Breast pumps

[CaraL9]

Hi

First time Mum here! 38+4 so could be any day now .

I'm looking for advice on breast pumps. Which ones worked for you? Manual or electric? Are there any brands to avoid? And any BF advice would be great!

TIA.

Congratulations!

I've been told that Medela & Lanisoh are the best closely followed by Avent?

Been told to avoid Tomme Tippee. If it's any help Medela is what you'll be offered to use in the hosp x

Thank you!

I was looking at Medela pumps but at over £100 for the electric wanted to make sure they're worth it.

Hi before you purchase one see if you can loan one for free. My local authority has an infant feeding team who lend out hospital grade electric pumps for free. If not, the medela swing is really good

Just been discharged from hospital where I used the expensive medela one, used my manual Chicco one at home today and both produced the same amount in the same time. I probably prefer the manual one though

Medala swing by a country mile

Used a Medela Harmony in hospital. Very quiet and pumped both sides at once. Bought a mini Medela one for about £70 at boots and although it worked, it was really noisy. Have since read they are only designed to last about 150 hours.

Think the hospital grade Medela costs about £50 a month to rent. £300 for six months or so use seems like a good investment given it's price to buy one. If you planned to express for a long time, I think the investment would be well worth it.

The mendela swing is good. However I found that when I used a manual pump (just a cheapish accent one) I got a bit more milk at first. After using it a few times I was able to recreate this with the electric one, but I think if you aren't using to often a manual pump is probably fine.

I'd say start with a decent manual pump and if you find you need an electric one as you need to express loads (poor supply etc) then just order the swing on Amazon- free next day delivery if you have Amazon prime or sign up for free trial. Or John Lewis have them in stock usually. So you can get one if you need it pretty fast.

Thank you very much everyone! Your advice has been really helpful.

I breastfeed my son, but also use the electric medela pump on occasion - I think it's great! Totally worth the money. No problems with it at all.

Tips for bf? Persevere & Lansinoh Gel. I had extremely sore nips for first few days (wanted to stop bf), then your milk comes in and it's awfully uncomfortable. But for me within a week I was comfortable and able to enjoy feeding my little boy, never thought I'd breastfeed but 2 months in and I'm so glad I am.

I wouldn't bother until you actually need it, which you probably won't. And if you do, Amazon prime!

Breastfeeding tips- milk takes 3-5 days to come in for most women, up to a week for others. Don't worry! Up to an 11% weight loss is normal and ok in a breastfed baby (less for bottle fed).

Thrashing, pulling away, screaming at your boobs as though you are trying to poison your baby are all normal behaviour and a way your baby stimulates your milk supply. It is not an indication of insufficient milk or baby not being satisfied.

Check for wet and dirty nappies, they are the only indicator of sufficient supply that you need- weight gain is another indicator but only after week 1.

Topping up with formula may be required, but the more you top up, the less milk you'll make, so the more you'll need to top up. Eventually your supply will dwindle.

If in doubt shove a boob in the mouth. (Some) Breastfed babies feed very frequently, they also like a boob for comfort. Don't worry about routine or a set feeding pattern, they'll feed when they want. Again, it isn't a sign of low supply- boob, unlike bottles has many uses for a baby beyond food. Bottle fed babies obviously get those needs met in other ways.

Learn feeding cues- opening the mouth, turning towards the person holding them, sticking their tongue out. Feed them BEFORE they cry, makes latching easier.

Cluster feeding- look it up, understand it, prepare for it!

Haaka suction pump - costs peanuts compared to the rest, no fiddly bits and surprisingly v effective.

I bought the nuby one but couldn't use it so I gave it to my sister when she had her little one and found it fantastic.

Do not buy a single pump, wish I had known that before wasting money on a Swing (eventually retired to a back up pump). Buy Medela freestyle instead of Swing, it is better, more powerful and you will save LOADS OF time pumping both breasts at once, trust me an extra 30 mins saved makes a great difference with a newborn. If you use a single pump your other breast may leak and all that goes to waste, and in my experience if you use a double pump you get more milk than if you use a single on both breasts in turn (tried and tested). Plus the warranty is 2 years on Medela pumps so you are safe if it breaks, Medela and Amazon are great at replacing faulty ones almost immediately with next day delivery.

Do not worry about topping up with formula if you must, it will NOT reduce milk supply if you continue pumping. Frequent pumping will actually INCREASE your supply. Look at the la leche league and kellymom websites. They are great. Your health visitor will put you in touch with local bf support groups if you need.

I used an Ardo pump whilst in hospital and so bought the calypso double for Home. Love it and the fittings were larger so suited me better 🙃

I have a Haaka type pump. It's basically a silicone bottle that suctions onto your boob that you can use while baby is feeding on the other side. Look up a video on it and you'll see how effective and low effort it is. Just suction it on, squeeze the base a couple of times gently until you see milk and then leave it alone.

When I was using it, I could get more than 2 ounces while feeding (usually 3-4) and still put dc2 on that side after and he would get milk. Mine is less than £10 from Amazon and identical to the brand name one.

Please, please don't automatically assume that you will express. It used to be the advice that unless there were special circumstances you shouldn't try to express before 6 weeks. The best possible stimulator of supply is a suckling baby. So unless there are particular issues, you are better off just putting the baby to both breasts as much as possible. Expressing is just something else to do. One feeding and supply is established, then express and freeze as much as you possibly can so you can skip off out of the house without a backward glance!

Only buy a second hand electric pump if it has a ‘closed’ system. They are totally sealed and can be fully sterilised, making them safe for multiple users. The Medela Swing is a decent pump but it has an open system, meaning that milk can get into the tubing and it cannot be fully sterilised. Never buy one second-hand.

Most people I know never pumped, had no need to and those who did found it a faff.

Is there a particular reason you want to?

Not everyone responds well to a pump, I found pumping one side whilst feeding from the other worked really well, but I generally just poured milk anyway. Some people find they end up pumping for 30minutes or more just to get 2 ounces, which to me is time you could be sleeping or relaxing!