what type of breast pump did you go for?

[iampgatlast]

today i have been working my way down the list of things to buy - i have come to breast pump but which one do i go for?! manual or electronic? and what make does it have to be the same make as the bottles/steriliser i will be using?

thanks

Whatever you buy get one that is easy to assemble/take apart for sterilising. I can't advise as to make as have never used one - someone did buy me one with dd1 but I never used it as couldn't work out how to put it back together after sterilising!

ds1 - medela electric: crap
ds2 - medela manual: much better

defo electronic - i got hand ache using a manual one! if you get the Medela one then it comes with its own container and then you can tip the milk in to your or you can buy freezer bags so you can freeze the milk. Can really recommend this pump!

I prefer the manual avent isis one, its straightforward and you have full control. I tried a medela electric one for a while but it was frankly pathetic and seemed rather badly designed. Different people get on with different pumps though but they usually seem to either be the avent isis or a medela one that is the most popular.

with dd1 i had the avent manual one.
this time i have bought the medela Electric one.
the avent 'could' hurt at times and i haven't used the medela yet but i know it's rated as excellent by local hospital

don't get one yet
or bottles
or a steriliser
you may not need one for ages, if at all
and if you're lucky by then one of your mates will have finished with theirs.
and if you do need one suddenly you can always send dh out to Mothercare
and it needn't match the bottles you use (if you use any) - you can express into any old container (it'll come with one), freeze in bags if you need to and decant into the bottle to feed.

(I have a manual Tommy Tippee 'Freedom' one, because it was cheap and it is excellent)

I don't recommend the freezer bags. Mine all split or leaked when I used them. wasting tons of milk.

what, the special Lansinoh ones?

yep. They split during freezing. I ended up freezing in bottles as it was just so much easier and there is no risk of them splitting.

I used the Avent manual one - it was easy to dismantle and sterilise and reassemble. Also, the Avent bottles fit perfectly for easy storage of breastmilk.

My hand did ache a bit after using it a while but I got DH to carry on pumping and it made him feel useful..lol!

[claps hands to face in horror at thought of losing freezer stash]
how full were they? did you squeeze the air out like they tell you to? How long had they been frozen?

Not that full as it was my early days in expressing when I leant this lesson, I think I had a free pack with something or was given some can't remember. This was a good three years ago. I discovered it when they were defrosted and the seams had gone around the edges of them. They weren't over filled or anything as obviously the milk does expand. Its a bit of a worry. I found it easier to get a load of bottles and just express directly into them. Put the screw cap on and freeze.

Just check the seams when you defrost as its fairly obvious if they have gone. as they defrost around the edges first.

really hard to knowin advance hat will work for you. ime.

leave it and rent one from the nct. v reasonable costs and you can figure out what works for you before you buy.

i never got on with hand ones, but some swer by them. impossible to know in advance, like i say.

my freezer bags never split.
cant remember what typ thery were... think they had 'mommys milk' written on them... made by the pump people. amdega? or meleda i think

I think what you choose does depend on your milk supply a bit too. I had a manual one but found all I had to do is apply a tiny bit of pressure with the handle and the milk flooded out, where as some people have to actively pump quite a lot.

the 'my mommy's milk' [bleurgh] are Lansinoh - the nipple cream / breast pad people

just to split hairs, but even a plentiful supply can be less forthcoming to pumping. couldnt pump for toffee first time round, no matter what i tried and i know for sure i was making well enough to feed him direct.

agree with bleurgh, but im airly sure it wasnt lansinoh [doubts self now tho.]

et voila
[MrsB struggles against smugness ]

I used an Avent manual last time, but really struggled to get a decent amount of milk from it. A good tip I got was to try different times of the day.... for some reason I got my highest yield in the evenings.

This time I'm going to try an electric one, preferably double-sided. I just spent WAY too much time in the middle of the night/early morning pumping away. If I had an electric one at least I could be reading or something instead of going squeeze squeeze squeeze "my goodness is that it?!"

youre quite right, i bow to your superior smugness knowledge!

Anyone tried the Avent IQ one by the way? I think it's semi manual, semi electronic? Just tought I'd go Avent again cos I like thir bottles and still have loads. But I guess that's not hugely important....