Breast Pumps - Barrington, IL

Hi Jennifer,

I love my Medela - I got the Advanced (around 300) - I love that it has the battery attachment so you don't have to plug in to an outlet...you can also use a car adapter....it has a storage bag and ice pack that go int he case itself...I'm in my car a lot so I usually pump there. Congrats!

I uses the Whittlestone (www.whittlestone.com) and LOVED IT! I tried the Medela Pump In Style, but found it extremely painful. I was ready to stop pumping altogether until I found that pump.

I used the Pump n Style and I really liked it! It was fast too. Very easy to get around with. PS Von Maur department stores have a really nice private room you can pump in:)

Hi Jennifer,

As a working mom, I'm relieved to have purchased my own pump. I rented for my first son and a few weeks for my 2nd, but the convenience and ease of using the pump made me splurge and buy one on ebay. I bought the Medella Pump in Style system and absolutely love it. I just put mine away after my daughter turned seven months. I was going between jobs and pumping in private wasn't possible. I do hope you look into it - it's in a discreet totebag that carries ALL and I do mean ALL your gear. Let me know what you decide! Best of luck!

Congrats. If you aren't planning on nursing for a long time, it might be best to rent a hospital grade pump. They truly are the best. If you do want to purchase one, I recommend Medela Advanced Pump and Go. You can find it online many times for $40 less than the store and many times free shipping. Good luck.

I pumped for 13 months with my son (he was a preemie and would fall asleep every time I tried to nurse him.) I used the ameda, purely yours pump, it was around $130 (it has gone up some). This was recommended to me by the NICU at the hospital that I delevered at and my many lacation consultants. I pumped 5-6 times every day and 13 months and never had a problem with it. It stills works. My sister used other brands that were cheaper and I believe that she is on her 3 or 4 pump in a matter of 7 months (and she only pumps occassionaly). I bought the pump online, you can just type it into a search engine and many websites come up that sell them.

Hi Jennifer,
I recently had a little boy and pumped. I tried them all too! I highly recommend using Avents dual pump - it is great! It is so comfortable and pumps the most. I tried medela, and ameda (sp?). The problem with Avent is is that it is not used in the hospitals. The lactation consultants will push medela. But if you can get your pump before delivery I recommend bringing it with to the hospital.
Hope this helps!
Good luck,
Melissa

Hi Jennifer,

First congratulations.

I am a first time mom of a 6 month old little girl. I returned to work when she was just 10 weeks. I breastfed and pumped while I was home. I pumped to build up my supply for when I returned to work (that supply went fast). I used the Madela pump in style. Ask the hospital you are delivering. You may be able to rent one. I found the more water I drank the more I was able to pump. When I returned to work I pumped at about 7:30, 11:30 and 2:30. Try freezing 2 oz bags at a time. You will waste less milk. It's easier to add milk when you need more.

I brought my Avent hand pump to work and felt like I was always pumping. I decided to bring the electric one to work (MUCH QUICKER) and leave it there during the week and brought it home on the weekends. When I got home from work it was nice to re-bond when I breastfed.

Good luck.

I ended up getting an Ameda Purely Yours pump when I went back to work with my son. It is much cheaper than the medelas (base price is only $150 instead of $250 if you don't get the accessory kit) and it works great. It's a very simple design, easy to clean, and the pump itself is small and lightweight (much more so than the Medela Pump-in-style). It's the only pump that's FDA approved to have no backflow or contamination of the milk. I have been really happy with it and was using it 3x/day for several months (am now down to 1x/day, only a couple days/week).

Renting a hospital grade pump is not cost effective if you're going to do it for months at a time, but if it's just for a few weeks, or to try it out, it's a good solution.

Jennifer, I would recommend renting an electric pump from the hospital you are going to deliver at before you invest in one simply for the fact that breastfeeding can take a while and you want to make sure that you are happy with it as well as your little one. We had our first last summer and after all the book reading, I just thought that breastfeeding would fall into place and it didn't for us since she was a preemie so we waited before buying. And then when things worked out, I used a medela electronic in-style pump...very easy to use. Good luck. The book, baby bargains, also has parent reviews or you could check out their website.

After much research and questioning, I purchased the Ameda Purely Yours. I do not have experience with the Medela pump, but I can say I really love my Ameda pump. My friend Amy also bought the same pump and loves it. Good luck! :) and congrats on your baby boy.

Jennifer:
as you gather from the posts there are a number of pumps on the market- there are basically two major pumps companies- Medela and Ameda. Both have hospital grade breastpumps as well as step downs.
Pump rentals range from $50 - $65 a month/ Purchasable pumps_ Pump in Style ( Medela) or Purely Yours (Ameda) range from approximately $250 -$350.
in terms of effectiveness and efficiency a hospital grade is the best available. Many mothers do quite well with the Pump in Style and Purely yours.
you can go online and look at all of them

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

Hi Jennifer,
From personal experience and that of my clients, I always recommend the pump in style breast pump by Medela. I loved this pump. I use to work outside the home and pumped at work two times a day, and could fill two or more bottles. I also got a supply going before I went back to work. Do you work or do you stay home? When you are home, are you planning on just pumping and feeding or nursing? If you do stay home and are just going to pump for when you need it, I have heard great things about the pump from Avent. But, if you are going to work, I would go with the pump in style by medela. It is a double pump too. I hope this helps. How far along are you? I am so glad you decided to breastfeed.

S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

I purchased the Medela Pump In Style and used it when I returned to work for my first 2. However, I had my 3rd in Dec and didn't want to lug around the bag this time, so I bought the Medela Harmony pump ($39/Babies R Us). You only do one breast at a time, but it still took me the same amount of time to pump. It's a great product, affordable, easy to operate and fit into your purse! I brought a lunch box with me to work to hold the bottles and it worked perfect. In fact if you want my Medela Pump In Style... it's yours, just email me.

Hi Jennifer,

Although I was given a Medela breast pump, it was so good, that I would have spent the money myself to buy it. Yes, it is pricey (I've seen them for about $300, but you can find them for less, maybe on Ebay) Spend the money. Trust me, it will be worth it.

Hi Jennifer,
I use the Medela breat pump and I love it. I think it's the best on the market, and now that I'm back to work part time, I use it almost every day. It's a little pricy, but very reliable.

I talked to the nurses after I delivered and they recommened a couple of ladies that were lactation consultants and also rented hospital grade breast pumps. That is what I did. It wasn't too expensive and I wasn't sure I was going to keep pumping, so it was the best option for me.

See if you can get any reccomendations from the doctors office or the nurses on the OB floor at the hospital.

Good luck.

Hi J.,
Congrats on your upcoming baby boy. I purchased the Medela pump for myself since I work 55 hours a week and it was wonderful. I pumped 3 times a day at work and for only about 15 min since it was such a wonderful pump. I pumped directly into the avent bottles since there is an adapter that you can buy for $10 to pump into bottles and when I knew it would be extra I pumped directly into the avent disposible freezer bottle containters. The pump was like $350 but well worth every penny, especially now that I see how much formula costs.....it costs us like $180 a month in formula....I had health problems and has to stop nursing at 6 months. Hope all this helps. J.

I love my mendela. It was great.