July 2017 Moms

All About Breast Pumps

135

Re: All About Breast Pumps

  • I am seconding what  @manillabar  said. I finally called edge park yesterday and did the medela order and they told me it won't be sent until 5/30. I wonder if it would be the same date if I called at the end of this month? Idk...but either way I am glad I finally checked this item off my list. 


    Pregnancy Ticker
  • Mrs.A.J. said:
    Does anyone know if it's still free if you haven't met your deductible?
    Depends on your insurance. 
  • Loading the player...
  • I just asked my insurance and they said it's 100% covered, as well as replacements. Can't hurt to ask :)
    BabyGaga

    BabyGaga
  • Up until this point I've wanted to purchase my pump before baby comes but I'm wavering on that now. What if BF doesn't work for me?  I don't want to spend all that money.  We do have the rental programs here so I figured I might rent while I get the hang of it then buy my own (I plan on having more children) But then the practical part of me thinks, "But you could just put that money towards the actual pump!"  I mean when you're spending $300+ on a pump and it costs $80 to rent for a month, I'd rather put that $80 towards my pump.  But then I go back and forth with, if it doesn't work then I'm out $300+ instead of $80 so I'm just .... lost (or more so, extremely indecisive)  
    STM's - Did you buy before or after LO's arrival? 
    Me: 29 DH: 31 SS: 12
    Met: 08/2001 Dating: 07/2004 ~ Engaged: 11/2009 ~ Married: 06/2011
    TTC: Since 09/16 ~ BFP 10/28/16 ~ EDD 7/5/17
    Team Pink * Canadian Bumpie
  • @stokesm21 ditto. I wanted to sign up for mine already but what if I never use it?
  • @stokesm21 I bought before only because it was free through insurance. I used it very early on to help build my supply (first 6 weeks) and to start "building my stash". I'm not sure I would've bought it if it wasn't free but I probably would've put it on my registry. 
    TTC: 1/2014 BFP: 9/24 EDD: 6/8/2015 Sorry for the poor man's siggy...ticker won't load regardless of how many tips I read.
  • stokesm21 said:
    Up until this point I've wanted to purchase my pump before baby comes but I'm wavering on that now. What if BF doesn't work for me?  I don't want to spend all that money.  We do have the rental programs here so I figured I might rent while I get the hang of it then buy my own (I plan on having more children) But then the practical part of me thinks, "But you could just put that money towards the actual pump!"  I mean when you're spending $300+ on a pump and it costs $80 to rent for a month, I'd rather put that $80 towards my pump.  But then I go back and forth with, if it doesn't work then I'm out $300+ instead of $80 so I'm just .... lost (or more so, extremely indecisive)  
    STM's - Did you buy before or after LO's arrival? 
    You don't need to start pumping right away. A lot of people have mentioned starting to pump in the hospital, so someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think that's only necessary if for some reason baby is unable to breastfeed. My advice would be to exclusively breastfeed for the first 3 weeks or so to allow your supply to regulate. If you start pumping immediately, you will end up with an oversupply which is really annoying. I started pumping at 3 weeks, and that's when we started giving DS occasional bottles and I started building a freezer stash.

    By that point, you have a good idea of whether breastfeeding is going to work for you, and you can probably go ahead and buy your pump after 1-2 weeks if it's going well, and never have to waste money on the rental. Or maybe at that point you'll still be uncertain about BF, but you'll know that renting for a while is a better option for you. 
  • @AdaByron is it annoying as in it being too painful if there's an oversupply ? Or just having too much milk -annoying? I wouldn't mind storing my breast milk. I'm completely clueless here. 
  • BusyZee said:
    @AdaByron is it annoying as in it being too painful if there's an oversupply ? Or just having too much milk -annoying? I wouldn't mind storing my breast milk. I'm completely clueless here. 
    It's annoying that if you start out pumping x times a day in addition to baby eating, you will always HAVE to pump x times a day in addition to feeding the baby. In the beginning, you're feeding the baby around the clock every 2-3 hours, so adding a pumping session in there would be unbearable IMO. It could also be painful if you are unable to pump when you need to. 

    If you wait for your supply to regulate (about 3 weeks) before you start pumping, you will still be able to store your milk. You'll just have a little more control over your pumping/feeding schedule at that point. 
  • @AdaByron that does make sense, thanks for clarifying. 
  • Ditto what others said, I didn't touch my pump until 4 weeks or so. Rentals will be there in case of an urgent need so I think I it's ok to wait.
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • I rented at first because insurance didn't cover the pump the first time. I started pumping in the hospital, because I had to go back to work u. 7 weeks, and wanted the supply immediately. In that respect, I was glad I did. I did have some engorgement issues early on that took some getting used to, but in general, I was always able to produce enough or more than enough milk.

