Breast Pump Recommendations

[Shmerlock]

Hello! Starting to buy bits ready for little one's arrival and wondering would love to hear people's recommendations on breast pumps. Thanks!

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MNHQ

I used the Medela swing for colostrum when my dd was born. I bought it beforehand and it was a total waste of money as I had a massive post partum haemorrhage and my milk never came in because of this! I'd recommend renting one of you can to see how you get on with one.

I second renting a hospital-grade pump - I bought the Medela Swing, and it was okay, but then I rented the Medela Symphony and it was so much better. I produced more milk, faster, which meant I didn't feel like I spent my entire day pumping!

Expensive but the Elvie was a godsend for me, hands free and can move around!

I got the Hakka manual pump pre birth to help harvest colostrum which was great. I didn't want to buy a proper pump until I knew my milk would come in.
I started with the Medela swing as it was a great sale price on Amazon and I didn't know if DS would take to a bottle. He did, but being wired up for 40 minutes at a time on top of breastfeeding was mind numbing.
Now I've got the Elvie. I love it, i manage a good 8-12oz per day with minimal effort and no restrictions on where I can go. I can pump in the car or during my govt mandated daily exercise or when I pop to the shops. It's expensive but I feel like I've literally purchased time for myself which really mattered to me personally!

Thank you for all your recommendations so far! I hadn't thought of renting one first - such a good idea! Xx

I had a Medela (consumer grade, not hospital) for my first baby but second time around I borrowed a Calypso double from a friend and it's 1000000 better. I pump 400-500ml per day 2-3 days per week and it's comfortable and quick.

I'd say hold off buying anything until baby is here. Last thing you want to do is shell out hundreds of pounds for one and not use it.

When I was pregnant I was dead set on wanting to buy the double electric one, all the works. I was planning on breastfeeding, but wanted to express so my DH could feed the baby too. One mum gave me the advice above, and thankfully I listened. For colostrum, I hand expressed and it worked great. Amounts weren't huge, I was glad whatever amount I managed to extract didn't get wasted stuck in the tubing. I've managed to establish breastfeeding despite milk coming in late after a C section. Baby was constantly on the boob to stimulate milk production (attached baby is so much better at extracting milk than a pump). Then it turned out my DS is a bottle/dummy refuser, I started introducing a bottle at 5-6 weeks and that failed spectacularly. Now he is 4 months, and despite trying every bottle/teat under the sun, he still doesn't take one.

In the end I used/am using a manual Medela Harmony to build up an emergency stash in the freezer, and it's quite sufficient for pumping every now and again, and is much cheaper.

Should you need to pump on a more consistent basis, you can always start with a rented hospital grade one and think about buying one once you know a) you definitely need one and b) which type to get according to your need.

I got the Mandela swing and it was rubbish, waste of money and time. I ended up hiring the symphony, it was expensive (£50ish per month) but brilliant. Annoys me such rubbish pumps are even sold for such extortionate prices. You can try buy second hand on eBay, and but your own bottle and tubes new if you didn't want to rent.

Hi op think it really depends on what you want to use the pump for, if alongside bf a hannka may work just to catch the let down from the breast baby is not on, and a cheap hand pump if u want to use as and when. Or something like a Medela swing. If u want to pump exclusively then a hospital grade double pump like a spectra s1 is something to look into ( you can get these from eBay 2nd hand and are safe as they are a closed system) or about £150 new. with all pumps you need to make sure the flanges ( the bit that goes on ur nipple ) are the correct size and u replace bits like duckbills regularly.
For my 1st ds I used a Medela swing at home and a symphony at the hospital as he was a nicu baby. Got the same volumes from both. This time I have still got my swing from when out and about and got a 2nd spectra s1 so I can double pump

Hi OP

I have used tons of different ones, so here’s my suggestions:

Hakka was a waste of money for me, didn’t get on with it at all, but lots of mums use it to help with let down whilst feeding on the other side. Plus it’s cheap.

Hand pump is great for the odd pump here and there, but not for consistent use.

Electric pumps are good, but the best one was the Elvie hands free, as the others meant I was hooked up to the wall for what felt like hours on end.

Elvie is expensive, and I wish I could have afforded to have 2. If money is no object, get them. Being hands free was amazing!! I pumped EVERYWHERE! It was fab. Total game changer for being out and about. Plus, no one can tell. You can’t exactly to cartwheels with them, but otherwise they don’t leak (if they do, email Elvie and they will send you new parts) and I could play with baby, do changes, make lunch etc.

Elvie also to a hands free non-electric pump similar to the Hakka now, again, these are expensive, but I think this would have been good for me if I’d had one early on, and I would have used with my other pump to help me.

Whichever one you buy, I recommend getting it from in store, boots stock most. I had problems with all of them at one point or another and it was easier to have to take them back rather than shipping back online.

For this reason, I also recommend having a spare. I opted for a cheap hand pump, and used the Elvie as my main one. If one breaks at 2am in the morning, that way you can still pump. Nothing worse than not being able to express!

If you’re not sure what to buy beforehand, a cheap hand pump will also tide you over until you have settled into pumping or b/f.