Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.): Mine was free since I ordered it from insurance. On Amazon it is $230.
Pros: It seemed to work okay for me and I would pump enough milk out.
Cons: It's so loud! And a pain to clean all the parts (but I think that's true of any pump).
Is there another one you don't have but are considering? Why?: There was, but now I can't remember the name of it! I will have to go back and find the name.
Additional thoughts on breast pumps: I don't think so.
Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.): free with insurance but around $299 without
Pros: worked well with me but I had an oversupply after pumping because of a NICU stay
Cons: lots of parts to wash and not a complelely closed
Is there another one you don't have but are considering? Why?: I hear spectra is much better with a closed system and better suction/strength
Additional thoughts on breast pumps: I ended up EP for a while after the toddler decided he would rather have bottles the night before I went back after maternity leave. It was a great system to have. Anyone know if the parts are interchangeable between the PISA and Spectra?
Caveat: I SAH and EBF, pumping was not a necessity or an every day thing for me.
I used a spectra - not sure which one, it looks like either the one I have has been discontinued or remodeled so it looks different. I have nothing but good things to say about it. Super portable, closed system, great suction, easy to clean.
Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.): $230, but I got mine for free through my insurance company.
Pros: It worked well for me and was easy to travel with. I pumped at work until DS was 9 months old. I liked the adjustable speed settings.
Cons: I think these might be true for any pump, but it was loud and took a long time to clean.
Is there another one you don't have but are considering? Why?: I don't think so. I remember doing a lot of research after I found out which ones insurance would cover and this one was the only one I was interested in. It was also recommended to me by a lot of my older mom friends.
Additional thoughts on breast pumps: Buy a hands-free pumping bra so that you can multi-task while you are tied to the machine. Put your pump parts in the fridge in between uses so you only have to clean them at the end of the day. Buy spare pump parts so that you can rotate them when needed. Think about buying the bottles that go along with your pump to make pumping/storage easier. Buy milk storage bags to freeze milk and freeze them in smaller amounts in the beginning when your baby is eating smaller servings more times per day.
Breast pump used: Medela Pump in Style (hated it!) and Spectra
Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.): Medela through insurance. Spectra was about $125, I think. I did not get the battery one.
Pros: I found that Spectra was much more gentle.
Cons: Medela always felt too rough to me.
Is there another one you don't have but are considering? Why?: I remember people raving about a different kind, but I totally forget what it was. I'll take a look at my free insurance options (if that still exists in 2018!) and see if I want another one.
Additional thoughts on breast pumps: Ugh! I stopped working after a couple of months back in part because I didn't want to pump or give up breastfeeding.
I stole the manual medela pump from the hospital. I hate pumping. There is another one I saw recently that I'm interested in, but we'll see. I definitely need a new one because the manual just isn't doing anything anymore. I have heard the spectra is a must if you plan on exclusively pumping. (I hate pumping)
I don't necessarily have a review because FTM but I purchased the medela sonata due to the other reviews and have tried it out and its extremely quiet and has blue tooth capability to keep track of sessions. Also has different pumping rhythms I think.
I'm in the minority and hated the hand free pumping bra!! I feel like I got so much more when I held the pump, which is a pain in the ass, but I could move it around and apply pressure in places to get even more out. FFTC- I still have a 5oz bag of frozen milk I can't part with in my freezer
I had the Medela Pump in Style too- it did the job. I don't know how stylish it was but it didn't advertise that I was lugging around a big ole pump to anyone except the thousands of pumping moms with the same bag. I pumped for 9 months during the school year with both kids- loved the hands free bra. I'd recommend getting 2 so one can get washed every once in a while. Also those steaming bags that sanitize your pump parts- I would keep them in the fridge during the day and then rinse and throw them in the microwave. Seemed like it worked pretty well.
I also had the Medela Pump in Style so I won't write another full review. I did EP for 9 months and if I end up doing that again I might look into renting a hospital grade pump to use at home since they are better at expressing milk.
For cleaning parts, I discovered that you can put them in the top rack of the dishwasher in a mesh clothes washer bag and they come totally clean! Between this and putting in the fridge it was a huge time saver!
One more recommendation, get Pumpin' Pals if you have any issues with pumping causing pain or not able to express enough milk when pumping. Here is a link and I think you can get them on Amazon too https://pumpinpal.com/ They legit made it possible for me to pump for as long as I did, I was having such a hard time until I saw a lactation consultant and she suggested these.
@oywiththepoodlesalready How have I never heard of these?!? I seriously could have used these with pumping for my DD. Adding these to my Amazon list. Thanks for the tip!
I used the Madela PISA as well. Ditto to everything said: Solid, reliable, noisy. I pumped when I went back to work at 5 months though the end of the school year when she turned 1. My pump actually started to be ineffective, so Madela sent me a brand new one immediately. Great customer service. Also, Madela parts are easy to find in stores and online. My insurance covered my pump but it didn't come with the bag. I got a great oversized flat bottom purse from TJ Maxx for $35 that was perfect. I used a tall lunch cooler with freezies in it to store my bottles and put that cooler in the fridge at work. The cooler for my bottles and flanges snuggly, so I didn't need to wash in between sessions since u stress it in the fridge. I would bring a fresh burp rag to dry my flanges and clean up drips. I used a Sarah Wells wet dry bag that had a snap out clean surface that I could put my parts on. Get extra tubes, flanges, bottle caps, and membranes. There is nothing worse than realizing you need a spare part and don't have it and have to hand express at work. I took that sage advice from a colleague who had that issue and I was prepared when my milk backed up into a tube or I forgot a lid. Ditto on a hands free bra. I had one I picked up on Amazon (bellibea) that worked as a regular nursing bra. I could nurse DD right before I left for work, pump in it at school, and nurse her right when I got home. It had 2 panels with the inside one for pumping. Genius product.
Oh this is slightly off topic, but a lot of moms in my previous BMB had issues with the lansinoh bags. They would leak after being frozen and waste a lot of milk. I personally never had that issue, but I would put that bag inside a sandwich bag and run cold water over it to thaw anyway after I was told that. Or I would put them in a sandwich bag in the fridge. That way if the original bag leaked I would still have the milk.
I also used the Medela pump in style. At one point I rented a hospital grade medela (not sure which one) but only kept it for a month. The latter was huge but so quiet in comparison!
i used the Lanisoh bags for freezing without any issues leaking.
I just hope this LO drinks for the medela bottles. The worst part of transferring milk from those bottles to another bottle is getting the milk fat mixed back in!
Question for STM+: Did anyone take public transportation to work and need to pump? I'm leaning towards the Spectra S2 since it's a closed system and easier to clean than the Medelas, especially since we don't have a dishwasher, but it's not made to be portable like some of the Medela ones. Guessing I'll probably want to have one for work and one for home, right?
I wouldn't say it's public transport, but I have to park in a parking lot about ten minutes away and take a shuttle to work. I was still pumping for my daughters when I started working here, so I brought an older one my sister gave me and left it at work and kept my "good" one at home. Made my life so much easier. I would rinse the washable parts off when done using them, and then take them and the milk home at the end of the day in the small cooler that came with the pump, wash the pump parts and take them back the next morning.
Me, 35 Hubs, 32 Married June 2012 BFP June 2013- blighted ovum, D&C Aug 2013 BFP Oct 2013- twins! A&H born May 2014 BFP Aug 2017- EDD 5/8/17
Pretty much ditto what @mileswithmyles said. I used the same pump (free through my insurance) and it's a little loud, but not like jet engine loud. Washing pump parts is THE biggest pain in the ass, so try to buy (or register) for as many as you can. I am one of the "don't care about the rules" people, so I usually just hand washed mine or threw them in the dishwasher. I sterilized them and the bottles the first time I used them, but never again after that. Steaming/sterilizing takes way too much time. Your baby is getting germs from all over, I don't think a few more from their bottles is going to hurt. I loved loved loved my hands free pumping bra. I'm also super cheap, so I just used the up and up brand milk freezer bags and never had an issue with them, but did have a few problems with other brands (including Lansinoh) leaking/tearing. Also because I'm super cheap, I found these Gerber bottles that are like, $4 for 3 that also fit with my pump, and thankfully my girls were never super picky when it came to bottles. I actually liked these better than the Medela because the lids covered the nipple hole, so they didn't leak if they got knocked over. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gerber-First-Essentials-Medium-Flow-Latex-9-oz-Bottles-3-ct/19758296?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1150&adid=22222222227033505754&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=79411425071&wl4=aud-310687322322:pla-138006976631&wl5=9005913&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=112549851&wl11=online&wl12=19758296&wl13=&veh=sem
Me, 35 Hubs, 32 Married June 2012 BFP June 2013- blighted ovum, D&C Aug 2013 BFP Oct 2013- twins! A&H born May 2014 BFP Aug 2017- EDD 5/8/17
I'm in the minority and hated the hand free pumping bra!! I feel like I got so much more when I held the pump, which is a pain in the ass, but I could move it around and apply pressure in places to get even more out. FFTC- I still have a 5oz bag of frozen milk I can't part with in my freezer
I still have 2 bags of 4 oz each in the freezer from my bf/pumping journey that ended almost 12 months ago!
@Ceridwen77 I was able to screw the dr. brown's bottles into the medela pump so no transfer!
That’s good to know. My DD would only drink out of the playtex bottles
Yep, I used Dr Brown bottles as well and they fit my Pisa. DD had reflux and these bottles worked best for her. You can buy 2nd party adapters for lots of different bottles on Amazon. I had some for Avent before we switched to Dr Brown's.
Woo hoo! Great info gals. So I stopped pumping 6yrs ago, I had to Google which pump I used. Been awhile so hopefully it's gotten better but I used the...
Medela Swing single electric pump. Its $150 ish. However the single pump sucks! You have to do each side separately. I wasn't a fan of my Medela in general, but I got it because it was the cheapest option avalible and my insurance didn't cover anything including hospital pumps. It's great to see other reviews and suggestions!
Love all the reviews! I'm thinking about trying the Medela Pump in Style, but I'm worried about it being an open system. I noticed almost everyone used that one and I was wondering how hard the tubes are to clean if milk backs into them?
Ditto @cups4 I still have a small bag in our freezer from over 2 years ago. I thought about having it turned into a piece of jewelry, but thought it was too expensive.
@k5678 I've never heard of the steam bags before! Can you share a link?
Also a pump in style user, but I would also recommend getting a manual/hand pump. They're pretty cheap and the number of times I pumped just a little with my second because he didn't nurse much on one side or whatever where I NEVER would've hooked up an electric pump and gone through the trouble were immeasurable.
And major confession....I threw away like 50 ounces with my second. It got past the time I could donate to breast milk bank, I couldn't find anyone with a newbie to take it and he had food allergies so I had to watch what he was getting through milk. IT WAS AWFUL.
Love all the reviews! I'm thinking about trying the Medela Pump in Style, but I'm worried about it being an open system. I noticed almost everyone used that one and I was wondering how hard the tubes are to clean if milk backs into them?
Ditto @cups4 I still have a small bag in our freezer from over 2 years ago. I thought about having it turned into a piece of jewelry, but thought it was too expensive.
@k5678 I've never heard of the steam bags before! Can you share a link?
Only got milk into my tube once while pumping at work. I drained it the best I could and always carried an extra set of tubes with me and my pump bag just in case. Hooked up the new tubes and kept on going. I rinsed out the tubes and air-dried them. And never really found the non closed system to be an issue.
@zizzabell523 I exclusively pumped for over 7 months and I never had issues with milk in the tubes. They did get condensation in them a couple times and I just ran the pump with the tubes but no bottles hooked up for a few minutes and they dried right out. Replacement tubes are cheep too so I didn't feel like the open system was ever an issue.
I think I did @sandbar517. It was so awful and I was really more tempted than I logically should've been to give my allergic baby milk that maybe wasn't the best (although, his pedi, allergist and derm all said not to do an elimination diet so I never excluded from my diet but I still just got to a point where I was sick of trying to treat in other ways and wanted to get him safely transitioned to something for him, so yay for being a good mom winning out haha)
I also had a medela pump in style since insurance covered it in full. I never had many issues with it, just condensation. But again (not sure who said it!) I'd just run the machine a few minutes after pumping and it helped. I also loved the steam bags. So helpful! I was home and usually would just EBF but we did bottles occasionally or if I was away during a feeding time. But I needed to pump out of comfort. I had a happy problem of an over abundance of milk with DS. Like after he would nurse on both sides and be full I would still need to pump about 5-8 ounces a few times a day since it would just be leaking otherwise. I ended up donating a lot of milk (about 1400 oz) to moms who needed it since I was a SAHM at the time and didn't really need to have a huge supply. Like I said a good problem to have.
I also had the pump in style and when I would wash the tubing or get condensation I would swing the tubes around in the air really fast to ensure all the water got out. I know I probably looked like a crazy lady doing this in my kitchen but I felt like it really worked and thankfully I don't think SO ever saw me do this.
@zizzabell523 I exclusively pumped for over 7 months and I never had issues with milk in the tubes. They did get condensation in them a couple times and I just ran the pump with the tubes but no bottles hooked up for a few minutes and they dried right out. Replacement tubes are cheep too so I didn't feel like the open system was ever an issue.
This is exactly what I did. Never got milk in the tubes after a year+ of pumping. Condensation happened often, and just running the pump with just the tubes attached dries them out super quick.
I also had the pump in style and when I would wash the tubing or get condensation I would swing the tubes around in the air really fast to ensure all the water got out. I know I probably looked like a crazy lady doing this in my kitchen but I felt like it really worked and thankfully I don't think SO ever saw me do this.
That’s what I used to do with the hoses when I smoked hookah
Also used the Medela. I had another one for a bit. Simplisse, maybe? I hated it. Could barely hey anything And milk got in the tubes even though it was a closed system.
I also put the parts in the fridge and I ran through the dishwasher. I had a few sets.
I agree auth whoever said to get a hand pump. They're not expensive and very portable. Perfect for when you just need to relieve a little or baby fell asleep or something. I also took it with me to parties a few times. Easy to pump standing in a bathroom stall.
I liked the lansinoh bags but only stored 2 is per bag. That way if baby didn't finish, I didn't have to toss much milk.
Re: Product Guide: Breast Pumps
I used a spectra - not sure which one, it looks like either the one I have has been discontinued or remodeled so it looks different. I have nothing but good things to say about it. Super portable, closed system, great suction, easy to clean.
Regarding the hands free bra, I found that it was a MUST. I had a couple different brands but the Lansinoh Simple Wishes was amazing. Here is a link: https://www.target.com/p/lansinoh-simple-wishes-hands-free-breast-pump-bustier/-/A-12543185
For cleaning parts, I discovered that you can put them in the top rack of the dishwasher in a mesh clothes washer bag and they come totally clean! Between this and putting in the fridge it was a huge time saver!
They legit made it possible for me to pump for as long as I did, I was having such a hard time until I saw a lactation consultant and she suggested these.
Solid, reliable, noisy. I pumped when I went back to work at 5 months though the end of the school year when she turned 1. My pump actually started to be ineffective, so Madela sent me a brand new one immediately. Great customer service. Also, Madela parts are easy to find in stores and online. My insurance covered my pump but it didn't come with the bag. I got a great oversized flat bottom purse from TJ Maxx for $35 that was perfect. I used a tall lunch cooler with freezies in it to store my bottles and put that cooler in the fridge at work. The cooler for my bottles and flanges snuggly, so I didn't need to wash in between sessions since u stress it in the fridge. I would bring a fresh burp rag to dry my flanges and clean up drips. I used a Sarah Wells wet dry bag that had a snap out clean surface that I could put my parts on. Get extra tubes, flanges, bottle caps, and membranes. There is nothing worse than realizing you need a spare part and don't have it and have to hand express at work. I took that sage advice from a colleague who had that issue and I was prepared when my milk backed up into a tube or I forgot a lid. Ditto on a hands free bra. I had one I picked up on Amazon (bellibea) that worked as a regular nursing bra. I could nurse DD right before I left for work, pump in it at school, and nurse her right when I got home. It had 2 panels with the inside one for pumping. Genius product.
i used the Lanisoh bags for freezing without any issues leaking.
I just hope this LO drinks for the medela bottles. The worst part of transferring milk from those bottles to another bottle is getting the milk fat mixed back in!
Married June 2012
BFP June 2013- blighted ovum, D&C Aug 2013
BFP Oct 2013- twins! A&H born May 2014
BFP Aug 2017- EDD 5/8/17
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gerber-First-Essentials-Medium-Flow-Latex-9-oz-Bottles-3-ct/19758296?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1150&adid=22222222227033505754&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=79411425071&wl4=aud-310687322322:pla-138006976631&wl5=9005913&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=112549851&wl11=online&wl12=19758296&wl13=&veh=sem
Married June 2012
BFP June 2013- blighted ovum, D&C Aug 2013
BFP Oct 2013- twins! A&H born May 2014
BFP Aug 2017- EDD 5/8/17
Medela Swing single electric pump. Its $150 ish. However the single pump sucks! You have to do each side separately. I wasn't a fan of my Medela in general, but I got it because it was the cheapest option avalible and my insurance didn't cover anything including hospital pumps. It's great to see other reviews and suggestions!
Ditto @cups4 I still have a small bag in our freezer from over 2 years ago. I thought about having it turned into a piece of jewelry, but thought it was too expensive.
@k5678 I've never heard of the steam bags before! Can you share a link?
BFP 2/25/14 EDD 11/5/14 BD 11/4/14
BFP 8/26/17 EDD 5/5/18
Also a pump in style user, but I would also recommend getting a manual/hand pump. They're pretty cheap and the number of times I pumped just a little with my second because he didn't nurse much on one side or whatever where I NEVER would've hooked up an electric pump and gone through the trouble were immeasurable.
And major confession....I threw away like 50 ounces with my second. It got past the time I could donate to breast milk bank, I couldn't find anyone with a newbie to take it and he had food allergies so I had to watch what he was getting through milk. IT WAS AWFUL.
Married June 2012
BFP June 2013- blighted ovum, D&C Aug 2013
BFP Oct 2013- twins! A&H born May 2014
BFP Aug 2017- EDD 5/8/17
Married: 12/19/15
BFP: 9/4/17
EDD: 5/16/18
DD born 5/10/18
Postpartum Complications
BFP: 10/1/19
EDD: 6/12/20
https://www.target.com/p/medela-5ct-quick-clean-micro-steam-sterilizing-bags/-/A-10953413?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Baby+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Baby&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=m&location=9026798&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_aC1s4LD1wIVHrnACh02lAV-EAQYASABEgIMh_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I also put the parts in the fridge and I ran through the dishwasher. I had a few sets.
I agree auth whoever said to get a hand pump. They're not expensive and very portable. Perfect for when you just need to relieve a little or baby fell asleep or something. I also took it with me to parties a few times. Easy to pump standing in a bathroom stall.
I liked the lansinoh bags but only stored 2 is per bag. That way if baby didn't finish, I didn't have to toss much milk.