Ameda vs Avent, Medela, Ardo and Online Retailers Price Review

Visited the Motherhood 2012 expo at KLCC last weekend. Interestingly, Avent ISIS Duo was selling at RM1499 with free gifts i.e Avent's Children Meal set and etc.. I really liked my Avent UNO Pump and so, since I am having twins, naturally, I will want to have the electric double pump from Avent. I got the green light from Hubby and went to the booth again, this time to purchase the set. However, after feeling how heavy the pump was I changed my mind. It was just too heavy for me to carry (I am 6 months pregnant with twins, BTW).

It is just out of my consideration for now since in the long term (I plan to breastfeed my twins for 2 years), I need a double pump which is portable enough for me to carry during weekly business visits and on board flights. With a 5kg pump and a 5kg laptop, I will surely exceed the cabin luggage weight limit, 7kg. 

So, next in mind.. Ardo Calypso. Wonderful pump with great comments. BUT heard from a retailer that this model has been discontinued and almost all the online retailers no longer have any units available. Based on comments, it seems comparable to Medela Freestyle at just half the price. It is also light and even quieter than Medela Freestyle.

Why not Medela Freestyle? Hmm.. considering the fact that it is so expensive and also the problem with the possibility of milk getting into the tubes/pump since it is an open system, not at the moment.

Medela PISA or Pump In Style Advance - No, same reason. Cause it is an open system and equally bulky compared to Avent ISIS Duo, maybe only half the total weight but still BULKY for me.

Too bad.. so now, next... AMEDA LACTALINE DUAL. Closed system, weight is great, price is right! Breastfeeding twins even for only 6 months can easily return the cash I invest in the pump. PERFECT BUT, fussy Mummy here is not too in favour of the design. Turning the dials/knobs on the pump seems too technical although this is actually an advantage over Medela cause instead of fixed suction power/frequency. It is totally adjustable. It comes with battery and power adaptors, great for me since I may pump at weird places. Oh.. the knobs/dials make the pump look a little flimsy too but again, this is not a problem since it comes with manual pump as well and warranty is 1 year, just in case it fails me.

After all consideration, still Ameda is best so far. Wish they change the knobs/dial to some kind of button (>.<). 

Looked though the online retailers and found the following: 

• Little Whiz
• One Baby World
• Blessed Mum
• Little Baby Ville
• The Baby Loft
• Enjoy Breastfeed
• Mom's Little One
• Fabulous Mom

Prices range from RM750 to RM965 from the above. All except 2 offer free gifts i.e. breastmilk storage bottles, bags, ice packs, etc.. Just got to compare and decide now.  

Since warranty starts from the time of purchase except for 1 (This is a little weird since it is the only one that allows warranty to start from baby's DOB and even weirder is that it is also the only one that will charge RM20 if we request that the pump to be sent to Ameda's service center.. Why?), I shall buy at the very final stage of my pregnancy.. :)

Government or Private Hospital..

Have chatted with a few Mummies on an online forum regarding their C-Sect experience with HUKM. Glad to hear some good comments as in the stitches were great and they had fully support and guidance to breastfeed their newborns after deliveries.

A Medical student that graduated from UKM commented that only Doctors were allowed to handle C-Sect whereas Medical students were only allowed to assist in normal deliveries. If this is true, hmm.. there should not be any harm in trying out for a C-Sect at HUKM.

Anyway, having twins is a good enough reason to be classified as a high risk case, I guess.

This Saturday shall get a referral letter from my Gynae. Then, next week, shall go to HUKM to register and make an appointment. They do not accept walk-in cases, according to the nurse on the other line. >.<

Twins via C-Sect - Where to deliver?

Headache.. Now that I am a month away from my 3rd trimester, I am really taking into consideration the cost for delivery of the twins. My Doc at Pantai Cheras is great and has been taking good care of me and my precious twins. However, the total cost for delivery via C-Sect is really a mind-boggling issue.

We paid about RM7000 for my C-Sect including a 3 days, 2 nights stay, medicine, baby care and lab testings when I delivered Little Jen in 2010. It was a planned C-Sect and all went smoothly. This time with twins, we are just afraid that the bill may be really high. At least we know that the cost will not be double unless if any of us need any special care/treatment.

