SAHMs - do you pump?

Darcie Elicia

For the times when you are:

• occasionally away - date night/girls night
• to have extra on hand
• to introduce a bottle while they are still small
• so DH can be involved in feeding
• when you want/need to be out in public and you don't want to pull out your boobs (I am clearly NOT looking forward to this!)

 

If you do, can you recommend a pump?  Thanks ladies!

 

NewMommy2BeFinally

I pumped for all those reasons... I recommend renting a pump instead of buying one unless you are planning to pump or BF for a long time. I rented mine- the Ameda Elite Electric breast pump and never had problems with it. Good luck!

lgurian

i also EPd so rented one for 6 mo. these are going to be our only children and so i didnt want to spend the $300+ to buy a good one. i spent $300 renting one, but the medical grade ones are stronger so i didnt feel like it was a waste. but if you are planning on having more children or pumping longer you may as well buy one. i think in this case you get what you pay for so get a good one. 

JakesBride07

I bought the Medela Pump in Style, and love it for the most part. In the hospital I used an Ameda Elite and I like that as well.

Right now my little ones are in the  NICU so I exclusively pump, whether I use the pump as much when they come home time will tell. But to me it was worth the money to buy rather then rent one.

ProwdMommy

I use the Ameda Purely Yours.  It is not very expensive but still one of the most used.

jalaiaa

I worked PT so I did pump for that anyway, but I would have probably pumped a little bit anyway for nights out etc even if I didn't work. I think it depends on how much you plan on going out etc. If you are planning on being out a lot and will frequently be giving  them bottles, I recommend the PISA. If you're only going to need an occasional bottle, you could probably use a hand pump. Much cheaper, but much less efficient so not good if you need bottles frequently. 

LMG96

I have the Medela Pump in Style and like it! I started out just using it for the reasons you mentioned but now one of my daughters will only take the bottle so I pump a lot more now and it works great. I waited until after my babies were born to get it, just to make sure breastfeeding would work for us since it is a little pricey.

keg

I definitely recommend renting a pump in the beginning.  Even if you plan to EBF, sometimes that doesn't work out, particularly with twins.  My DDs were in the NICU for a few days and really didn't "get" BFing until they were around 39 weeks so it was important I have a decent pump (not that it did too much good, but that's a different story. :-).  I rented an Ameda Elite and when it was clear that I would be pumping some for a while, I actually bought one from ebay for about the same price as a new Medela PIS.  However, if things work and you just need an occasional pump, I'm a huge fan of the Ameda/Lansinoh pumps.  (I think the Lansinoh at least used to be the same pump as the Ameda yet less expensive).  I like their flange set-up better than the Medelas and they are less expensive.

AFaul

I pump for all of the reasons that you listed. I rented a pump for the first 2 weeks to make sure that breastfeeding would work for me and to establish my supply. But at $50 every 2 weeks that would have gotten expensive really fast. I bought the Medela Pump-In-Style and I love it. It is probably way more than I needed as a SAHM but my insurance actually paid for it. If you have a Health Savings Account I believe that money can now be used for breast pumps.

atc282

I EP'd and used the Medela Pump In Style. Check with your insurance to see if they cover any % of the cost. My ins co. paid for 90% of the cost so it was very inexpensive for me.

GL

HoganPartyOf5

I will be pumping for the same reasons you listed. I plan to rent for the first month or 2 just to see if the breastfeeding works. The Ameda Purely Yours and the Medela have been recommended to me buy a LC and I they have both been recommended on this board. I think I will go with the Ameda, for the price.

Best wishes!

vlahop

I do not stay at home, but I thought I would share my experience with you anyway.  When my twins were 6 weeks old they both came down with a very bad case of RSV.  They hardly ate and I was pretty much force feeding them.  I bottle fed them BM so I knew how much they were getting.  Granted, I could have just paid attention to their wet diapers to know that they were not dehydrated, but I felt better knowing how much they got.

Sharra711

With DD I got the Freestyle (and I did go back to work FT for a few weeks and needed it then) and I also rented the Lactina through the hospital because she went back into the ped's unit because she quit breathing.

I'm assuming that you would want a double, no matter how often you use it... I'm assuming with twins you will need to remove twice the ammount of milk and will have two babies to care for at the same time.

You can get almost all Medela pumps $100 off if you buy them from a "auth retailer" I got my Freestyle for $275.

ANother thought... you may ditch the "boobs in public" concern when the babies get here... it's A LOT of work to plan and pump and then feed two babies out. In the beginning I took DD in the back seat of the car, it was private and I felt better. After a while, you get so good at NIP that nobody will even know.

amanda31H

I weaned at 9 months, but I did pump for a few of the reasons you mentioned.

I rented a hospital grade pump - the Medela Symphony.  It was $65/month for us (I called several places before I found it for that price) and the hospital gave me the personal parts that you would normally have to purchase (our hospital used the same pump).  It worked great because the girls stayed behind in the NICU for 3 days so I was pumping at home. 

I also pumped when the girls started sleeping 7 hour stretches.  They'd go to sleep at 8 pm, I'd pump at 12, and then nurse them when they woke up at 3.  I built a pretty decent freezer stash that we used when DH and I took a 24 hour vacation for my birthday when the girls were 3 months!

megkreig

I pumped early on becuase the babies had a 3 week NICU stay and i wanted them to have BM.  After they came home, i put them to the breast as much as possible and DH gave them each one bottle in the middle of the night for a few weeks.  After that it just got much easier to nurse them when they were hungry.  Also, i had fewer clogged ducts once i stopped pumping.  FWIW- i had 10 gallons of frozen BM that we threw out because the kids refused to drink it.  I look back and wish i would have spent the time with my babies and not the stupid pump!