Purchasing a breast pump?

[SiValleySteph]

Hi Sept mommas! Have any of you purchased a breast pump yet? Can you give me any insight into why or why not you have (if you intend to do any pumping) and which one you picked up?

I will be going back to work when DS is 4 months or so, so I will definitely be pumping then.

I was thinking of picking up an Avent Isis to hand pump in the beginning. Then when I get closer to work, I would get a more heavy duty pump (like an Ameda Purely Yours or the Medela PIS) assumming breast feeding works out the way we are hoping for!

But now I'm thinking we should just wait and see if/when we need one? Any pointers? Thanks mommas!

[sistermama]

I started off with an Ameda Purely Yours, which just really didn't do it for me. Then I got an Avent Isis, which I found to be much easier, more comfortable and I got a lot more milk with it. I didn't know, until after I bought the Purely Yours, that most lactation consultants (the independent non-hospital kind) own basically every pump made and you can actually go in and try them all out. I would definitely do that before I spent money on a pump again.

[CdnAloha]

I was questioning whether to buy one and then Sears had a big baby sale and the Avent Isis was a good deal. I bought it, but I may return it because just this week a friend offered her double pump medela! Yay!

I have attended a few LLL meetings and all the women there recommended leaving the purchase of the breast pump till nursing is established. They said you will know right away if you need a heavy-duty pump i.e. if you are having problems and hopefully someone can go to the store and get it for you then.

From my research both the choices you have mentioned - Avent Isis and Medela are the ones I found to be best. Although friends who have the Medela say to go with it from the beginning cause it is so convenient. Apparently it takes only a few minutes!

Good luck with your decision.

Cheers,
Julia

[JenInMpls]

These are the things I have been told:

Medela's pump in style is supposed to be superb if you are going to be pumping very regularly. If not, it's probably a waste of money.

The Avent Isis is supposed to be very good if you are pumping every now and then (so partner can give a bottle, or so you can go out for dinner or a movie), it allows you to go at your own pace which is gentler, and requires no batteries or electricity. It may give you hand cramps and sometimes you get less out of the breast on your non-dominant-hand side because you can't squeeze as hard with that hand. (These are just things I've read!)

I had read in a book that one should put off giving bottles until 3 months to make sure that breastfeeding is *really* well established. Yesterday I read that if you're ever planning to give a bottle, you should do it no later than 2-4 weeks old or baby will never take a bottle! Opinions?

jen

[plantmommy]

Good research, Jen!

I never had a problem with hand cramps with the Isis, but I was only an occasional pumper. But you shouldn't squeeze hard! Always start with the lowest suction.

As far as when to start with bottles...it depends. 6-8 weeks is usually a good time, but count 6-8 weeks from when you started "getting it". Like, if the baby has problem latching on right for 2 weeks, then 6-8 weeks from then.

Starting at 2-4 weeks is early enough to potentially cause nipple confusion, which is bad news.

[JenInMpls]

Originally Posted by plantmommy

Starting at 2-4 weeks is early enough to potentially cause nipple confusion, which is bad news.

Yeah, that's what I thought! And this was a lactation consultant who was quoted saying this!!!?

(my favorite smilie)

jen

[plantmommy]

Well... there's LCs, and there's LCs... Was she an IBCLC? Or was it some nurse who had an hour-long course?

[Caroline248]

Well, Bridget had bottles from her third day...she was hospitalized for so long. She was given bottles (of breastmilk) from then until she was released (three months) and came home and never had another bottle. We weaned in December '03, she was 29 months old. So nipple confusion isn't always a problem. I think the trick is for the mom to NEVER give a bottle or allow a bottle to be given around her. Then the baby never associates mom/bottle.

As far as pumping, I obviously pumped a lot those three months. The hosp gave me a hosp grade double pump (awesome, took ten minutes to get 8 ounces from each side). I had a cheap electric pump and a handheld non-electric. I would go for the non-electric anytime, unless you are buying a really good one.

I am babbling....point is...cheap electric are NOT worth it.

If you are willing to spend $$$, get electric
If you are not wanting to spend a lot, go for a hand held...

Caroline

[sistermama]

As far as the Isis goes, I used it at least 4 times a day for more than 9 months. Never had any cramping. The trick with nonelectric is that once your let down has started, keep the handle on the pump depressed for as long as milk is shooting out, then when milk flow stops, give a couple of quick pumps and hold it down again. Then just keep repeating as long as you are getting milk out on that side.

Jack didn't have a bottle until he was about three months old (when I went back to work). We went through several brands until we found one he liked - he needed the nipple part to be HUGE (wonder why? ) So don't invest money in a bunch of bottles, until you are sure that your baby takes to them.

[msrog]

I didn't have let down for 2 weeks, we had a rough start. During that time I had both a little battery operated one and a hand pump one. They were so slow, but I didn't know better. Pump made my hand cramp. When we switched to double electric medela, it was bliss! And I had my first let down right away. I never used the little ones again, even after I turned the rented big pump back in. It was just easier and more effective to gently squeeze my own boob without the extra gear, straight into a bottle.

Another tip, don't waste the milk that lets down from the empty boob while baby is on the other. Either press on your boob hard with your hand or arm to stop the flow, or just collect it in a bottle. I soaked several burp cloths before I figured out that was LIQUID GOLD I was just throwing into the washer!! =O)

[plantmommy]

My ds was never given a bottle around me, and was only given a few by the nursery on day three. They said they had to make sure he was eating before discharge, and since my milk wasn't in yet, it had to be bottles. This led to confusion which left my nipples cracked and bleeding, with large open sores, which led to thrush, which led to over 3 months of painful breastfeeding.

