Medela Breast Milk Storage Bags vs Lansinoh Breast Milk Storage Bags - A Double Take

Medela Breast Milk Storage Bags
Price: $8.99 or $18.99
Quantity in Pack: 20 or 50

Barbie's Take: When registering for storage bags I decided to go with a couple different brands. To my surprise, I received both brands at my baby shower. Since everything else I was using was Medela, I went ahead and used my my medela bags first.

Alicia's Take: I purchased the Medela storage bags first because I purchased all my other breast pump items in the Medela brand. When I first used them, I thought I loved them but decided later they weren't the best.



Pros:
- conveniently hang from the Medela breast pump to pump directly into the bag.
- have a tab at the top of the bag to label with date, name, and number of ounces in the bag.
- Stand up nicely in the fridge for thawing frozen milk




Cons:
- short/fat structure take up extra space in the freezer.
- Only hold about 5 ounces (there was one point where I could get 6-7 ounces in one early morning pump)
- I have not seen them anywhere other than BRU.
-occasionally leak when thawing. tears "magically" appear sometime during the freezing stage. I now thaw all my bags in a bowl in the fridge because I got tired of wasting, and cleaning, the milk

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Lansinoh Breast Milk Storage Bags:
Price: $6.99 or $11.99
Quantity in Pack: 25 or 50

Barbie's Take: This was the second brand of storage bags I tried. It is also the brand I have continued to use over the last several months.

Alicia's Take: One day after running out of my Medela bags I was at the grocery store. I browsed the baby aisle to see if they carried breast milk storage bags and they did! It saved me a trip to BRU which was super!




Pros:
- double zipper at the top for extra secure closure
- labeled for up to 6 ounces, but if needed, you can store more.
- significantly larger bags which makes it easy to lay them flat to freeze for more storage space.
- convenient tab for name, date and number of ounces.
- available at my local grocery store.
- cheaper


Cons:
- do not hang from the breast pump to pump directly into the bag
-occasionally leak when thawing. tears "magically" appear sometime during the freezing stage. I now thaw all my bags in a bowl in the fridge because I got tired of wasting, and cleaning, the milk. I'm not sure if this is more common with Lansinoh bags but I've heard other women complain of this happening to them as well (Lansinoh specifically).

Nursing Wraps

Basic Comfort Nursing Wrap
price: $10.99

Being that I am quite modest, a nursing wrap was a must for me. I registered for this wrap because it was reasonable priced and it seemed like a great idea. There is a special pocket at one corner of the wrap that contains a little weight. You are supposed to drape the weighted pocket over your shoulder so the wrap wouldn't slide off your shoulder and expose you. I used this wrap only twice but was very uncomfortable both times. Trent and I were new to nursing at the time, so I still needed to use both hands and my eyes to get him latched on. I ended up draping the wrap over my head so that I could get Trent latched. I looked ridiculous!! And I was very aware that I was not as covered as I would have liked to be. Once he was latched I peaked my head out from under the wrap and would continue to peak under to see how he was doing. While the weight definitely helped, it did not prevent slippage 100%. After using this wrap twice I went out and bought myself the "peanut shell" (see below)
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Peanut Shell
price: $29.99

Barbie's Take: The picture does not accurately show this wrap, in my opinion. There is a strap that goes around your neck, to keep it up, and a wire of sorts that creates a window for you to look down and see your baby. This is great for eye contact (bonding) and the baby gets more air flow (when compared to wraps like above, or a cloth diaper - which many people use). I would recommend this wrap to anyone who is modest and wants something more full-coverage. There are several different designs to choose from (especially if you would consider purchasing the wrap online). The only downfall, in my opinion, is that the wrap doesn't have enough fabric for a baby who likes to grab and pull. I find myself occasionally tugging after Trent's hands to keep myself concealed. I would like to try making my own with just a little more overall coverage.


Alicia's Take:When selecting a nursing wrap I remember browsing around at BRU and not being 100% sure which way to go – there were only so many options. After putting the standard nursing wrap (above) on my registry, Barbie told me it was a bad choice and to switch to the peanut shell, so I did! I found a pattern I liked (the vanilla bean design shown) and so was pleased with the overall quality. It came with a cute little burp cloth to match and an elastic band to hold the set together folded up tight.

