How to Pick Your Next Breast Pump with @consumerreports Angela Lashbrook

1 (2s):

This episode is brought to you by Walmart Attention Fashion lovers. The Walmart style tour is traveling across America with a mobile popup, showcasing the latest women's fashion trends to discover, try and love this fall. Meet one-on-one with professional stylists for personalized tips, and get a personal color analysis. Plus, enjoy free giveaways like engraved lipstick and denim totes while supplies last. Visit walmart style tour.com to find a tour. Stop near you and find all the things you love today.

2 (31s):

This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Do you have a point of sale system you can trust or is it a real POS? You need Shopify for retail. From accepting payments to managing inventory, Shopify POS has everything you need to sell in person. Go to shopify.com/system, all lowercase to take your retail business to the next level today. That's shopify.com/system.

3 (1m 2s):

T ldr R of this is get the Spectra S two Immo, get a manual pump and if it's financially feasible, get the mom cozy. S 12 wearable.

4 (1m 13s):

Hey there, I'm Katie Ferraro, registered dietician, college nutrition professor and mom of seven specializing in baby led weaning here on the baby led weaning with Katie Ferraro podcast. I help you strip out all of the noise and nonsense about feeding, giving you the confidence and knowledge you need to give your baby a safe start to Solid Foods using baby led weaning. I'm not sure where you stand on breastfeeding. Maybe you love it and you and your baby are jamming on breastfeeding. Maybe you're like me and you hated it, it just never worked out. And maybe you're fully on formula and I support whatever feeding decision that you have made or you are making regarding the nourishment of your baby.

4 (1m 54s):

I also know that a lot of parents, including myself, do a combination of different things in order to provide infant milk for your baby. Maybe you nurse when it's convenient or comfortable or you pump when you're working or you can't be with your baby. And if pumping is part of your routine, then you know how intimately connected you become with that pump, right? You are literally connected to it. I also know that the current baby that you have and are feeding may not be your last baby. And so perhaps with a future pregnancy, a future baby, you might wanna try to do things a little differently, pump a little bit more or a little bit less breastfeed, more breastfeed, less bottle feed, more or less, whatever technology changes, plans change. And when it comes to technology, breast pumps definitely change. A lot of the pumps that are on the market today weren't even around when I was pumping for my last children who are twins who are now six.

4 (2m 37s):

So my guest today knows a lot about breast pumps. Her name is Angela Ashbrook. She's a full-time reporter for Consumer Reports and she's the new mom of a 10 month old baby. And Angela did a ton of recent reporting on breast pumps for consumer reports, which as an aside consumer Reports is making a very concerted effort to do a lot of testing and reviewing and reporting out of products in the baby space. I personally am a Consumer Report subscriber, sorry, but I do not have time to test every product that I'm gonna use in my house these days. If I'm like the other day I needed a new vacuum, I jumped right on Consumer Reports. I love and appreciate their journalistic integrity, their impartiality, their rigorous testing. Don't sleep on consumer reports if you buy things for your house. So for Angela, even before she had a baby, she was working on this breast pump reporting project for Consumer Reports.

4 (3m 23s):

She interviewed 34 moms about their pumping experience. She reviewed, analyzed, tested dozens of breast pumps for this report, and then she had her own baby and had her own real life experience to add to the mix. So in today's conversation, Angela is going to talk about breast pumps, explain what type of pumps are out there, which features that the parents are most drawn to today, which by the way is totally different to the things that I was looking for in a breast pump. But she's gonna cover innovation or the lack of innovation in the breast pumping space. My intent is that through this interview, you'll walk away having learned more about breast pumps so that in the event that you do decide to have another baby, or if you haven't picked a pump yet for your current baby, or you're like, Hmm, I'm on the fence about even whether I need a pump or what type, you will be equipped to make a decision about the best breast pump or pumps for you.

4 (4m 8s):

So throughout this conversation, you're gonna hear Angela stress, the importance of working with a lactation consultant to help guide you through your breastfeeding journey. If you have that resource at your disposal, that's fabulous. She's gonna encourage you, I'm gonna encourage you use it. I also wanna encourage you to check out Angela's reporting on breast pumps for consumer reports. I'm gonna link to that in the episode description and the show notes. And if you're considering a Consumer Reports subscription, it's $39 per year, but you can get $10 off your first year when you sign up at cr.org/bw. Again, that website is cr.org/bw to get $10 off your first year of Consumer Reports membership.

