Best pump?

dublinlady

Hi, while I was breast feeding last yr I used an Avnet manual pump. I found it excellent and was lucky enough to be able pump 3-4 oz in ten mins or so when my boo a were full. It was a lot more difficult trying to get milk when the baby had almost emptied one - if get some but it would take ages. For that reason u got into an irritating habit if waking naturally at 5 ish to pump the next nights 4am bottle my hubbie used to give - so the break I was getting was pointless! I'd go back to sleep then if I could and have enough milk for about 8 when the baby fed naturally from me. This time ( due may 2nd) I want to organize myself better as will have a 14 month old to care for also! I want to express a small Amt from boob baby finished and then a small amt from other one so that I have 1-2 oz - and I want to do this at every feed. This will leave me enough milk to feed the baby expressed bottle at 3-5am ish and feed naturally the rest if time . I want my body to adjust to having to milk at that time and so will give expressed bottle myself at that time. This is because I can't get back asleep really and so if I'm lucky enough for himself to give me a regular night off then I want to be able sleep through without engorgement. I also want milk in the freeze to give me the freedom to get a day away every now again with my elder daughter and leave the baby with the nanny.
I found the manual pump a little awkward as would rather something I could just stick on and ignore rather than having to be working at it. I do t want to give it my full attention as I think ill be busy!!!! I was thinking if an electric medela? There seems to be many model types? I'd like the best one I can get really and if going out and need to pump I can use the manual - so I suppose size isn't too important. Just efficiency and ease of use!

I think that's what stopped me feeding last time... Having to get up to pump even tho I was meant to be on a night off.. I'm an awful sleeper and with 2 so close in age ill need the rest! I was delighted last time tho cos when I stopped cold turkey at 13 weeks I had a store in the fridge and have her one breast milk bottle a day until 17 weeks.

I'd like to last to 6 months this time I think and will hopefully have more babies so willing to invest in the best one I can get.

Thanks for any advice!

highly1111

I have the medela swing pump which I find excellent. It's an electric pump one breast at a time and it's absolutely perfect. Simple to use, simple to clean etc.

pwurple

I rented the medela symphony at the start for 2 weeks to get me going, it was the same one they had me try in the hospital when I was in bits with cracking and infection. I found it fantastic, very gentle. So if you are having any trouble at the start, maybe give that a go for a week until you get established.

Fri.Day

I had the medela mini electric and it was great for all the use it got, I`m getting something similar this time but would upgrade to a double cos like yourself (fingers crossed!) ill be too busy for giving each boob individual attention!!

lazygal

Medela Swing is the only way to go. I nearly gave up BF until I got it, the manual pump wrecked my head.

CuteStuff

Still breast feeding my 6 month old and I've been using the advent electric pump every day. Just noticed its been switching itself off for some reason. Not sure if its just a glich with mine or a common problem but if it goes completely dead I don't think I will bother with the brand again. Or is 6 months constant use a bit much to ask of a pump?!

Ericaa

I've been exclusively pumping for nearly four months now and I've tried a few pumps!
Had the manual Avent pump but got sick of it, considering I have to pump every three hours around the clock haha.

Moved on to the Tommee Tippee electric pump. I can't even begin to explain how ****ing crap it is. If you hold it even slightly crooked, milk starts to go up the tube, which means you have to turn off the machine, go wash the tube, and wait for it to dry, which isn't exactly quick.

Needless to say, I gave that back, and exchanged it for the Avent electric. It's been great so far, mainly because it doesn't use the tube system like many other pumps do, which means I don't have to worry about position as much. It doesn't have preset speed or suction settings, because you set it to exactly how you want it yourself. You just do a couple of pumps manually, press the button, and it remembers your pattern and continues to do it automatically. Another reason I found it much better than the Tommee Tippee pump.
It's not meant for use more than one or two times a day, yet I've been using it far more than that for the past three months, I don't know how its held up.

Just recently I bought the Avent double electric, it's quite expensive, but so far so worth it, it has cut my pumping time in half and is a dream to use, although I don't really think it's suitable for you considering you probably don't need it for such heavy use!


I hear great things about the Medela pumps, though I've never used one so I can't give a comparison!

Ericaa

CuteStuff wrote: »

Still breast feeding my 6 month old and I've been using the advent electric pump every day. Just noticed its been switching itself off for some reason. Not sure if its just a glich with mine or a common problem but if it goes completely dead I don't think I will bother with the brand again. Or is 6 months constant use a bit much to ask of a pump?!

How many times a day do you use it?

wmpdd3

Right, I've had 3 Avents a Medela and a manual Tommee Tippee.

The Tommee Tippee was so painful. I was lucky to never have any type of soreness with breast feeding but I felt like this machine was trying to torture me.

I also had a loan of the Medela swing electric, it was brilliant, the cups are very light so you dont get cramps from holding them. Couldnt fault it. I found the slow setting a bit slow and the fast a bit fast starting off but thats it.

But my favourite was the Avent. I had a manual first, which was fine, as manuals go. A friend gave me the machine part so I could make mine electric, much better.

The best part is the 3 pushes you give the machine and it learns what way you want to pump. I'd do 2 slow, 1 quick to start and as soon as there were bubbles, I'd change and do 3 quick then I'd really start filling the bottle. But, the machine part on my friends one survived 2 kids and it died while I was using it, so I bought a new unit.

Her other half looked at it and soldered it and brought it back to life!

After I loaned my machine to an other friend, it also died and her husband fixed it too.

Then they went on sale and I bought a new one, so I had 2, a bit of an akward double machine!

The cup on the Avent is much heaver than the Medela, but it is more sturdier. Replacement parts for the Medela are widely available, mostly from America.

You have to see a Avent working to see would it make a difference to you, you'll probably have a chance to see a Medela in the hospital, even during anti natal classes.

All in all I'd probably try the Medela swing, IF I had to go again!!

How Strange

Def the Madela swing. It's expensive but worth it.

Ginny

I used the swing, loved it, tried a manual and it just wouldn't work for me.

CuteStuff

Ericaa wrote: »

How many times a day do you use it?

Now it is only once a day. But for a while it was being used 2 or 3 times. And funnily enough since my post it has been behaving itself and its not switching off anymore

Ericaa

CuteStuff wrote: »

Now it is only once a day. But for a while it was being used 2 or 3 times. And funnily enough since my post it has been behaving itself and its not switching off anymore

Haha! It knows you were telling on it!

superstoked

on the which consumer website Medela scores the highest rating among consumer surveys