Product Review: Closer to nature Breast Pump

Over the last 2 weeks I've had the opportunity to test out the Closer to nature electric breast pump. This neat little package contains:

• The electric pump 
• a 150ml bottle with a level 1 flow teat
• a milk storage lid
• 6 disposable breast pads
• a breast pump steriliser box (which is like a big tupperware container which you can use to store or clean your pump parts)

I've actually had my eye on this pump for a while for several reasons:

1. The only bottle the Little Man would use (if he condescended to use one at all) was the closer to nature bottles. Therefore they are the bottles we decided to have on hand when Missy May came along. 
2. I was getting very tired of using my manual Philips Avent pump which I used for 2 years while breastfeeding Little Man and returned to using when I started back at work 7 months after having Missy May. Take it from me, you can get some serious carpel tunnel from using a manual pump especially when at work when you've already spent half the day clicking away on a computer. 
3. Expressing from a Philips Avent and having to empty into a closer to nature bottle for storage just gave me more things to wash and I was looking forward to being able to express and store straight into the Closer To Nature bottles so that Missy May could have them all ready for daycare the next day. 

Assembly

Putting the pump together was very straight forward. The controls for the electric pump can either take batteries or be connected to power from the wall making it very convenient to port around cordless. 

Like most other pumps there are a lot of parts that go into putting it all together however the instructions are quite straight forward and after one or two runs it's pretty easy to remember what goes where. 

Usage

The first time I saw this pump in action was at a blogger's event which wasn't the quietest of locations. The hum of the pump mechanism seemed pretty discrete. So when I received my own pump I confidently assembled it and packed it up to bring to work for that day's expressing. 

However after I had shut all the blinds in my office and started this little baby up I had to shut it down straight away because in the quiet of an office full of male engineers working to the clicky click of the keyboard and mouse, the Closer to Nature pump mechanism was roaring loud. And it wasn't just a continuous hum either which could have been attributed to the air conditioner or a overclocking server. It was obviously a pumping sound. I gingerly tried it out a couple more times, even burying the pump part in my thermal lunch bag to muffle the sound. 

Unfortunately I was too self conscious about the sound to continue to express properly and since I didn't bring my Avent manual pump along, I had to give my boss a quick explanation that I had to dash home for a bit and would be back in an hour, and went home to finish expressing. I gave the Closer To Nature pump another try and in the solitude of home I was able to get it to work for me. 

The pump action is very gentle and comfortable. If I had one critique it would be that the focus is too much on the nipple and there is not enough distributed massage which I found to be much more helpful for expressing a greater quantity of milk. 

The previous day I had conducted a control test with my Philips Avent in order to compare how much milk the Closer To nature pump would be able to do in comparison. Unfortunately, even though the Closer To Nature Pump was expressing, it wasn't going nearly as fast as I needed it to, in order to get back to work within the hour and I had to switch back to the Avent Manual Pump to finish the job quickly.

On the weekend when I had more leisure I gave the Closer To Nature pump another go and although slow, it did manage to fill up a 120ml bottle (I can usually get about 200-250ml with the Avent)

Compliments

• Great portable little unit. 
• Attaches straight to a closer to nature bottles for storage and delivery
• Variable pump power for personal comfort
• One of the most affordable electric pumps on the market

Critiques

• Really Loud Pump Mechanism.

Since I only ever express at work or when the baby is asleep. This is a pretty big issue for me because in both situations being discrete and quiet is always preferred. 

• No lock on the pump 

I was puzzled several times to find my bag humming and vibrating because the pump had activated when I had set down my bag in the car, and again at my desk. With batteries in the pump there is no way to prevent this except being VERY VERY gentle in carrying it around. A light tap would set it off. 

 

• Lack of distributed suction

As described above, the suction was very much concentrated at the top which I found to be a little uncomfortable after a while. Also I reckon this might have led to reduced supply. 

Conclusion

The Closer To Nature Pump might be a good idea for someone who would be using it only occasionally in the privacy of their own home and wants something other than a manual pump. However, I personally found it very slow to get a good flow going even at the highest setting. 

The volume of the pump and the sensitivity of the controls is almost unforgivable. And I won't be taking this pump back to work. Even in a private office with 4 walls that go all the way from ground to ceiling (office walls aren't exactly thick) I'm sure the pump could clearly be heard by the junior engineers on the other side of the wall. 

Have you tried out the Closer To Nature Pump? Please share your experiences and is there any way to make it quieter? Or do you know a good quiet electric pump to recommend I try next? 

Product Review: Cocobella Kids

In our family hubby is the sugar nazi when it comes to what we can give the kids to eat and drink (he gives me the evil eye when I pop a jar of nutella in the shopping cart). He conscientiously reads nutrition labels and compares sugar content from everything from fruit juice to yogurt. So when I told him that I was going to get some samples of Cocobella kids coconut water to review, his first question was "How much sugar is in it?"

Turns out, there is very little sugar in these little packs. 6grams per 100ml compared to 10.8g from the "Nothing but apples" juice currently in our fridge.  So it passes Hubby's strict restrictions on sugar content. The benefits of coconut water/oil/pulp/essence is all the rage right now with health advocates recommending it for use in everything from eating to rubbing into face/hair/nails. I'm no nutritionist so I'll let them tell you all about the health benefits.