4 (4m 49s):

I wanna mention this is not an affiliate link. I do not have any financial involvement with Consumer reports other than I am a huge fan and paying customer myself. So with no further ado, I want to introduce you to Consumer Reports reporter and new mom and breast pump aficionado, Angela Lash Brook. She's gonna give you some pointers on how to pick your next breast pump and be sure to listen to the end of this episode 'cause she's gonna break down the TLDR version at the end. Her favorite pump from each category. I was surprised by her pick. I also was surprised by her hot take on wearable breast pumps, which I think you might agree with too, if you ever used any of these. So with no further ado, here's Angela.

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I pumped using the Spectra S two I breastfed, but I also eventually had to pump when I went back to work. But what I think is interesting and which I didn't really expect, is that I had more, I had more success using a hand pump. I got the lance, no hand pump and I just ordered it on Amazon because I was having, they weren't clogged ducks but they, but there was a little bit of firmness in my breasts while I was breastfeeding because my baby was not the best breast feeder and I just got a lot more milk out of the hand pump, which yeah, I was not expecting that but, and my hand got pretty tired using that hand pump.

3 (6m 15s):

But I did really rely on that for a little bit.

4 (6m 19s):

Can I ask why you bought the hand pump in the first place? 'cause I think it's something that not a lot of moms know about. I know I personally would buy a hand pump because I used to have like battery or outlet stress if I was traveling. Like what if I can't get to an outlet and charge it or my pump, my electric pump runs out of battery. I need the manual one. So it was like out of stress why I bought it. I'm curious why you bought it.

3 (6m 38s):

So part of the issue was that I was having the, I had that breast firmness that I was trying to relieve and ha and I was having trouble relieving that either with breastfeeding massage or with the spectra. It's also just like it's fewer parts, it's a lot easier to clean. And also I could take it to like a hair appointment for example. So instead of having to carry my big spectra in a big old bag when I went to get my hair highlighted, I would have the pretty small manual pump just in my purse. And then I would be able to pump often in those situations I just pumped and dumped 'cause I was like, I don't wanna deal with refrige of

4 (7m 23s):

This. Storing the is the other half of the battle. So when you started writing this article for consumer reports and doing this reporting on breast pumps, were you already a mom at that point or did you have your baby somewhere along or after that experience?

3 (7m 38s):

The baby came after and I'm glad because I was able to use the reporting for the story to inform my pumping experience. What we wanted to do is like really invest more deeply in our baby reporting and it just seems logical to start with a breast pump because it's one of the first things many birthing parents have to do is figure out how to feed their child. And often that includes a pump.

4 (8m 3s):

I think it's hard too because oftentimes you have to pick a pump before the baby's there or you have any clue about breastfeeding, no matter how much education you've done, it's sometimes hard. And do you find that parents are looking for pumps before they need them or are they kind of finding them like, oh my gosh, I'm up a creek right now and totally need a pump and I gotta figure this out last minute. Most

3 (8m 23s):

Of the parents I know do take care of getting that pump before they have their baby, which is definitely what I would recommend. You don't want to be like three weeks postpartum and you're having breastfeeding troubles and you're exhausted and all of a sudden you need to figure out what breast pump to get and how to get it covered by your insurance

4 (8m 47s):

Because it's overwhelming when you start looking. There's so many breast pumps available now. Things have changed dramatically. I know even since I last had babies, which my youngest are six years old and I'm like, oh my gosh. So you know the wearable pumps, none of that was around. So just real high level Angela. Tell us what are the main types of breast pumps available and then how do parents choose between them?

3 (9m 9s):

The term hospital grade pump is one you hear about a lot. It's a pretty powerful multi-user pump. If you give birth in a hospital, you'll often see it in the postpartum unit. It's what you know, when I gave birth, they wield it in. They're like, all right, here we go. You better start pumping now. My baby was in the NICU for 30 hours so I needed to get pumping while he was in the nicu. When it comes to purchasing a pump, don't worry about that term since it isn't FDA approved. It's often used in marketing materials and it doesn't necessarily mean that much. Usually what you'll want to get is what's called a double electric pump. That's a pretty typical usually plugin personal use pump.

