted about innovative breastfeeding accessories in July 2009 and since then, I have discovered more breastfeeding related items enough to come up with a second post (coincidentally, 1 year after!).

1. Nursing Toys from Manhattan Toy Company

Nursing Nuna Pig, Nursing Nina Cat, and Nursing Nana Dog are the names of stuffed toy animals from the Manhattan Toy Company. Each set comes with 1 mommy animal with their younglings attached to them through a magnet. Fun for toddlers!

2. Bebe Gloton

A controversial breastfeeding doll Bebe Gloton is also available. Launched in 2009, this doll mimicked resulted in an uproar. It came with a halter top with flowers that little girls can wear. The doll will then "latch" on the flower and make sucking sounds. Advocates were happy and thought that it promoted that breastfeeding was healthy, natural while critics believed that it promoted the sexualization of girls. It's only available in Spain. Personally, I don't see what's wrong with the doll. Naima nurses her 2 babies - only her babies are quiet and don't make sucking sounds. I would buy it if it were locally available.

3. Milk-analyzer for moms!

Milkscreen from Upspring Baby is like breathalyzer for nursing moms. From the website: "milkscreen is a simple, two minute test to detect alcohol in breastmilk. milkscreen lets Mom know the volume of alcohol concentrated in her breastmilk." So how does it work? You put breastmilk on the milkscreen strip. Color will change of alcohol concentration in your breastmilk is 0.02%. Why that level? Because according to milkscreen makers, "studies have shown infants consuming breast milk with alcohol concentrations at approximately 30mg/dl, or 0.03%, and higher have exhibited distinctive changes in feeding and sleeping behavior.

4. Milk Bands, Nursing necklaces

I am an avid fan of mommy bargain shopping sites and every month, one form of nursing bracelet, necklace or band always comes up. The bracelet or bands were usually used as a reminder - for moms who forgot which breast they nursed at last. In my case, I never wore any band/bracelet but checked the primitive way - I weigh both breasts in my hands to determine which breast is heavier. Meanwhile, nursing necklaces are to distract babies from twiddling or to keep babies attention to nursing. At 2.5, Naima is still a twiddler!! I wonder if this habit could've been curtailed had I worn one of those nursing necklaces early on? There are also some necklaces meant for teething babies - both for moms and babies to wear!

5. ShowerHug

This is not simply a towel - it's supposed to bring therapeutic relief by providing support and relief to breastfeeding moms. According to the website, it's "made of the softest, most luxurious knit terry velour to provide expectant ant new moms with gentle bust line support and to sooth sensitive nipples and breasts associated with pregnancy and breastfeeding." I don't know about you but in the early days of my breastfeeding experience, I'd scream if anything touched my sore sensitive nipples. This probably won't make it in my "pack in the hospital bag" list.

6. Breast-shaped plushies

I can't remember where I found this website but I found their Japanese breast shaped toys! The toys even had a village and their own language. Check the site for details.

7. Cold Drinks for Nursing Mamas

Forget about those malunggay or fenugreek teas for increasing breastmilk production. Glow Mama and Mamatini promise to be drinks especially for moms. Endorsed by the American Pregnancy Association (wow! there is such an association?!) Glow Mama is targeted towards the pregnant or new mom as a low calorie drink, packed with essential pre and post natal nutrients made from kiwi (yum! i love kiwi). Meanwhile, pediatrician-designed Mamatini is geared for the nursing mom and claims to help moms breastfeed better by boosting milk supply, increasing energy and increasing mom's ability to absorb and retain critical nutrients the body is using to produce milk for baby.

There is one more doctor-designed product which I chanced upon - a breastpump attachment for preemies which works with the major breastpump brands. But I can't seem to find it anymore. Will update this post once I do. See number 8.

8. Freemie

Finally found the pump attachment I was looking for. I was referring to the Freemie - not exactly made for preemies only but was developed by a mom-physician, Dr. Stella Dao who had preemie twins. The Freemie is a breastpump attachment which works with Hyygeia and Medela pumps and allows moms to pump handsfree, without being exposed. With the Freemie, you get rid of the pump horns and attach the Freemie domes directly to your breastpump. However, there are certain situations where Freemie use is not advisable.

So which product will you buy?

Innovative Breastfeeding Accessories?

There was a time when all you needed to breastfeed were a breast and a baby. Is it consumerism that is creating a need for products when there was originally none? I'm always online and I have seen several breastfeeding accessories that I didn't realized I needed or didn't even think existed.

If you're directly breastfeeding your baby and not going out yet, you'd think that you won't really need any breastfeeding accessory. But did you know that there are special pillows for your breasts? Utterly Yours breast pillows are crescent shaped pillows which moms can use to support and position their breasts. These pillows have surprisingly been given favorable reviews.

