Electronic Breast Pumps - Any suggestions

[janni]

Hi there,

I was thinking of getting an electronic breast pump, just wondering if anyone has any recommendations. I've been looking at the cherrub baby australia and the ameda purely yours. The cherrub seems to be cheaper...but maybe the ameda one is better? Has anybody tried either of these?

Thanks,
Janni

[black_rose]

I looked at the cherub one and yes its cheap but have a look at ebay and all the negative feedback about them. I used the Ameda one in hospital and its fine to use, I got a Medela swing because I was pumping full time and its similar to the hospital grade ones.

[janni]

Thanks black_rose,

How much is the medela one? Is it a compact one, cause I was thinking of maybe bringing it to work when I go back (in about 8 months). I got to borrow a medela one from the hospi in the first week home, but it was quite chunky and would therefore not be practical to bring with me to work.

Cheers,
janni

[Socks]

Sorry I haven't heard of them or used them. (Well I probably have heard of them but as I have pg brain at the moment can't think).

My friend recommended the Avent ISIS iQ UNO Electronic Breast Pump so this is what I have won't know if it's good till I have bub.

Good Luck picking one. I guess what is good for one person doesn't work for another so makes it hard to buy. Shame you can't try before you buy.

[lindsaymaree]

My friend recommended the Avent ISIS iQ UNO Electronic Breast Pump so this is what I have won't know if it's good till I have bub.

I've been using this one the last few weeks we purchased it for $219.00, as I'll be heading back to work around the 3 month mark and needed something I could easily take with me. It's really compact and easy to use, it comes with a silicon cover that is supposed to help with let down, However I found the pump actually worked better for my big boobies when I took this off ;p It can be plugged into a power point or you can use a battery pack.

There's probably better pumps on the market for full time expressing, but I think this one is going to be good for expressing once or twice a day.

Hope this helps! xx

[Socks]

I picked my Avent pump up for $155.85 from okmart. They have some really great prices. I got free postage because I spent over $100.

[janni]

Thanks girls!! I'll be checking those out as well.

Socks - let me know (if you can) how the avent is going once you've got it and used it for a while.

Cheers,
Janni

[Fleur]

I have been using the Ameda Purely yours for 6 months (exclusively feeding EBM).
I bought it new off Ebay for $280 and am very happy with it - I have been having some issues lately with the motor - I think it's just starting to show it's age (and use) a bit.

What do you want it for? Are you going to be expressing exclusively or just occasionally, or combining BFing & expressing say for work?
If you are fulltime expressing, the Ameda is great, it's a double pump & designed for heavy use.
If it's occasional expressing then I wouldn't bother with something so expensive & heavy duty - any pump, even a manual one is going to do the job, Avent & Medela are good though.
If it's for work or you're going to be using it a bit, the Avent Isis IQ uno would likely be ok - this is the one that I had bought while PG - I returned it for the Ameda when I ended up EE. I never used it myself but I heard good things about it.

HTH

ETA - if you're on the Gold Coast, Treetops Pharmacy had the Avent IQ uno for $150 which is cheaper than anywhere else I found it...

[Rach75]

i used the ameda purely yours loved it then my milk dried and i had to go on medication so it sitting in my warddrobe am hoping to list it on ebay soon if your interrsted pm me

[janni]

jasp - to begin with I'm probably only going to use it once or twice a day max, but when I go back to work (which should be in about 6-8 months time, could be sooner), I'll probably need to express extensively and only breastfeed twice a day (one in morning and one in evening). Is the ameda one easy to clean? The one you have is it not still under warranty - re motor being stuffed?

cheers,
Janni

[AliB]

The Avent Isis IQ gets consistently the best reviews in online product review sites. I have bought one but not used it yet. My sister loves hers.

Two things to note about it:
- A new model of the isis iq has just been released, it's got a new name - now called Avent Single Electronic Breast Pump and is now BPA Free.
- You can get excellent prices on ebay! Just make sure it is an established australian seller with heaps of positive feebdack and the latest stock (if you want it bPA free like mine). Just got mine for $169.95 with free delivery. It is currently selling for $250 at baby stores and Kmart.

HTH!

ETA OK I note others pointing out the Isis IQ model is now being sold for $150 or so - yep that's due to the new model being released.

[Socks]

AliB - I got mine of Okmart for the $155.85 with free postage and it is BPA free.. They sell all the latest Avent products on there BPA free. I got my bottles off there BPA free at the same time. Cheapest place I found them. Just so you know Janni Avent products which are BPA free should have a golden honey colour to them.

[Fleur]

Janni - yep, it's super easy to clean, you don't have to wash the tubing or anything. You can only sterilise by boiling but I just used to do that once a day, and haven't bothered since about 4 mths.
Mine would still be under warranty, but I don't have any proof of purchase - in fact I can't even recall the name of the seller or their store Ebay only keeps transaction details for 6 mths, so can't help. My own silly fault, who buys something like that & doesn't keep proof of purchase
Anyway it's still working well, just that sometimes when I switch it off it doesn't go off immediately, and it has a variable suction dial but it takes a bit of fiddling these days to get the suction right - it's not as responsive as it once was.

The variable suction is a good feature, also variable speed, so you can start out with quick, gentle suction and then get longer & harder - the idea is it's similar to a baby's sucking. And there are loads of accessories too, I have the car adaptor which is great - it does take batteries but it's like, 6 D cell batteries - I figured $30 for a car adaptor was much more economical

Anyway, HTH

[black_rose]

If you are going to express more intensivly stick with the Ameda, I tried the avent one and using it full time it made me very sore.

[didispunk]

I have the medela and LOVE it.. but if i need one this time around I will hire one from the chemist.. There's have so much more power.

[janni]

Sorry girls, what does BPA mean - you're saying BPA free. Is it some form of chemical that used to be in the bottles that they've now removed?
Thanks,
Janni

[janni]

jasp - thanks heaps and oh well at least you're still able to use it so that's a good thing!
cheers, janni

[Fleur]

No worries Janni
Yes, BPA is a chemical that is found mostly in hard plastics. A lot of baby product manufacturers are removing it from their products these days. The Ameda is BPA free too