3 (9m 50s):

It's what I had on my desk when I, you know, went back to work at four and a half months. So battery powered pumps are generally nowadays just as powerful as a regular personal use plugin pump. So if you want a battery powered pump, you can by all means get that. Obviously the only downside is that it has to be charged. But I mean that's not that big of a deal in my opinion. Maybe it is for you. And then wearable pumps is where a lot of the innovation is happening now, but they're a little bit more expensive. They don't generally relieve quite as much milk as your typical plugin or battery powered double electric pump.

3 (10m 36s):

So you don't want it to be your exclusive pump if you're gonna be pumping a lot. But they are useful if you can afford to add one to your arsenal. And then finally my favorite, which is the manual pump that includes hand pumps, which you, you know, you, you pump with your hand. I'm like squeeze this lever. And it releases milk from your breasts as well as passive pumps like the ladybug and that attaches to your breasts to relieve let down. It can reduce engorgement. It's good if your baby has trouble latching to a very full breast. It can make use of a lot of leaking that might occur while you're pumping or feeding with the other breast.

4 (11m 18s):

Would you consider a passive pump, a manual pump or those two separate categories?

3 (11m 22s):

Yeah, I would consider a passive pump to be a manual pump. Sometimes you can use the passive pump while massaging the breasts. So I suppose that is manual expression.

4 (11m 33s):

Hey, we're gonna take a quick break but I'll be right back.

1 (11m 42s):

This episode is brought to you by Walmart Attention Fashion lovers. The Walmart style tour is traveling across America with a mobile popup, showcasing the latest women's fashion trends to discover, try and love this fall. Meet one-on-one with professional stylists for personalized tips and get a personal color analysis. Plus enjoy free giveaways like engraved lipstick and denim totes while supplies last. Visit walmart style tour.com to find a tour. Stop near you and find all the things you love today.

4 (12m 14s):

Angela, you mentioned that one of the reasons why you started looking into pumps personally was that you experienced some breast firmness and you mentioned your son wasn't a super great breast feeder. What are some common challenges that moms face when they come up on, okay now I need a breast pump, or when they're using the breast pump, what are some issues that arise and how can the right pump help alleviate those issues?

3 (12m 36s):

Often if you have like a decent double electric pump, it's less the pump and more the flange that you're using With the pump, when I first started pumping I, I really underestimated how important the flange size is. My breast pump, which was the Spectra S two, came with 21 millimeter and 24 millimeter flanges. When I went to the lactation consultants, they were like, your nipples are not that size you, this is one of the reasons why you're having a lot of trouble getting a lot of milk out of your pump. You need a much different size flange than this.

3 (13m 20s):

It's very interesting to me that most breast pumps that I've encountered come with that 21 millimeter and 24 millimeter flange when so many of us have nipples that are much smaller than that. So if you're having trouble getting, expressing very much milk out of your pump, I would definitely recommend getting a sizer to see what nipple size you are. And in fact, when you order your pump, you should just, you should also just order nipple sizers anyway and then order some extra f flanges because you it. It's better to deal with it before rather than later like I did.

4 (13m 58s):

Did you ever experience needing a different size flange? Like one for one breast and one un for the other one? 'cause I thought I had that and I thought it was so weird but it was like makes sense.

3 (14m 7s):

I actually didn't do that but maybe I would. Maybe I should have. I, but when I went and I got sized, the lactation consultant told me that I was the same on both breasts. But that's probably very common to need different ones for each breast.

4 (14m 23s):

What do you think are the top features that parents should prioritize when they're selecting a breast pump? Like you get assigned this story, you're like okay, I gotta literally research every breast pump out there. Where do you even start? 'cause now that as the category has expanded, especially as a new parent, it's just like another thing that feels so overwhelming. What are the important features in your opinion having done all this research and writing on this topic?

