The BEST Breast Pump.

I have the Ameda Purely Yours, and I like it. I have not had any probs with it. I bought it at the Kaiser Health Education center, and it was way cheapter than a comprable Modela with bag . . . Good luck!

Hi A.,
I had a Madela Pump In Style electric pump which I used for both of my kids and I loved it. It was so easy to use, easy to clean and compatible with the extra parts you get from the hospital. It was also a double pump which was great because it takes less time and I think you get more milk double pumping. You can also adjust the suction and the speed. You can find these used on Craigslist. As I said I used mine through two pregnancies and it was still going strong. There's no worry about any contamination because the milk never goes through the tubing and you just boil to sterilize the part that touch the breast and milk.

Good luck!!!

Same as Tess', I had twins, pumped with the hospital one, (I have hard-to-pump breasts!) got the Medela backpack style, worked great. Try renting one and getting a travel one for when you are out.
Take care!
D.

A.,
check with a lactation consultant, they can assess your needs and suggest the best pump for your specific needs.

I had a Medela hospital pump and it was very powerful. I never had a problem keeping my supply up when I returned to work and it never caused me any pain.

Check with your doctor you can probably borrow or rent the machine (the boxy motor thing) from your hospital for less than you would spend buying it, then all you need to buy is the "kit" with all stuff that comes in contact with your milk.

Hope this helps.
T.

I bought the Medela "Pump in Style" about a month ago. I bought it at Babies R Us for around $250 I think, I can not remember the exact price... I have loved it and have had no discomfort or problems. My only complaint is that it is not really removable from the travel bag. Babies R Us has three different models of the Pump in Style, and the most expensive one (I think around it was right at $300) you could remove it. I mostly pump at home, but if you were pumping at work or something I guess this would not be an issue. If i had it to do over again I think I would spend the extra and get that one... Hope this helps!

I have a Medela Pump in Style, and I love it, but I wish it were less bulky. Medela came out with a new pump, the Freestyle, and I think I would like that one better. It's the same good quality, but much more portable.

I had a Madela Pump In Style. It was AWESOME

hi A., I have tried the Madella breast pump, and it works great! I used the single that came with manual, electric and plug-in use. One of my co-workers used the two breast pump and she could pump both breast within 15 minutes. You can purchase or rent from Kaiser or order through pharmacy. Best Wishes on you new baby..G. H.

Hi A.!
I don't know what the best is, but I use the medela double electic pump. It works well! It's fast, easy to use, and easy to clean. It's not that cheap, but it is quality.

Madela professional is the best. Also expensive, but if you are going away for a weekend or need it all day at work, it is soo worth the money! (around $300)

i was blessed and got the madela from a friend. it's great.

I LOVE my Medela Pump In Style Advanced pump. I have the backpack style, which is the most convenient for me. I pumped daily until my first son was 18 months old, and am using it again for #2, who is currently 11 months. I've had to replace the A/C adapter a couple of times, but other than that, it's been fantastic. I would highly recommend it!

Another vote for the Medela Pump In Style Advanced. I triple fed (pumped after every feeding) when DD was a newborn and then pumped for 10 months (from 4-14 months of age) working full-time. It was worth every penny.

I loved the Medela Advanced Pump...it has a two phase pump (2 miutes of short sucks to get the let-down flowing, then long draws- like a baby nurses usually). I had no discomfort from it, although I had discomfort to pain with other pumps that just started on the longer sucking patterns. I really think it made it more comfortable to have the two phase.

For the manual pump, I switched to the Harmony handpunp after I was able to cut back on the milk I needed to pump at work, or for overnight trips when I only needed a little relief in the morning. It a also has a 2 phase pumping system. If I hadn't been working full days, I would have just gone with the Harmoney, I liked it that much!

Good luck!

Any Medela pump is best! It will not damage your breast ducts and the ONLY one recommended by hospitals.

I've had the best luck with the Medela Pump-n-style. This is my second time around with it and it still works wonders (and I got it as a hand me down from my sister-in-law after her two). I just got new parts that fit me and I was good to go.

