I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Avent Isis!!!

I tried the humongo professional hospital ones...I tried manual pumps from other brands, and so forth...I got the most milk, and a decent price, from the Avent Isis. I finally tried one (after going through about 3 pumps) with my second baby-and it was like "WOW!!!" I had literally been sitting there for almost a half hour with another pump, and only getting about 2 ounces in that half hour...and with the Isis, I immediately got double the milk in half the time.

I bought one and the bottles for this baby, and I bought one for my SIL (stepbrother's wife) who had her baby in April-and she is still using it and the bottle system. I also am recommending it to my other SIL (DH's sister) who I am having the shower for August 5. This is her first-and I told her not to even bother with other store manual pumps. She had another system on her registry-and I told her to try the Avent instead.

The way I see it-it is superior to all other store manual pumps in similar price ranges ($30-$70) and it produces just as much milk as one of the electric pumps that are a couple hundred dollars...so it is a wonderful choice.


Guess what ladies? Along with the Braxton Hicks getting stronger the past few days-the baby "dropped" yesterday. Now I have read everywhere that with your first baby, that the baby may drop a few weeks before delivery...but with your second, third, etc. they do not until very soon before the birth.
I woke up yesterday morning, and realized an hour or two later that I could "breathe" better, but that I was "waddling" more when I walked. I went to the mirror, and the very top rounde dportion of my belly was sitting about 2 inches or so lower than it had been the day before. (The baby's feet WERE digging/kicking into my ribs, and now they are a little below.) Also, the shape of my belly button had changed significantly overnight-since there is more "baby" right there now. When DH got home from work-I said "I want to show you something" (to see if I was crazy...) and I lifted my shirt and he said "He's DROPPED!!!"
Then I taught my dance class last night...and one of the students said the same thing to me...and I also noticed a termendous difference in the way the dancing felt-I could breathe easier...but had a much harder time doing the hip movements. (Although I would NEVER let them know that. )

So-yesterday was a whirlwind of "panic nesting" for me. I mopped our bathroom floor, washed the bathroom rug, did about 3 loads of laundry, sorted Christmas ornaments ( don't ask...I don't know why) and basically went through a zillion things. I am doing the same exact thing today-doing a million little things that aren't necessary...but ARE.

I am hoping that I can go to 36-38 weeks...but if not, I guess I want to be "prepared"...whatever that means.

I love my Ameda Purely Yours. I actually got mine free through the WIC program and I have to say I was leery of it at first. I was given one of the medela hospital grade pumps to use as a loaner until I hit my 6 week breast feeding mark to get my free one and it worked great. Then I get this really compact, small electric one and thought to myself "There is no way this is going to work like the other one." Boy was I wrong. I was able to get between 6-10 oz. of pumping at work with it each time I pumped. It worked great. I have to get it out soon and make sure it still works until I get my new one so I can try and get a good freezer supply before I head back to work after this one.

It sounds like she's heard medela is the best and only wants the best. I personally have never tried the isis manual but I know when I had to use the manual medela and the ameda ones, I didn't like to hand pump and that may be a factor for her too. HTH

Aphil—he could drop and come back up too. Nate is still flip-flopping and can't decide how he wants to be. He was head down and pushing pretty hard on my pelvic region causing intense pain and walking didn't help. Then over the weekend he went back to feet first and then sideways. Not sure how he's laying this morning. He's done a couple of "stretches" and that's about it.

Here's my 32 week (4 day) belly pic, I finally got around to taking. I'll post my belly comparison pics here in a bit.

I thought hand pumping was old-timey at first. I think part of it was that my hands felt really bad toward the end of my first pregnancy (maybe the cartilage was loosening and I didn't like that???). I absolutely hated the electric, so I had to give it a try. Too much cleanup for me. All that whirring noise meant I couldn't pump without worrying about waking up the baby and I couldn't even watch t.v. while I pumped. I got up to 10 oz using the Isis and was able to stay 8 -10 bottles ahead while I was exclusively pumping. It was really cool for those 8 hour car rides to visit family, too. I was too scared to take DS out of his car seat to nurse...thinking it was probably against the law. I'd sit in the backseat and pump for him before I thought he was hungry. In my opinion the electric pump I had didn't do so well on battery backup. The Isis only demands a light tough, so it never hurt my hands. I've heard good things about that ameda pumps, too.

