Medela Breast Milk Storage Bottles - BPA-Free - Pack of 2 x 250 ml

I am not someone who posts frequent reviews of products, however, given some of the reviews for this item, I felt it was important to share my own experience of using this.Our LO is exclusively feeding from expressed milk, and therefore we required a high quality durable pump. While we find the Spectra pump extremely good and comfortable, it is somewhat lacking in portability and use “on-the-go”, always having to try and time outings such as shopping or seeing family/friends around pumping, and having to find a quiet spot of a car park to excuse yourself to for 15 minutes to pump.There were several comments here that made me ambivalent about buying this “hands-free pump”, which I want to address in turn:1) concerns re: leakage- from the comments my belief would have been that hands free pumps, by nature, must be prone to leak. The instruction manual which came with the pump gives clear instructions re its usage and how to wear (and how not to)- yes, one has to use this either when standing or sitting upright, and while I haven’t tried, I would imagine lying flat or bending over would indeed cause leakage. This has caused some consternation on the reviews. I imagine it would be difficult to invent a pump that would not leak in such positions, as the degree of suction to maintain contact in the suction cups would have to be of such a strength that I can only wonder would likely cause extreme discomfort. Having to be upright does not cause however significant restriction. I can still put clothes in the washing machine (squatting, instead of bending forwards), prepare dinner or can walk around town for the duration of the pumping without any leakage. I can even bottle feed the expressed milk to the LO as I am pumping for the next feed. I could not do any of these with a non hands free pump2) insufficient volumes being expressed- I have not found this to be the case if one takes care in positioning the cups as per instructions in manual. The volumes expressed for me are the same as with the hospital grade Sectra pump. The same variables which affect supply (time of day, hydration) affect my supply whichever of the two pumps I use. One can increase or decrease vacuum strength manually on the pump itself dictated by comfort.3) collection cups being too small- each holds ~150mL- I personally have found this to be sufficient when expressing 2-3 hourly, as the bottles which you attach to our sectra pump also only hold 150-170mL. If I expressed less frequently, then perhaps I would need more capacity initially, but also I would imagine persistent infrequent pumping would before long cause reduced supply anyway.4) collection cups not fully emptying when pouring milk into bottles- I have not found this to be a difficulty at all personally. I find them to fully empty, with perhaps being 3-5mL left, at most, but if these volumes being lost make a significant difference to a LO feeding, it may be too early to be using a breast pump until milk has fully come in.My own thoughts1) pouring milk at end of expressing session- the best way I found to do this (being right handed) is holding the bottle in my left hand, collection cup in my right hand, with the breast shield facing up towards ceiling, before tilting to pour out the spout. I haven’t found there to be leakage nor residual milk left behind2) charge - while the instruction manual states there are difficult coloured lights on the dial which appear, I have found in practice the pump can quickly run out of charge without much notice. I would therefore tend to charge this between each expressing session overnight, and lasts me during the day3) no timer on the pump- this is present on others including my sectra pump, but is a small irritation only, as I use my phones timer without too much undue bother!Overall this pump has freed me up enormously- I am able to feed and express simultaneously, freeing me from the dread of if my pumping needed to coincide with LO feeding- with either a delay to LO feeding, or my pumping- no one wins- or interrupting time when having family/friends round, or when out and about. It’s also enabled me therefore to pump much more regularly and reliably, and reduced my symptoms of intermittent blocked ducts.In our daily routine I am using this pump ~ 6-7x daily for 20 minutes each session. We have had it for coming up two weeks, and thus I cannot comment on motor durability and thus cannot comment on how it will last with our heavy duty use in coming weeks.Hope this is helpful.

Really great price. I normally pay near enough£15 for these so this was a bargain! They are the best bottles aswell. I use sterifeed also but they aren’t marked as well as the Medela ones are.

The pump looks good however in my case the tubing broke in the 3rd use, it was disappointing as I just started pumping to introduce the bottle to my baby, ow I’m not able to do it all and will have to find a pump with better quality parts that last longer and don’t makes you rush to get a new one

5* because it does the job and works well for me. I would have valued some real reviews when shopping for pumps (too few ‘verified purchase’ reviews), so will try and be thorough!It comes with a few flange sizes, although the smallest size doesn’t quite feel small enough, but haven’t had any trouble getting milk, just can sometimes be a little sore afterwards. I don’t use it frequently - a few times a week - so this could potentially be an issue for regular use. It is a bit noisy, but not horrendous. Fits in nursing bra which is convenient.The only thing that does really annoy me, is that when you’re finished, there is always some milk in the flange that doesn’t drain and so if you’re not careful you can get milk on you. Not worth knocking a star off for though.Battery life seems good, but there is a comment in the manual about the product only having xxx hours life, so I’ll be intrigued to see how it degrades.

The 'buts': the machine itself is fairly bulky, while the strap is too short to carry it as a crossbody bag. It feels uncofortably heavy when wearing it on the neck. I'm sure every mum has a cross-body bag strap somewhere at home to use with the pump, though.Now, why 5 stars despite this?Because this pump has something more important than anything else -- the quality. It is impressive that it is not only designed but also MADE in Switzerland (apart from the charger which is made in China). What it means for me is the trust in the quality of the product and the trust that it really is BPA free, and as safe for my baby as a plastic pump cup can be. This combined with the pump efficiently doing what it is designed to do, deserves 5 stars.I definitely recommend it.

I have used the Medela 150ml bottles for about 4/5 months but my son now drinks around 200ml per feed so I have found it brilliant to be able to use the larger bottles and store the portion all in one bottle. I sterilise with Milton's and the bottles are still clear with the measurements completely intact (even the small ones that I've been using for months). The only drawback for me is the fact that the lids do come apart sometimes which, as a MAM bottle user, can be frustrating because I don't ever use the Medela teats so have no need for a two-part lid. However I would definitely recommend these bottles for storing breast milk in the fridge and now have 6 of the larger bottles and what feels like a million of the 150ml bottles (although in reality I think it's closer to 12)!

Absolutely amazing!Been using it for 3 months no complaints!Very strong pump and easy to move around with!Will buy this all over again if I go back…

Good collection bottles for up to 250 ml (can hold a bit more) which is convenient for collecting a large sum of milk. They're easy to clean but do not fit in the Tommee Tippee steriliser bottom level so has to be placed sideways.