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This is one of those post that is written to my first-time pregnant self, I wish I could send it back in time to that clueless lady! That way I'd be prepared before the baby arrived, instead of wading through piles of products, discovering what personally did and did not work for us. Maybe some mom-to-be out there can benefit from my ramblings...
If you disagree or have anything to add, I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
I didn't buy an electric pump immediately after my first baby was born, because my insurance at the time was only going to pay $20 something towards a pump and I wasn't sure if it was going to be worth the additional investment. The $20 didn't even cover this pump:
This is one of those post that is written to my first-time pregnant self, I wish I could send it back in time to that clueless lady! That way I'd be prepared before the baby arrived, instead of wading through piles of products, discovering what personally did and did not work for us. Maybe some mom-to-be out there can benefit from my ramblings...
If you disagree or have anything to add, I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
I didn't buy an electric pump immediately after my first baby was born, because my insurance at the time was only going to pay $20 something towards a pump and I wasn't sure if it was going to be worth the additional investment. The $20 didn't even cover this pump:
Avent Hand Pump
It is squeaky. But the rubber padding on it is comfortable and supposedly massages the milk ducts for more efficient expression.
Avent Double Electric Pump
This is the one I ended up investing in and I don't regret it. Well, this one is the most similar to what I have at least - they discontinued the Isis (maybe because of the name?) I found this brand to be pretty comfortable, also has the aforementioned comfortable rubber padded cups. The motor makes a little noise but not obnoxious, would definitely wake someone sharing the bedroom though, if they're a light sleeper.
Another good thing about the Avent electric pump is that you can "program" this pump to go as slow as you want.
Double feature of the breast pump was perhaps unnecessary unless you purchase the "hands-free" bra (because you're going to get awfully bored holding pumps in both hands! Ok, there is Tv, I guess...). However, I don't think the single electronic pump was that much cheaper. So get the bra if you're going to be pumping a lot.
Now doesn't that model look oddly seductive and sultry?
The electric pump helped increase my milk supply almost immediately, so that my baby didn't need formula anymore after a month or so. In fact I increased my milk supply to the point that I got painfully engorged, developed oversupply (I had a hard time finding time to deal with the excess milk), overactive letdown (not fun, so don't put the machine on turbo speed, like I did!).
The above 4 oz. "classic" bottles it came with had some weird conversion attachment, I think they added that because people were complaining about the leaking.
You can attach the above regular "natural" Avent 8 oz. bottles to the pump.
This is the one I ended up investing in and I don't regret it. Well, this one is the most similar to what I have at least - they discontinued the Isis (maybe because of the name?) I found this brand to be pretty comfortable, also has the aforementioned comfortable rubber padded cups. The motor makes a little noise but not obnoxious, would definitely wake someone sharing the bedroom though, if they're a light sleeper.
Another good thing about the Avent electric pump is that you can "program" this pump to go as slow as you want.
Double feature of the breast pump was perhaps unnecessary unless you purchase the "hands-free" bra (because you're going to get awfully bored holding pumps in both hands! Ok, there is Tv, I guess...). However, I don't think the single electronic pump was that much cheaper. So get the bra if you're going to be pumping a lot.
Now doesn't that model look oddly seductive and sultry?
The electric pump helped increase my milk supply almost immediately, so that my baby didn't need formula anymore after a month or so. In fact I increased my milk supply to the point that I got painfully engorged, developed oversupply (I had a hard time finding time to deal with the excess milk), overactive letdown (not fun, so don't put the machine on turbo speed, like I did!).
The above 4 oz. "classic" bottles it came with had some weird conversion attachment, I think they added that because people were complaining about the leaking.
You can attach the above regular "natural" Avent 8 oz. bottles to the pump.
Medela Hand Pump
We got this one from the hospital. It was ok, connects to the standard size bottle and nipples. It was convenient to have a more portable version to bring on excursions. It doesn't have that rubber padding. Not as noisy as the Avent hand pump. The great thing about hand pumps is that you can make them go as slow as you need and they do the job. But invest in an electric pump if you will be pumping a lot.
Medela Double Electric Pump
I refer to this as my medieval torture device. Soooo painful! Someone suggested I may have the wrong size attachment. Maybe. I think it has more to do with the pumping speed, it goes from turbo-uncomfortable to nipple chafing warp speed. I got this for free through my insurance with the second baby, thanks to the affordable healthcare act, and chose it because they didn't have that many options they'd cover and I had quite a few Medela bottles already. That's the only reason I kept using it - because I already had the bottles. What I'd do to "hack it" was to try to barely attach the air hose thing, so it wouldn't suction too hard. Or use one side, while leaving it on turbo speed but keep the second pump away from the other breast, that made it a bit less intense.
We got this one from the hospital. It was ok, connects to the standard size bottle and nipples. It was convenient to have a more portable version to bring on excursions. It doesn't have that rubber padding. Not as noisy as the Avent hand pump. The great thing about hand pumps is that you can make them go as slow as you need and they do the job. But invest in an electric pump if you will be pumping a lot.
Medela Double Electric Pump
I refer to this as my medieval torture device. Soooo painful! Someone suggested I may have the wrong size attachment. Maybe. I think it has more to do with the pumping speed, it goes from turbo-uncomfortable to nipple chafing warp speed. I got this for free through my insurance with the second baby, thanks to the affordable healthcare act, and chose it because they didn't have that many options they'd cover and I had quite a few Medela bottles already. That's the only reason I kept using it - because I already had the bottles. What I'd do to "hack it" was to try to barely attach the air hose thing, so it wouldn't suction too hard. Or use one side, while leaving it on turbo speed but keep the second pump away from the other breast, that made it a bit less intense.
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