I’ve been a pumping mama for six weeks now and I won’t lie: it’s not easy. I’d been using a great pump but it just wasn’t cutting it: battling with the effects of tiredness, caffeine and lack of time things just weren’t working out.
Don’t get me wrong, the Avent Single Electronic Breast Pump is great. But it is only a single and regardless of how efficient a pump is, your milk will only come out so fast. I needed to turbo charge.
Avent sent me their Isis iQ Duo Twin Electronic Breast Pump to review; I think I’m in love.
This baby comes with a lot of accessories and I must admit I was overwhelmed when I saw the size of the box; how on earth was I going to get it all to work each day? Once I’d gotten everything unpacked from the box and into its black microfiber travel bag I felt a bit like Mary Poppins; all these bits and such a small bag in comparison. To be really specific, the box contained the electronic pump body, electric lead and tubing, four bottles (two 4 oz, two 9 oz), two pump attachments, two opaque bags (big enough to fit two bottles into), two Thinsulate bags (again, big enough to fit two bottles into), four ice packs and a handy two pack of Avent disposable breast pads. Try saying all that in one breath.
The pump attachments are the same as those for the Single Electronic Breast Pump, the only difference being a slight change in the silicone diaphragm to allow for the creation of a vacuum rather than a more manual operation. Even so, the attachments come with spare diaphragm and manual handle just in case you want to switch to a manual pump. The tubing plugs into the electronic pump body through a lead that resembles your telephone cable and also via another plug. The second can be quite stiff to insert but once it’s plugged in there’s no budging. One half of the tubing connects to a handle for control by the electronic memory, the other a more basic attachment which fits onto the diaphragm. Just like the Single Electronic Breast Pump you start pumping manually as the electronic memory learns your pumping rhythm but the one handle controls the two pump attachments.
The only difference I’ve noticed between the ISIS iQ Duo Twin is that the pumping suction seems to be a little stronger but in no way uncomfortable. I’d imagine this is due to the stronger motor but in this situation strength doesn’t seem to be a bad thing. I don’t have time to mess around and the ISIS iQ Duo Twin gets straight down to business. My record is 10 oz in just under 20 minutes and I’m sure I can beat that if only I could get some sleep.
The black microfiber travel bag is a bit like a laptop bag in that everything has its place. It’s more than big enough to fit all of the parts of the pump inside and I pushed it so far as to include my laptop, power cable, lunch and cardi. It doesn’t just work for the pump either; did you see that black bag I was toting around at Cybermummy? Thank you Avent for making sure I was stylishly accessorised. However, as every commuter knows, the bag you cart around on public transport can make a lot of difference to your journey, especially when it’s contents aren’t particularly light. By the time I’d added in those extras my shoulder was rather weighed down. Once pulled around in the crush of the tube I found it wasn’t the most practical of options. Perhaps in the future Avent may consider making a rucksack an option.
Not only does the ISIS iQ Duo Twin come with all these accessories, it’s also accompanied by a handy Guide to Breastfeeding DVD. While seasoned breastfeeding mothers will probably have little use for its contents it’s definitely contains useful information for first timers.
At £249.99 the ISIS iQ Duo Twin may seem expensive but when you consider all the extra accessories you would otherwise be buying the additional cost more than pays for itself. I’m sure all pumping mamas would agree that they’d rather be breastfeeding their child than pumping, but if you ask me, the ISIS iQ Duo Twin is the next best thing.
I’ve been expressing 4 times a day for 6 full months now and have always used the Avent manual pump. Sometimes I think I could do with electric but most times milk just flows out! My morning express is normally about 9oz in about 20/25 mins. Makes me wonder if the £250 is really worth it?