Which Breast Pump?

Sligo1

Hi All,

Would greatly appreciate any advice here! Had my gorgeous little boy last Sunday week and I was wondering if anyone could please recommend a Breast Pump. Ive heard the Medela Pumps are good... But am unsure about which one is best?

My PHN recommened a double pump. While another PHN recommended the Medela Swing?

Basically i am breast feeding and will only pump if I need to go out. And possibly the odd bottle for a night feed for OH to give. It may be about a bottle a day if that....

Any opinions would be great!

Thanks!

How Strange

I had the Medela swing and found it perfect. Not industrial strength but string enough to quickly express enough milk when you need it. I also used mine intermittently as I found it much easier just to breastfeed.

Sligo1

How Strange wrote: »

I had the Medela swing and found it perfect. Not industrial strength but string enough to quickly express enough milk when you need it. I also used mine intermittently as I found it much easier just to breastfeed.

Thanks How Strange. Ive heard the Swing is very convenient and portable aswell. Does anyone know the difference between the Swing (about 164E) and the Mini Electric Double pump (about 85E)... Seems to be quite a big price difference.

Ginny

The swing should only be about 140 in boots. I tried both and there was a world of difference between the 2 models, the swing was miles better.

Sesame

Swing takes batteries too, whereas electric one might not. I'm guessing it doesn't from its name.
Batteries are very handy on a night or day out. For instance, I was at an all day wedding without baby and went back to the car a few times during the day to express. I was planning on doing it in the ladies loo but realised people might be wondering what the noise was in there!

Moonbeam

The Medela swing is probably your best choice,the mini is only really god for occasional use.

vibe666

yep, medela swing all the way (according to my wife). if you don't mind 2nd hand, there's quite often some really good deals to be had on ebay etc.

Glowing

Surprisingly the batteries last ages in the swing! I put batteries in it for a wedding 2 weeks ago and I havent plugged it in since! (i use it most mornings).

emer_b

i just started pumping last week and have a loan of a medela swing, its working well for me. didnt fancy coughing up the money until i tried one, but i would happily buy it now.
Anyone know if you can buy spare breast shields seperately? Online would be easiest.

MintyDoris

emer_b wrote: »

i just started pumping last week and have a loan of a medela swing, its working well for me. didnt fancy coughing up the money until i tried one, but i would happily buy it now.
Anyone know if you can buy spare breast shields seperately? Online would be easiest.

Medicare.ie sells parts but not sure if they sell breast shields. Might be worth a look

emer_b

MintyDoris wrote: »

Medicare.ie sells parts but not sure if they sell breast shields. Might be worth a look

Thanks minty, they have everything I need there

liliq

I actually found manual pumps a lot better than any electric ones I tried. They take a little bit more getting used to but after a while you've way more control over the speed, pressure etc

KGLady

If you're only expressing on occasion it may not be worth the expense of an electric pump. The manual ones are fairly quick when you get comfortable using them (10-15 mins for me to empty both) there is a huge price difference so for infrequent use maybe start off with something simple?

http://www.toys.ie/Avent-Manual-Breast-Pump-!122138-prd.aspx

e26 for example which will get you started and if you find at a later stage that the pump is getting a LOT of use, then you can assess the need for an electric and double one.

I'm at 8wks of BFing and have only used the pump 3 times - once when I was too sore to feed her, once when I was uncomfortably full and then once for our first night out. For me the little manual one has been perfect so far for what sounds like similiar use to what you predict

Lola92

It is also worth checking the prices up in the north/UK and shipping. I was able to get a Tommee Tippee manual pump for 10 pounds in Asda during one of their baby events. It is great if you have any family up there or will be up shopping etc.

Moonbeam

I on the other hand found my avent manual breast pump useless and used my medala mini one which has given up on me.

Squiggler

I picked up the Avent manual today for 26 Euro in Smyths.

Find it pretty easy to use and managed to express 2oz in just a few minutes. Been bf for 11 weeks and I probably won't need to use the pump often. TBH it's just so much easier to breastfeed. Just sterilising the pump etc. gave me a pain, would hate to be messing around with bottles all the time.

But a friend of mine is 30 next week and she's had a horrible year. Hoping to be able to show at her party for a while and will be happier doing it if I can leave hubby with some means of feeding the little man if needs be.

cyning

I picked up my Nuk electric one for €36/7 (on sale for half price) and I love it. I hated the Avent manual one I have. It was fine for the first few days (I had to pump from one side for ages as my little girl wouldn't feed from that side), but god it drove me mad it was so slow! If you plan on doing any amount of pumping I'd definitely go electric.

ariana`

How Strange wrote: »

I had the Medela swing and found it perfect. Not industrial strength but string enough to quickly express enough milk when you need it. I also used mine intermittently as I found it much easier just to breastfeed.

I 2nd this. Good pump for occasional use.