Freeze your own milk (Avent Breast Milk Storage Kit)

Member Name: Clayeree

Product:	Avent Breast Milk Storage Kit
Date:	11/10/09 (74 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Connectability with other Avent products

Disadvantages: Pricey; markings are unclear; cups are fragile when frozen

I was lucky enough to be given this product as a freebie by a midwife at a breastfeeding workshop I went to just before my son was born. At the time I thought I would find it really useful for storing breast milk but actually I have only recently begun to use this product for storing baby food instead.

~~~ What you get in the kit ~~~

10 cups which hold 180ml each
10 lids
2 adaptors

The cups come in a sealed and sterile plastic bag together with a clip that you can use for re-sealing the bag once you have removed one cup. The lids and adaptors require sterilising prior to their first use.

According to Avent, the cups should only be used and re-sterilised four times before you dispose of them which means that this is really not an environmentally friendly option even though the cups can be recycled.

The adaptors can be used to attach a cup to an Avent breast pump or to attach a teat so you can feed baby directly from the storage cup.

The cups are marked in ounces and millilitres and stack into each other for ease of storage. The lids twist securely onto the cup to ensure there are no spills. You can also buy larger size 240ml cups separately for when your baby is older.

~~~ My opinion ~~~

I only used these storage cups a few times for freezing breast milk because my son was so hungry, any milk I managed to express ended up being fed to him the same day. However since weaning my son, I have found the cups extremely useful for storing baby food as you can freeze the correct portion (I find my 11 month old can eat a whole 240ml cup of food now) and then just defrost it in the container without having to faff around with ice cube trays.

If you do freeze milk or baby food in one of these cups, be careful not to drop it when you take it out of the freezer. I did and the cup shattered like glass - because the plastic is so thin it becomes really brittle and fragile when frozen. The cups could also be used for storing milk or food in the fridge.

I did think that the markings on the side of the cup could be a little clearer as it is quite difficult to see how much you have put in it. You can write on the side of the cup to label what is inside and the date which is useful.

I don't think I would have gone out and bought this product but am glad that I was given it because it has been really handy to have. If you are using other Avent products such as the breast pump and feeding bottles and are intending to store lots of expressed milk then these would be invaluable.

~~~ Pricing and Availability ~~~

The Philips Avent breast milk storage kit is available from Boots for £8.50. You can also buy larger cups and separate lids directly from Philips Avent at shop.philips.co.uk.

I believe that this product is quite expensive for what you get and given that you can only use each cup four times I don't believe that it is very good value for money.

Summary: Recommended if you are using other Avent products and wish to store large quantities of breast milk