GL

Get a Medela. So worth the price, especially if you need to use it daily. If you invest in a double sided, it is supposed to increase milk output. I started out with a cheaper one and it hurt. You must buy one that states for daily use on it's label.

i used medela hospital grade rental unit the two months i was in the hopital after giving birth it was awesome so if you would rather rent i'd say go hospital grade, my daughter unfortunately never caught on even after a lactation consult, and then lactation specialists, so when i returned home i knew i would need a great pump first i got the avent isis uno, it just wasn't enough. and the pump unit sat right in the bottle top, so it was rather cumbersome and slightly heavier than i would have liked otherwise awesome. so i sent my husband out to pick up the avent isis iq duo, was pleased as punch, realy quiet, light, comfortable to hold and use (once proper latch is made and the milk starts to flow you really don't feel much) easy to clean, the pack makes storage and transport great, besides the feeding line is tops especially for breastfeeders. i definately recommend avent, the isis iq duo.
*one side note with regaurd to medela while it is obviously (after seeing responses) one of the most popular and it has some great products and a trusted name, you should be aware that there are reported instances of milk leaking into pump tubes leading to mold growth, some models work well and as advertised while others fail miserably check out this website: http://www.breastpumpcomparisons.com it will give you an amazing wealth of info, all submitted by pumping mothers, and without bias

Medela, Online with craigs list you can find one with a resonable price, and then order the parts for the skin contact. I'am a Mid-wife in training, and only recommend Medela, for the others are made by the same company's who produce the formula's-so they of course are not productive, and at times are painful.The Medela are produced in accordance with the La Leche league to provide the same motor capability as the baby, with the comfortable attatchments for the best results.
M. Stotts
Twice the Love
Monterey CA
Feel free to call for any other ?s
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Congrats on your coming bundle of joy!

Medela is definitely the best name, but I went with the Ameda Purely Yours, and it worked just fine :) Right now, I think the best one on the market is the Medela Freestyle. I'm a peer counselor with Nursing Mothers Counsel, and I know we sell Medela pumps. If you're interested in purchasing a pump from NMC, call (650) 327-MILK. I know they also sell pumps at Lullaby Lane in San Bruno.

hi A.,
I have the freestyle which is their top of the line non-hospital, electric, double pump that is HANDSFREE. Love the last part because I can comfortably type, tidy up, or read a book with my two hands. It is compact and has a belt that allows you to move around with the pump. It does have its limitations, i.e. you cannot go upside down, say on the jungle gym, with it. Milk will spill if you attempt this, but you can do so much else. Probably could go jogging, but you'd look awfully funny! There is a brassiere on the market online and at el Camino Hospital's maternal connections lactation shop that can convert any electric pump into a handsfree version for the bottles(not the pump, itself). I did not find it as comfortable. I tried it just for background info because by the time I learned About it, I already had the freestyle. The freestyle Is considerably pricier, even than the pump n style, which I think was their prior deluxe model (still on market and have heard loads of moms rave about it). If you need customer service, medela reps are absolutely stellar. Probably because anyone that buys this has paid top dollar and is time-sensitive. My pump had a malfunction and they shipped one overnight for me. Hope this helps.

My daughter is 6 months old. My body had a hard time with breastfeeding. After 3 infections in the first month, my OB advised me to quit. I was stubborn & really wanted to feed my daughter breastmilk since the lack of it was never an issue so I ended up pumping & feeding her thru a bottle for the next 4 months. Anyhow when I thought I was going to be able to do it longer, I bought the medela pump in style advanced-the back pack model.
I don't know where u are located but I'd be happy to sell mine to you. I think I paid right under $300-I can find the receipt. (I bought it from my hospital's lactation dept.) I'm not sure what the few months depreciation is but obviously it would be less than I paid if I were to sell it. My friends keep telling me to put it on craigslist but as a new Mom I haven't found the time. All you would need to do is buy a new set of all the parts that attach: the bottles, cords etc. to make it completely sanitary for use. I rented an industrial pump from the hospital the first few weeks & they sold me the parts as I mention. The medela pump in style was the next best thing to the industrial pump not much of a difference they both worked wonderful. (Another thing to consider-renting from the hospital-I wish I wouldn't have wasted the $ on buying since I ended up not being able to continue because of my body) Here is a medela pump check list for choosing a pump.
http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/med/BRUBrandPages/Br...
Let me know if you are interested in buying mine.

Hi
Congratulations on your pregnancy. I bought the mac daddy Medela pump and I love it. The parts are available at Target and Babies R US, it's easy to use and worth the $325 we spent.
Good luck
n

Ok, it looks like everyone else has said Medela, so I though I'd just give you one other option....I like the Ameda 'Purely Yours' (Amedababy.com - $150 with free shipping).
I pumped 2-3x per day for >12 months with my first baby and now I'm on my second and its still going, only need to replace the valves occasionally. Super easy to use, and easy to clean as milk only touches the bottle, valve and plastic breast cup part.

Hi A.,

To second most of the posts, I love my Medela Pump in Style. I got it on BabyCenter.com when they were having a big sale and free shipping and paid about $200 for the shoulder bag version.

This is the third pump I've bought. I had the Lansinoh Double Electric (same as the Ameda Purely Yours) and found that it worked well at first and then I had some issues with it. The tubes started cracking so it wouldn't pump and the only place to buy replacements I found was through the Lansinoh or Ameda websites. In addition, the suction cups of the pump damaged my breasts so that it was extremely painful to pump.

