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I have to say that you've only made the product sound more interesting: something that users spend countless hours with, which qualifies for a healthy subsidy,

I have to say that you've only made the product sound more interesting: something that users spend countless hours with, which qualifies for a healthy subsidy, and which purports do something of great value (feeding one's children) sounds like an interesting business space to me! My wife is going back to work on Monday (and leaving our 6-week old boy with my mom), so this product sounds especially enticing. If the claims of producing more milk are true, that would be incredibly comforting - we really want to feed him all breastmilk for as long as possible, but she has fears about her supply keeping up with a growing/hungry boy. That seems to be the main selling point to me, so conversely I can see why these products would be uninteresting once you've determined that your supply is more than adequate.

silencio 9y ago
These are all marketing promises right now. We don't know how they work in practice among all the different people with different experiences and needs out there. Already Naya fails at one thing for me: nipple size. Like, really? Most pumps on the market come with multiple flange sizes because "average" doesn't mean one-size-fits-most. Naya will basically give me zero milk because it is too small. Otherwise I would buy this just to try it out, even halfway through with my pumping journey. Not sure about the bottles though - I don't even do daycare/nanny and I'm sitting on 10+ bottles I use daily... I'm not paying hundreds of dollars just for bottles that get thrown around and replaced and phased out by the end of a year, with zero mention of how to replace the nipples on the bottles (again, another replacement issue). These pumps also don't fix the other issues I point out and more. It doesn't matter what pump you have if your employer wants to fire you for taking two 30 minute "breaks" daily to go and pump in a closet. Supply tanks when you can't/don't pump, not usually because you're choosing between a $600 pump and a free pump. Or maybe you don't respond to the $600 pump that well in the first place. Some people will just never, not even with the gold "standard" of feeding-at-the-breast and doing everything they can, produce enough milk. Some people, with all the equipment in the world, will never be comfortable with pumping. I struggled with undersupply for the first 8 weeks, was a just-enougher for another month, and now I overproduce. If there's any unsolicited advice I can offer, it's that supply is a persistent thought that doesn't ever go away (outside of other issues it stabilizes like milk intake, usually, but only for as long as you're able to put enough effort into it), and that's what's so compelling about this kind of marketing. It sounds good to you, it sounds good to me! But that's why we should also be a little cautious. Support all the efforts (definitely tell awful VCs to fuck off, too), but make sure to get some domain experts (like people that actually have had to pump!) on board and continue solving pain points and refining the products. And for parents and yourself wondering if this might solve their problem - it may but it may not, and there's nothing wrong with formula supplementation or all formula if that's what it ends up coming down to. Fed is best. Congrats on the little one and I hope your wife gets the support she needs to pump if that's what she wants to do :) I use a Symphony because it's free with my insurance (Kaiser) but my backup/travel pump is currently the Spectra S2 and it's a big favorite in EP communities for comfort and milk production, if she (like many) is unsatisfied with the non-Symphony Medela pumps that are so popular. Also: milk intake does level out around 4-6 weeks or so, so it's not like your wife has to pump an ever increasing number! At peak babies consume an average of 28-32oz/day until around 6 months when you start solids, and then milk slowly decreases once solids take over more and more. I know it's not very reassuring until you experience it for yourself (I've been there too), but I've got a very big 99th percentile weight/length baby that only has ~28oz/day or so.
- saturdaysaint 9y ago
  Thanks so much for all of this! You’re right, we really would need to see more studies to verify claims of substantially increased output via their gadget, and even then, their “ecosystem” of attachments and whatnot sounds a bit too young. It’s actually (good) news to us that milk intake levels off at 4 - 6 weeks - one of those many essential facts that nobody teaches you!

silencio 9y ago

These are all marketing promises right now. We don't know how they work in practice among all the different people with different experiences and needs out there. Already Naya fails at one thing for me: nipple size. Like, really? Most pumps on the market come with multiple flange sizes because "average" doesn't mean one-size-fits-most. Naya will basically give me zero milk because it is too small. Otherwise I would buy this just to try it out, even halfway through with my pumping journey. Not sure about the bottles though - I don't even do daycare/nanny and I'm sitting on 10+ bottles I use daily... I'm not paying hundreds of dollars just for bottles that get thrown around and replaced and phased out by the end of a year, with zero mention of how to replace the nipples on the bottles (again, another replacement issue). These pumps also don't fix the other issues I point out and more. It doesn't matter what pump you have if your employer wants to fire you for taking two 30 minute "breaks" daily to go and pump in a closet. Supply tanks when you can't/don't pump, not usually because you're choosing between a $600 pump and a free pump. Or maybe you don't respond to the $600 pump that well in the first place. Some people will just never, not even with the gold "standard" of feeding-at-the-breast and doing everything they can, produce enough milk. Some people, with all the equipment in the world, will never be comfortable with pumping. I struggled with undersupply for the first 8 weeks, was a just-enougher for another month, and now I overproduce. If there's any unsolicited advice I can offer, it's that supply is a persistent thought that doesn't ever go away (outside of other issues it stabilizes like milk intake, usually, but only for as long as you're able to put enough effort into it), and that's what's so compelling about this kind of marketing. It sounds good to you, it sounds good to me! But that's why we should also be a little cautious. Support all the efforts (definitely tell awful VCs to fuck off, too), but make sure to get some domain experts (like people that actually have had to pump!) on board and continue solving pain points and refining the products. And for parents and yourself wondering if this might solve their problem - it may but it may not, and there's nothing wrong with formula supplementation or all formula if that's what it ends up coming down to. Fed is best. Congrats on the little one and I hope your wife gets the support she needs to pump if that's what she wants to do :) I use a Symphony because it's free with my insurance (Kaiser) but my backup/travel pump is currently the Spectra S2 and it's a big favorite in EP communities for comfort and milk production, if she (like many) is unsatisfied with the non-Symphony Medela pumps that are so popular. Also: milk intake does level out around 4-6 weeks or so, so it's not like your wife has to pump an ever increasing number! At peak babies consume an average of 28-32oz/day until around 6 months when you start solids, and then milk slowly decreases once solids take over more and more. I know it's not very reassuring until you experience it for yourself (I've been there too), but I've got a very big 99th percentile weight/length baby that only has ~28oz/day or so.

saturdaysaint 9y ago
Thanks so much for all of this! You’re right, we really would need to see more studies to verify claims of substantially increased output via their gadget, and even then, their “ecosystem” of attachments and whatnot sounds a bit too young. It’s actually (good) news to us that milk intake levels off at 4 - 6 weeks - one of those many essential facts that nobody teaches you!