When I was looking for a nursing cover, I thought there was only 1 type - a bib or over-all apron type to cover the essentials. But creative moms have thought of new products to be used as a nursing bib. A modified bib is The Breastfeeding Butterfly which you tie around yourself to create a cover on the side where your baby is feeding. It looks a bit difficult for me to use, especially with a fussy, impatient baby.

For those whose babies don't want anything over them, there's the Slurp N Burp, which is actually a sash with cleverly design slits to expose the least amount of breast possible. It has a local Pinoy counterpart - the Nurse N Burp. Also a cute "cover" is the Moboleez - a breastfeeding hat. The Moboleez hat is worn by the nursing baby and has a wide brim to cover the essentials. I like these 2 "covers" because they don't actually cover the babies/breastfeeding. However, they still provide some sort of "shield" for moms who are uncomfortable with nursing all-out in public.

For milk storage, I used to think that I only had 2 choices - a bottle or a bag. Apparently, there are a lot of ways you can store milk. There is a special bottle storage - a vacuum milk storage system - the Milk Bank - which promises to deliver the freshest milk possible by removing harmful oxygen from storage. There is also the MilkSaver, whick you use like a breast/nursing pad but stores milk leakage, instead of absorbing them - acts kinda like a breast shell. One product which I use is the milk trays - Sensible Lines since it allows me to freeze milk in small amounts without taking up much freezer space.

Finally, for pumping moms, a primary concern is hands-free pumping which you can actually set-up on your own. There are products such as PumpEase and Easy Expressions which sell because moms want to pump hands-free the easy way. The Freemie also capitalizes on hands-free pumping but what makes it different is that you attach it to your pump, use it instead of your pump horns, conceal it in your bra and pump away.

These are just a few of the "innovative accessories" I've seen which makes me realize that breastfeeding moms are and can be a huge market. But really, no purchase is necessary to breastfeed. In fact, Kellymom has a great chart enumerating alternatives instead of purchasing these accessories. And for a 3rd world country like the Philippines, what is really essential to successfully breastfeed is not fancy accessories but really, just the determined mom and hungry baby.

Nursing Pads/ Breast Pads review

I've been breastfeeding for 16months and still leak on one side whenever Naima feeds on the other. So nursing pads have been a great help to me. I've used several brands, both reusable and disposable, with the following comments:

1. Lansinoh Disposable Pads - I chose to use this initially because it is the cheapest disposable pads I could find. but they are thin and paper-like. It feels like there's paper stuck to your boobs especially when it gets wet. I wouldn't recommend it if you're a heavy leaker. But this is discreet.

2. Gerber Ultra-Thin Nursing Pads - This is cottony soft but it doesn't have tape that you can use to stick to your bra. I really like it but it's not available locally.

3. Medela Disposable Pads - This is like the Lansinoh Pads, paper-like and sticks to the nipple when it gets wet and dries up. This is more expensive than the Lansinoh and I just used this because I was given a box by my friend :) This is also discreet - but expensive. Locally, this is available from Maricel Cua, email her here or here.
*caveat: the medela i used is made in the US. Maricel sells Medela pads made in Switzerland, which are of a different quality. I haven't had the chance to use the Swiss-made pads yet.

4. Pigeon Disposable Pads - This is the best I like from the above. It stays on my bra and it's soft inside. But it is bulky. My sister-in-law from HK sends me my Pigeon pads and they are thinner than the locally available ones. But still, if you wear a fitted shirt it will show, especially if you're using a non-padded nursing bra.

5. Baby and Co. washable pads - Bad bad bad! this is cheap and it's very thin!! Leaks bad. Stan and my mom bought a box for me and I've never used them again!

6. Lansinoh Washable Pads - This is made by Milk Diapers. It has a pie-shape wedge that is thicker than the rest of the pad. When you position it properly it absorbs a lot and you won't leak. However, as with all washables, it doesn't have tape you can use to stick to your bra. And it also shows when you use a non-padded nursing bra and wear a fitted tee.

7. Gerber reusable nursing pads - This doesn't have a groove or contour and it looks like baby & co.'s washable pads. But its thicker and the milk kinda spreads when you leak. Plus the outer cover acts like a barrier so the leak won't spread to your shirt. But when the wet pad dries up, it also sticks to your nipples. Locally, I bought this from Aileen Herrera - email her or text 09178150711

8. Mothercare disposable pads - Very cheap! comes in packs of 100 from mothercare store (shangrila and trinoma). It's about 400php for 100 pieces. I currently use it during the night. However, it's not individually wrapped and unlike other disposables, it does not have an adhesive tape which you can stick to your bra/nursing sleep wear. So I need to wear a nursing bra if I sleep in my loose shirts.

the search for the perfect nursing pad continues.....