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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Best breast pump on a tight budget?

17 replies

laurawantsababy · 07/11/2009 14:25

My budget is around £20 - £30 so I guess Im looking at manuals.

Are there any decent ones around? Do they take ages to express milk or it fairly easy once you have the hang of it?

I want to bf dc2 as I didnt with dd but still dp to be involved so want to express enough for 1/2 bottles a day.

Thanks in advance

------------------

Hello!

We've noticed this thread is quite old and some of the recommendations may be a little out of date. We've tested a whole host of products to find the best breast pump on the market right now.

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OP posts:
whooshspicemonster · 07/11/2009 14:30

I had one with a funny name (Wilkinson or something?) and that broke. So I got an Avent one and it was fine. It's not as fast as electric but it was adequate. I was pretty rubbish at expressing though whereas others seem to get bucketloads. It might be worth having a look on kellymom for advice on how to increase the amount you produce - they're pretty good on that kind of thing

sausagesupper · 07/11/2009 14:31

Hi laura
Not sure if you have had your baby yet or not? Sorry if this sounds patronizing... expressing milk is easy once you get the hang of it, but it's not something you can start doing effectively until your bf is established and you have a good milk flow, I think it's not recommended for the first month at least.
anyway, i had an avent one which was manual and for dc2 i had a medela (sp) electric one, you can buy on ebay quite cheaply. Not much to choose between the 2 IMO. I think you can hire them, not sure where from, but they would be a industrial type model which would probably be easier, cos you can plug in both sides at once!
FWIW, I'm not sure that my dh actually felt left out at all, he did lots of other things with dc.
sorry not trying to put a downer on your plans, just don't want you to put too much pressure on yourself!!

mamadiva · 07/11/2009 14:37

If you don't mind 2nd hand then I would buy from here/ebay because a lot of the time breastpumps are hardly used.

I would definately buy an electric one as the manual pumps can hurt your hands surprisingly quickly, but it is worth baring in mind that no one pump is great for everyone.

Based on my friend's experience the Medela mini elctric is good although very noisy, he Avent Isis is good but occassionally leaks and the Boots one is good but seemed to take a little bit longer than the others.

Would also say that Tommee Tippee closer to nature bottles are great for mix feeding because of the shape and soft teat.

squashimodo · 07/11/2009 16:05

Hi, have you tried hand expressing? It can often be a more gentle method than manual pumps. I have ttried manual pumps n the past and foundd them painful and not very efficient. I have been hand expresing to increase my supply and find it much easier, and alot less hassle since no need to sterilise.

Original poster
laurawantsababy · 07/11/2009 17:37

Brilliant, thanks all. Dc2 isnt due for another 2 months but Im trying to get organised!

Maybe I will leave it until Ive had the baby and see whats around then.

OP posts:
MaHobbit · 09/11/2009 11:15

Agree with squashimodo.

Had an Avent manual pump and found it a bit brutal - my norks are not Madonna stylee traffic cone things no matter what the Avent designers might think! Then it broke while I was on holiday and I had an enforced crash course in hand expressing. (no way was I going to miss my nice seafood dinner with himself and grandparents had come away with intention of being evening childcare) Never hurt a bit, far better let down than a manual pump - so much quicker.

Cost: zero quid and zero pence. Time taken to sterilise: zero minutes. Takes up no room and no weight in suitcase when travelling. Genius.

Have binned my pump and will hand express next time.

arolf · 09/11/2009 16:48

i'm only expressing once a day, and using the tommee tippee manual pump - seems fine thus far! after a week of it, i'm getting 30-40 mls from each side - enough for a top up from his dad in the evening!

maygirl · 09/11/2009 18:26

There are often unused or barely used ones on offer on Freecycle too.

Tambajam · 09/11/2009 18:29

I agree with PP that hand expressing can work out as really efficient for some people. With a few tips from the internet people often find it's easier to get the letdown started and all you have to do is find a way to collect it.

ihatemyjob · 09/11/2009 18:29

I used an avent one for my 2 babies and found it great. It never hurt my hand cos the max time to do it for is 10 mins and then it was usually over by about 5.

jacyjwc · 09/11/2009 18:33

Have found the Avent one to be fine. I had an expensive medela with DC1 and it was so loud (this may not be the case with newer electric types), but bought the avent when I had to go to a wedding and away from baby for the day (and unsure about access to plugs/room where I could use a loud pump). I bought the avent and never used the electric pump again (have had 2 more DCs since then). At least you can watch a bit of tv or listen to radio whilst doing it without having it on full volume!

ramblingmum · 09/11/2009 22:54

I have the tommee Tippee manual pump and use this in combination with hand expressing. I find the pump is faster, but hand expressing is good for getting the last bit out .It comes with a box the can be used as a microwave , for the pump and one bottle, so you can save on buying a sterilizer.

Original poster
laurawantsababy · 11/11/2009 13:34

Thanks all, TBH I hadnt even thought about hand expressing.

Are there any good books out there or is it best to google it?

OP posts:
Tambajam · 11/11/2009 19:21

Start here

video.about.com/breastfeeding/Hand-Expression-Technique.htm

cara2244 · 11/11/2009 20:24

I was really broke when I bought my pump - got an Avent isis one off Ebay for about a fiver. OK, so it was second hand, but they come with replacement parts so I swapped the old for the new. At 11 months on, it is still going strong.

Personally, I never managed to squeeze a drop via hand expressing.

cara2244 · 11/11/2009 20:41

I used mine within the first 2 weeks of his birh, with help from my midwife, as I had loads of milk and it was painful!

oldspeckledtam · 12/11/2009 10:29

Medela swing are great. In my area, if you buy one second hand, the health visitors will give you a sterile set of replacement parts making it as new.

Definitely don't try and express too early. I had to express as DS was jaundiced and they wanted me to top him up in the incubator and it took weeks for my supply to settle as I'd been over stimulated.

I've got avent manual, medela manual and medela swing which all worked well. I also mastered hand expressing this time, but find swing best! I'm still using it twice a day to express milk for ds (8months) while I'm at work.

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