Breast Pumps?

backwoodsbarbie2k15 · February 2015

Im going to be a stay at home mom, so i will have plenty of time to breastfeed. Id like to do that exclusively at least for the first few months... But i know there will be days when i need to pump? What kinds do you ladies recommend? Electric? Manual?

justkeeptrying · February 2015

I am in the same position as you. I tried to read up on breast pumps and heard a lot of mixed reviews. I finally settled on registering for an Avent single electric. I don't think a double is necessary for the amount I'll pump, but I've heard the manuals are very tedious, time consuming and generally not as effective.

Curious to see what other moms here say!

shinderlea · February 2015

I have a Medela I am using with this baby. I recommend a double electric pump with what ever you decide. With my first I had a cheap single... It was horrible.
I heard Medelas are very good, we will see!

kw92 · February 2015

I used both manual and electric.
1st is medela hand/electric pump.(3 years ago)
The hand pump is tedious(regardless of brand) but the medela was the most comfortable. The electric pump was awesome and if I could have brought it home from the hospital I would have! Lol. Again really comfortable. And I could use any regular size bottle with it no problem. I find the medela is most recommended, and I will buy another.

Advent hand pump(3 years ago), was super uncomfortable and I found you have to buy specific wide mouth bottles to fit in it which sucked because I had so many regular bottles to pump in from the hospital(babes were NICU).

Platex electric pump(this was 7 years ago so I'm just going off expierence here) was so uncomfortable, it had a high and low setting and that was it.. It worked okay with my bottles but I just used it until I just couldn't take it anymore...

camdensmom32 · February 2015

I just got a new Medela electric breast pump free through my insurance.

smash1228 · February 2015

Check with your insurance company, they may cover a breast pump. I have already recieved my double electric medela for free. I am a stay at home mom and nursed my dd for 13 mo. I had a double electric medela then too, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Pumping can be very time consuming having a double made it so much quicker.

I also had a medela manual. It came in handy for a little later when I would leave dd with grandparents and would be out and about and needed to pump but didn't want to lug around my huge electric pump. The first time I left dd, she was around 6 mo old, and dh I went to a college football game. Much easier to just throw my manual pump in my purse and run to the bathroom when I needed to pump as opposed to lugging around a huge electric pump. As dd got older, closer to a year, the manual would not be effiecient enough and only the electric would actually stimulate a let down.

CateOfChicago · February 2015

Absolutely get a double electric. Don't bother with a manual. Most insurances cover it. I had the Medela pump in style,I think. I might rent one from the hospital this time. I had supply issues so I'd like to get the strongest one I can find.

icajesica82 · February 2015

In your situation I would maybe just do a manual. If you don't plan on using it much I wouldn't fork out the $300 for a really good one. I used my a ton with DD. While I was on maternity leave and after I returned I pumped. She nursed for a year and I pumped almost that whole time. If you are only planning on using it every so often just to get a little bit stored I wouldn't do the big one, however an electric is way easier than a manual. I have a Medela PISA

WhiteSun · February 2015

The affordable care act has your insurance cover your breast pump now. About time! Just called mine and the provider they gave me sells the medela free style double that I registered for and is 330. I'll pay nothing with my insurance coverage. Glad to take it off the registry.

jennygirlmt · February 2015

As a stay at home Mom whose LOs never took a bottle I only pumped a dozen or so times (mostly while traveling, etc). I used my Medela PISA since I had that prior to deciding to stay home/realizing my kids wouldn't take bottles.

The manual was tedious and painful. I only used that twice while I was away from LO for a long time but couldn't take my pump (Ie when DH and I went to Universal Studios and left LO with the inlaws).

Now that my insurance covers it, I'll be getting another PISA, in the hopes that this DD takes a bottle on the occasion that I want to be gone for more than 3 hours :-)

I've never used the other brands but have heard good things of the Ameda double electric too.

gkrenzel · February 2015

I got a Medela electric double from a friend, who said it was the best out o the three she's had. Will just be buying replacement parts/tubing which will be much cheaper than an entire new machine!

padleylynn · February 2015

My insurance would only cover an Ameda double electric. I would call your carrier and ask them what they cover. If your only going to be a part time pumper a simple electric should be fine. Also just my two cents on manual pumps, I had one with DD on top of the electric one that I would use in emergencies like in the car (my 1st pump didn't have a car charger and ate batteries like crazy) to help ease some of the engorgement pain until I could nurse or pump. Manual pumps are not a bad backup plan for just in case situations.

shinderlea · February 2015

Definitley call your insurance. And no matter how much time you have to nurse at home, its always good to have a nice BP. Double, electric. You never know if you will have latching issues and pumping allows for more milk production also.
So I wouldnt recommend getting a manual. It will be well worth it having a good breast pump at reach.

Jenny33 · February 2015

Don't waste your time or money on a manual or single pump. Your time is too valuable for that.

marthaudani · February 2015

I have had both manual and electric.

The manual is good for when you are out and about but don't want to carry a huge bag. The hand pump fit in all my Coach bags.

