Overwhelmed, lost, confused, stressed...
MrsRucinski85
member
And the list goes on. I need a starting point ladies and hoping you can help. I plan on breastfeeding when this baby is born. I just realized that I will have to pump bc I am going back to work after my 12 week leave just to put in my two weeks to quite and will have to feed the baby somehow. I also heard there are other benefits to pumping so I decided "OK, I'll get a pump". Well I've been looking all day and just... just nothing. I just dont know what to pick and dont really know where to start bc there are SO many options. Bc I am going to hopefully primary breastfeed and only need the pump for the time I go to work and to help my supply I dont want to spend $200 plus on a pump. But at the same time I dont want to buy a $50 junk pump that I have to replace within a few months. I am looking for something middle of the range that is decent.
So here are a few questions I have...
What brand do you use and why? How much did it cost? Where did you get it from? For those who use the manual pump does it take a lot longer to use? Does your hand get tired, can you not pump as long? How hard are the pumps to clean? Is it ok not to clean your pump every day or after every pumping? How often do you pump? Is your pump comfortable? And is there anything about your pump that makes you think man I wish I didnt get this or I wouldnt ever get this one again if mine broke or man wish I didnt spend this much and never would again bc it doesnt work like I thought? Just anything you can think of basically is what I could use advice on 
I am hoping to get an idea from you ladies on what is good and not good so I can cut the "fat" out of my research and just look at products that people actually use. So I can narrow down what would work best for me.
Thanks in advance!
Re: Overwhelmed, lost, confused, stressed...
I suggest waiting to buy your pump. Do your research, pick one you like (I like my Medela PISA, but have never tried anything different) but wait. Your insurance company might end up covering at least part of it.
I had trouble with DS latching to start, so insurance ended up covering mine.
I have a Medela PISA. Great investment- one of my most used baby products by far.
I bought mine when Target had their baby sale. Generally, they have the sale in the next couple weeks, so be on the lookout. Also, when I registered at Target, there was a coupon for $20 off the pump in the packet they gave us. Can't beat a sale and a coupon!
Thanks for all the advice ladies!
I contacted my insurance company and they advised me that they may be able to help cover the cost of the pump depending on the circumstance and what brand I buy, so I would be waiting to buy it till later.
I am wanting to buy one for a few reasons. Yes I mostly plan on using it for when I am at work for the two weeks however I was told pumping can help increase you breast milk production. Also it would be nice to have a small stock built up so I would have the option of going out and having a drink or two with friends without worring about it affecting the baby.
We also plan on having more than one kid and it would be nice for it to be used for pregnancies/babies down the road.
And lastly yes, right now the plan is to be a SAHM. We have worked out our finances so this shouldnt be a problem however in the event that something comes up and I have to go to work part time we want to be prepared.
All this being said I think it would be more cost effiecent to buy one as opposed to rent one but not sure if I need to spend $300 on one? I am so new to all this that I just had no idea where to even start looking. So just wanted some opinions on what everyone was using and your thoughts.
Thanks again!
If you were going to be back at work to stay, I'd recommend a Medela PISA (though the only one I've tried). I had to fuss with shields, and had to get a larger one for one side before it was bearable (I don't ever love it, but now it's fine, it was really uncomfortable till I figured out shield size--lots of web pages about that if you want to look). In addition to using it when I'm away during the day (three days a week), I also use it for when I'm away from her, and I pump at night before bed to help build my stash (I've never really pumped enough just pumping when I'm away from LO).
I suppose you're supposed to clean it each time. If I'm at work, I only pump twice now, used to do at least three times, and I rinse after each and wash each night.
Only things I've replaced is set of tubes--which I think I didn't need to do, but didn't realize till later the membranes needed replacing. If I were doing it again, I'd buy a replacement pack of membranes to have on hand when I needed them.
We had the pump on our registry (in case anyone wanted to be really generous :-) ) but no one got it--we ended up using coupons and gift cards for it. Cost-wise, we felt that if it allowed me to breastfeed as long as needed, and not to have to use formula when away from her, we were probably going to end up ahead, considering the cost of formula.
I think we posted at the same time!
Yeah, personally, I think it's prob. worth the cost--especially if you're planning to use it for more than one child. And yeah, I personally think even if you don't plan to regularly be away, it's really nice to have a freezer stash and the piece of mind that comes with know you could be away if you needed (or wanted to) for an evening, etc.
PLUS when my LO was first born, I was just so tired waking up all the time, I ended up, (till she started STTN, which was early for us, at like 6 weeks) I would pump enough for one bottle (boy was that a task in those early weeks!) so that my husband could give a bottle once during the night. I was really nervous that might mess with my supply (the internet had me so anxious about supply) and waited till week 2 to do that, but for me, it really made a difference and that little bit more sleep was a good thing--and the pump was great for that, even though I was with her all the time those days.