Breast Aid Pads Review

It's not that often that a press release lands in my inbox that makes me think "Whu?"  Even less often that it makes me think "Whu?" to such an extent that I have to reply to the sender with my questions along the lines of "I can't quite picture it".  Enviro-Pod's Breast Aid Pads though, are a rare thing.

Squeaky and I completed our breastfeeding journey last summer, but not without a few hitches along the way.  One of which was a sudden & debilitating attack of mastitis, while away at the in-laws for a long weekend.  Fortunately, we'd been talking about mastitis the previous week at the breastfeeding peer support training, so I knew what to do.  Keep it warm, feed off that side til it's empty, gentle painkillers, and unusually for breastfeeding not listening to what your body tells you (which in my case would have been to erect a steel fence roughly 3 foot around the outside of my boob and keep well away!)

Breast Aid pads are designed to help with mastitis, and other breast pain associated with breastfeeding, choosing not to breastfeed, or moving from breast to bottle.  The pads use NASA technology to reflect body heat back onto the breast, keeping them warm, helping with milk flow, and reducing the risk of pain or easing pain that's already there.  The pads fit directly into your bra, with no need for any other fixings.  Though they were launched in Sweden, the pads are made in the UK, and endorsed by medical teams as far off as Australia.

I wish to goodness I'd had these pads during that weekend of mastitis.  My first thoughts were that they are big, but then I remembered that you kind of need the support and warmth to go round to the side as well, almost round under your arm, and that's how the pads fit.  At first glance the underside looks like shredded newspaper, but it's actually Flectalon, which is used to line preemie incubators, with a very very very thin layer of aluminium, to reflect body heat back.  (Bear in mind at this point, my boobs - non-pregnancy mode - are a GG cup, and the sample I received was the smaller size. I'm not kidding when I said they're big)

The images here are of black pads, but they're also available in white, and in small & large sizes.  At £26.00 they're not cheap, but they are washable, reusable, and could easily save a fortune in not having to buy other breast pads (and painkillers!).  As I'm not currently breastfeeding, I can't comment on how well they work for me, but I would definitely give them a chance if I head down that road again in the future.  I've got a few friends who are currently breastfeeding, or soon will be, and I'll be making sure they know about Breast Aid pads. Who knows, one of them may end up writing a guest blog for me on the subject!

Disclosure: I was provided with a pack of Breast Aid Pads free of charge for the purpose of this review.  I was not told what to write, and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

Snow!

Gosh, the snow's a bit unexpected, isn't it? I was happily sitting in my breastfeeding peer support training yesterday morning, when I spotted the first little white flutter, and within an hour it was properly sticking.  Brrrrrr!  The girls at the peer support group were very impressed with the Symbio, and I had to keep popping outside to demonstrate it to them.  I was very glad it's so light, too, as I had to push Squeaky up the snowy hill from the class to the car park before we could go home.  Our other pushchair would have been pushing me back down the hill!

We spent yesterday afternoon hiding out in the house, making cheese straws.  They definitely get the Squeaky seal of approval, as well as the Mummy & Daddy approval.  Definitely moreish.  If I can work out how to do a cut on here, I might go as far as to give you a recipe, but that's something for another day, 'kay?

Today we decided to stave off cabin fever by heading out into the big wide world.  It's pretty much impossible to get the car out of our road when the snow hits, we're on a steep hill, on the side of another steep hill (does that make sense?).  Last year (well, January this year really), I was hugely pregnant in the snow, and completely stuck in the house for 2 weeks, as I couldn't get past the front door for fear of falling onto my bump.  Very glad that's over.

We wrapped ourselves up nice & warm, gave a silent thanks to Graco for sending us the cosy-toes to go with the Symbio, and walked into the village.  No plan of where to go & what to do, so decided to jump on the bus & head to town. 

The big wheels on the Symbio, as well as how light it is, made it really easy to get onto the bus, and the swivelling front wheels meant we could get into the space at the front with no problems.  Brake on, and away we go.  SOMEone slept through the whole journey, which goes to show how comfortable she was.    The subtitle to that photo is "This gives me an idea..."  which it does, or I wouldn't have said it (durrr).  I'm not going to say what my idea is just yet, it's going to take a little bit more planning, but it could be a lot of fun.

Town was freezing, though the streets were nice & clear, and we had a happy shopping excursion, not spending much, but trying to.  The Symbio was lovely to manoeuvre around, and comes in slightly narrower than its predecessor, as I could fit through a couple of gaps I've got stuck in before.  After a while, we popped into the pub for a spot of lunch (fish & chips, yummy), and to warm up our freezing hands. 

As you can see, we got the "Moon" grey colour version of the Symbio & cosy-toes.  While I've been loving pictures of the red, I can just imagine it clashing with the snowsuit.  Grey is perfect for us, so stylish, and goes with my roots!

Mega-Mummy Milestone!

Today was the start of the long-awaited Breastfeeding Peer Support training course.  I say long-awaited, I don't think it's really taken that long, just since I first heard about it til today, so much has gone on.

And as I was in the course for 2 hours with the rest of the mums, Squeaky was in the crèche.  Only the room next door mind you, but still out of sight & with other people for a whole 2 hours.  The crèche is run by our local genesis project, who provide free childcare to enable mums to go on training like ours, so they can gain skills& find work.

Now, I've got to admit I was apprehensive.  Squeaky's got a fair sized attack of separation anxiety going on, along with a need to wind herself around my ankles every waking moment.  To the extent that she howls when I hand her over to my mum, even when I'm in the room.  But she was brilliant.  I'd read something about not straightaway handing them over to a person, so I let her stay on me for a few minutes, and she then went happily to one of the staff, and into the ball pool for a play.  I had to fill in some paperwork, and maybe that helped too, that I was still in the room and visible to start with, while Squeaky settled in.  Then off I went, knowing she was only next door, and with other babies she knew as well as the staff.

And she was fine.  Absolutely fine.  Played in the ball pool, made some spooky handprints (white paint on black paper) for Hallowe'en, and had a nap in a pushchair. All in all, a good morning.  I was slightly disappointed that she was still asleep when I went to pick her up, I was looking forward to her greeting me, but instead I got to wake her up and got the puzzled "where am I?" look instead.  Maybe next week she'll be awake?