Disclosure: This post is in collaboration with Mam.
MAM contacted me last week about a review / giveaway. My daughter is 3 & not using bottles anymore but I did use MAM bottles & products for her which I’m delighted to tell you about today & offer you the chance to win some yourself!
How I came to use MAM Products
As you probably know, I have three kiddies. All of whom I breastfed for around 14 months each. Breastfeeding was a really important bonding time for me & for my babies too. It’s treasured memories for me! That being said, there are times when a bottle is necessary – like if I was gone to a wedding or somewhere important without my baby.
Since I breastfed long term I couldn’t skip every event where a baby wasn’t invited so I wanted my babies to take breastmilk from a bottle in my absence. My first born would take any bottle that crossed his path – he wasn’t at all fussy. I took for granted how easy it was to feed him…. until our second son was born.
Our second child refused every bottle. And I mean EVERY bottle. I must have bought one of every “breastfeeding friendly” bottle made – and some regular bottles too, and beakers, cups…you name it. He wouldn’t have any of them. I was called home from weddings & other places because he wouldn’t eat or drink in my absence. It was tough & a lot of pressure on me to keep him fed. Also, the transition to drinking from sippy cups was a nightmare with him.
So as you can imagine when I was pregnant with my third child, I really really REALLY wanted her to take a bottle. It was a top priority for me. I spent hours googling breastfeeding bottles. I read chat group threads, articles & blog posts searching out a bottle that would be the perfect breastfeeding partner for our daughter.
After hours of research, I decided to go with MAM bottles. They had fantastic reviews & I liked the look & functionality of their products. And, I love the fact that everything is BPA free. So I placed my order with MAM when I was in my third trimester so I’d have everything handy when our baby girl arrived.
Breastfeeding with MAM Products
Our baby girl was born & to my delight, loved her MAM products!! As did I! Woohoo! The most important difference I found with MAM bottles as compared to other breastfeeding bottles is the shape & feel of their silk teats. They are super soft & the way they are shaped allows a breastfed baby to latch on & suck the same way they would on a breast. Obviously, it’s not going to be the same, but it’s definitely the closest latch to breastfeeding I’ve seen with a bottle.
Here are the different products we used & what I thought of them…
MAM Breastfeeding Starter Set
The MAM Breastfeeding Starter Set is one of many great products in the MAM Breastfeeding range. It comes with a breast pump that comes apart easily for cleaning. It also comes with four anti-colic bottles & three milk storage containers. The pump attaches directly to the bottle. If you want to put the milk into a container, you can unscrew the bottom of the bottle & screw the container onto there & the milk goes straight through the bottle into the container. I found that very handy.
The complete breastfeeding set comes with…
One MAM manual breast pump
Three MAM 160ml anti colic bottles.
Three MAM storage pots.
Two MAM nipple shields.
Ten MAM breast pads.
Three MAM sealing discs.
One MAM teat tongs.
MAM Anti-Colic Bottles
We bought some of the larger, 260ml anti-colic bottles as well. The base of the bottle is vented to prevent baby from swallowing air which reduces colic, gas & unhappiness. The base consists of two pieces that fit together & screw into the bottom of the bottle. I really love how the bottle comes apart for easy cleaning. There are no bottom corners that you can’t get to with the brush. The MAM anti-colic bottles clean up really nicely.
All of the MAM bottles I had were durable & very well made. The colour & numbers are still on them today (after being used for three years). So long as they are screwed together properly, there are no leaks or spills. It does take an extra minute to get everything screwed back together but for me, it was well worth that minute to have such a high-quality bottle that my daughter loved.
The anti-colic bottles can self-sterilize. I never used this feature but it’d be handy if you are away, you can sterilize the bottle in a microwave without needing any other equipment.
MAM Soothers & Clip
The MAM soothers are also very soft & appealing to breastfed babies. Our daughter would take one occasionally but never got hooked on them. The designs are gorgeous & they are really well made & BPA free. The clip works great when they are small but once our daughter got strong she could pull it off herself & throw it so I switched to a different clip at that stage.
There are lots of different designs, materials & styles of soothers to choose from. I bought a couple different ones. Our daughter’s favorite was the MAM Perfect. It gets really thin where the teeth go for a really nice fit. And, it comes in the silk teat so it matches the anti-colic bottle teat. I really loved that because the fewer different types of material the better for having a happy breastfed baby.
The soothers come in a case which was really handy to keep them clean in the nappy bag.
Final Thoughts
I really & truly couldn’t be happier with the MAM products I used for my daughter. She enjoyed taking her bottles & soothers. I found them easy to use & excellent quality. I bought the follow on beakers for her which she also loved & found familiar which made the transition easy.
Giveaway CLOSED
I’m delighted to host a giveaway for MAM. One winner will receive the breastfeeding starter set & two white 130ml anti-colic bottles.
To enter for your chance to win, select options from the Gleam App below. You may enter as many times as you like & may send a tweet daily. Full terms & conditions below.
Terms & Conditions: The giveaway will close at 9pm GMT 10 January 2017. It is open to residents of the UK & Ireland only. The winner will be selected at random via the Gleam app & contacted via emailed. The winner has two weeks to claim their prize. If the winner does not reply in that time, a new winner will be selected in their place. MAM is the sponsor of this giveaway & is responsible for prize fulfillment. Must be 18 or older to enter. See full terms & conditions for giveaways on Cuddle Fairy Blog here.
