As a full-time working mom preparing to send her four-month-old to day care, I was very excited to try out the Milkies Milk-Saver, especially since it can be hard to collect a large stockpile of milk while feeding a growing baby.
The idea of the Milk-Saver is simple: collect all the milk that leaks out from the non-nursing side during feedings and from random letdowns. Remembering how many shirts, nursing pads, and bras I’ve soaked through, I figured this could certainly add up!! While pumping is effective in collecting milk, it takes a lot of time and hassle with parts and cleanup. The passive nature of this product means much less fuss.
The design of the Milk-Saver is quite simple: a thin concave plastic (BPA and phthalate-free) cup that fits comfortably over the breast with a hole in the side to put your nipple through. There is an inner plastic piece that you can fit a milk storage bag around, if desired. As milk leaks from the breast, it’s collected in the cup.
All in all, the Milk-Saver did exactly what it is designed to do—collect the milk without any hassle. It was comfortable to use and fit in all of my bras. While advertised as a use anywhere product, I only used it at home and am not sure I would feel comfortable wearing it in public as you could see the outline through clothes. However, since the majority of my maternity leave was spent at home, this was not a problem. It is dishwasher safe, although mine turned orange afterward, possibly from some dishes with spaghetti sauce on them.
As for the amount of milk collected, it varied. By the time I got the Milk-Saver, my little guy was three months old and the days of soaking my shirt from sporadic milk letdowns were thankfully behind me. Therefore, I was primarily just collecting during feedings. The largest collections (about half an ounce) were from the first feedings in the day when I was pretty engorged. Other feedings resulted in just trace amounts. I have a feeling that the amount of milk collected will vary greatly among mothers depending on their milk supply, ease of letdown, etc. Likewise, moms of newborns would likely collect more than those of older babies, since they tend to have more random letdowns outside of feedings. While the Milk-Saver did not allow me to ditch the pump, it did help augment my milk supply and saved me at least some pumping.
I personally hated the Milkies. First, it was expensive and it was very big. Second, if you need to unexpectedly bend over to pick something up all of the milk will spill out. I do not recommend this item and would say don’t even bother wasting your money on this useless product. At least not until they redesign it. I found a better product it’s called the Philips AVENT Comfort Breast Shells. This product even comes with extras and its a two pack and it only costs around $15. The price varies where you purchase it. This is a product I recommend to every breastfeeding Mother.
Have to check those out. I had good luck with Milkies, but if the AVent are cheaper, that’s worth a look. I use their bottles.