3 (14m 43s):

Again, aside from the flange size, which I think is the most important thing, you wanna make sure that the breast pump that you get is powerful enough to do a good job of relieving milk from your breast. So generally you want something that is preferably between 250 to 300 millimeters of mercury. So that's MMHG. If you're gonna be pumping frequently, a lot of a lot of the double electric pumps are are going to reach that power. So you should be fine. You also want one with at least two suckling modes. So what that means is you have the massage and stimulation mode and then you have the expression mode.

3 (15m 28s):

These, these massage the nipple, they stimulate the nipple a little bit differently. So the massage mode is faster but gentler and then the expression mode is longer and slower. This just, what that does is it, it works sort of like a, like an actual baby. The way the baby attaches to the breast and like massages the nipple in different ways as he or she starts feeding. It's not a deal breaker but if it's available you may as well go with one that has those different modes. Can

4 (16m 1s):

We talk about some of the newer innovations you mentioned in particular the wearable breast pumps. Are there any additional technologies and breast pumps that you think are game changers that have come out recently? And if you don't love wearable pumps, we we're not brand bashing here. Just maybe explain why.

3 (16m 17s):

No, it's not that I don't love wearable pumps. I think wearable pumps can be really great. Again, like I said, you just don't generally You don't want them to be your sole breast pump. If you're gonna be pumping a lot, if if pumping is sort of like a thing that you know you're just gonna be doing occasionally while you're commuting or on a, the occasional phone call, by all means just get get the wearable. It will probably be easier for you. But back to the question which is like innovation in the breast pump space. When I was pregnant my husband was like, we're gonna get you the best breast pump that you can possibly get. Like there's no way. Like why, why compromise here?

4 (16m 53s):

Yeah, why get a janky breast pump? It's pretty important.

3 (16m 56s):

Yeah. But, but we were talking to a friend of ours who was a dad of a 1-year-old by that point. He is a tech reporter so he's pretty well versed in like innovations in technology and he was like, don't get your expectations too high here. Like and he was right. There's just not a lot of innovation happening apart from the wearable space and I couldn't tell you why that is. I wish I could, I wish I knew. I guess it's sort of the case with a lot of things involving pregnancy and postpartum. We just don't, you

4 (17m 35s):

Are a target consumer for a very short period of time. It's not really worth it for industry. They're not developing lifelong brand loyalty. But I have a theory, so the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare enacted in 2010. In 2012, there's the new requirement that insurance companies have to cover breast pumps for new mothers. I had my first baby in 2014, so just about two years after that went into effect and the market was flooded with crappy pumps 'cause all of a sudden it was like wait a minute. 'cause you know unfortunately, and it still is the case in in many situations, but like having a breast pump was like bougie. Like that's something like rich ladies did. Like I gotta go back to work at my job and no one's buying me a breast pump.

4 (18m 16s):

And then all of a sudden if you did have access to insurance now insurance was supposed to, although they don't always provide for your breast pump. And one of the like things on the checklist before I had a baby was find out what breast pumps your insurance covers. And so as a dietician I was interested in feeding stuff. I'm like, I'm gonna look into this. I was blown away by how crappy some of the pumps that were covered by insurance were. So in my case, I know personally I just went with everything meela 'cause I'm like wait a minute, they've been around for the longest and I had a set of quadruplets and then I had a set of twins. So I was in the NICU and using hospital grade pumps and would like rent that one. And then actually met a me rep who sold it to me at cost, which was awesome and always used that pump and was like, at least I know you've been in this business for longer than two hot seconds since insurance started paying for it.

4 (19m 5s):

So I would argue like a lot of the pumps that came out around 20 12, 13, 14, they were just playing the insurance game, get them manufactured and out on the market as soon as possible because now insurance is paying for them. Do you think there's any credence to that theory? I

3 (19m 18s):

Would buy it totally. I also, I'm not an insurance expert. I can't say with any certainty but I wonder if there's just not enough reimbursement for like the innovation. So they just stick with the same old technology or,

4 (19m 36s):

But also the oldest technology works the best like you said it yourself, the manual hand pump, I mean you can have the fanciest bells and whistles, the hand pump is bombed. Like that's what's gonna help you empty your breast, which is the goal here.