I did this, too, with the Isis-and I loved not having to worry about having batteries or a "plug in" somewhere. It was compact enough that I just used a little insulated case to keep it in-and if it was feeding time when we were driving (family lives far away, too) it really, really helped. My son was a "dawdler" in the nursing department, and there was no way dh would sit while the baby liesurely nursed for a half hour at some gas station or rest area and break up our trip.

I am glad to hear such good reviews here for the Isis - I had already decided I wanted to get that one, but it always helps to hear more positives. I will be breastfeeding (not going back to work) but the pumping thing can definitely be useful sometimes. Especially while on long trips - I had not thought of that!

Even with not going back to work to an office or factory, etc. (I work my own hours/work for myself) I found having the Isis really handy.

A lot of times if dh and I wanted to go to dinner, or to a movie-something that would have us away for about 3 hours or so-I could take the baby to grandma, run in the other room and pump a quick bottle-then throw it in the fridge and leave. There was already a feeding ready for the baby for when he wanted it while I was out.

I found that the grandma's also "liked" to give the baby a bottle now and then-especially when the babies were in that stage between 1-3 months old, where they really *stare* at you while they feed. I don't know how to explain it to the new mamas-but there is this stage around that age where they really stare at you while they eat and it is a sort of stare like you are the most wonderful thing, and interesting thing in the entire world. I used to pump a bottle now and then for one of the grandmas as well, so they could bond with the baby during that time, and experience that-just because it was so *neat*. My mom LOVED it.

Sara, you may want to pump a bottle or two when the baby is 6 weeks old or so (and has an established latch) with a breastfeeding compatible nipple (I like playtex naturalatch). Some babies who aren't exposed to bottles whatsover will refuse bottles and then you are kinda stuck. It's nice to have some of the benefits of both worlds, I think. The naturalatch actually helped mine learn to latch (this is my opinion, but he wouldn't latch and I pumped for 4 mos and finally one day I was sick and didnt' feel like pumping and he latched like a pro). Anyway, I think daddies also like having a chance to feed. Anything to keep you from feeling like you have become the family feedbag

My friend did this-she did not ever offer her baby pumped milk in a bottle until she was 3 months old-and only a couple days before she had a planned evening out with her husband. The result was I was the babysitter to a small infant that was VERY ticked off. That was the longest 4 hours of my LIFE.

My babies liked the Avent bottles, and Target has "generic" of the Avent bottles as well-simply called their "wide neck" bottles...and Gerber has a kind called "GentleFlow" that are hard to find-but they are all compatible with the Avent pump-meaning you can put any of these three bottles onto the Avent pump and pump it directly into the bottle, and they have the same nipple design. The design is also meant for babies who are used to the breastfeeding latch.

I think if you plan on using a pump now and then for a dinner out, or whatever-that you get them used to the idea at 4-6 weeks as well (given there are no problems with breastfeeding) so that they don't go "in shock" when it is suddenly presented to them by a sitter while you are out. Please don't do that to them...

None of mine have been willing to take a bottle. I read Baby Bargains while expecting the first, and they mentioned the issue of waiting too long, so I was careful to offer Bobbie a bottle shortly after the six weeks they tell you to wait to avoid nipple confusion. She took that one a little, but the next time I offered she acted insulted. Linda never would take a bottle. I didn't get much of a chance to offer with Esther, because I had bad luck with breast pumps this time around, and I don't really need to pump.

Pumps...I bought an Isis this time around because I heard nothing but raves about it. I could not get any suction, nor express even a single drop of milk. I made 100% certain it was assembled properly. I read through the instructions about 20 times, but the only thing it said if suction was missing or weak was that I must have assembled it wrong. I'm one of two women I know who had that problem, so it seems to work just fine for everyone else! I went after that and bought a Medela single deluxe electric, as I'd had success with it in the past, and while it worked to an extent--I'm never able to express more than an ounce at a time--the motor inexplicably burned out after about the third use. So I gave up on pumping altogether.

