Review of Philips AVENT NEW comfort breast pump and natural bottles

Having breastfed through pregnancy and for more than 4.5 years (and still counting), I’d say my experiences with breast pumps have been anything but satisfactory. I had to pump exclusively for my firstborn in her first month as she had difficulties latching on so you can imagine how much time I spent with the breast pump back then, expressing for every single feed (and newborns take 8-12 feeds a day). I borrowed a single electric pump back then and until now, I can still recall vividly how the pump sounds like, and how hard and uncomfortable the plastic felt against my skin.

When Philips AVENT sent over their new comfort breast pump, I was quite excited as I assembled the pump together.

That’s all there is to it – I didn’t even need to read the instructions about how to put the pump together and I’m usually quite an idiot when it comes to such things 🙂

On the night that it arrived, I left my hubby with the kids (without telling him why) and sneaked into the room to try out my new toy. And boy was I pleased with the experience of using Philips AVENT’s new comfort breast pump! It truly lived up to its name – it was indeed very comfortable! Its innovative active massage cushion feels warm and natural on the breast, as its soft silicone petals gently massage the breast to stimulate the let-down reflex, encouraging milk flow and supply.

I’d read on the packaging that I need not lean forward while expressing milk. Nightmares of milk leaking and making a mess of myself when I didn’t lean forward because I dozed off while expressing milk flashed by. I put the new comfort breast pump to the test by propping myself up comfortably in bed, reclining on soft pillows and I made sure I didn’t lean forward (leaning forward while expressing milk is a habit by now!). The result? I’m glad to say it really didn’t leak! Being able to express milk in a reclined position helps to prevent backache, aids relaxation and encourages easier milk flow and makes the whole breastfeeding experience a more pleasant one.

Personally, what I was truly impressed with were two things –

1) it makes very little noise

2) the stimulating function absolutely rocks!

The Philips AVENT Comfort breast pump was so quiet that my hubby didn’t even know I was expressing milk! I think anyone would appreciate a quiet electric breast pump. We don’t want to wake the sleeping baby (and the rest of the family) while expressing milk in the middle of the night now, do we? Everyone deserves a well-deserved rest at the end of the day.

Besides being oh-so-quiet, I loved how the Comfort breast pump starts with a gentle stimulation mode to get milk flowing at the touch of a button and I can choose from three pumping settings to make milk flow most comfortably after that. The stimulation mode was so awesome because it got the let-down reflex to come on really fast. How fast? As fast as when I latch my little boy on! Now you see, I didn’t use breast pumps very often after my firstborn learnt to latch on and my boobs hardly felt any stimulation with the old pump I had during the times when I tried expressing milk again. Even after I had my little boy, I just couldn’t feel much stimulation when I used the breast pump. In any case, we don’t expect pumps to be able to get the let-down reflex as fast as a babe’s suckle does. Impressed yet? 🙂

Other awesome features include the compact design of the pump which makes it easy to hold and position the breast pump on the breast and the small, lightweight base unit ensures that it can easily be placed within comfortable reach for full control when pumping. Most importantly, you don’t need to lug a brick around when you need to bring the pump out and this certainly is something to consider when you need to bring the pump to and from work each day. You can also feed directly from the same bottle you pumped your milk into by removing the bottle from the pump and attaching the teat on as all AVENT bottles and teats are compatible. This means less washing up and greater convenience!

Simply remove the bottle from the pump when done and attach the teat and you’re ready to feed the baby!

Being a seasoned breastfeeding mum, I know that to continue breastfeeding for as long as possible on our part, comfort is a large part of that equation, and this is especially so if you spend a large portion of your breastfeeding journey with a pump as your best friend. I’d say from my personal experience with the Philips AVENT comfort breast pump, this is a pump that will last you through your breastfeeding journey because it provides you with the comfort you need to carry on with breastfeeding and a good pump means you spend less time and get more milk.

Philips AVENT natural bottles

Apart from receiving the Comfort breast pump for review, I also received the new Natural range of bottles. The first redesign of the milk bottle since Philips AVENT first revolutionized bottle feeding nearly three decades ago, these bottles come with a new ergonomic shape that provides extra comfort, easy hold and better grip in any direction for baby’s tiny hands.

The Philips AVENT Natural range of milk bottles is designed to be as close as possible to nature, with both BPA-free polypropylene (PP) or premium quality glass bottle options available for mothers who prefer a pure and safe option.

Natural PP bottles are available in two sizes:

Comparing with the old bottle:

Obviously less curves on the old bottle!

From the picture, it is quite clear that the new natural range of bottles are superior in how they are shaped. It was extremely easy for my toddler to hold the bottle on his own:

And even if your baby isn’t quite ready to hold the bottle on his own, the person doing the feeding has an easier time holding the bottle:

The new bottles feature a wide, breast-shaped teat that promises high acceptance and an almost instant latch-on, as well as preventing nipple and teat confusion when mothers switch between bottles and breastfeeding. Even though my boy has actually skipped the milk bottle stage and has gone straight to drinking milk from a straw cup, when I tried giving him Philips AVENT’s new natural bottles, he didn’t react adversely as he did with other bottles we tried offering him prior to moving on to the cup stage.

If there’s anything I remember about feeding with milk bottles, it’s the teat collapsing during the feed, which obviously interrupts the feed causing much unhappiness and don’t get me started on leaky bottles. Ah, but AVENT’s unique comfort petals in the new Natural bottles’ soft silicone teat increase flexibility and stretch of the teat, promising no such interruptions to feeding time. Besides that, the new, advanced, anti-colic Natural bottle not only prevents leaks, but also reduces discomfort by venting air back into the bottle, rather than into the baby’s tummy through two high-performance valves and it would probably make you feel entirely comfortable knowing that bottles in the Natural range are clinically proven to reduce colic.