Usually if I’m nursing outside of our home, I’m in my car in the depths of the parking lot (and when I’m not in the depths of the parking lot, I typically don’t care if someone’s staring through my tinted windows – don’t look if you don’t want to see), so a nursing wrap is not 100% necessary. In this situation, we get latched on and once we’re comfortable I toss a receiving blanket over my shoulder just in case someone walks by. However, the handful of times that I have used this nursing wrap I was pretty pleased with it. The little peep hole is convenient and much better than juggling baby and blanket while latching on.

As Barbie noted though, it could be bigger – and this is coming from two fairly small-medium sized women. If I’m not wearing a nursing tank top, then to get to the nursing bra my side-fat is exposed while my shirt’s up around my neck. I have contemplated purchasing a poncho style nursing wrap that goes all the way around my body to avoid the side-fat exposure, but considering how infrequently I use the wrap I currently have, I’m not sure that it’s worth the extra investment. All in all though I’d say the peanut shell wrap is worth the money and probably one of the best that BRU has to offer. If you’re shopping around online though, I’m sure you could find something with more coverage if that’s something you’re concerned with.

Boppy Pillow - A Double Take

Bare Pillow: $29.99
Pillow Covers: $9.99-$25.99
Boppy w/Cover: $35.99 - $44.99



Alicia's Take: When I dropped the news that I was pregnant to a friend (a guy friend) the first thing he told me was “I’m going to buy you a boppy!”. Apparently he had one for his kids and swore by it (he never did buy it for me though). I personally have mainly used it for feedings, so I can not fully account for the other uses, but it was very helpful with feedings. When I first began breastfeeding, my husband and I had a system where I would sit down cross legged with the boppy on my legs and baby on top of the boppy. It put him at the perfect height for feedings and saved my arms from having to do all the work. Now that he is getting older we’ve gotten away from the regimented boppy feedings and I haven’t really touched the pillow much at all (mostly because the pillow is in his room and I do most of my feedings in the living room), but I still agree with many other parents that it really is a great product. For us, it really helped with the system and avoided needing three pillow to go around my body like some people told me they did.


Even though I very rarely used it for anything outside of feedings, the few times I put him in the center of the boppy while I was doing stuff around the house, it did give me piece of mind that he wouldn't roll off the couch or anything. So I could see why someone would love it for reasons beyond feeding.

As for the covers, mine came with a cover already on it. I have yet to wash it (does that make me dirty?), but I guess in my opinion it could be nice to have regardless. Specifically if your baby spits up on it – even though the pillow will still have the stain, at least your baby’s not laying directly on it AND can make cleaning quicker since pillows can take awhile to dry AND you can have one in the wash and a clean one on the pillow for much less than the cost of two pillows. Perhaps boppy should invest in making some water proof covers that absorb the mess, but keep it from getting on the pillow itself to make it a more practical purchase. _____________________________________________


Barbie's Take: I often hear people say, "the boppy pillow is god". While I do love my boppy, I do not feel like it is the #1 must-have of all time. Apparently Boppy pillows are great for helping an infant with tummy time and sitting up, but I never used it for these things. I used it solely for breast feeding. And like i said, I loved it! It allowed my hands to be free and it kept Trent high enough that I did not have to slouch (it saved my back!!!!). Mine was given to me (THANKS MEGAN!!) so I did not have to shell out any money, but based on the prices above I would definitely say they are reasonably priced and worth every penny....if you're going to breast feed. If you aren't, I wouldn't think it to be a top priority (again, this is just based on my experience. I've heard formula mothers swear by the boppy).

Often times my son would fall asleep right after nursing and I'd have to get up. The boppy, being a "C" shape, would fall to the floor. There are other nursing pillows out there (called My Breast Friend) that have a strap that goes all around mommy's torso, keeping the pillow in place. I have never tried this pillow but I would like to.

Bottom line is, if you're going to breast feed I would definitely recommend getting a nursing pillow of some sort, whether it's Boppy or not.

As for the boppy cases, I think they are unnecessary. I have one that I have never used. If spit up gets on the case it will soak through to the pillow, so you end up having to wash both items anyway. With that being said, my boppy is not plain white; it has a cute print on it. If yours is plain and you want to make it cute, by all means, get yourself a case.

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Pros:
- Helpful with feedings
- Many uses – feeding, sitting around, helps hold baby in cradle position, tummy time, etc.
- Reasonably priced
- Many attractive covers and options
- Appears to be durable and well made

Cons:
- Even with a cover, the spit up and other messes can leak through to the pillow

Do We Recommend: Yes.