I had a lot of time to peruse the internet and review tons and tons of product reviews on a lot of different items prior to registering or buying any baby items. I thought that I would share my personal faves since there are so many new mommies pending.
A lot of the items that I chose are really pricey but so far they have exceeded my expectations and have stellar reviews from others as well.
I mostly chose products based on safety, durability, ease of use and warranty information. There were a lot of products I liked because of the looks, colors or themes but I decided to go with other peoples experiences as I prefer to feed off of others experience.
The two favorite companies that I have found are Chicco and Lanisoh. Chicco is an Italian company and it is very difficult to find any Chicco product that has been recalled. Lanisoh is a company focused on breast feeding and breastfeeding products.
I have tried many brands of products and these are my favorites:
My friend Brandy from Texas sent me these: $5-10 @ walmart/Target/Babies R Us depending on quantity.
She said she noticed I had registered for a different brand but these were her saving grace. They have some sort of gel in them that can absorb a truck ton of liquid. I had forgotten to bring some to the hospital with me and the ones they gave me there (medela I think?) soaked through really fast. I can sleep on my stomach for 6 hrs with these and be dry when I wake.
They gave me this lanolin in the hospital:
I dont have much experience with Lanolin but the combination of those two products mentioned above started my love affair with the entire Lansinoh line. I then proceeded to buy:
My manual breast pump: $34.00 @ Wal-mart/Target
It is so simple to clean and use and has stellar suction. I can take it with me in the diaper bag and pump between feedings if necessary. Brandon tends to eat all night and is finicky with eating during the day. Pumping the excess manually has helped me to ensure that I have enough to feed him with @ night without having to stress over the discomfort of engorgement.
I loved the Lansinoh Manual so much that I got this: $147.00 Wal-mart/Target. $175 @ Babies R Us.
It is mid-level priced as far as the electric pumps go but it has excellent reviews and replacement parts are very inexpensive. Like, less than $1.00 for most gaskets and such. My parents had initially bought an Evenflo Elan for me but I was afraid of what I had read about milk leaking in and destroying the motor. I don't know if that is still true but I would be devastated if my parents spent $60 on something that stopped working in the first few weeks of having it. (Breast pumps are personal hygiene products so they cant be returned) I haven't used this one yet but I feel very comfortable based on other reviews that I won't have any issues.
See below, need more space for images!