Checked with HUKM today and the cost of delivery via C-Sect for twins will be RM1855 all-in. From my tele-conversation with the nurse on the other line, the drawbacks of delivering there to my opinion are (1) You will get a team of Doctors to attend to you instead of one personal Doctor and (2) Visitors including Hubby are only allowed to visit during visiting hours. The good thing is that Hubby can be with me during C-Sect. Forgot to ask about trainees being present during delivery..

The private wing of UKM, UKM Specialist Center on the other hand allow visitors at all time and patients are allowed to choose their Doctor depending on availability. No trainees will attend to Mummies and Mummies will only be attended by Doc and nurses. The cost for C-Sect to deliver twins - RM6000-7000, provided it is a normal C-Sect without any complications. In case of any need to admit the babies to the NICU, they will be sent to HUKM. UKM Specialist Centre does not have their own NICU facilities.

Hmm.. I shall have to discuss with my Doc on the estimated cost when I see him next.. this Saturday!

Breastpumps.. What to Choose?

With all the emphasis on the importance and benefits of breastfeeding, many new mummies are opting to breastfeed rather than feeding their precious ones with formula milk. Same goes to me.. I breastfed my Little Jen exclusively for 6 months and then continued until 8 months after which I started him on formula milk during the day. Being a working Mummy, my pump was my best friend especially during the first 8 months. I survived with a single electronic Avent UNO pump.

Now that i am expecting twins, I am not too sure if I can cope with only a single electric pump. I had to pump both sides every 4-5 hours and each side would take up to 10-15 minutes to reach the 5 oz mark. Each pumping session would take about 20-30 mins. On good days, I could complete the pumping within maybe 15 mins. For twins, I shall have to double the time and effort but I am not too sure if I can stand spending so much time 'milking' myself. It sounds almost impossible with a single pump. 

With a dual pump, I can pump both sides simultaneously and may just have 20 oz within a good 20-30 mins. This means I can focus more on my work or just reward myself with more rest time. 

To know whether a single or dual pump is better is easy and here comes the difficult part...

The single Avent pump costed me RM899 when I bought in 2010. A dual pump now can easily cost me more than RM2000. It may be worth the price if you compare the price tag with the total cost for formula milk 6 months to a year down the road, for twins. BUT, I still think it is really pricey. 

To buy a new unit from US sounds like a good option, since the price is less than half the local price of Avent Duo. BUT.. my Avent Uno broke down once right after 1.5 months of heavy pumping. I had to send it to the service center in Damansara and lived with the manual pump for a whole month. I have to think twice about buying an imported unit without any local warranty. 

A friend I knew from an online social network suggested me to try Ardo Calypso. She commented that it was better than Ameda and quieter than Medela. From online search, it seems like the service center is the same as Ameda's and no bad comments on the service. This is a closed system, so, less likely the milk will get into the pump system and get contaminated or cause contamination. 

The price? Less than RM1000 for the dual pump. 

Looking forward to seeing the real thing during the coming Motherhood 2012 expo at KLCC this 24-26 Feb. Hopefully I can see the display set.. :-) 

Vaccination against Meningitis?

Today while my Mother In-Law accompanied me and Little Jen to the government clinic for his routine check up and jab, she suddenly brought up a good question. Have Little Jen been vaccinated against meningitis? Hmm.. Well, I have to check on this one. 


Asked the nurse that gave him his DTaP jab today. She told me that Government was only giving compulsory vaccinations as stated in his Little Blue Book and no jabs for meningitis would be given. 


Hmm, I checked online for the short form of the meningitis jab and found the below: 


"The best way to protect your child from meningitis is through immunisation. Vaccines are effective in stimulating the body to produce antibodies against pathogens that cause meningitis. There are different vaccines that protect against a range of organisms.

· Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine. Studies have shown that theHaemophilus influenza type b (Hib) virus is the leading cause of viral meningitis in Malaysia. Since 2002, the Hib vaccination has been made compulsory for all babies in Malaysia." 


The above is taken from a article dated 23 August 2009 in Parenthots entitled Pneumo What? by Datuk Musa Mohd Nordin. 


Okay, do it is called the Hib vaccine. Little Jen was supposed to take the jabs when he was 2, 3 and 5 mths old based on the Little Blue Book but no dates were written in the respective columns. 


Will need Hubby to check out with the nurses on Little Jen's next visit to the clinic on 23 May 2012. 

