My New Breastfeeding Gadget - Ardo Calypso Dual Breast Pump

Finally I managed to get the new upgraded Ardo Calypso Dual Breast Pump as soon as it was released in the market. Although this retailer has an online website (http://www.enjoybreastfeed.com/) where all their items can be easily purchased with just a few clicks, I went all the way to the Enjoy Breastfeeding showroom in Klang just to test out the pump last Saturday.

The shop was pretty small and had 2 staffs assiting the boss and lady boss, Michelle. The shop was basically swarmed by mummies. Some were getting advice on breastfeeding and some were looking for breastpumps for their coming bundle of joy. I went straight to one of the staffs and requested to test out the Ardo Calypso Dual Breastpump.

She explained to me patiently on the pump and I also managed to ask questions on the Ameda and Medela Freestyle breastpumps.

Ameda is great as well and is from the same manufacturer as Ardo Calypso. However, I heard from a friend of mine that it is a hassle when it comes to pumping at weird places like toilets since she cannot think of a suitable place to place the pump unit and the bottles. So, this will also definitely be a problem for me as I travel alot.

Medela Freestyle.. wow.. I must say that I was not pleased at all with the sound that was emitted from the tiny machine. It was loud compared to the pump that I previously bought, Avent Single Uno. AND it sounded weird to me, kind of funny too. However, in terms of size, it is a plus point since the pump unit is smaller than Ardo Calypso's.

Ardo Calypso.. affordable, weight wise is about the same as Medela Freestyle to me. Size of the pump unit is two times the Medela Freestyle's which is big. It is as big as my novel as shown in the picture below:

There is a hook on top of the unit which makes it convenient for me to put a string so that I can hang the unit while pumping. This eliminates the need to look for a suitable spot to place the pump unit while preparing or pumping.

The pumps is also really quiet! This is good. At least I can more discreet when I pump.. :)

Below picture shows what I get from the whole package - The Dual Pump, 3 Ice Packs, 8 Bottles, 1 Bagpack and a free bottle of Fenugreek! Good deal at RM976.

The below show how the pump fits into the bag - Of course I will not be bringing all 8 bottles out at one time, so the pump funnels and bottles will go here:

The pump unit and adaptor will be placed at the bottom of the bag:

Shall look forward to commenting on the performance when I start using it later.. Next week! Soon..

Week 33 - Pre-Natal Check Up at HUKM

Yippie! Hubby managed to take leave from work and he could accompany me for my check up this time! Easy, he just dropped me at the entrance and meet up with me after parking the car. We reached early with our McDonalds breakfast in hand.

Needed to pay RM40 again this time for the check up and ultrasound scan. As usual, got my waiting number, took my Blood Pressure, Weight, Urine Test and then waited for my turn to do the ultrasound scan.

The waiting took quite a while but it was okay since we took our breakfast while waiting for it. Read a bit of the newspaper and then it was my turn. A young man did the scan for me this time. Hubby was allowed into the room with me. Little boy was head down whereas Little Girl's head was at the top of my belly. They were both about 2.1kg each now.

After a short while, it was my turn for Doctor's consultation. This time, Doctor commented that the level of amniotic fluid for my little girl was okay whereas my little boy a little more, borderline. The shocking thing at this appointment was that, the Doctor asked if I would like to consider vaginal delivery. Never came across to me since my first appointment with my Gynae at the Pantai Cheras Hospital that I would consider vaginal delivery. He told me from the very first appointment that I would have to go for C-Section for my twins' delivery since my 1st Little Jen was delivered via C-Section and the fact that I was carrying twins made it riskier to consider vaginal delivery. However, of course, I was delighted at the thought of having a chance to deliver my twins vaginally.

The Doctor scheduled me for my next appointment 3 weeks later which would be the 36th week. Hmm.. carrying twins.. I thought appointments shold be closer now but he scheduled to see me only 3 weeks later and that week, he would look forward to an answer from me on my decision to either deliver vaginally or through C-Section.

