Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Manual Breastpump Review & Giveaway

Today, my lovely friend Jax from Making It Up has volunteered to review the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Manual Breastpump for us. Jax is a fellow breastfeeder with plenty of experience of pumps and expressing, so I’m happy to take her word for it! She writes partly about life home educating two children and raising a baby, and partly about anything else that takes her fancy, so do check out her blog!

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When Luschka asked if I could review a Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Manual Breastpump for her I was very happy to oblige – I’m a big fan of Diary of a First Child, (edit: awwww. Thank you!) and also breastfeeding, so it’s a win win situation for me.

The Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature manual breastpump has a lot going for it:

It’s BPA free, which I think has to be the starting point for anything you are going to put you r breast milk in really. It comes in a neat box that contains a microwave sterilising box, and doubles for me as a storage box, and is also supplied with milk storage pots and a bottle and teat.

I have to say that I don’t find the milk storage pots desperately useful anymore, although if I were expressing several times a day and storing it in the fridge for freezing it at the end of the day as I did with my eldest, they would probably come in very handy.

The pump itself is very simple to take apart for cleaning and to put together again, having only three parts, which is a definite plus point. Being faced with a Mensa level construction puzzle after a night of too little sleep doesn’t make any of us happy.

But, and this is a fairly big but, the style of the actual cup bit is, in my opinion, not absolutely ideal. It’s described as flexible with massage ripples, to encourage fast, comfortable milk let down, but I just didn’t find that it worked that way. It’s not uncomfortable as such, but it’s not all that flexible either, and I can’t see that it would fit all breasts all that well. I certainly didn’t get fast let down with it either – I just don’t think the massage ripples are as effective as they could be.

I also think that the lack of any way to cover it for transport is rather a shame – although you can use the steriliser/storage box at a push.

I don’t think this pump is efficient enough to suffice if you were relying entirely on expressing, or even doing daily bouts, but I think it may well suit people who are just wanting to pump every now and then – maybe to have some milk stored for an afternoon or evening out or for emergencies.

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I must admit, I’m a fan of electric breast pumps myself, but I do know a few people who prefer manual and a big reason for that is that manual breast pumps are silent – there’s no buzzing to wake a sleeping household!

Please note: Although sterilising is important for new babies, it’s not as important once your child is eating things off the floor! However, WHAT you sterilise with is incredibly important. Do not use Milton to clean your pumps or bottles – breast milk is ALIVE with antibodies and other awesome bits, so killing every living thing with Milton and other antibacterial soaps and sterilisers remove so much of the goodness. Instead, use a crushed 1g (1000mg) vitamin C tablet, or just use boiling water.

Tommee Tippee have offered to share a manual Closer To Nature breast pump with a Diary of a First Child. There are two ways that you can win this pump. Either leave an expressing tip in the comment section below, or leave a tip on how to increase milk supply. (Follow the links if you have no idea on either!)

The giveaway runs until noon (GMT) 29 November 2010, and is open to all readers. A winner will be drawn at random, using Random.org

If you can’t wait for the giveaway to end, you can also purchase the breastpump for £26.99 direct from Tommee Tippee, although shopping around could save you some money as various supermarkets often offer discounts on these.

You do not have to tweet or share this competition to enter, but doing so helps ensure that I can keep bringing you give-aways every week! You can subscribe to Diary of a First Child by RSS, email or through Google Friend Connect (see the bottom to the right). You can also follow us on Facebook or on Twitter. We hope to see you back again soon!

Congratulations to Victoria Boland who won the giveaway.

For reviews of other breast pumps:

• Jax’s Lansinoh Breast Pump and Accessories Review
• Tommee Tippee Electric Closer to Nature Breast Pump Review
• Medela Mini Breast Pump Review

For further breastfeeding information:

• How Is Breast Milk Made?
• Restarting Breastfeeding After Stopping or After Traumatic Birth
• Breastfeeding vs Bottle Feeding: The Cost and The Effort Factors
• A Man’s Thoughts on Breastfeeding in Public
• Recipe: Breastmilk Enhancement Tea
• Recipes: Lactation Biscuits & A Breastmilk Smoothie
• Lesser Known Breastmilk Secrets
• Breastfeeding: It Would Have Been Nice To Know
• For the Love of Breasts