Week 20 - Twins.. A Boy and who?

Finally the morning sickness episode is out of the way and the increase in the weight department is really making progress here. Mummy gained a whopping 5kg in the past month! Dr. Chow made a remark by saying, "Wah, gained so much weight this month!" I casually put the blame on Chinese New Year non-stop dining and snacking.. and of course, I could not tell him that I was having at least 2 slices of barbequed pork every day with avocado and bread! Yummy recipe for mid-morning, mid-evening and sometimes, supper as well!

This time, again, Doc scanned thoroughly to give us the answer we had been waiting for whole month-long. He scanned and scanned and finally after what we described as a long wait, he announced, "The other twin is a GIRL!" Oh.. goodie, we are having a boy and girl twins! Hubby put on a wide smile on his face and I sighed with relief. I finally had the license to buy PINK!

Our boy...

Our girl...

They were about 370g each and were both growing well. Praying for their good health with each and every passing day!

Week 16 - Twins.. Boys, Girls or Both?

In the 4th month visit to Dr. Chow, Doc was trying hard to see the gender of both twins. One was easily identified since the legs were kept wide open for some time. Twin A is a BOY for obvious reasons. By now, we are still not sure if we are having fraternal or identical twins. So, we have to wait for Twin B to show us who he/she is.

During this visit, I was still having my morning sickness.

When I conceived Little Jen, my morning sickness went off by the time I was about 4 1/2 mths and I put on 5kg in my 4th month of pregnancy. I could still remember the nurse asking me, "Selera makan ek?" with a wide grin on her face. The morning sickness made me lost about 2kg and regaining 5kg was good news.

This time with twins, I lost a little weight and maintained my pre-pregnancy weight until the 3rd month, after which I gained 2kg.  Probably cause the twins were not being too choosy on their choice of food or cause I already roughly knew what type of food I could manage down my throat. All I knew was that I was always hungry! And oh, I was also craving for sweets all the time, lots of them.

Doc was already asking me to slow down on my sugar intake due to suspected gestational diabetes in previous pregnancy.. :p

Week 12 - Discovery of the Twins

On the day that marked the 3rd month of my second pregnancy, Hubby and I decided to visit the same specialist that delivered our Little Jen on the 7th of July, 2010. He was able to give us the confidence that everything was well inside and that I would be in good hands when it was time to meet my newborn.

The Gynae was not chosen based on online research or recommendations but simply a walk in case after a sad episode of my life just 2 months before I conceived Little Jen. He is Dr Chow at Pantai Cheras, KL. Not a man of words but he seems sure of what he does and believes.. by the way, he has already passed the standard retirement age.

Prior to the consultation, the nurses were asking me to drink lots of water, "No, that one small bottle will not be enough, my dear. Drink more.." Ops, I could not take anymore or else, I would vomit. So, she said, "Then okay, just don't vomit and don't pee just yet." Morning sickness was bad at that time, even water seemed too difficult for me to swallow.

Actually, before we visited the Doc, I was a little afraid that Doc might just be unhappy that I got pregnant after a C-Sect when my son just passed his first birthday. Surprisingly, they looked happy, the nurses and my Doc.

Before the scan, Doc asked if I had drank enough water. I showed him the small bottle of water and he looked pessimistic that he would be able to scan anything. After a short while with the ultrasound scanner, he showed me and Hubby that there were 2 little sacs. We could not understand what he was trying to show us and the nurse just smiled. He then asked my Hubby, "Can you see 2 inside?" My Hubby turned to me as if saying, how the heck should I know if there is one or two.. What was what?

Then the Dr. Chow announced that we were having TWINS! I was so shocked I started trembling a little. Hubby seemed to have turned white. I asked Doc if he was sure and then still could not believe my eyes, I asked the nurse. Hmm.. yes, TWINS! And, their hearts were fluttering in the scan.

Dr. Chow said that there would be a lot of complications to expect during twins pregnancy. First, starting with morning sickness which would be doubly worse since I would have double the hormones. Then, twins are bound to be delivered early, probably 2-3 weeks earlier.

He was not kidding. I ended up in bed most of the time due to morning sickness which got worse by evening and night. I vomited more than I did during my first pregnancy.

That was the beginning of a 6 1/2 months wait...