Week 31 - Pre-Natal Check up at HUKM

This time's check up, I had to go on my own again. That meant driving to the hospital and go through the check up and then drive home on my own. Too bad Hubby could not accompany me since he had to work. Okay, I thought, I could do this, not a problem. I woke up early, sent my Little Jen to my mother in law's place and drived through McDonalds on the way to get a set of breakfast meal with an additional ala-carte egg mcmuffin. Planned to take my breakfast while waiting at HUKM.

Unfortunately, it took me A WHOLE HOUR to look for a parking spot! I finished the Hash Brown in the car since I was already too hungry to wait. I was basically stuck in a merry go round in the parking lot for the whole hour looking for parking spot and the whole area was jammed with cars!

My appointment was at 10am and i reached the parking lot at 8.45am. Usually, the patients will arrive half an hour to an hour earlier than their scheduled appointment to drop their appointment book and wait for their turn. I arrived on the dot this time.

Paid RM40 for the check up and ultrasound scan, got my waiting number, took my Blood Pressure, weighed myself and took the Urine Test. While waiting for my turn to do the Ultrasound scan, I took one of my McMuffins. This time, a young lady did the scan. She asked me to lie down and then, she went out to speak to her colleague on something. I had to sit up while waiting since I could not lie down for long, my belly was just too heavy and I could feel cold sweat on my forehead already. That was not too nice, by the way. Oh.. and no ultrasound pictures for mummy too..

Waiting for the check up after the scan took really long. Finished my other McMuffin while waiting since I was already hungry. It was already past noon and I was still waiting. The Doctor said that I had too much amniotic fluid and that might be a sign of diabetes. So, despite having a negative glucose test in the previous check up, I had to go through another round of glucose test. Both my twins are at about 1.7 and 1.8kg now. Very close to 2kg! Great.. just hang in there for few more weeks..

As they were worried about my high amniotic fluid level that they said might lead to premature labour, they scheduled my next appointment 2 weeks later.

Week 28+ - Detailed Scan at HUKM

Interesting day today. I shall be able to see my twins again.

UNFORTUNATELY, Hubby could not take leave from work and I had to go on my own to HUKM. I went early and reached slightly past 8am but by the time I reached, there was a heavy downpour at HUKM. I wanted to use the Valet Parking service but it was full. So, I had to go for the normal parking. Looking for parking slot took a little time and effort since I had to stop my little car at a spot and hope for a car to leave. Finally.. managed to get a good spot. BUT then, my umbrella was at the car boot! Oh, gosh. I had to push my driver's seat to the back and then climb out of my seat to the back passenger seats to reach for the umbrella. Imagine me with my big belly doing that!

Walked through the heavy rain slowly and went up the long flight of staircase at the parking area as carefully as I could. By the time I reached the building, I was feeling damp all over. My feets were soaking wet.

I waited for about an hour for my turn to scan. Luckily I brought the newspaper along.

When it was my turn, the Sonographer told me that he would have his trainee to scan me for about 15 minutes and then he would do the scan again for me to re-confirm. However, in less than 10 minutes, I was already feeling hot flushes in my cheeks and cold sweat appearing on my forehead! The Sonographer realised that I was too quiet and asked me to take a break. He said that normally for twins pregnancy, Detailed Scan would be done at week 21 and never later than week 24. He had a twin mummy passing out during the scan itself once and he understood very well the burden that I was carrying. It was just too heavy for me to bear while laying flat down.

After the short break, he did the scan himself - Thank God for that! And, he allowed me to lie sideways with raised back instead of flat. He first scanned my little twin boy. My boy was so cooperative, he managed to get all the required details at one go. He even gave me a 3D picture of my boy's face! He looked so much like his Daddy!

Then, he allowed me to go for another break since scanning each baby would take about 30 minutes. Throughout the scan, he kept asking me if I was feeling uncomfortable and needed a break. I was his last patient that morning and he told me that was why he could take his time to finish the scan.

My little twin girl was not as cooperative. The Sonographer tried and tried and even spoke to her but she just refused to turn over him to have a good look at her. After a total of about 45 minutes, he gave up. He said that she was just too active and shy at the same time.

Overall, they were both healthy and actively moving inside. Mummy had too much amniotic fluid which meants Mummy would have to suffer carrying the big belly with extra weight but they were both having fun inside due to the extra space. Hmm.. :)