I have friends who love the Lansinoh and Ameda, but I found that with the Pump in Style, there was more flexibility for buying replacement parts and customizing the pump to your body. After buying two pumps prior to the PIS, I should have just gone with Medela first, as I've now spent double that.

Good luck!

I had a great experience with the Medela Pump In Style. It is definitely pricey, but you spend so much time attached to it that you want it to be as efficient and comfortable as possible. I tried a couple of the cheaper versions, and everything took too long. Good luck!

Medela has a line of Advanced Pump in style breast pumps. They have the two phase let down to simulate sucking patterns of an infant. I rented a symphony hospital pump for two months because I had a preemie. It had this feature though. You can get a pump in style advanced, or if you want to spring for it, the Freestyle which is super small and light. Also I found "lubing up" with a little nipple cream really helped with comfort.

-C.

Medela has a newer pump - the Freestyle, that I love! I've been using it for about 4.5 months now. It's pretty pricy (I got a %age off from my job) but it's really great. The motor is small and lightweight - which is key for me. I pump twice a day 3 days a week (I work from home two days a week) and occasionally to reduce slight engorgement. I also take the bus/carpool to work so I didn't want anything too bulky. Despite the small size and weight it does an amazing job - you can use it as a double pump or single pump. It also has little clips to attach it a bra for hands-free pumping. I admittadly haven't tried that yet.

Good luck!

My friends and I have all used the Medela Pump in Style. All have loved it! I even had 2 friends that bought used ones through craigslist or ebay and have worked well. The motor and bag are the used parts as you can buy new parts that touch your body new. It is on the pricey side, but in the long run, way cheaper than formula. Good Luck!

Madela is the best I have tried so far!!

Medula was the best for me. Has two settings, one gets milk going other pumps it out. I pumped daily and have been breastfeeding for 8 1/2 months now. That's my experience. Good luck!

Definitely any Medela brand pump. Often you can rent them from your local hospital, but depending on how long you plan to BF and if you plan to have a 3rd child, it may be worth it to purchase.

If you are having a shower, ask a few friends/family members to go in on one, as it is definitely one of the most important items you will need.

Also, check out the used baby product/clothing stores or websites as all of the breast shields and tubes that extract the milk can be purchased new online. The pump motor, of course, is the most expensive part of the pump. Good lick with the pumping this time around.

Medela Pump in Style for sure, but not Medela PRODUCTS (nursing pads & storage bags). Nursing pads too bulky & shift around too much. Storage bags pain to set up & use & they don't stand up easily on the counter. Gerber for both of these products.

I had twins & primarily pumped for them for 6 months. I tried breastfeeding, but it just didn't work for me & I wanted them to have breastmilk, so I was pretty serious about pumping. At home I used a hospital grade pump that we rented from the hospital & when I was away from home (mall, park, etc), I used the Medela Traveler Backpack pump, which was pretty darn close to what the hospital grade pump expelled. My twins were pretty much exclusively on breastmilk except my son who was a little piggy had to be supplemented with one or two bottles of formula/day. My daughter had only breastmilk with only an occassional formula bottle. I was able to produce enough I believe b/c of the pumps I used as well as the fact that I pumped probably every 3-4 hours & if I had more time to eat more/drink more & sleep more, which I didn't find quite enough time to do taking care of two infants, I probably would've been able to produce enough for my son so that he wouldn't have had to take any formula. But I was okay w/it though b/c I was doing the best I could & my babies were getting mostly breastmilk. Hope this helps you & good luck!

This is probably going to be an echo of many posts here.

The Medela Pump In Style. I had the worst time breastfeeding because it took me FOREVER to make nearly enough milk and this thing saved me. I tried two before this one, and they didn't even come close.

I bought mine on BPN and paid a lot less. I just bought the motor unit thing from someone, and then bought my own accessories at the store such as the bulbs, tubes, and bottles. So thankfully I didn't pay $300 bucks, but if I had to, I would for this pump! :)

I agree that the Medela brand is the best. I used the Pump in Style with my first and it was fine. Since I am lucky enought to not work I don't need a professional type pump, just one for every now and then. I bought the Medela Swing with my second son and I love it! I would use it every day if I needed to. There was four years between the two and the breast shield they use now is much better and very comfortable. Good luck!

