Pharmics - O-Cal-ette Nursing Cup, for Comfort and Convenience of a Nursing Mother

I just recently had my third baby but this was the first time I had ever heard of breast shells.My reasons for purchasing breast shells:1. To correct my flat nipples.2. To help bring air to the nipples and thus prevent cracking.3. To help collect excess milk.4. To help prevent engorgement.After one week of using here is my full review and tips for using. I know there are complaints of the shells giving you a Madonna look. If you purchase a good quality bra with padding and support and a slightly larger cup size, this helps to make the appearance more natural... It's when you use a softer fabric... like a sleeping bra with less support, that it looks a little odd. The shells do the job of correcting the nipple flatness. I'm still using nipple shields to feed, but with them sticking out, the shields adhere better to the nipple. They also must be helping prevent cracking because 90% of the time I forget to put on nipple cream and yet to have any issues.As for milk collection it gets the job done but there are several steps I've learned to take to prevent from making a mess. The shells are not clear, so you can't tell how much milk has gathered in there. Always assume they are full! At my nursing station, I keep a clean bowl on hand, wipes and a hand towel or paper towels. I've been producing a lot of milk and thanks to the shells, I've been collecting a lot that would have gone to waste. While on maternity leave, I've been wearing them all the time, but it's mostly essential to wear while nursing. If you normally wear all the time, prior to nursing, go ahead and empty both shells of any milk so you start on empty... this is essential, because you WILL leak milk while nursing and don't want to overfill! Nurse on the one side while wearing the shell on the unused breast. When you switch breasts, you will already have milk that has leaked out.. The reason to keep the bowl on hand so you can go ahead an empty it/wipe it right then. I place the bowl under the breast and lean forward as I remove the shell and empty. Follow the same pattern for the second breast-- put an empty shell on the unused breast, nurse, then empty the last shell. It's slightly tedious, but once you get the hang of it, it's well worth it because at each feeding you can collect an extra couple ounces of milk... which over a 24 hour period really starts to add up... funnel into bottles or storage bags. Just keep in mind, that you want to mix this milk with pumped milk, so you have a good combo of foremilk and hindmilk in the mix.Other tips to stay dry? Wear nursing pads between the bra and the breast shells, especially towards the top where the hole is. Empty the shells often and avoid tasks where you have to do a lot of bending at the waist to prevent leakage. When I return to work, I imagine I will stop wearing these all the time and switch to wearing only when nursing. I will doing this to prevent embarrassing leaks and also I don't advise keeping/using milk unless you know it's fairly fresh. I can do this on maternity leave but wouldn't be able to guarantee in a workplace situation.

Go with the Avent breast shells instead! I got the Avent breast shells as a present and love them, but I was curious about other brands and also interested in saving some money so I tried these O-Cal-ette by Pharmics. The less than $2 savings was not worth it. Here is why: not as comfortable because the entire thing is hard plastic, leaked because the hard plastic doesn't conform to the shape of your breast, hard to open, and unlike the picture you can't see through the plastic to determine how full the collection cup is.Here is my review of the AVENT Breast Shells:The Avent breast shells are worn inside your bra and are marketed to collect excess milk and relieve sore nipples and engorgement. THEY WORK! As soon as I got home from the hospital I started using them. As soon as I was done nursing my little one, I placed these in my nursing tank to collect the precious colostrum and also help with engorgement. Once my milk came in, I would collect about an ounce to two ounces between feedings to be stored in my freezer stash.This is how it works: the soft cushion places pressure on your breast which allows for the excess milk to drip out into the collection cup (i.e. relieve engorgement). It comes with two sets of collection cups: one with holes in the top to allow for air to circulate and one with no holes. I used the one with no holes. I tried the one with holes, but would forget I was wearing them and inevitably bend over and milk would spill out the top--not exactly the relaxing milk bath of Cleopatra.Pros:1.) Relieves engorgement2.) Collects excess milk3.) Easy pour spout4.) Small flat spot on front to prevent spilling when taken out and placed on a flat surface5.) Comfortable, even when sleeping6.) They work as advertised!Cons:1.) Fairly discreet, but you still have a little of the Madonna cone boobs going on.I was determined to build a freezer stash of breast milk and I think these breast shells helped get me going on the right track. Why? Because they signaled to my body that my baby needed the milk he was getting from nursing PLUS the milk I was collecting in these cups. This may have contributed to our fore milk/hind milk imbalance later on, but I'll blog about that later with some pointers of how to avoid that issue. I love these things and now give them as baby shower presents to all my new mommy friends. They made it possible for me to make it through the first weeks of nursing with little to no nipple soreness plus I wasn't wasting all that precious milk in disposable nursing pads. Bottom-line, these Avent breast shells are a lifesaver!

These nursing cups work good, not great.. they definitely keep the nipple from being pressed down, making it easier for baby to latch. But I find them terribly awkward to wear in public or with company at my home because they are in no way “discreet”. Also I had hoped I could catch some milk while nursing the opposite side but 1. My let down is too heavy and I fill the cup in a matter of 2 mins, 2. The air hole makes the milk spill out when you take it off.If using this product simply to keep your nipple from being pressed flat, and you do not intend to use all the time (in public, etc.) than this product is great. For that it deserves 4.5stars.But due to it not being discreet and the hole that leaks I can only give 3 stars.Overall not a bad product... just didn’t suit my needs 100%