Personally I love coconut water simply for the refreshing taste and partially because the kids don't usually end up hijacking my drink after taking an initial sip. So I was a little dubious about how a coconut water drink would go down with little kids. This reluctance of little people to try straight up coconut water must have also occurred to the makers of Cocobella kids because they've mixed up their coconut water with fruit juice, Apple & Berry or Mango and Pineapple.

So when the samples arrived I gathered up my focus group. 4 kids aged between 3 to 4. Friends of my little man who had come over for a playdate. They were each allowed to pick which flavour they wanted (which they did based on their favorite colour rather than the actual ingredients). By coincidence 2 picked the red (Apple berry) and 2 picked the yellow (Mango Pineapple).  My little man who picked the yellow decided after 2 sips that he wanted the red one and some exchanges had to be negotiated after that he decided that the Apple & Berry flavour was the only way to go.  In fact all the kids eventually swapped to the Apple and Berry after taste testing each others packs.

It looks like Cocobella has surprisingly managed to work their coconut water to fit a kids palate with the addition of tried and true fruity flavours to produce a refreshing low sugar option for snack times and lunch boxes. My little man refers to these little boxes as coconut juice boxes and raids the fridge for them just like he does for straight up juice or yakult he still prefers the Apple and Berry flavour but will just as easily have a Mango and Pineapple one if it's all he can find in the fridge.

I'll be perfectly honest and say that two or more of these juice boxes have found their way into mummy and daddy's work lunch boxes as well to er... keep the sandwiches cool... yeah thats the reason... ok so maybe we find them pretty yummy as well. Why should the kids have all the fun! In our house at least the adults prefer the Mango Pineapple flavour, which works out well with the kids' preferences of Apple Berry.

The ecomum in me automatically raged at the use of single serve juice boxes (we never buy these usually), However it has been somewhat satiated by reading on the box that the package was fully recyclable. And that the juice were packed at the source which reduced the amount of transportation of materials.

In summary, the kids enjoyed them (especially chilled on a hot day) and maybe for once mum and dad can hijack the kids drinks instead of the other way around.

Product Review: The New Dyson Cool - Not just a pretty face

Ever since Dyson first came out with their first generation of Blade-less fans, I've wanted one. Even without knowing anything about the features and performance, I coveted it because of its gorgeous design, sleek lines and futuristic contours. However at that time we were just starting a family and practicality seemed to dictate that shouldn't spend big money on a luxury item no matter how sexy it looked when you could get something which did the same thing for much less money.

If only I could go back in time and tell myself how wrong I was. I could have been enjoying this gorgeous machine in my life much sooner. And it turns out it's fantastically practical as well for parents with small kids as well. 

As you probably already guessed, we have one of these little beauties thanks to the good people at Dyson and Kidsbusiness (for bringing us together). Here are some details of the model we've been testing and the Testers. 

The Product

Product: Dyson Cool AM06 (Black and Nickle) 

Description: Dyson's fan (Desk Fan size) draws in surrounding air - amplifying it to create a jet of powerful smooth airflow with no blades.  

Whats New: More powerful airflow. 75% quieter and uses 40% less energy. 

The Testers

3 year old Little Man - Rambunctious, Loud, Always keen to figure things out for himself. 

7 month old Little Missy - Needs to touch (and chew) on everything. Has an attraction to anything moving. Loves to pull things on top of herself (Toys, Mats, Chairs, the dog....). Mum's blood pressure has been high since she started crawling. 

Assembly

I feel sorry for the poor guy who had to write the instruction manual for this machine because it was so unnecessary that he or she must feel like it was a complete waste of time. The unit came in 3 parts. The top the base and the remote control. handy stickers indicated where the top and the base fitted and slid into place. The Little Man practically setting it up by himself while proudly pointing to the sticker and saying "Number 1 Mummy, it's the number 1" There are only 2 steps to assembly. 

What they thought

The Good

The Little Man immediately claimed that the fan was his and wanted to know why it wasn't in his room. So far we've been quite particular about the fan in his room. The previous fan was a solid (and heavy) metal desk fan with very tight fan guard since we know that our Little Man tends to like to stick his fingers into everything. 

No such worry with the Dyson Cool and his little fingers are safe. Also since it's so lightweight, I don't worry about it being pulled over the kids so it doesn't have to be a solid heavy base. The Little Miss tried several times to tug it over her while it was on the ground while it was on and didn't seem to be fussed when it fell on her. That is not to say it's completely safe to be put around kids. Since Dyson haven't figured out how to make their unit electrically wireless, the electric wires are still within reach and have the exact same hazards that all plugs do.

Mum and Dad's favorite function is the remote control when not in use it magnetically attaches to the top of the unit so it doesn't get loss. The remote has controls Power, Oscillation and Sleep timer.

The controls are very easy to use and very intuitive that the last few days when it was hot I'd often find Little man would quietly disappear into his room to turn on the fan and sit in front of it by himself (if only he'd learn to switch it off before leaving the room)

The Bad

Dyson products sit firmly in the "I want" part of my brain and for one reason only cannot shift into the "I need" section. This reason is the price. I'm not saying that the Dyson Cool AM06 is not worth it's $450 price tag but with that money you could get a decent portable air-conditioner. It's not going to look as sexy, operate as quiet or make you the envy of all your friends like the Dyson Cool will but it'll do the job just as well.

Conclusion

The Dyson Cool only goes to show that you don't have to give up sexy looking appliances with small kids in the house because practical can also look pretty darn hot cool.