Breast Pump - Spokane,WA

I LOVED my Medela Breast Pump. Sometimes you can find them used cheaper - but I could do two sides at once, and it was far less painful than any other I have used.

I would stay away from avent, i couldn't get mine to work at all and my friend had the same issue, sent me on the run for a second pump, i got the evenflo single electric pump, cost me 30-40 bucks and did great however when i went back to work i quickly found myself on the market for a double to effectively pump and got a medela. i love my medela dearly but if you're not looking to spend much money the evenflo was absolutely great for pumping here and there at home

K.,

I agree with the other woman who posted about waiting to buy a pump. I also think you should look into renting one. For two of my boys, I rented a pump and it worked out wonderfully! You purchase all the tubing and bottles (new) for the machine you choose and then pay a very small monthly fee (I paid $15 a month for my first and $22 a month for the second). I only kept the pumps for about 3 months each and only used one of them for a few weeks. It was great for us because I really didn't want to purchase one and then have it taking up space in storage. The hospitals typically rent them or have resources to guide you to places that rent pumps. Generally the rentals are "hospital grade" pumps and do a really good job. Both times I rented Medela double pumps and had great results. Good luck and congratulations!

Hello K.. First of all, NEVER, EVER buy a used breast pump!

http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/pumps.shtml

This website tells all about the dangers to your child by using a used breast pump. I just literally cringe when I see others even suggest that!

I highly recommend the Avent manual pump. That's the one I use and I really like it. I believe it runs about $50. I agree with the others that waiting until you've established breastfeeding is a good idea. If you are going to be doing a lot of pumping though, I would recommend a Medela one. They are spendier, but if you've established breastfeeding and everything is going well, then it's a great investment.

Good Luck and Congrats on another little boy!

R.

***I forgot to add that if you have health insurance, check with your insurance company and they may cover some of the expense as medical supplies. That is what I did & my insurance refunded me $100 for a $250 pump.***

I have both an Avent hand pump and the Medela Pump in Style. While I like both, for the money, I'd go with the Avent. As convenient as it is to have the electric pump, my hand pump works better most of the time. I usually pump some with the Medela & then switch to the Avent. But I agree that waiting until you have established breastfeeding would be a good idea. Good luck!

You really deserve the Medela...you can find them used and they are amazing. It pays for itself in what you save on formula. I only finally got one for my 4th child and after trying a bunch of others, this was fantastic. I could literally use it in the front seat of my minivan in public! You can do both sides at once and slip under blouse while unit sits on console or floor. Hospital quality, takes about 15 minutes to drain both sides. You are worth it and so is breastfeeding. If you get one, I'll bet you can give your son your milk for much longer than it takes to pay for itself. Working moms need all the best help they can get to support their breastfeeding efforts! Good luck.

Whatever you choose, make sure it's not manual. Those are so much work, and they hurt, and with the cost of battery powered or electric ones, there's no need for them any more, as far as I'm concerned.
Mine is Madela, abnd it's a double pump, and I plug it into a power source, which is alright, becuase even cars have them these days. You can get a battery pack, but it is it's own case, it has a compartment for everything, including a cold compartment for your milk bottles.
You know, even if your baby doesn't breastfeed well, you can continue to pump out the good stuff. Formula may contain probiotics now, but theyre not natural, and your breast milk will give him all the antibodies as he grows. If you get sick, your body will create them, and he'll get them as well, and that's just one of the best things.
I'm supportive of any decision moms make on this issue for themselves, but if you're going to invest in anything, the ability to give breastmilk to your baby is going to be far more beneficial in the long run than the fancy exersaucer, or the bouncy chair with the lions, or all the other things moms get excited about. It gives the body building blocks for life and fighting disease down the line.
Hope what I said helped. Madela is a wonderful brand, and you can buy replacement parts everywhere. I lost one of the little flappy things that goes inside the bottle, and I picked up another one at Target. No waiting for shipping, nothing. Cheap replacement parts too!! I've used it for two of my children, and it is wonderful. I love mine, and I can pump both breasts at the same time, at any speed I want(I'm a full speed turbo kind of girl!)cutting my pumping time in half. That's the best part for me, more time to play!!

