When given an expensive gift, especially one that you had asked for, you wouldn't think you'd be throwing it in the bin anytime soon. However, one mum has confessed she did just that with a present her sister-in-law kindly purchased for her baby shower, which cost a whopping £320 ($549 AUD).
The parent, known only as Leanne, has even gone as far as to say that she regrets asking for the gift before getting rid of it and the whole situation left her feeling "sick".
Speaking to Kidspot, Leanne told how she'd been given a Beaba Milkeo automatic bottle maker and had spent time researching different machines before selecting that one as a gift ahead of giving birth. She thought the high price was reassuring, however she claims she soon encountered some difficulties with it after welcoming twins.
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The mum explains how she'd never bottle-fed any of her three older children before, but decided to give it a go. She thought the bottle maker would make her life 'so much easier'.
To use the machine, you pre-select the amount of baby formula you require and the formula and water are stored in the machine. At the press of a button, the machine is meant to heat, measure, dispense and mix the water and formula for you in under 20 seconds.
However, things did not go to plan for Leanne.
She told how her twins had been born prematurely and so needed to consume enough milk to increase their weight.
But after a couple of days using the bottle machine, she noticed that it was "blocking up" with clumps of formula in the dispenser.
The mum tried switching up the formula she was using, but encountered the same problem again.
And worryingly, at the twins' seven-day weigh-in at the GP, one of her babies was found to be losing weight, instead of gaining it.
"It was enough to send us back to hospital, so that was really worrying," the mum told the publication.
"When I told the doctor how I’d been feeding, the doctor actually said she wouldn’t trust a machine and to hand make the bottles instead.
"When I realised what it was doing to my newborns, my stomach dropped and I felt sick. I felt so guilty."
The mum tried using the machine once more after her son came home from the hospital, comparing the machine formula to a handmade bottle and was shocked by the results.
Leanne complained to Beaba Australia, who assessed the machine and ultimately confirmed it was "faulty" and could not be repaired. It could also not be replaced due to a lack of stock.
She was instead given a full refund for the item and soon threw it in the bin.
The mum is now only making bottles for her babies by hand and adds that their weight has improved since she's been doing this.
Bloom and Grow, the Australian distributor for Beaba, have reiterated that as per packaging instructions, the machine is "not intended to serve underweight and premature babies, as they have special needs with more medical attention."
The Mirror has contacted Beaba for further comment.
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