So, certainly not every baby will get nipple confusion, but it can be sufficiently horrible when it does happen that it's worth avoiding as much as possible.

I sort of equate it to epidural; it might be the easy solution at the time, sometimes it's actually necessary and a good thing, but it often leads to other interventions, such as csec, so I'd avoid it as much as possible!

Savannah, was the hand pump the Isis?

One thing about stopping the flow during let-down is that it could possibly cause a clogged duct. So if you're needing that milk, by all means collect it, but it's not recommended to stop it on a regular basis.

This is probably stating the obvious but pumps made by formula manufacturers are known to be really ineffective, and some are actually so bad that they will cause clogged ducts, etc.

[Pixi]

With ds, I started out with the Medula Mini-electric, I burnt it out after 2 months. Then I picked up the Avent Isis & loved it.

I went back to work when he was 6 weeks, he had his first bottle of EBM at around 5 weeks given by his daddy, we used the Avent bottles with newborn nipples & he didn't have any problem adjusting from bottle to breast.

This time, I have to go back to work at 6 weeks PP again I will be getting PIS, mainly because of it's double pump feature. I still have my Avent for home use.

[SiValleySteph]

Thanks for all the replies!

I'm thinking I will hold off for now on a breast pump. DH said he would run to the store and get me one right away if necessary. That way I can see if I'll need the heavy duty one right away (like if we have serious latch problems or something) or if I'll just want a hand pump to relieve engorgement/pump for an occasional bottle of EBM. Then I can decide what I want for going back to work later on, assumming all goes as planned!

[shelbean91]

Being the positive thinker I am, I know it will work out for you. Even if you have a few road blocks or problems, they can be resolved and you will be successful!!

That being said- my 'work' pump is/was a Purely Yours and it worked beautifully. I also rented a Medela lactina before I got the PY and that was great, too. I never used a PIS, but I'm sure it's close enough to the PY and teh Lactina for me to know it's a good pump, but the PY is a bit less expensive.

About the hand pump- isis worked great for me and I used it often. It was nice for the times I had to pump one side while nursing the other to catch up on the weekend for bottles during the work week. (I never quite made enough one day for the next- found out way after the fact the horns i was using were too small.) I've recently gotten the medela harmony hand pump and that is also a great pump. The nice thing about that is the parts are somewhat interchangable with other medela pumps.

I'm going back to school full time in 2 weeks and may just bring my hand pump(s) with me, as I'll only need to pump once, probably. I may bring my PY, but I haven't decided yet if I want to carry the bigger pump for just one pump session.

[mum2tori]

We had a slightly rocky start with DD. I was basically clueless on breastfeeding. Why I didn't research it I have NO IDEA!! I'm the researching queen but I guess I just thought it would work no problem. The hospital had 2 LC on staff... in theory. Apparently one had died the week before and the other hurt her back and was on "leave". This was 3.5 years ago and the hospital was becoming breastfeeding friendly but... Even the darn tv service with all the educational programming (which had several breastfeeding 'classes" from the LLL on it) wasn't working the whole time I was there. head head

Ironically the most supportive nurse on staff that helped me the most with breastfeeding... was the male nurse that worked in the nursery on the nightshift. HE was the really supportive one that showed me how to do it. The LC finally showed up about an hour before we were being released and honestly, she was worthless. :

Anyways, Tori had several bottle of forumla over the first couple of weeks. David was always the one to give them to her. The biggest thing was realizing when she was hungry before she got frantic. We used the Avent bottles/nipples and never had a nipple confusion problem. I got an Isis pump after my milk came in with a VENGENCE. I used it for several months even after I went back to work part-time. I was never able to get more than 3-4 oz from a side and that was with pumping for like 30 minutes. I even tried pumping while Tori nursed on the otherside... still only about 3 oz. And I'd get horrible hand cramps.

Then... I melted the Isis in a stockpot (with a bunch of bottles). I was doing a round of sterilzing and forgot about it. Literally left the house and went to the grocery store. Ruined a Calphalon stockpot too. :doh :doh

Sooo I decided to replace the Isis with a Ameda Purely Yours. Oh that thing was heaven. (still is! worked just fine the last time I used it about 5 months ago) I was able to get almost 8 oz from EACH breast in 10 minutes almost every time. Tori had a nice big stash after that. Unlike before with the Isis I was barely keeping her in EBM day to day. Often not. Dual pumping is the only way.

I picked the PY over the PIS because I liked the 'closed tube system' with the PY. The milk can't ever back up into the machine and I wanted to be able to use the pump for several children without having to worry about funk. :LOL

I didn't use it as much with Jack because he refused to take a bottle. He had one bottle in the hospital because they wanted to totally relax him before they did an MRI check his heart murmur. He also had had a bottle after we got home because my milk didn't come in for 6 days and he just wasn't getting satified. He drank 3 oz of formula and PASSED OUT FOR 5 HOURS... and never did slept like that again until he was 10 months old. :LOL After that he wouldn't take ANY bottles and we tried a bunch. I finally stopped pumping because it was pointless, I was ending up throwing it away because he refused to drink it. The Boy only wanted it fresh from the tap. David really missed giving him bottles, it was one of his and Tori's favorite things to do together.

So Tori had lots of bottles early on and didn't have nipple confusion. Jack had very few and then refused to take one ever again.

Anyways, I agree, if you are willing to spend the $$ go electric. Don't buy cheap electric, everyone I know that did... wasted their money.

[sistermama]

I think if there is a lesson to be learned from all our posts it is that not every pump is great for every person. So please, go to a lactation consultant and try them out before dropping the big bucks!!!!! I wish I had.