Has anyone seen or tried the Elvie breast pump?

[BeckyG86]

Hello!

I am currently 12+2 weeks pregnant with our first baby, so very early days to be considering breast and bottle feeding.

I have been thinking about this for a few weeks though. I like to think that I would breast feed but at the same time I have been wondering whether bottle feeding would be better as although I will be on maternity leave I am still going to be attending college once a week within about a couple of months after the baby is born and my Mom will be looking after the baby on these days, and with it being quite early after the baby is born I am wondered whether it would be better to stick to bottle feeding to make it easier for my Mom on those days.

I know some people have done a combination of bottle and breast feeding too, and I know pumping is an option as well, so there are a lot of things to consider, but I do have plenty of time to decide and research.

I was wondering if anyone has tried, heard or know anyone who has used the Elvie pump? It is expensive at £249, so I know it is an investment that would put a lot of people off. I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about them as in how good they are? I have read online reviews that seem good overall but I was thinking this would be better for me if I decide to breastfeed and I am at college as it is quiet, discreet and no one would need to know I was wearing it. It is also especially useful as I don’t know if and where they would provide a facility for expressing at my college. I am only there for three classes in a day and a lunch break but everywhere I have seen are public areas and aside from classrooms and toilets rooms are glass fronted, so having something I am wearing discreetly would be beneficial.

I have no objection to spending the money if it is going to be good and convenient for me in my situation (if I wasn’t going back to college during maternity leave I may not have considered it), and at my college I don’t feel a manual or electric hand pump would work if I can’t go anywhere to express whenever I needed to
(middle of classes, etc). However, if they are not good I don’t want to fork out the money for it.

Also, I am thinking how much formula would cost in a year compared to the cost of the pump, and also the option of others being able to feed the baby, including my Husband.

I really don’t mind either way whether I breast or bottle feed. My Husband says he would rather me breast feed, I am thinking convenience. Ultimately the most important thing is that the baby is fed and develops well with the nutrients they need.

Thank you.

It's £250 for 1 pump. Whilst it fits in your bra and you can walk around with it on, I've heard the suction is poor, some of them have a malfunction and are being replaced for those people.

Personally, unless you desperately need to be able to pump on the go I'd buy a decent, hospital grade closed system pump like the ardo calypso

OP I’m interested in them too. The reviews online sound great. I’m the same as you, planning to combination feed so DH can help out. Im going to see how I get on with breastfeeding first, and will try a Hakka Pump (it’s manual, but apparently fab!) and then if I find the combo feeding is going well i’ll look to invest in the Elvie. A lot of my friends have told me that being hooked up to a traditional electric breast pump (like the hospital ones you can hire) was not good for their mental health, as they felt like a milking machine & had to sit there alone for long periods of time, so the Elvie definitely appeals to me as I’m an active person & hope to continue to be once baby is here.

I’d recommend checking out the Hakka for your first pump, and waiting to see how your baby goes with it’s feeding. You don’t know how easy or tough you’ll find breast feeding, or whether your baby will take to combo feeding (some prefer one or the other!), so you don’t want to be left with a £250 Pump that’s no good to you.

Please don’t spend £250 on a pump just yet. Wait until baby is here and feeding is established, which will be at least seven months. By then there will be more consumer reviews of the Elvie and any initial issues may have been ironed out.

Incidentally, your husband is entitled to an opinion on how you feed your baby but ultimately the choice needs to be yours.

7 months to establish breast feeding??? 😂😂😂

Seven months from now, yes. OP is 12+2.

6 months of pregnancy + 1 month establishing feeding = 7 months.

Some hospitals request that women with high risk pregnancies start hand-expressing during pregnancy. I suggest trying this when your milk comes in and freezing colostrum in sterile feeding syringes (your midwife can give these to you). If hand-expressing is fairly easy for you then you could get away with that instead of needing a machine.

Firstly, congratulations!

Secondly, the pump. It’s quiet, discreet and the customer service is great - i have an original and it is faulty a lot but replaced 3 x by Elvie. The suction requires it to be placed exactly in the right position to work at all, and it takes a few days for your boobs to become accustomed to it for you get any real oz. The light shows through tops but you can get away with it especially using a scarf or extra layer. I’m considering buying another as back to work and reduce the overall time spend using a pump. The main issues I have are pump failure (I have two other back up pumps) which takes time to be replaced. It leaks ! A lot! So no leaning over, no fast movement etc which defeats part of its purpose, and it’s inefficient (3oz compared to 5oz with another pump). Sole use of the Elvie has recently resulted in my first case of Mastitis, so I’ll be only using it for one work session. However, the company may have resolved a lot of these issues now so might be worth it!

Third, combination feeding is a lot of effort to protect your supply. The advice is not to express before your supply is established (around 6 weeks) unless you need to, as it can cause an over supply (which can lead to mastitis). However the fact you are going to be away from baby might be useful to have a supply of frozen BM for baby. Just be aware that at the start, any missed feeds are best to also express. I breastfeed directly and via bottle, as well as formula, and I personally found establishing breastfeeding hard but easier to travel and comfort baby after the first few weeks. Having to pack all the sterilising stuff, bottles and formula does pose challenges in itself. I am lazy so if I didn’t need to top up with formula I wouldn’t purely on a convenience perspective.

You have loads of time to do a bit of research and make yourself comfortable, but don’t buy anything until much closer (or after) incase you have issues. You can also express prior to birth so might be worth investigating that if you want to. (PS Hubby doesn’t get an input into your breastfeeding decisions - he can help support you but can’t insist on anything)

Good luck!

Thank you everyone. I would not be purchasing anything yet, it’s way too early for anything like that yet, but just looking at the options to have some sort of an idea. It is our first baby, and as much as we know people with babies this is still new to us so I am spending the time researching all possibilities to be able to make the best choices for us and our baby. This pump has popped up on my Facebook news feed a few times recently so had a look.

@JustTheCrowsAndTheBeef 👍😴

Sympathy and solidarity, @Sessy19

That is a pretty damning review of the Elvie from @MrsGrannyWeatherwax!

Sorry! I’m just frustrated it should be better! When it works it’s great, but the teething problems annoy me a lot more than they should.... and I’m still crazily considering another 🤦‍♀️ Just incase they’ve gotten better....

I have used both Elvie and the Medela Symphony. I would recommend the Elvie pump. I think the Symphony is marginally faster but you can do a lot while you have the Elvie pump on. I went back to work at 5 months and just keep working at my desk while a pump and wear a scarf. I also pump if I am just out and about for the day away from baby. It does leak if you lean over but I mostly use it when I am sitting down.

The release ring did snap on my but I contacted Elvie and they couriered a replacement part to me pretty quickly. I could still use the pump when the ring was broken.

Hi,

Sorry to jump in, but we've literally just reviewed, what we think, are the five top breast pumps on the market at the minute (including the Elvie!).

Hope you find it helpful.