What is the best breast pump? And should it be a single or a double? Manuel or Electric?

Question

Help! It's my sister's first baby and she is so confused. The one she thinks looks good is about $300 and she hates to buy something that expensive when she doesn't even know how it will work on her.

How much should she spend to get a really good one?

Answer 1

I have a Lansinoh double electric pump and i love it! Half the cost as the expensive ones an just as effective.  I got mine at Walmart for $150 and it came with everything i needed. Very small and portable and lightweight, easy for me to take to work.

Answer 2

I would not buy a used one due to hygiene reasons. They only fda pump that can be resold in the purely yours amed pump. I got this pump for that reason,so when I was done I could resale it. It didn't work well at all At best I would get 3oz total. I went out and got the Pump In Style Advanced Breastpump from medela and love it! It cost 279.00 but worth every penny It is a single user pump so I will not be able to sell it but at least my baby can drink a full feeding now. It is a double pump and after 10mins I have all the milk I will need  

Answer 3

I nursed two babies and had an expensive one (can't remember brand) and a manual one.  

I found without doubt that the manual one was best.  I could fill a bottle way more productively with it because I could control the suction better. It was easier to clean and obviously quiter because there is no motor.  

The automatic one took longer to fill bottle because it would loose suction if I moved wrong.  

My suggestion is to buy a manual one even if you decide to go the automatic way.  they are cheap and always work.

Answer 4

I would go with the electric double one, gets the job done quicker. I would look on Craigslist, I've seen tons of the expensive ones that people sell for quarter of the price.  

Answer 5

I got mine at walmart and love it, it was under 50 dollars. It was a single electric one.

Answer 6

As far as single or double, manual or electric, it depends on how she'll be using it.  If she plans to return to work full time, she'll need the double electric.  If she just wants to have a pump on hand in case she feels like going out without baby for a few hours, then a single manual pump will be fine.

As far as brand, make sure she goes with either Medela or Ameda.  I like Ameda better, since it's a closed system, but Medela is more readily available (Target, BRU, etc carry Medela).  Actually, I had trouble with my manual Ameda.  The handle broke, but I whould think they've fixed that issue by now.  The Medela manual is nice, but it takes two hands to operate.

The Ameda pump can be purchased without a bunch of accessories, then you just carry it in your own bag, add your own bottles and use your own ice packs and cooler.  If you buy it with just the motor and kit, you can save a lot!

Answer 7

300 sounds about right. it really depends on how much she will use it. if she works, she should probably get a double, electric, expensive one. if she is going to stay at home then there is no point in buying one at all. unless she plans on using a baby sitter or drinking wine or something on occasion. then a manual one should be fine for pumping.

Answer 8

Just a tip from a mum who's breastfed before-don't bother buying one until after the baby is born. The last thing she wants is to buy it then for whatever reason not be able to breastfeed or not want to express (I bought one and decided i didn't want to express at all...Not cheap!).

And congratulations on becoming an auntie!

Answer 9

You can rent them from the hospital if you are unsure if you will use one. However, if you are SURE you want one then obviously you should put that money into buying one.

My wife has used the hospital grade ones (Medela Classic, which looks like a 19th century steam engine, and the Medela Symphony). Our lactacian consultant said that the Classic is best, but it really made no difference. We have the home version "Pump N Style Advance" as well as her sister's hand me down Pump N Style.

The only reason we rented the "Classic" was that she was having problems starting the milk flowing and the lactaction consultant suggested that it would work better than the Pump N Style. We found that it was a waste of money (Why rent when you HAVE two already!) as the hospital grade ones didn't really work any better!

If you are going to pump then seriously, why wouldn't you buy the double electric? As a man, I didn't pump, of course, but I see that it takes A LOT OF TIME to pump. So why do it manually when you can get an electric one? Why do one side if you can do both at once? (Double pumps have been shown more efficient at getting more milk too, I've read). Seriously, don't sweat the money, give your sister a treat and the extra money you spend will EASILY convert into more time for her. It may seem expensive, but you are really buying a lot more time.

I should mention that my wife went back to work at 3 months and pumps with the occasional breast feeding. We have twin girls who are 8.5 months who drink BM only and eat solids as well AND we have a FREEZER FULL of breast milk. So for us, the Medela Pump N Style worked really well. And like I said, it took some time and effort before it became easy, so tell your sis to hang in there when the time comes!

My sister also used the Medela Pump N Style and had to store extra milk at my parents house in their huge freezer. Funny story is that YEARS later, my Mom is like "WTF! I don't think we need to store this milk that you pumped 5 years ago!"

Oh, one more point on "used" pumps. One of the pumps we have is, I think, 4th hand used. My wife's friend bought and used it, then sold it to my wife's sister, who lent it to a friend or two, and then gave it to my wife. We also have a brand spankin' new one. They claim that it's unhiegenic, but you can just buy new parts (tubes, boob thingy, valves) for about $20. The "Diaphram" that they claim can't be cleaned is easily cleaned by popping the faceplate off the pump and wiping it down. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a use medela. Not sure about other types of pumps. The "You must buy a new one" I think comes from the pump makers who would gladly have you pay another $300 for a new one.