Yes. Your hospital will allow you to rent the breast pump. It is a very expensive machine (1000's of dollars), so it is far more effective in the beginning than the $300 pumps we buy. I rented it until my milk supply was high, and then started using the $300 pump I bought from Babies R Us. I highly recommend renting the pump from the hospital in the beginning. It really helps increase your milk supply.
I agree with PP for many reasons. You can rent for a month and see if BF works for you and also my Freestyle pump didn't work at all when I was engorged and I had to rent one anyhow. Hth!
Not only have I heard of it, but I did it. My hospital gave me a list of contact info for places that provided rentals.
I had already planned to buy a pump for when I went back to work, but hadn't planned on needing it right away, so I hadn't bought one yet.
My DS ending up having some health issues that made it difficult to nurse him right away, so I had to start pumping right away instead. Being able to call a rental place and have them deliver it to me was a lifesaver! However, if you plan to pump long-term, buying will save you a lot of money, in the long run.
I would personally wait to get a breast pump with your first- as you never know. I see and hear so many ppl say they are going o nurse- and its not easy. I am expecting baby # 4 - I nursed all 3 of my others. I hardly ever used a pump. I found thta when your milk comes in you need one- but can get by with a manual for that time. But honestly - Im in Canada and at every pharmacy you can rent a pump especially great if you don't know how committed you will be- then you can buy a BP after when needed. Hospitals have them too..
but seriously why spend the $200+ if your not sure- could be a wasete of money - anothe rthing you can do is ask a friend who had a lil one previously and borrow theirs. I did this with my 1st. But if you plan on exclussive BF no bottle or forumal- you will not need a pump.
if your worried about germs and disease- as was one of my concerns, a) they sterilize them and b) you just boil in hot wate rthe parts and its sterilized. FYI
My sister in-law is currently renting the hospitals breast pump. She has it up to 3 months and she pays 22 dollars a month.. :-) She will buy her own soon.
I looked into it with #1, but it was too expensive. I can't remember how much, but I'm thinking it was more cost effective to just buy one. So I bought one right before I delivered (used a BBB 20% off coupon) and then kept the receipt and kept everything in the box until I could see that my milk came in and everything was good. I only have 8 weeks mat leave, so I knew I would at least use it once I went back to work...and boy did I! We ended up having latch issues and I pumped exclusively, so DD got only pumped milk for the last 5 of her first six months. That thing was worth its weight in gold for me!!
With DD I wasn't sure if I wanted to BF so I rented the pump and my ins. covered the 1st mo. for free and the 2nd mo. was $30 so I bought the medela manual pump. I ended up not BF'ing because of medical problems DD had but I did use the manual pump to exclusively pump until she was 4 mo. old. I bought a medela pump w/ DS because I knew I would BF him. Renting was the way to go for me, it's a great option if you're not sure if you plan on BF'ing or if you want to wait and save up a little longer. Call & see if your ins. gives you your 1st mo. free.
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Re: Renting breast pump?
Not only have I heard of it, but I did it. My hospital gave me a list of contact info for places that provided rentals.
I had already planned to buy a pump for when I went back to work, but hadn't planned on needing it right away, so I hadn't bought one yet.
My DS ending up having some health issues that made it difficult to nurse him right away, so I had to start pumping right away instead. Being able to call a rental place and have them deliver it to me was a lifesaver! However, if you plan to pump long-term, buying will save you a lot of money, in the long run.
:;learking::
I would personally wait to get a breast pump with your first- as you never know. I see and hear so many ppl say they are going o nurse- and its not easy. I am expecting baby # 4 - I nursed all 3 of my others. I hardly ever used a pump. I found thta when your milk comes in you need one- but can get by with a manual for that time. But honestly - Im in Canada and at every pharmacy you can rent a pump especially great if you don't know how committed you will be- then you can buy a BP after when needed. Hospitals have them too..
but seriously why spend the $200+ if your not sure- could be a wasete of money - anothe rthing you can do is ask a friend who had a lil one previously and borrow theirs. I did this with my 1st. But if you plan on exclussive BF no bottle or forumal- you will not need a pump.
if your worried about germs and disease- as was one of my concerns, a) they sterilize them and b) you just boil in hot wate rthe parts and its sterilized. FYI
good luck
I realize every hospital is different but about how much has everyone paid per month for the rental?
I am considering renting and havent had a chance to call on rental prices.
Some insurance companies have started covering a portion if not the entire expense of renting the hospital grade pump!!
If you do have to pay for a portion as someone else mentioned there is a tax write off for it!!
With DD I wasn't sure if I wanted to BF so I rented the pump and my ins. covered the 1st mo. for free and the 2nd mo. was $30 so I bought the medela manual pump. I ended up not BF'ing because of medical problems DD had but I did use the manual pump to exclusively pump until she was 4 mo. old. I bought a medela pump w/ DS because I knew I would BF him. Renting was the way to go for me, it's a great option if you're not sure if you plan on BF'ing or if you want to wait and save up a little longer. Call & see if your ins. gives you your 1st mo. free.