You can always rent a pump from your hosiptal (Mine charges $15 per month) and then wait to see if you will continue before buying one. You may not even need one after that if you will exclusively breastfeed.

I had Avent and Medela and found Medela to be head and shoulders above as far as ease of use...worth the extra few dollars to get the mechanical pump!

Good luck-
A.

I have a first years double pump. I used it with my first child. I was able to work full time and pump enough to feed her for the first year. Then with my second child I used the same pump. The connector hose broke and I called customer service and they replaced it really fast (the pump was 3 years old!). The customer service is AWSOME and the pump only cost me 150.00. I highly recommend it. I bought mine at Babies R Us. Here is a link to the pump http://www.learningcurve.com/product/detail/Y1190A
Good luck!

WHITTLESTONE!!!!!!!!!!
It is an AMAZING pump!! I've used the hospital types, and they are so rough on your breasts. The whittlestone pump uses a more natural motion for pumping, (instead of just sucking like the others do). I used this pump for my second son, and it was amazing! I had trouble with him latching on, and this pump actually felt better and softer than actual breat feeding!!
It is an electric, double pump, and I would typically get about 3 to 4 ounces per side, only taking about 15 minutes to pump.
If you bought a brand new one they run around $300 to $400, (WAY out of my price range!) BUT I bought mine off ebay. You can usually find some...just read to find out how much they've been used. Mine had only been used a couple of times by the previous owner. They go fast though, so ya gotta watch out.
The replacement parts are inexpensive (if you buy a used one you want to buy new parts to replace anything the other mother's milk has touched...you don't need new tubing, the milk doesn't touch it.)
Hope this helps!
D. :D)

You didn't state why you wanted/needed a pump. If it's just for some casual pumping I HIGHLY suggest the Medela® Harmony Manual Breastpump. I bought it when I had a clogged duct and the pump the hospital gave me wouldn't work (I couldn't get anything pumped) and the Harmony was FABULOUS!!! I then got mastitis and it was a lifesaver. It's comfortable, quiet, easy to use and clean. Also very affordable. I got mine at Babies R Us for $35. I read lots of reviews on all the hand pumps and liked what I read on this one.

Don't buy, RENT! I bought the Avent one but the cheaper one's are just to hard to use. If you rent from the hospital you have to buy the actual attachment (around $50) and then you get a hospital grade pump for just $1 to $2 a day. The hospital ones are great and easy to use. If you decide that you are going to pump for a year then buy but renting worked great for me! I rented for 6 months with my son and thought of buying but my daughter and I only lasted 6 weeks so I'm very happy I rented.

Good luck with your new little boy! I have a two month old boy and I am using my pump a lot at the moment. I borrowed one from my sister for a while but she's about to have her second baby any day now so we just bought a used one from Craigs list for $70. It's a Medela--pump in style and is working well. We got all the "personal" parts from the hospital (new) so we're just reusing the machine part. You could always boil those parts on a used one too. I think they discourage repeat usage (must sell new ones!) but it seems to be working for us. My sister's was a Medela too--I think that brand is preferred by most people, but I don't have anything to compare to. Good luck!

I used a double pump by Medella. It was around $120-130 at Target and I never had any problems. I pumped almost everyday for 12 months and the thing worked great! I think its called Double-Ease or something like that. You can also rent one from a lactation consultant or WIC, I think. I've heard that's about $50/ month but your insurance may cover part of that.

I also tried the Gerber single manual pump while I was out of town and left my electric pump at home. IT SUCKED! As in, it was a piece of CRAP! I don't reccommend manual, its a waste of time, energy and money.

