Phillips Avent: Mother’s Little Helper

In my experience caring for infants and toddlers over the years, I’ve become pretty familiar with the major brands in bottle feeding. Certainly there is no One Size Fits All brand, but I’ve known Phillips Avent to be a leader in Mother & Child Care products. That is why I jumped at the chance to try out some of their new products now that I have my own baby at home! Since Phillips Avent generously provided me with several items to try, I am going to provide my feedback for each item individually.

Samples of the following were provided.

Since little J needed to put on some extra weight after birth, her Dad and I were tasked with not only breastfeeding every 2-3 hours, but pumping after each feeding and then giving her the expressed milk via a syringe (to avoid nipple confusion in the early weeks of life) in between nursing sessions. It was a round-the-clock, tag-team effort.

Once we got nursing well-established, and got the go-ahead from our pediatrician (after about 3 weeks), we experimented with using the bottle warmer and using the 2oz first flow bottles. The nipple is designed to mimic a natural shape and promote a latch resembling breastfeeding as closely as possible. Juniper had no problem taking the bottle, and has had no problem continuing to nurse; truly a seamless transition, which is the best possible outcome. We love this little Avent bottle, and it is perfect for her size and how much she can drink right now!

Boy, oh Boy have these made supplementing (as well as Dad’s nighttime feedings) easier! (as you can see in the pics, she loved it!)

Next month, when she can drink a bit more at a time, we will move on to the larger Philips Avent Natural baby bottle (3 Bottles, 9oz/260ml, Slow flow nipple, 1m+) This size will be great for many months, and all we’ll need to do is switch out the nipples as she advances to faster flow.

This is a great little set, and would make a great gift for any new mother. The 2 different types of breast pads were handy (some for day-time, and extra absorbent for nighttime).

The Thermogel pads sat unused for a couple weeks; I wasn’t having much discomfort…until I got a plugged milk duct and became engorged regularly for about 4 days last week. Hoo-boy, that’s noooo fun. However, these gel pads were a serious lifesaver! I heated them up and wore them for 15-20 minutes before feeding to relieve discomfort and make stimulating milk flow easier, then popped them in the freezer and wore them after nursing, or for 20-30 minutes at night to soothe and reduce inflammation. I have other ice/heat pack type things, but these are shaped perfectly to fit inside a bra, and have a cutout in the middle (I’m assuming so you don’t freeze or burn your nipples…sorry for the imagery there 😀 )

Consequently, I love them!

The bra clip is a great idea; you put it on whatever side you nursed from last, so next time you know which side to start from. Unfortunately, I only remember to switch it about half the time…but I’m going to keep trying!

This one we haven’t tried yet, but I can tell by the design that we’re going to love it. Not only is it adorable (who doesn’t love penguins?), the cup features a wide base and easy grasp handles, as well as an angled, no-drip spout. This will be great when Juniper starts transitioning to “big girl” cups!

Let’s all just take a moment to appreciate the magic of Glow-in-the-dark stuff. I mean, seriously, these pacifiers are great. They have an orthodontic nipple and come with a snap-on cap to keep them hygienic, plus they have a glow in the dark handle, which means finding the pacifier that popped out of the mouth is way less disruptive (i.e. picture digging around the sleeping baby in the dark…aha, there it is, it glows!)

Overall, I am so pleased and impressed with all of these products. The attention to detail in the design of these products has really made caring for myself and my baby much easier. Great job, and thank you, Phillips Avent!