Hi hun,

I expressed full-time using Medela pump. I also had some Avent bottles. Here are my thoughts for what they are worth:

- I hope this isn't an insensitive question, but are you anticipating having troubles with breastfeeding? You might not even need a pump?

- If you're going to buy a pump, it might be worth seeing if you can hire one that has compatible parts with the pump you're buying. I hired a lactina (double collection kit was about $85, which you must buy), but when I bought my freestyle, the only bits that were compatible were the actual bottles - so was kind of a waste of $85.

- I really liked the Medela bottles (esp the newer ones). They were lightweight and BPA free (only the honey-coloured Avent ones are). You can also buy larger sizes for when you are expressing more or baby is drinking more. My DS liked the Medela teats. I think Medela even have a new-fangled bottle that is just like breastfeeding (well, as close as the bottle gets). If I did it all again would just stick to all Medela bottles/teats etc. So much easier to store breastmilk directly in the bottle you're using.

- Not sure if I would get a bottle warmer or not if I did it all again. They warm when standing in hot water, but we found DS was happy with it straight from the fridge.

- I used an electronic Avent steriliser. The medela stuff fit just fine - not as perfectly as avent bottles but really wasn't a big deal. I was a bit worried about what the microwave might be doing to the plastic.

- I think Pigeon are available at Franklins?

HTH xo