I've used Medela for both my boys and have had great success with both. For parent reviews I like to go to www.amazon.com and look up whatever item I need and then read reviews there. I've had pretty good success in that direction. I'd suggest looking up the various models there and reading reviews and then making your decision.

I've had some people tell me they prefer the hand pump versions but when I'm lucky to get 5 hours of sleep a night I'm not doing much by hand so I always go for electric instead.

Good Luck,
T.

K.,
I felt the same way you did in regards to not wanting to spend a lot of money on a good pump, but I wish I would have!!! My friend was lucky, she found a Medela pump on Craigslist (this pump is the best!! 4 of my gf's have it and it's superb, fast, makes it so easy to get it done quickly)....anyway, she found one on Craigslist for $80 and then purchased the tubes and etc. for an additional $20. Well worth her money.
I, on the other hand, purchased an Avent for $60 and hate it! I love their collic bottles, but not the pump! It's super loud, has had trouble pumping-motor acts funny w/ the suction,and only allows me to do one breast at a time. The Medela has the double so you are done much quicker. Coincidentally, I gave up pumping and since I work from home-I strictly offer breast. But for my next one, I will search online for a used Medela and have a better experience I'm sure! Best of luck K.!

K.,
I bought the Avent hand pump and it didn't work at all for me -a waste of money. I too didn't want to fork out a bunch of money on something I might not use...I broke down and bought the playtex electric breast pump. It paid for itself in no time once you start adding up all the formula costs. The bonus is my daughter used the Playtex Ventair bottles and Drop-ins and they screw right on to the pump so you don't have to transfer the milk. Hope this helps a little.
~S

My sister let me borrow her Medela pump and it worked great. I think she got it from a hospital. I think you can rent them but I don't know how much they are. It took me 15 mins to pump both side with the dual pumps hooked up. My kids wouldn't latch on so I pumped for a while, then ended up doing formula. Every person is different. I got a little burned out on pumping, and at the time we could qualify for WIC which covered all of my kids formula. Anyways, I hope this helps. Good luck!

I don't know why anyone would suggest skimping on a pump just because your first son had a hard time breastfeeding. If, for some reason, you can't exclusively breastfeed...tons of women exclusively pump...but you need a good pump for that. I will never again recommend anything but the Playtex Embrace pump. I used the Avent, and I used Medela, and neither of those got as much milk as the Playtex one did. It has the massaging action, so rather than just tugging at your nipples like the other ones do, it squeezes a large portion of the breast as well. I successfully breastfed & pumped for my son until he was 11 months old, and even when he was done breastfeeding, I was still able to exclusively pump for him. And another thing...on the used pump issue. I purchased my playtex pump used...and then just bought NEW the parts that actually touch your breast. The pump itself never gets touched by the breasts. Good luck!

Valley Hospital gift shop just started offering breast pump supplies; Medela brand.

I suggest using Medela. I used my Medela Lactina - Double Pump with all three of my kids. These are a little expensive, but they are definitely worth the money. Also, if you are looking for a cheaper solution, I suggest looking on www.craigslist.com. I have seen many on there for much cheaper than brand new. Most are still in nearly perfect condition.

Kristen-
I have to say there really is no comparison to the Medlea pump in style... and though they cost over $300 in the stores there is a way to get one at at a fraction of the cost. I got one on Ebay for $50.00 then I bought new tubing and "cones" from babies r us for about $20. buying a used pump is fine as long as you get new attachments.

otherwise- my little sister had the medlea hand pump and she loved it.

Good luck,
K.
www.mamamonkey.com

I would wait until you are successfully breastfeeding your new son before investing in a pump. I bought a Medella Pump in Style a few years ago and it ended up collecting dust in my closet because breastfeeding didn't work out with my first son. But... I ended up being glad I didn't sell it because I am breastfeeding my youngest son, he's almost 8 weeks now, and I use it several times a day at work. I know you said you didn't want to spend a lot, but if you end up breastfeeding I recommend spending a little extra and getting something that works well.