breastfeeding Archives

Swing Maxi Flex Breast Pump from Medela

Posted on 10 August, 2020 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

Thanks to the lovely guys at Medela, myself and Jo have been able to road test two of their leading breast pumps. We both have completely different needs when it comes to pumping, so the team at Medela used their expert knowledge to choose which pumps would be the most appropriate for each of us. For me, they chose the Swing Maxi Flex.

Swing Maxi Flex™ 2-Phase Double Electric Breast Pump

If you follow us on social media you may know that I (Victoria) have recently given birth to twin girls. As you can imagine, I don’t have a lot of time on my hands, as said hands are usually full of babies. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feed them, but I did know that I wanted them to have as much of my breast milk as possible, even if only for a few weeks. So when Medela got in touch and kindly gifted me the Swing Maxi Flex, I was really pleased as I’d heard such great things about Medela pumps from other mums.

The Maxi Flex is a double electric breast pump with 2-Phase Expression technology, which means it mimics a babies rhythmic sucking to make the whole experience more pleasant, which I can confirm it really does! Pumping shouldn’t hurt at all (if it does, please speak to your midwife) but this pump is certainly more comfortable than the pump I bought for my first baby. I gave up pumping after two weeks with that, but I’m still using this one three months on!

Pros and Cons

Pros

Double the pump = less time expressing. Time is very precious when you have a newborn (or two!!)
It comes with minimal parts so is easy to sterilise
Very easy to use
Comfortable when you get the hang of it

Cons

Having a double pump means you do have to use both hands. Although, Medela have thought of this and sell an Expression Bustier which you can pop the pump into, which makes the pump hands free.
It is a bit noisy, but to be honest I’ve not heard a pump that isn’t!

If there is anything we haven’t covered (Jo’s review of the Swing Flex is coming soon), please do get in touch as we are both more than happy to answer any questions about these two pumps or pumping in general. Also don’t forget to come and find us and our Medela Highlight over on Instagram.com/sheandhem

Hope this post got you really pumped!

#sheandhembristolkids / Cabot Circus Family Room

Posted on 27 February, 2020 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

Hey! It’s been a bit quiet around here of late but if you follow us on Instagram you will know we are still very much alive and kicking. The content may have changed a bit (*cough* kids *cough*) but there are still colourful dresses to be found, we promise.

Anyway, as we get a lot of messages asking for recommendations for places to take kids in Bristol, we thought we would start #sheandhembristolkids as a way to keep all our favourite places together and easily accessible! We want to feature everything from cafes to playgroups to parks and will include Bristol and the surrounding area. We know that not everyone is on Instagram so we thought people might find it useful if we popped them on here too…….

First up….

Cabot Circus Feeding Room

We really wanted to feature the amazing family room at Cabot Circus as we had a feeling a lot of people didn’t know it existed. Turns out, we were right! Here’s what we wrote about it on the ‘gram…

The Cabot Circus Family Room is such a well thought out space and the perfect place to escape to for a feed or change.
It’s located at the end of the corridor where the toilets are and you have to press a button on the wall to access it. It’s a sliding door so no crashing the pram into anything as you enter.
Inside you’ll find a very clean area that has, we kid you not, the relaxing sound of bird song being pumped into it. You are suddenly transported a million miles away from the Zara sale!
Anyone with little ones is welcome to use the space. There’s a toilet for the big ones and a changing area for the little ones, with a little vending machine containing the essentials you might have run out of.
There are private feeding areas that have a comfy chair, a little table and a plug socket (see, well thought out). There’s also WiFi 😉
There’s a little kitchen area that has a microwave plus one of those genius taps that does instant boiled water. Perfect for bottles!
There’s also a nice corner area full of books and seating for older kids. It’s great if you’ve got an older one who has to sit around whilst you feed a baby. You can sit comfortably and feed/change whilst the older one has a safe space to play.
Speaking of safe, there are also little alarm systems dotted around the space that you can use should, for some reason, you not feel comfortable. The last time we visited, a security guard also popped in to make sure everyone was happy.

Well done, Cabot Circus! Brilliant work.

J&V x

Wedding Guest Dress – Breastfeeding Friendly

Posted on 18 June, 2017 by She and Hem — No Comments ↓

Wedding Guest Dress - Breastfeeding Friendly | She and Hem

Wedding season is now officially upon us and I (Victoria) am delighted to be a guest at my second wedding of the year next month. Oh, I do love a good wedding! However, shopping for an outfit has been slightly harder this year, as I am still exclusively breastfeeding my little girl. First time around I went for a skirt and top combo and used a technique known as ‘one up, one down’. For the uninitiated, this simply means wearing a vest underneath your top to pull up or down (aha!) as needed, neatly protecting your modesty while feeding in public. A top mum hack there, learned, like so many other things, from a Facebook group!

Wedding Guest Dress - Breastfeeding Friendly | She and Hem

As regular readers will know, we are very much dress girls here at She and Hem, so I’ve long been on the hunt for some breastfeeding friendly pieces. As luck would have it, I think I’ve found the perfect one! Unless the weather takes a drastic turn, the Clemmie Shirt Dress from Boden is the dress I’ll be rocking up in. This cotton shirt dress falls just below the knee, which is super flattering, especially when constantly picking the little one up and putting her down. It also has what I now consider to be a daily essential; pockets. Another perk of this dress, and one I had never really considered, is the hidden buttons! Located on the chest, these Mum friendly gems ensure there’s no dress gape or accidental flashing. Ingenious! I would go as far as to call them a personal game changer and will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for more brands adopting this subtle little twist.

Wedding Guest Dress - Breastfeeding Friendly | She and Hem

Keen to see more breastfeeding friendly dresses? Just let us know in the comments!