returning to work, expressing & cant afford electric pump

What do i do if i dont think i can afford an electric breastpump but will need to express at work three days a week?

I have a manual pump but find it tiring on my wrists etc just pumping occasionally at home, no way could i use it 1-2 times a day three days per week.

just started looking at electric pumps & omg the price!! How is anyone meant to find at minimum a couple of hundred $ on one wage?

Im not keen on buying second hand.

i cant hand express.

baby still wont take a bottle or cup of any kind & therefore it hasnt been possible to wean onto formula so therefore its important that i pump at work to keep my supply.

what would you do??

How old is baby? After a few months feeding, your supply calms down and you can miss a feed or two with few side effects to you.

I would bite the bullet and buy a second hand medela pump. All the parts that touch you and milk can be sterilised :)

Hes 9 months old. Ill be away from him from 6.30am to 5.30/6pm i cant not express. Besides ill be super uncomfortable & leaking everywhere & i cant hand expresss

ive been told the medela is not a closed system so you cant clean parts of it properly. It says on their site they are designed for one user only

You can get new parts for the medela so maybe price up buying the actual pump second hand and then look at getting the tubes etc new

ive got a avent double electric pump and got it second hand on ebay (from someone local - so i could check it all before buying) and it is still going two babies later (6 mnths pumping at work each bub), and a few friends bubs too. (Lol I clearly don't have a problem sharing it hahah)

When I lent to friends we just bought new funnels and cushions for the machine (think it was about $30 for these parts) and then they used their own bottles. Anything that came in contact with the milk was owned by the other user. But still in saying that another friend has used it and she borrowed my parts, she just put them all in the steriliser before hand and gave them a good clean.

I would MUCH rather use a second hand electric, than a manual pump. I could do a 10 min pump session with my double electric and get 230mls when my bub was that age. It is much more efficient.

Have you looked into hiring one from the ABA perhaps? Will cost more in the long run if you're using it for a while, but might be more affordable on a week to week basis.

The Diana Dream is a brilliant double electric pump that in my experience is as strong as the hospital grade ones. Its made by Grow Baby and is available with free delivery from Baby Bunting for about $150 at the mo. The only downside is that it's not small but if your only going to use it at work them it could live there pretty much full time.
Also check out Doidy cups as an alternative vessel for EBM feeding bubba.

Aba shop mother's direct is closing down. Check out if they have a pump you like.
Target also had a breastpump on sale this week
There are different types of manual pumps too, some squeeze type ones, some syringe type ones. A different type might be easier on your hands. Or have you tried hand expressing?

I don't know how particular your supply is, or if your baby is willing to help boost supply after work but from nine months I was away from my dd for similar hours 2-3 days a week and didn't need to pump and was still able to feed baby on non work days. She didn't take expressed milk and would have big feeds when I got home.

I'd hire one, or buy one. Second hand, if needed.

Good luck - it's worth the effort.

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ive been told the medela is not a closed system so you cant clean parts of it properly. It says on their site they are designed for one user only

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I used a mini electric Medela that I bought second hand and all the parts came undone so I could sterilise them. I quite often see medela pumps for sale as second hand too.