3 (19m 49s):

Yeah, you just sit there and your, your arm gets tired. So it's not super practical for like a frequent use but if it, and dang if it didn't like work way better than my regular pump.

4 (20m 2s):

Are there specific models that stood out to you for their ease of use and portability? I mentioned Madea. I have absolutely no financial involvement with them other than I just loved their pumps.

3 (20m 12s):

So the one that we had the most that we found to be the best is the Spectra S two. It's easy to use, it's easy to set up as far as these things go. One of the things that's nice about it is that it remembers the settings that you last used, which is really helpful if you are pumping at 3:00 AM and you don't wanna have to figure out like the best settings. Once again it also has a nightlight which is again useful for those 3:00 AM breast pump sessions. But like again as I'm saying like the things that make it so good are little things like memory and nightlight. Like that's not crazy innovation but it does help, it does make it a lot easier to to pump at all hours of the day at night.

3 (20m 57s):

Our users who tested these pumps liked that you could customize the power and the speed as I noted before, you wanna have different settings when you're pumping. So our users really liked that they were able to customize the, the strength and speed of the pumping session. For example, also like if you have sore breasts for whatever reason sore nipples, you could lower the suction level and that would make it a little bit gentler and easier on your nipples. It's pretty quiet. I was able to do it during more robust meetings. It does make a pretty distinctive sound.

3 (21m 37s):

So you know if you're sitting in the library like people are gonna be like, what's that whooshing noise? The Spectra S one is the battery powered version. It's not super portable because it is about the same size as the Spectra S two. I would describe it as the size of a small boombox but it is battery powered. So if you need to you can take it on the go. For wearables, which I didn't report, my wonderful colleague Lisa Fogarty recorded the wearable breast flip story. She found that the mom cozy S 12 was the best wearable pump. It's one of the only wearable pumps that we looked at that has those memory functions. Which again I think is pretty crucial.

4 (22m 17s):

Hey, we're gonna take a quick break but I'll be right back.

2 (22m 23s):

This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Do you have a point of sale system you can trust or is it a real POS? You need Shopify for retail from accepting payments to managing inventory, Shopify POS has everything you need to sell in person. Go to shopify.com/system all lowercase to take your retail business to the next level today. That's shopify.com/system.

4 (22m 57s):

Angela. Did you analyze cleaning and maintenance? 'cause I know that's an important part of your pump consideration too. You mentioned you know the hand pump, there's a lot less parts. So do you think that's an important thing to consider when you're choosing a breast pump?

3 (23m 10s):

Yeah, some breast pumps have backflow. So what that means is it prevents the milk from coming back down into the tube that's gonna make it easier to clean and more sanitary. But in general, like with the exception of the manual pumps, they're all kind of a pain in the butt to clean. They're usually dishwasher safe, which thank God, but you still have to put all the pieces in the dishwasher and some pieces have to be hand washed and they're really small. I wish I had better things to say about the cleaning aspect of this, but it is one of the hardest parts about pump

4 (23m 45s):

Life. It's just going into your baby's body. Like it is important. That's terrible. Oh

3 (23m 49s):

It's super, super important but it's not fun.

4 (23m 52s):

What do you think about storage options? Like how important are, you know the attachable bottles in the freezer bags? Like clearly a lot of these pumps want you to buy the pump but then you, they want you to buy the other consumables and then establish you as a customer who needs to continually purchase things. So do you think that they're kind of gimmicky or do you find some of those systems helpful?

3 (24m 11s):

I don't think you need to choose the breast pump based on like the accessories you can go with the accessories that the brand sells. With the breast pump it'll just be easier 'cause you know it's gonna fit fine but you also, there's a lot of options. You might like other options better. You can get them relatively easy easily online at other websites, Amazon or Target or whatever. So

4 (24m 33s):

I found that the target storage bags like the the target brand of breast milk bags, like up and up or whatever it was, they were so much better than like some of the really, you know, fancy dedicated products where they only do breast milk and breast storage. And I just wanna remind parents that just 'cause something costs more doesn't necessarily mean it's better. You kind of have to find what works for you and you figure it out through trial and error.

3 (24m 54s):

Yeah, figure it out. Trial and error. Don't really worry about that piece too much right off the bat you'll, that will come with time.

