medela pump advice wanted

[MissV1]

Thinking of buying a breast pump before baby's arrival in a few weeks as struggled to breast feed baby 1. Looking at getting the medela, not sure what the difference is between the swing and mini though other than price?!

What did anyone else use and what did u think?

I use the mini and it is fine. I used it for DD1 daily for six months and am now using it with DD2. I express one bottle a day.

I have no experience with the Swing but IMO the extra expense is unnecessary as the mini does the job.

Brilliant, thank you!

From what I have read, the mini is noisier and doesn't work in the same way to express your milk.

Brilliant, thank you!

Oops, sorry - didn't meant repost same comment! I'm hoping I won't have to solely rely on the pump and I'm not sure how much noise would be an issue....£100+ just seems a lot for a pump.

Anyone else have experience of using any others?

I'd have a look at the difference between open and closed systems before you buy. There should be some info in previous Mn threads

I like my Medela Swing. I had issues with feeding DD in the early days and was expressing 8 times a day and it did a very good job. I am now (fortunately!) down to once a day but it's easy to use and not too noisy.

But I've not tried the mini so can't compare!

I've been using the Swing and been really pleased with it - yes it does cost about £100 but I have seen them selling second hand on eBay for over £50, so if you did buy a new one you'd get a chunk of the cash back if you looked after it and sold it on.

Using the mini and it's very noisy, dd doesn't seem to mind as have her on one and it on the other... Not sure how efficient it is as is old and borrowed

I've got both!

Bought a Mini new just after DD was born, and bought a Swing second hand recently off Ebay.

They have very different mechanisms and although the Mini is noisier, I think I prefer it (it actually sent DD to sleep earlier after she'd been crying all day).

One other thing to bear in mind that the Mini (and presumably the Swing too) come with a standard/medium sized breastshield, but you can buy them in a variety of sizes and they can make a difference to your success with pumping (I have bought one in a large size and finding I can express a bit more now).

Thank you for all your comments, really helpful and much appreciated!

Have a look to see if you can hire one. where I live, you can hire then from the local maternity ward and the children's centre at reasonable rates.