Electric pumps - best place, best price?

I need an electric pump this time. The manual one just did my head in. Who wants to sit there squeezing away at a trigger thing whilst trying to keep the suction cup on properly for a miserable 20-30 mins every few hours when you're exhausted and over it? Nobody, that's who. I hate my manual pump........ I will not be using it again!

So where can I find a great deal for an electric one? DP knows I will be getting one this time, but I'm looking for value for money JIC, you know, my boobs fall off and I can't BF :rofl: . That's the only reason I can think of that it won't be used.

Of course I don't want a crummy one that'll then not be used anyway. So- tell me all about your electric pumps!

Have you considered hiring one if you do happen to need one? Then if you do find yourself needing one long term, you could purchase then.
Certainly agree with not going the manual one again. I got bad carpal tunnel with mine first time around.

I would like at Mothers Direct (the ABA site) at their range of pumps if I was considering a major breast pump purchase.

Contact your local ABA and see if they hire pumps out. If they do, have a chat to the hire person and they can give you a run down on pumps and then you can buy through ABA or elsewhere.

What do you want to use your pump for? Will you be returning to work?

How often you will use it, and over what time perod, is a really important factor in which pump is for you.

Er, I want to use it to extract milk from my boobage. lol..... ;)

Basically I had issues last time with supply. This was caused by the rocky start to BFing, and the constant interruption. He went days without more than a few sucks at the boob and this really hindered my milk coming in. Once it did, I had bugger all.. or it seemed that way. I also have a really slow letdown apparently, as he would fuss and fuss and I'd usually give up in frustration before he got any milk. (this is what my current MW and I have deduced anyway).

So I'd like to be able to express for a bit to get the milk flowing, then pop baby on. I also want to build a supply of frozen milk for those times I need a full nights sleep or so on. It'd be nice if there was the option for DP to have a go at bottle feeding some EBM occasionally. (I realise this may or may not work, depending on bubs preference).

I will definitely be returning to work, but hopefully not for 12mths. 6mths is a possibility too though, and I would think I'll still be BFing at that point. An electric pump would be handy to use at work.

I can't be sure exactly how long I'll use it for and so on, as I just don't know how this is going to go. But I want to give myself the best possible chance at BFing with success this time. No, scratch that. I am going to BF this baby with success. And I will not give up.

I'll check out the ABA site, thanks!

I had similar problems as you. I was engorged though. BD kept falling asleep after a few sucks. I felt pressured by my husband's family to formula feed her - they acted like I was depriving her - so this time I'm fiercely determined not to give up and to tell them to back off.

I have been looking at an Avent Electric Breast pump. I'm looking forward to seeing what people recommend here.

That is why I would hire first, as it is such an unknown. Honestly the hire pumps with the double collection kit are just awesome, even with one collection kit they are great. The best things for the those early days when (depending on how things go) you might be pumping 3 hourly. Then again, it may all go smoothly and you may have very little need for a pump ;)

Thanks girls. I appreciate the advice! I'm shopping right now lol...

Dreambabies - I had the avent manual pump. Not a fan....

I guess after last time you're looking to get a head start this time round? It's great to be thinking ahead. Best case scenario - you waste your money on a pump you never need :) Things were rough for you both after your last birth, so it's no wonder things got off to a shaky start. This time will be different :hug: It's good to hear you're talking through this with your midwife, too.

have you joined the ABA? Your local group can be a wonderful source of support, if you haven't looked into it yet. And you'd get 50% off the hire price of a pump if you did need one.

ETA - oh, and if you're looking to buy, you can talk to the girls at Mothers' Direct for advice on the right pump for you. Either from birth or when you go back to work.

Woah.... they are expensive to hire. Would I be insane to just buy one I thought was good??? I mean, really???

I can afford $200 now to buy a brand spankers pump. But $40 a week when I'm not working? No. Not likely. Now I"m really confused!! Start naming some brands and features you liked please.. lol

I really just need something that'll keep my hands free, and do what it's meant to. Get milk out. Nothing extremely fancy, no double pumping necessary. If I don't need it, so be it. Last time I was all 'Oh I don't need this or that, it's all a ripoff....' I have learned lol. I know I'll use a pump. Even if my BFing is a fabulous success from the start - it'll be used when I return to work.

I think if you're pretty sure you're going to be using one later on at least, then it may make sense to buy one, yeah.
Member rental rates are $15 or $25 per week, depending on the pump. Which is fine if you only use it for a couple of weeks!

ETA - if you look on the Motehr's Direct site, they give some info on who each pump might be suitable for, which is a good starting point for comparing pumps.
Maybe wait for a sale to buy? you have plenty of time at this point anyway

You say you have a slow letdown - I would consider a pump that has the funny little sucks to stimulate a letdown, or at least has a variable suck strength so that you can start gentle and then turn it up once things are flowing.
Do you want to be able to pump both sides at once?

The advantage of the hire pumps is that they are powerful, and can get more out than a little pump - so for supply stimulating you will do better with a symphony or a lactina or similar than you will with a little pump. And then hopefully after a month or two you don't need it any more.

FS, sounds like you guys had a really rough start to BF last time! Good on you for being determined to succeed this time. I've got a great electric pump but it isn't hands free - I still have to hold it on to the breast. I've got a Medela Swing. Cost me about $250 - got mine on sale at Baby Bunting and it came with a free esky bag thing that can hold four Medela bottles and a special ice brick that was shaped around the bottles. Fantastic for taking to work and storing my bottles for the trip home.

It's only a single pump. Doubles get expensive. But it's a great little pump.

It sounds, though, like you might have different pumping needs. The pumping to help get milk established is quite different to pumping every now and then if you need to leave baby or something. It really might be worth hiring a double, hospital-grade pump from the ABA for the first few weeks and then buying your own later down the track once you've worked things out.

Another thing - most mums find that while it is a wonderful idea for dad to give a bottle overnight to let mum rest, it doesn't quite work that way as mum has to express at the time the baby is feeding to ensure she maintains her milk supply. And really at 2am (or similar horrible time) most mums find it easier to just stick the baby on the boob :)

Have you thought about a Breastfeeding Education Class, to really ensure you are as prepared as you can be?

I lashed out and bought the Medela Freestyle double pump after yet another crummy start to BFing. It's awesome and I wish I'd bought it with DD1 especially knowing how much money I spent on hiring the Symphony with both my girls. Hindsight is a wonderful thing though.

If you can afford it buy a double. Much quicker and more efficient which is very handy when you've already got another LO to watch (and chase!)

I paid around $450 for mine from Babies R Us but I was lucky, mum works there so I got a decent discount. You can get them on eBay though and some places will ship from the States.

Good luck!

I swear by the avent electric. It's a single boobie, and I got mine from Chemist Warehouse, which saved me about $60.

You pump it with the handle, and then press a button, and the electric kicks in and copies whatever you were doing ... so you can do a fast, slow, medium or mixed rhythm.

Mumgo website had some on sale the other day, starting from $50

Forshelby, my friend bought a Unimom double electric pump for under $200. She is exclusively expressing and It works well. Google Unimom, they have their own site

I've used the single avent electric and also the double avent electric. I loved both. The single I borrowed from a friend and the double I ended up buying once I returned to work at 6 months of eBay second hand for $180

Like peanutter said u start the suction urself similar to the manual avent pump but once uve got ur pattern or your letdown u can click the "motor" button and it will keep pumping for u in that motion.

Goodluck!

I have the medela freestyle. 15 months and she's still going. That's with some heavy use! It's $500 though. You could probably make do with a medela swing. I've heard good reports about them. I agree about looking at mothers direct, they often have sales.