4 (25m 0s):

Did your research uncover any common misconceptions about breast pumps or breast pumping or it's something you're like oh people always look for this but it really doesn't matter.

3 (25m 8s):

I sound like a broken record and I'm sorry about that.

4 (25m 12s):

You need to repeat things like 15 times before people hear or understand them anymore. So go for it. And

3 (25m 17s):

Apparently for myself too, because I made the same mistake which is not considering the flange size when I got my own breast pump that I'm not sure I would describe that as a misconception. But I would say that I was personally surprised how important that piece of the puzzle is is getting that that correct flange size. And there's not a lot of like information about how important flan izing is that comes along with a lot of these breast pumps. I find that kind of odd because it's an opportunity for them to sell you more stuff but it's just something you kind of had to figure out on your own and that's what I ended up doing. And according to one study, which I don't wanna quote what brand it was 'cause I don't quite remember, but they found over years of selling these products that most breastfeeding moms or breastfeeding parents have nipples that are a bit smaller than the 24 and 21 millimeter landes that come with the breast pumps.

3 (26m 14s):

So just like in case that's helpful to know you're certainly not if you find that the the flange doesn't fit you well, you are one of many who have that problem

4 (26m 23s):

And I love your suggestion and your recommendation. Like you were seeing a lactation specialist who could help you with measurement but you can also order these nipple rulers are like four bucks on Amazon. They're, it's kind of wild. You can measure your own nipple just to get an idea. 'cause you're right, you're assume like oh this is the standard size that comes like but you don't just like buy a pair of shoes and like hope that it's the right size that shows up. Like you measure yourself and you know what size fits for you and you do have to experiment with different sizes. So I think that's, that's a really important point because the best pump in the world, if you have the wrong flange size is probably not gonna work for you.

3 (26m 59s):

Yes, exactly. That's a really good analogy with the shoe thing. Like obviously we're different bodies, we come in different sizes. Our nipples are the same as the rest of us.

4 (27m 10s):

Tell me about the actual reporting out on this door. Because I'm obsessed with consumer reports. I love to watch all the behind the scenes stuff. Like when they test all the car seats with the, I actually tried to get the same dummy that your car testing, car seat testing people use, it was like $10,000. We were gonna use it for a baby led weaning thing. I was like, oh nevermind we'll just use dolls. But like the background, like what did it look like? Were you in a room full of breast pumps? Like did they pick which ones you bought? Did you have a budget? Was there a number? Like how did the actual testing go?

3 (27m 39s):

This story is part of what we internally call test X. So what that means is we have a survey to a a bunch of, in this case breastfeeding moms who have used various breast pumps and we just get their opinions on the experience. We have like a series of questions. It's it's it's like like a research study, like

4 (28m 6s):

A focus group?

3 (28m 7s):

Like a focus group. That's a great way of putting it. Yes we have market analysts who will look at the field and find the most popular highest selling breast pumps. So we're not gonna choose, you know, some random brand on Amazon that has you know, two reviews or whatever on it. We're gonna go for the biggest ones, the one you're most likely to consider. We narrow it down to a manageable size and the manageable like number of products. And then we conduct our survey. We have a specific team of people who conduct these surveys and they have a very particular scientific approach that is above the head of me, a lowly reporter.

3 (28m 52s):

My job is to take the information that the researchers that are testers glean and turn it into information that is easy to understand on the part of your average reader.

4 (29m 5s):

Okay, let's say you have a mom friend who's never had a baby or a sister and they're like Angela, you did all the research on breast pumps and I'm feeling overwhelmed. Where do you suggest that parents go to read your synopsis in your summary? Because I love consumer reports 'cause you can read like the source documents and it's really long but also like where's the summary at?

3 (29m 23s):

Yeah, so basically TLDR of this is get the Spectra S two IMO get a manual pump because you just don't know. And if it's financially feasible get the mom cozy S 12 wearable. It may or may not be covered by your insurance but having more options will make it more likely that you will find success in this. It is not the easiest side of motherhood or parenthood in my opinion, but the more the better.

