Breastfeeding mums check this out! New mum Rebecca put the brand new Kiinde Twist Starter Kit through its paces and we were quite surprised at how it changes the way you’ll express and store your breastmilk!
The biggest difference between the Kiinde Twist Starter Kit and other breast milk storage systems is the ability to express directly into the freezer pouch. This eliminates the need to use bottles or storage cups, meaning less washing up for this busy mum of 3. It also means you don’t have to worry about pouring milk into a freezer bag and possibly spilling some. I found this to be a quick and easy way to express milk for freezing. If you’ve ever cried over spilt (breast) milk like I have, this system means you don’t have to pour milk from bottle to bag and risk spilling it all over the kitchen bench. Even without spillage, there is still going to be some milk remaining in the bottle if you transfer it to a bag, so this is a great way to maximise your expressing efforts with no wastage at all. Best of all, the leak-proof twist-locking cap ensures nothing escapes once you’ve bottled the milk!
The various adapters that come with the starter kit enable you to attach virtually any brand of breast pump to a freezer pouch. This is a great option for mums who may have a manual breast pump of one brand, and an electric pump of another. I have a Medela pump and easily attached it to a pouch using the correct adapter, with no leaks during expressing.
“They’re good quality pouches and are not prone to breakage like other milk storage bags.”
The pouches themselves are a good size and can easily store a whole feed. They’re good quality pouches and are not prone to breakage like other milk storage bags. They stand upright when containing milk, with handy volume measurements up the side so you know how much milk you’ve expressed. It would be good to have a maximum volume marking (so you don’t overfill the bag), as the milk expands when frozen and you don’t want to risk it bursting in the freezer. It can also be a bit tricky to get the volume measurement exactly right as the base of the pouch needs to be completely opened out. It’s fine if you’re just after an approximate measurement though. There is a small section at the top to record the date & amount. I would have like this to be a bit bigger but I used permanent marker which can write on any part of the pouch. The pouches are meant to be disposed of rather than washed and re-used so this reduces the time spent washing & drying bottles, and also means you don’t have to take empty bottles home in your bag if you’ve been out. Each pouch has a twist locking lid which prevents any milk being spilled when the pouch lies flat.
When it’s time to use the expressed milk, the pouch fits into the handy Twist Natural Feeding Bottle. This again eliminates the need to pour milk from a bag into a bottle. The pouch clicks into place, you attach a nipple, and away you go! Unfortunately my son is completely against any type of dummy or bottle nipple in his mouth so we had no success on that front, but the concept is a great one. The pouch is designed to collapse as baby feeds so that there is less air swallowed, which means less gas & less discomfort for baby. The bottles are a little on the large side but are nicely contoured so that they are easy to hold.
The Starter Kit comes with 3 nipples: a slow-flow, medium-flow and fast-flow, to suit babies of all ages. They are designed to promote a good deep latch, which is great for mums who want to combine breastfeeding with using expressed milk, as baby won’t get used to a dripping bottle – they have to work to get the milk out, just the same as with breastfeeding. The beauty of feeding directly from the Twist pouch is that you don’t need to wash numerous bottles plus bottle parts and nipples. The nipple is the only part that comes into contact with the milk so that’s all you have to clean.
The Kiinde Starter Kit is priced at $79.95 and includes:
20 x Pre-sterilised Twist™ breast milk storage pouches with twist-locking caps
10 x Direct-pump adapters
2 x Squeeze™ natural feeding bottles
1 x Slow-flow Active Latch™ nipple with case
1 x Medium-flow Active Latch™ nipple with case
1 x Fast-flow Active Latch™ nipple with case
1 x Keeper™ breast milk holder and organizer
2 x Nipple brushes
The Kiinde Keeper allows you to store the pouches flat in the freezer and access any pouch you want. While it’s a great idea in theory, it didn’t work for me as I simply didn’t have the freezer space to put such a large item. I tended to slip a pouch or two wherever I could find a small gap!
Overall I think it’s a great product and really valuable for those looking for the convenience and ease of expressing, storing and feeding expressed breast milk!
Kiinde supplies the simplest range of products to collect, organise, store, prepare and feed breastmilk as is now available in Australia from select retailers and at www.kiinde.com.au
Thanks Rebecca for sharing your experience with the Kiinde Twist, we’d love to hear your thoughts! Have you used one and what did you think?