See, what I finally realized the other night--and I'm apparently on the slow side, as it's taken me well over four years to come to this conclusion--is that I like being the only one who can feed the baby. I really do. It's the one thing that the two of us have that is just ours, the one thing that no one else can do too. It makes me feel pretty good, considering that the kids all run at full-speed towards my husband the second they hear his key in the lock. I'm tied to my baby, but in a good way. Nursing and not pumping doesn't mean I never have time to myself; even when she was cluster-nursing as a newborn, I could take 30 minutes for a walk by myself. Breastfeeding has also served as a handy-dandy excuse more than once. Sorry, Mom, can't listen to you drone on about the cats for half an hour, I have to take Ro upstairs and nurse her.

A tangent on the not taking a bottle thing, though...Many if not most breastfed babies can "sip" expressed milk from a cup; there are a handful of products out there for just this purpose, in fact, but I have used a coffee cup in the past. Just a tidbit to keep in mind should it ever come in handy.

Now sex...Neither nursing nor major abdominal surgery (c-section) has slowed me down there. The only thing that ever put the kibosh on post-baby nookie was my husband being out to sea! The first, that he was deployed for, was the only one I made to six weeks. (It was actually more like 4.5 months.) I'm at 2 weeks and 1 week for the other two. I've always found the immediate postpartum period to be a pretty sensual one, and I've talked to plenty of women who had the same experience. (Most of whom nursed, BTW.)

Aphil, I must confess I'm now reading this thread mainly to find out when you have your baby! I hope he bakes as long as he can. Esther dropped probably a good month before she was due (so five and a half weeks before she was born!). If you do have a c-section, I wish you a speedy recovery from it. It is in some ways easier IME than recovery from a vaginal birth, though I'd still take the "normal" way over a surgery if all other factors were equal. Of course I know that in your case they are not.

Ok, have you ever lost somebody important to you and had a little meltdown around the time of the anniversary of their death and only realized what the problem was AFTER the fact? Anyway, I've been wondering what is going on with me because I have been having late pregnancy symptoms...extremely full feeling all the time, heartbearn galore, can't find a comfy position in bed. I just kinda realized the miscarriage I had was due August 15 and I think I may be giving me psychosomatic late pregnancy symptoms. I did have acid reflux before this pregnancy, so that could account for the heartburn. At 8 weeks, I have already gotten too round for my 12s, 14s, and 16s. The 18s are too big in the legs so I can only wear elastic/maternity stuff. That's crazy for being 2 mos pregnant.

Also, I'm having lower back pain today and I'm worried. I hope and think it will turn out to be nothing. My sister thinks it is anxiety because my appt is Monday (at which point I will hopefully see a heartbeat and get the all clear).

Well, it is Saturday, so the baby made it "baking" to the 35 week marker-which is what I was hoping for. I don[t mind if I go into labor early, but I was really hoping to make it past 35 weeks at least. I have continually felt "off" the past few days still...and sometimes the contractions get to be up to 10 or 15 minutes apart. I know it is WAY too much info...but I am also not wanting to really eat so much...and pretty much anything I do eat goes through me pretty quickly. I am also sleeping worse and worse...and we absolutely HAD to go out this weekend and get a few things that I wanted to get before the baby arrived. I am also getting ready to do more cleaning/laundry now.

Hopefully I make it to my 36 week visit (which is at 36 1/2 weeks-about a week and a half from now) to my size guestimation ultrasound and then have a "plan"...but if not, I am ready.

Oh...we finally have a name-we just decided/agreed yesterday.

Good to know about the name! And congrats on hitting the 35w mark. Linda was born at 35w4d, and the only problem she had, thankfully, was a little bit of jaundice & a lazy suck.

DairyFairy~ Let us know how your appointment goes. Are you going to have an early ultrasound?

GBMM- I had an early ultrasound with DS and it is the same doctor. I'm sure she'll do one this time too, esp to ease my mind. Also, I've gained about 6 lbs all in my middle, so just wanna double check that there's only one (and maybe that will slap me into mindful eating and reality). I feel it is just one baby, but my brain is trying to justify my 4 month pregnant figure with my 2 month pregnant brain.

Hey, you might just be our first twincubator!