    After 2 months, I bought a used pump on ebay that was compatible with the "personal" parts from the hospital one. I am super happy that my pump was covered this time, and it just came in. I will probably wait a week or two this time, Bring any complications, but I again have to go back to work, and want the stash.
  • Dcwtada said:
    My only advice and I know we have discussed this before and I don't mean to scare anyone/cause problems but having the breast pump is a good thing in the beginning even if you don't plan to use it. If you LO has any problems latching or has a lip/tongue tie and it is too much to nurse pumping may be a very good option to have in your back pocket even those first weeks. And you can definitely rent one too, but if you are in the middle of recovery and adjusting to a newborn it may be nice to have everything already set-up and available. Just my two cents.
    ^^this. I started pumping about a week in, when my son had lost too much weight from having a bad latch. 
  • Sorry for the confusion, I considered 3 weeks "really early on" haha! It did cause me to have an oversupply though, which was tough to get a handle on. I had chronic clogged ducts the whole year I BF/pumped so I'm sure none of it helped. But I had a damn good stash to last us about 3 full months after I stopped pumping. 
    TTC: 1/2014 BFP: 9/24 EDD: 6/8/2015 Sorry for the poor man's siggy...ticker won't load regardless of how many tips I read.
  • yellow1daisyyellow1daisy member
    edited April 2017
    I didn't have a pump ready to go when my daughter was born and she was a NICU baby (only 6 days) and wasn't able to BF from the get-go. The hospital gave me a super pump to try and stimulate my milk and i Amazon primed my spectra as soon as I was sent home and used a manual the one day I was waiting for it. BF didn't work out well for us but I kept trying and my pump got A LOT of use despite (or because of?) chronic low supply. 

    ETA: that is to say, if you don't want to spend the money on a pump now and want to wait I am sure you could make it work. 
    BFP May 2013 - MMC at 8 weeks
    BFP September 2013 - MMC at 12 weeks
    BFP February 2014 - early loss/CP at 4.5 weeks
    BFP May 2014 - MMC/ complete molar pregnancy at 11 weeks
    BFP December 2015 - DD born 8/18/2015
    BFP November 2016 - pending...



  • So I'm bumping this thread back up! 

    I am finally going to get my beast pump. After reading through the thread I'm going with the spectra 2. 

    My question is, anyone here use aeroflow to order theirs? It came up in my FB news feed the other day. You basically give them all your info and they handle the rest for you. You just pick out what pump you want. I thought the company was talked about here but after using search wasn't able to find it. Maybe it was the June BMB I read it from. 
  • If anyone has the option to order from edge park through your insurance don't hesitate! This is the second time using them and they handle everything and ship so fast. I called Monday, they called my OB for authorization and called insurance... and I had my pump by yesterday! Same thing last pregnancy. Great co!
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • BusyZeeBusyZee member
    Hahahaa
  • DcwtadaDcwtada member
    I think Aeroflot is similiar to edgepark but I went through edgepark and had my pump delivered in 2 days. All I did was enter some basic information and they did everything. It was so easy.
  • So I'm bumping this thread back up! 

    I am finally going to get my beast pump. After reading through the thread I'm going with the spectra 2. 

    My question is, anyone here use aeroflow to order theirs? It came up in my FB news feed the other day. You basically give them all your info and they handle the rest for you. You just pick out what pump you want. I thought the company was talked about here but after using search wasn't able to find it. Maybe it was the June BMB I read it from. 
    I nominate this as it's new name. 

    Also +1 for edgepark...3 days!
    Hahaha... I'm going to leave it because it just sounds awesome! 
  • I'll look into edgepark since you ladies had such good success with it. 
  • Has anyone else needed a prescription to get a pump? My insurance requires it and I downloaded the form and it requires a medical reason, like a latching problem... and no, "going to work while lactating" isn't one of the medical code choices. I'm not sure how this is supposed to work. 
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • @greenbean-2 I need a prescription, but I didn't think it was specific like that. I figured I just needed proof that I was pregnant. Maybe ask your doctor? They may know what to put in. 
    Hubby and Me
    Friends since 2008
    Started dating: July 1st, 2013
    Engaged: July 1st, 2014
    Married: July 1st, 2016
    R born: July 8th, 2017
    N born: June 30th, 2019
    Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022
    (maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
  • @kerils Yeah... the form I downloaded was super specific, but maybe the doctor can just do his own thing and they'll accept that.  Definitely on the list for my next appointment. 
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • ljd2010ljd2010 member
    Ladies who have used a spectra, did you buy spare spectra parts, or were you able to make medela parts work? I'm seriously considering the spectra this go around but have so many spare sets of medela parts that Id love to be able to reuse. 
  • nikkiandchrisnikkiandchris member
    edited May 2017
    Has anyone else needed a prescription to get a pump? My insurance requires it and I downloaded the form and it requires a medical reason, like a latching problem... and no, "going to work while lactating" isn't one of the medical code choices. I'm not sure how this is supposed to work. 
    I think technically I did but they just called my OB. They did ask me for a medical reason and I said you can go ahead and put down baby.
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • @ljd2010 I bought some adapter system off of Amazon (these small little yellow tube things) that made it so I could use medela parts with my spectra pump. I didn't want to necessarily use medela stuff since the spectra was the only pump I had ever owned but I wanted smaller flanges and to be able to pump into standard neck size glass evenflo bottles and this worked for me. 