4 (29m 55s):

I used to have multiple pumps. I had one for the car, I actually got a ticket one time for driving and pumping, which I know you're not supposed to do. But in real life I was a consultant and spent my entire life in my car and if I, one of my babies he'd had to pump in the car and the reason why I got the ticket was 'cause I had my phone in my hand and the cop saw that but then I had the cover over me and he, I mean I was like literally naked, pumping while he's giving me a ticket and he's like trying, he's diverting his gaze and he's like, I'm not looking at you. He's like, my wife does that pumping stuff too. I think it's really cool and that's not why I'm giving you a ticket. It's 'cause you were touching your phone. And I was like okay, I totally get it. And I think you're not supposed to pump when you're driving. Is that true Angela?

3 (30m 28s):

I don't know how to drive.

4 (30m 30s):

Gosh I don Dunno. Awesome.

3 (30m 32s):

Yeah,

4 (30m 33s):

There you go. There you go. We'll have to have another expert on who specializes in pumping and driving. Now all the cops are gonna write to me. You're not supposed to do that when you're driving, but any kind of last minute pieces of advice for a mom who is trying to pick a pump for her next baby. 'cause a lot of our parents listening caregivers, they already have a baby, they're starting solid foods which oh I also need to ask you about in one second. But for their next baby, like these things change. Do you think consumer Reports is a good place to go and get this kind of data? Were you impressed with the process of how they went through the pumps? Are there other resources that you would recommend? Give us all the details on picking a pump.

3 (31m 6s):

Working at Consumer Reports has made my life as a mother way easier because I have these experts and I have all this amazing, the access to amazing information and my own reporting, which has made me a source for my friends. Like my friends are constantly texting me, asking me for various product related baby recommendations. But in terms of like advice that I would give, if you are early in your motherhood journey, and this is not product related so much as it is pumping related, just get an appointment with a lactation consultant.

3 (31m 47s):

I believe that the A CA covers counseling, lactation counseling, call your insurance, see how many counseling sessions with a lactation consultant. They will cover and use every last one of those sessions. If you are on parental leave, if you and so many of us don't have access to parental leave, that's another story for another time. But if you do have parental leave, it's a good way to spend that parental leave is just like sit in an office with a lactation consultant and have them tell you every last thing about feeding your child

4 (32m 26s):

And maybe let them measure your nipples too

3 (32m 28s):

And let them measure your nipples. Yes, that is what they did and I am so grateful to them. They were awesome.

4 (32m 34s):

Hey, we're gonna take a quick break but I'll be right back.

6 (32m 41s):

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7 (32m 60s):

No. Yeah and I just boiled this pasta, don't you know.

6 (33m 3s):

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4 (33m 15s):

Okay. Angela, I gotta ask you too about feeding your son who's 10 months old. We were chatting before he goes to daycare. This is like a lot of our parents are listening to this on their way to work or they're going back to work and you mentioned that you're doing kind of a hybrid where you're sending purees to daycare and doing finger foods at home. Just in general, since your baby turns six months of age, how was that second half of infancy for you? Like you, you clearly got the breastfeeding slash pumping down, but then when you started Solid Foods, how has that transition been for you and for your son?

3 (33m 45s):

I did not get breastfeeding and pumping down super well. Like I transitioned to Formula when I went back to work, I just did not enjoy pumping. I just didn't like being hooked up to a machine so much of the day. And breastfeeding was fine but I was like my supply went down once I went back to work and I was like, I'm just forget it, it's fine. The data shows that after four months, around four months, the benefits for your child start to get a lot smaller. So I was like forget it, I'm just gonna do formula. Haven't looked back very grateful that I did that. It's expensive but for me way easier. So if you find that breastfeeding and pumping is for whatever reason, not working for you, I just wanna say like please do not bend over backwards trying to make those things work because you don't have to do it if you don't wanna do it.

3 (34m 35s):

But back to the other side of things, Solid Foods, it's been anxiety inducing a little bit but fun. Like clearly my kid is having a lot of fun trying new, new foods. It's just sitting there and watching him gag on his food and be like, he's not choking, he is not choking, he is not choking.