I also had a double medela electric pump which I loved when I was at work. It was quick and came with a separate pouch to store the pumped milk so that my coworkers wouldn't see the breast milk when they opened the fridge in the break room. I gave jt to my sister when she had her dd and i'm hoping she still has it. I'll just need new tubing and accessories.

afidalgo12 · February 2015

UGH - my insurance only covers a manual. I'll be shelling out the $$ for an electric...but I wanted to know - should I even bother taking the free manual as well? Is it worth it to have as a backup/emergency pump if I have issues with my electric? or is jumping through the insurance hoops not even worth it?

stark01938209 · February 2015

Loved my Medela pump in style last time. May opt to rent a hospital grade one too though when I go back to work. I hear they are much faster.

sn2bmomo4 · February 2015

I am having baby #4, and have tried many different pumps over the years, both manual and electric in several different brands. The best pump out of all of them, and the one I'll be using again this time is the Medela Freestyle. I found it to be able to adjust to my needs the best. I have always had trouble pumping until I found this pump, it has multiple settings, and can go very strong, about the strength I set the hospitals Medela to, plus a nice bonus is that it is small, and fits nicely in your purse. I hope this helps! Good luck with your little one!

jennygirlmt · February 2015

stark01938209 said:
Loved my Medela pump in style last time. May opt to rent a hospital grade one too though when I go back to work. I hear they are much faster.

Definitely worth it! It could come in handy sometime. And my insurance was super easy. Just went online and ordered from their supplier and it'll show up. Hopefully yours is as easy.

sassymama15 · February 2015

WhiteSun said:
The affordable care act has your insurance cover your breast pump now. About time! Just called mine and the provider they gave me sells the medela free style double that I registered for and is 330. I'll pay nothing with my insurance coverage. Glad to take it off the registry.

Not all insurances cover pumps there are still clauses that allow some not to.
Plans that are grandfathered in aren't required under the affordable care act to cover them, and certain government plans such as military insurance (tricare) also do not always cover pumps. Most Medicaid plans also do not cover them. So it's still best to check with your individual insurance. They may "cover" pumps but often times the coverage is limited on some plans as well. Mine for example "covers" a pump but with specific requirements, they will "cover" a MANUAL pump up to $50 only if there is a medical necessity to pump, meaning I would need to get a doctor to sign off saying I medically need to pump. Then I would have to go through one of their specific medical equipment suppliers for the pump and they charge the highest prices. So for me it will be cheaper to buy a pump myself on Amazon than to go through my insurance.

sassymama15 · February 2015

afidalgo12 said:
UGH - my insurance only covers a manual. I'll be shelling out the $$ for an electric...but I wanted to know - should I even bother taking the free manual as well? Is it worth it to have as a backup/emergency pump if I have issues with my electric? or is jumping through the insurance hoops not even worth it?

My insurance said the same thing manual up to $50 reimbursement with medical necessity. You can find great brand new pumps cheaper on Amazon. Also check out eBay because I have seen a lot of people selling brand new pumps with the safety packaging still intact for like half the price. I know a friend of mine sold hers she got free from insurance on eBay when she decided she wasn't going to pump after all, wish I knew I was pregnant back then, it wasn't even opened yet!

peteresa · February 2015

I used my insurance too and how sweet it is to save $300.00!!!!!

MrsS728 · February 2015

My insurance covers up to a $500 limit before authorization is needed. However, they only allow 5 different types of electric pumps. Call insurance and ask, call and ask again, and then check with HR. I've had to run around all week to get a straight answer. Also you have to be within 92 days of your due date to qualify. GL

leelee72 · February 2015

I called my insurance. They told me the couple of companies to call to get my covered pump. I called gave them my info. They called my ob got the referral and they mailed it to me as soon as approved. I got a double electric pump.

MrsPDX · February 2015

The two places that my insurance suggested both wait until after the baby is born to process it, but I want it here and ready before the baby. Did anyone have problems like this? I am hoping to call my insurance back and dig into whether all providers are like this.

chavez2685 · February 2015

How do I go about finding out if my insurance covers a new pump? I have one I was given with my daughter, but it was not very efficient.

padleylynn · February 2015

I have state medical and after I found out my insurance covers breast pumps I just mentioned it to my doctor at my next appointment and he put the paperwork in. My insurance said I should wait until after the baby was here but my doctor put it in anyways. My pump came by mail a week later (24 weeks pg then).

cmizz · February 2015

I went to pumpingessentials.com and found my insurance covered a double electric. Instead of filling it out online I called and they were so helpful. Even though my due date is 5-10 she said that they could ship it out right away or I could pick a date so that my warranty would would last longer. She also let me know that my insurance would cover a second pump at any time. It was so easy and helpful. I'd definitely recommend going through them and I didn't even have to have a prescription from my doctor.

Parenturownway · February 2015

Definitely a double electric pump! When in the hospital, I used their medela symphony. Loved it. When we left, I had plans on buying one. I had to use a manual until ours came in, and I am SO glad I wont have to use the manual this time. We ended up not getting the symphony, but opted for the pump in style instead. It has the car plug in to pump on the go, and has the same amount of suction as the hospital grade in my opinion.

MrsS728 · February 2015

Word to the wise....shop around. I was told by 3 of the 5 approved vendors that my insurance didn't qualify for a certain brand of BP....come to find out the vendor that I went with offers the one that I want and I've already been approved!!

Want a personalized experience?

Breast Pumps?

Re: Breast Pumps?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards