Breast pump recommendations

[stegasaurus]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a breast pump? We have been given some Mothercare vouchers and think that is what we most want/ need for DD who is 5 weeks old. We were given a second-hand Avent manual pump by a friend of my mum, but I haven't been able to use it. We don't know if I am doing something wrong or if it doesn't work. DH says an electric pump would be better but they are very expensive and I think we probably don't really need one just to express occasional feeds. Am I right or would an electric pump be worth the money? Which brand of pump, either electric or manual is best?

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

I've heard good things about the Avent one but couldn't use if either. We had an Ameda Lactaline in the end which I bought second hand for £10, it was great.

Before you slash out, do your friends have any that you could try? Did you know that you can sometimes rent one too from the NCT, contact your local branch for details. Your local Breastfeeding Counsellors may know about secondhand ones for sale and ebay usually have lots on too.

[libbyssister]

I have used three different pumps with three different children. Two were manual (one Avent, one Tommee Tippee). I bought a Medela swing electric pump to used with Ds3. The electric one was the easiest and quickest to use whereas it always seemed a bit of a chore with the manual ones. Mine was second-hand off eBay. Got it for about £35 so they don't have to be as expensive.

[trixie123]

the tommee tippee manual one is fine. i know you have vouchers but its very cheap at wilkinsons - about half the price as at MC. If you areonly going to use it occasionally I would hesitate to pay for an electric one

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

And if you go along to your local NCT group and ask, there will probably be someone there who will be only too happy to give, sell or lend you one that they no longer need.

[FutureNannyOgg]

I had the TT manual one, I thought it was great until I bought my Medela Swing, which is much more comfortable and less effort!

[itisnotacompetitionyouknow]

I second the suggestion of an Ameda Lactaline! Fantastic.

[Albrecht]

From what I have seen different people get on with different pumps, maybe down to breast shape and size or just personal preference. So I think that is good advice to try them out beforehand.

Just to throw something else into the mix - have you tried hand expressing? (there are instructions in the NHS Birth to 5 book if you have it). I found this less painful and got more than with a pump. You could spend the voucher on something else then!

[rosielum]

Medela mini-electric, i exclusively expressed for my daughter for 14mths and the mini-electric never let me down! So easy to use and clean. The company couldn't believe it when I wrote to tell them how good their product was, they said it was for occational use and I used it 7 times a day! only prob is its noisey, but i think most of them are.

[sarahev]

I am exclusively expressing for my 6 month old and my Medela Freestyle is by far the best pump I used bar none (even taking into account the hospital grade ones I used on the neonatal unit). It might be a bit more than you need though for occasional use and is expensive. I have heard good things about the Medela swing also and that is less expensive.

Good luck whatever you decide to do and congratulations!

[crazycatlady]

Electric pump definitely worth the money. I've had a Medela mini electric (which was ok) and a Medela Swing (which is brilliant). Medela Swing is also very quiet so it's possible to watch telly and express at the same time. Mini Electric v noisy...

If you are expressing 1-2 times a day and not exclusively expressing you don't need to fork out for a hospital grade one.

I have never had any joy using a manual hand pump either. Even with a copious milk supply I can never get anything out. Seems to be zero suction!

[PenguinArmy]

I second the buying the tommee manual first as they're so cheap, also as you can see it's quite personal. Different pumps work for different folks and it depends on you usage as to how much to fork out. I found no difference in yield between manual and electric generally, although electric was more reliable at getting a let down and it gave me the peace of mind that I tried the next level up (brought second hand of a MNer)

As for the vouchers I'm sure at some point you will need clothes etc. so don't feel the need to buy something for the sake of it.

[ginmakesitallok]

With DD1 I couldn't express much with avent manual to start with - but as I got more used to it and more relaxed things got better (though I still remmeber crying over spilt 1 oz of milk it had taken me age to express!). Used avent manual again with DD2 - and it was grand from the start. I think a lot of expressing is psychological, its about relaxing and letting things happen.

I'd keep trying with the avent for a while (assuming you're not desperate for baby to take expressed milk) and if its still not happening think about another one.

[rosielum]

there's nothing so frustrating as spilt breast milk!