Anyone got an Ardo Calypso breastpump?

[CityDweller]

I just bought an Ardo Calypso double pump in the hopes it would reduce the ridiculous amount of time I'm currently spending pumping to keep up with DD's needs now I'm back at work. I used to reliably get 75ml from a 40-min evening pumping session with my Medela Swing, but last night I tried the Calypso and barely got a drop over an hour. I've tried single and double-pumping with the Calypso and either way I just really struggle to get a let-down, something I never had a problem with before. I must admit I struggle knowing how best to set the volume and cycles settings. Any tips from anyone who's used this pump?

I have one! It took me a little while to get used to it after the Medela (I had a Mini Electric) but once I did I thought it was loads better - have just done 150ml in 15 minutes in work with just the single pump, FWIW.

Things I found - I needed to make sure I was using the right sized one of the breastshells, the smallest one actually works best for me. Also (possibly because of the barracuda suck of my children) I need to have the suction quite high even during the "get a letdown" phase. Think I usually do the highest cycles and four clicks of the volume button for letdown then click the cycles down one or two and the volume up two for the rest of the pumping. Lower cycles and volume do nothing. Let me know if you have more questions!

Thanks leedy - I shall persevere. Did you find you struggled to get a let down when you first started using it? I've never had a problem pumping before, so I'm a bit freaked out that I can't even get the let-down going.

I had a go with all the different breast shells last night, and that didn't seem to make much difference either, so I'm just sticking with the smallest ones at the moment as they're the closest to the shield size I was using on the Medela. Good to know what cycles/volume work for you. I think I prob had cycles a bit too low... Do you wait until the milk is squirting (iykwim) to change the settings, or do you change them as soon as you get that first drop of milk?

Yes, the first time I used it I found it very difficult to get a let down, think it feels a bit different to the Medela, but do persevere! I'm v used to it now, wouldn't change back.

I don't change the settings until the milk is doing the gush/squirt thing, no.

Ok - thanks... I'll keep trying (whilst trying not to get too worried that each low-yield pumping session means my tiny freezer stash is dwindling even more each day)

Hi again leedy - just wanted to say a big thank you for your tips. After a few days of using your recommended settings, I'm now getting a really great yield from my Calypso in record time - 350ml from 2 sessions at work today, each of about 15mins! Brilliant - it's made a massive difference to the logistics of my workday and I've now stopped panicking about being able to keep DD on bm only.