    These are the adapters: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01DGEDVUM/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1494596430&sr=8-2&keywords=spectra+adapter
    BFP May 2013 - MMC at 8 weeks
    BFP September 2013 - MMC at 12 weeks
    BFP February 2014 - early loss/CP at 4.5 weeks
    BFP May 2014 - MMC/ complete molar pregnancy at 11 weeks
    BFP December 2015 - DD born 8/18/2015
    BFP November 2016 - pending...



  • Has anyone else needed a prescription to get a pump? My insurance requires it and I downloaded the form and it requires a medical reason, like a latching problem... and no, "going to work while lactating" isn't one of the medical code choices. I'm not sure how this is supposed to work. 
    I need one - plan to ask my OB at my appointment Wednesday. I don't think it's legal for them to require a medical reason beyond having a baby! lol
    Babysizer Cravings Pregnancy Tracker
  • DcwtadaDcwtada member
    When I went through edgepark they took care of the prescription portion of it. The orignal place my benefit services had referred me to asked for the same thing, a prescription. I called edgepark for the heck of it since they were so awesome the last 2 times and I entered my info, picked my pump and had it 2 days later. I didn't have to bother with the prescription or any verification 
  • ljd2010ljd2010 member
    Thanks so much, @yellow1daisy!!
  • Thanks @rae1-3 and @nikkiandchris. Hopefully this will be easier than the website is making it seem. I agree "having a baby" should be enough of a medical reason!
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • @greenbean-2 To echo @Dcwtada, Edgepark took care of the prescription portion for me.  I had to enter minimal details, and *poof* a pump was at my door within 3 days.
  • @chiquita928 Unfortunately I can't use edgepark with my insurance. I'm going through the medela website and I have to upload a prescription. 
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • Jumping back a bit, in addition to scheduling and clogged ducts like  @Adabryron and @dancegirl1118 mentioned , an oversupply can also make it hard for baby to latch on a very firm a full breast. If the flow is much too strong, LO may pop off (which leaves you spraying everywhere), choke, and take in more air (which can mean more burps, spit-up, and gas). This can totally be managed by pumping a little first or letting it spray into a towel/bottle first, but was really hard for me to figure out how to manage when feeding in public. I will still pump a little extra in the beginning, but will be much more cautious about how much extra that I pump.

    Any mommas experienced with manual Pumos and think it would be worth just having one of these as a backup the first few weeks while figuring out if breastfeeding will work for you? @yellow1daisy ?

    @greenbean-2 I have no idea to get around that to order early. Like others have said, maybe your doc (or a lactation consultant-I would call the hospital where you will deliver to see if they have LC's. ) would know.
  • @WeddingNotes13 I did not have oversupply issues but I did buy a manual pump because many moms suggested having one on hand.  I was much more successful hand expressing than using the manual pump.  Some moms said it was easier to travel with a light manual pump than lug around the electronic one.  Since I traveled a lot for work it sounded like a good suggestion at the time - I ended up not traveling without baby.  Since it is not super expensive, I don't regret buying it and having it as backup even though I did not get much use out of it.  I tend to overprepare though!  It helps me feel calm.

    I'm surprised so many received their pumps early. When I had my son in 2015, you had to physically have the baby, then pick up the pump in the hospital.  And there were only two options - ameda or medela. Things may have changed in the last two years though?  Going to check out the spectra based on the recommendations here.
  • lph4248lph4248 member
    Re: prescriptions. My OB office was really hesitant to give me a prescription because apparently sometimes they end up getting into a back-and-forth with the durable medical equipment supplier. But after some encouragement from the lady who taught my childbirth class, I pushed back and they gave me one (hard copy that I got after one of my appointments). The "diagnosis" was written up as "encounter for lactation consulting" lol. I went through Cambridge Medical Supply (northeast US) - you fill out a bit of info on the website and then they email you to get the prescription. I emailed back a scan of my prescription and had my Medela PISA in probably 4 days. Also I have BCBS insurance and they said I could order it anytime, but I know with other plans it often has to be w/in 60 days of your EDD (which we probably mostly are now?!?!).

    Also, I ordered the Medela storage system because it was on sale on Amazon and it was before I knew anything about what I needed, but after spending the weekend researching this, I'm returning it and ordering the Kiinde storage system instead. Sounds great if the screwable bags resolve the leakage issue and you can use them in the feeding bottles too, plus their nipples are a LOT better reviewed than the Medela "slow-flow" ones (which apparently aren't really so slow). For other FTMs who have the Medela storage system, I think it would be fine, and you can use some other nipples with the Medela storage bottles if you have issues with the Medela ones. But I'm excited to skip extra steps.
    ~DD arrived July 4, 2017~
  • AdaByronAdaByron member
    edited May 2017
    @weddingnotes13 I loved my manual pump. I used the double electric at work and the manual any other time. It was so easy to toss in my purse if I was going out for a few hours and going to miss a feeding. And even at home, I could walk around the house and pump or sit in a comfy chair. 
  • lph4248lph4248 member
    @AdaByron I have heard great things about manual pumps. I'm planning to order one eventually. Which one do you use?
    ~DD arrived July 4, 2017~
Sign In or Register to comment.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"