Ardo has developed a brand new range of Breastpumps and nursing aid products. These new products have been developed with the purpose of meeting both the personal requirements and individual needs of mothers and their babies. Personal requirements for me were ease, comfort, efficiency and discreetness. I wanted to be able to use this pump sitting on my comfortable sofa, watching the TV without feeling like an eye sore in front of my husband and also wanted it to be discreet in front of Noah. I wasn't sure how he would react to the big scary electric pump attached to mummy. I was extremely lucky to have been sent the Calypso Electric Breast Pump and also just in time for our holiday abroad.
So what's in the box: Calypso Breast Pump with single pumpset, breast shells 26mm and 31mm, breast shell insert 28mm, OptiFlow 26mm, brush for cleaning and bottle stand. In the box is also a handy card with instructions of how to get set up, so its easier to find than in a large instruction booklet. The breast pump, despite my thoughts beforehand was really easy to use, small and considerably quiet. I've heard the pumps going on the maternity ward and I know they can be quite noisy, so I was expecting this pump to be noisy too, but you will be surprised how quiet it is.
With the pump having 64 different combinations of settings, it was really easy and adaptable for me in different locations and to use in different positions.
Lets get down to the nitty gritty, the pump had great suction, it was really quiet when the pump was on too. I found that it expressed milk really quickly, I was getting around 8oz in half an hour, so I would make a cuppa and sit back and watch my favourite soap, knowing that this would be done by the end of it! Also, that kind of tells you a lot about the product, if I was able to relax and with the TV it couldn't have been uncomfortable and noisy. On holiday it was easy set up in the hotel room and I just used it in there, it's not the sort of product you can use anywhere, you need electricity for starters and the power pack is quite heavy – I also didn't want to damage it. In the box, there are 3 different sized funnel kits, so for me, someone with small breasts found it comfortable with the 26mm funnel and for women with larger breasts it went up to 31mm.
MummyConstant Pump Summary
Sterilising: The parts come apart and assemble easily, there is also a guide card to help you, so you can't go wrong, once they are washed you sterilise them in your normal method. It couldn't have been easier, on holiday we had an electric steriliser in the hotel room so I could carry on as normal.
Cleaning: Cleaning the parts was really easy and I could do it with the other bottles and things I needed to clean. I always keep baby bottles and pump parts separate from the other washing up! The pack came with a bottle brush so you could clean those hard to reach parts.
Useage: Putting the pump together, plugging it in and choosing your vacuum/Cycle is really easy! I know I have said easy a lot but it really was, it all makes sense and you can work out what strength you need and the cycle length once you get into your first time use. I discovered on my first use that I needed a higher vacuum and a shorter cycle, this was because my milk was still coming in I think.
Things to look out for: Make sure you have a sterilised bottle ready to pour the milk into it, so it's ready for baby to drink, or sterilised container.
The Calypso Electric Breast Pump does come at a hefty price of £120, compared to other pumps, but it has a guarantee to last you through two babies and is much more powerful than some high street brands, so you do get value for money over time. You can buy the pumps on the Ardo website: http://www.ardobreastpumps.co.uk/breastpumps/Calypso%20electric%20breast%20pump
You can also follow Ardo on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ardobreastpumps. Check out the new Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ARDObreastpumps.