4 (34m 53s):

That's not fun for you. See I love to watch babies gag on food because then they recover and go back to eating and you're like oh my gosh, this is so amazing what you could do on your own. But I'm being facetious. I totally get it. What other things have been anxiety inducing about this process? 'cause I appreciate your real take

3 (35m 7s):

Trying to figure out what to feed him. I'm not used to having to feed someone other than myself and occasionally my husband, although he's the cook in the house, so trying to be like okay, what am I gonna give my baby to nights? Like is it gonna be another puree? Am I gonna just give him a pile of Cheerios? Am I gonna make him something separate?

4 (35m 29s):

Well I'm clearly sending you my hundred First Foods list as soon as we get off this call and I have a whole program that shows you how to make all of those foods with videos and recipes that are appropriate for different ages and stages. So you know, 10 months is a great time to start exploring more finger foods and you what you're expressing is the number one thing after parents get over the fear of choking. It's, I don't know which foods to make or how to make them safe for my baby. So you have helped me so much with all the pump information. I wanna help you with Safe Food Prep for your 10 month

3 (35m 56s):

Old. I need the help. Thank you so much.

4 (35m 58s):

Alright, well Angela, tell us where our audience can go to read your reporting for consumer reports about choosing a breast pump.

3 (36m 5s):

You can find my reporting on consumer reports.org. My name is Angela Ashbrook. I'm not really on social media much anymore.

4 (36m 15s):

Good for you. Let's have another inner conversation about that sometime. Oh

3 (36m 19s):

My God, please everybody just get, get off social media if you can.

4 (36m 24s):

Absolutely. No I have a question. Do you think Consumer Reports is like, oh wait a minute, you have a baby and we're trying to do more baby reporting. Are they like looping you in for some other projects related to, you know, turning 1-year-old or toddlers or anything that you can use your real life experience to also help inform your reporting?

3 (36m 39s):

I have found myself to be very passionate about this product category. So I am pitching myself forward for any and all related baby products. I'm doing a lot of strollers right now. That's super fun. I am such a nerd about strollers. I mentioned to a friend the other day that I had a dream about a stroller and she was like, you dream about strollers. Like yes, I dream about strollers.

4 (37m 3s):

I love to find people who have found their passion in life and dreaming about strollers. I dream about highchair. So you know, maybe we can collaborate sometime.

3 (37m 11s):

Yeah, find your passion and if it's strollers go with God

4 (37m 15s):

Or breast pumps. Exactly. Well thank you so much. I really appreciate you sharing your time and your expertise and I know you did a lot of research on this and there's a lot of moms out there who are also thank you 'cause you saved them a ton of time.

3 (37m 24s):

Thank you for having me on.

4 (37m 26s):

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that interview with Angela Lash Brick. I love that she not only interviewed 34 moms for her reporting on breast pumps for consumer reports, she also reviewed and tested and analyzed dozens of pumps and then she herself had her own lived experience. And I think that kind of makes us like the perfect trifecta of like, I will trust your opinion on breast pumps because you clearly have done the research and done the work and she has a whole report on it. You can check it out@consumerreports.org. Remember, you can get $10 off your monthly subscription@cr.org slash blw and you sign up there. Thank you so much to Angela and the team at Consumer Reports. Thank you for all the baby work that they've been doing lately. Oh my gosh, I was like deep on the baby side of their website, which I'll link to in the show notes and the description for this episode.

4 (38m 11s):

But they are covering pretty much any purchasing decision you need to make related to your baby. They've done a lot of research on it, so check out the show notes for this episode@blwpodcast.com slash 4 7 4. A special thank you to our partners at AirWave Media. If you like podcasts that feature food and science and using your brain, check out some of the podcasts from AirWave Media. We're online@blwpodcast.com. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time

8 (38m 43s):

At a time when change is constant and we are pulled in far too many directions. We need a way to stay present to life and to increase our ability to remain calm, think clearly, and maintain our wellbeing. Many studies indicate mindfulness improves our mental, emotional, and physical health. On a mindful moment with Theresa McKee, you can learn how to practice mindfulness and enjoy its many benefits. Tune in for guided meditations and to hear tips and advice from some of the most respected experts in the fields of mental health and mindfulness. The world truly can be a better place.

8 (39m 24s):

It all starts with a mindful moment.