Hi A.. Congratulations on your family. I strongly recommend the Madela Breast Pump for all nursing moms who want the best, painless result of pumping lots of milk in a short amount of time.
I am a 36 yr old mom of 4 children (2yrs, 9yrs, 12 yrs, 18yrs). I breastfed each of my children until they self weened (around 2 years old). My youngest is still nursing and he doesn't seem like he will ween himself anytime soon. I have worked fulltime with all of my children, outside of the home. With the 1st two children I tried many different breast pumps and they were so painful to use, and did not pump enough milk for them to consume during the day. Then with my 3rd baby, I was given the Madela Breast Pump. This was a true blessing! I recommend this pump to all breasfeeding moms. My last baby was 6 weeks premature and even though I could not hold him to nurse him I made sure I pumped lots of milk that the hospital could tube-feed him with. The nurses told me that I wouldn't most likely produce very much milk, as he was premie, but with the Madela, let me tell you, they were amazed at the milk production. Within a few days I had that hospital frig filled with bottles of milk! Nurses were showing other nurses how much milk I had pumped and they couldn't believe it. Of course I used the Madela. After a week and a half I had a 30 gallon bag of small frozen milk bottles to take home with me to use when I went back to work. It is a bit pricey, around $230-$250 depending on where you purchase it, but it is so worth the money. I have had it for 9 years and have loaned it out to many of my friends to use (the parts are dishwasher safe and can be shared). Right now my friend is using it and she is in awe. She was using a different pump and was complaining of the pain and that it was not helping her to pump enough milk. Well, she is amazed at what a difference the Madela has made. This will be one purchase to last you through all of your future children. Enjoy your baby and happy breastfeeding. :) http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/breast-pumps

I rented the medela symphony. It was a serious machine, which had two sucking speeds, one to encourage let down and the other to express the milk.

In this case, I do think you need to spend the money to get a good pump. I have been using the Medela Freestyle pump and I love it!!! It has allowed me to continue feeding my son breastmilk without needing to supplement with formula. I pump three times a day at work. I only need to pump for about 10 minutes and I get enough milk for his next day at daycare. The pump has a hands-free feature which is also nice. This pump is expensive, but I feel that it has paid for itself since we have not needed to buy formula.

We went against the trend of Medela and bought Ameda. Since I have never tried Medela, I can't comment but I LOVE my Ameda Purely Yours. It has a clever little membrane that keeps the milk out of the tubes so you don't have to worry about sanitizing them. The only thing is that it is not sold widely. They can be ordered on line or purchased at the Lactation center at Kaiser on O'Farrell street in SF. it comes either with a back pack or in a tote. without the carrying bags, it costs $149. Because I take mine to work everyday, I bought it with a backpack but because it is fairly compact, I actually put the pump etc in a small bag and put it in my brief case or in a big tote bag. Also so if you don't want to collect your milk in the plastic bottles they give you, you can use Evenflow glass bottles.

Hi,
I bought the really expensive battery operated one and just hated it. then I got a hand pump and it was easy to use I could take it anywhere and worked very well. I can't recall the brand but I got it at Babys-R-us

I rented a double pump from the local medical supply place. works just like the ones from the hospital. very comfortable and worth it. the other ones are painful. I don't know what I would have done if I had to pump at work. good luck!

Hey,

I am a Lactation Consultant in Sacramento and have over 14 yrs experience with pumps. Yes the Medela Pump In Style is a good pump - as is the Ameda Purely Yours. I recommend both pumps for my working moms. In fact, for my working moms I actually recommend just renting a hospital grade (like the Lactina) because the quality is so much better than the Pump In Style. Moms who need to pump once in a while can use the Medela Harmony, or the Avent Isis handpumps. They are both very good.

Now for a MAJOR CAUTION:

PLEASE DO NOT BUY USED PUMPS!!! There are two reasons NOT to buy a used breast pump.

1) The diaphragm in the Medela Pump In Style (the part just behind where the tubes plug in and that moves the air back and forth creating suction/release) can not be 100% sterilized or cleaned. This means that is anyone before you got milk backed up in the tubing, the milk got on the diaphragm...those tiny particles of someone else's milk will go into your milk. Also, I've seen these things NASTY with Mold, dust, dried milk, etc. Replacing the parts is not the issue. You can sterilize the parts that are used to collect the milk... SO buying new parts does next to nothing for you.

2) This is even more important than #1. When purchasing a used pump you have no idea how often the previous owner (or owners in many cases) used it - which means you have no idea what condition the motor is in and if it actually is working the way it should. Too many times I have had a mom come to me in distress because her supply is crashing and when I test her pump IT is the problem due to ineffective functioning. You may spend a smaller amount of money on a used pump but you may get only a few weeks use out of it...there are NO guarantees with a used pump.

Both Medela and Ameda have good return policies within the first 12 months of purchase. It is safer for you and your baby and considerably more cost effective to find a good sale on a NEW pump.

Disclaimer: Yes, I rent Medela products - no I don't sell them...this is 14 yrs of experience talking... :)

Warmly

J. Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM
Breastfeeding Network
www.breastfeedingnetwork.net