I have been using this pump for two months now, and it has been working really well.
When I first tried to use it straight from the box, it did not work. Fortunately, I was just trying the pump out and did not need to start pumping for another week. My husband figured out it was the AC adapter that failed to operate by trying it with the battery pack. My husband contacted Medela customer service for me, and I got a new AC adapter about a week later. He said the customer service was definitely setup for the breastfeeding mother, and it was a two-step process to get the call completed - my husband submitted an online ticket, then we had to call them if I remember correctly.
The two-phase expression works very well, and I frequently find that I only need the lowest pump setting to get milk to letdown. Sometimes, I do have to increase the suction after I have pumped for a few minutes. I have pumped with both the battery pack and the AC adapter, and I have not experienced a significant difference between the two forms of power.
When I started, I just did one breast at a time. This is not efficient at all; I really wish I had pumped both breasts simultaneously from the start. I got one of the Simple Wishes Hands Free Breastpump Bras, and it is a lifesaver. I eat breakfast while I pump in the morning, and because I have my own office, I shut my door at work and continue to work while I pump.
I had some trouble finding the right size of breastshields. Pumping was a little uncomfortable, so I did some research and found the breastshields could cause this. So I tried small shields, then I tried large shields and found they worked the best - the pump comes with medium shields. I found the Medela diagram of what the breast should look like in the breastshield to be useless. Most of what I found online said that many women prefer the large size shields though.
I also think having spare parts on hand and ready to go is important. I had trouble getting one of the valves off and had to lever it off. This caused a little damage to the surface so the membrane could not seal properly, so I needed another valve to correct the problem. In addition, the valves do not need to be on the breastshield connectors extremely tightly - I stopped pressing them on so hard and they are much easier to get off now.
The backpack is not especially roomy, but I only keep the tubing, AC adapter, Playtex Drop-ins rings, ring towers (described in next paragraph), and the Simple Wishes bra in the backpack. I wash my parts after every pumping, so I transport the parts in a large plastic bowl, and I air-dry them on a clean burp cloth.
Finally, I read Morgan's Mom's review before I purchased the pump and used her suggestion of collecting into Playtex Drop-Ins. This works extremely well, and I do just as she says with freezing them upright, removing the rings, and putting the liners in a Ziploc bag. I put 14 four-ounce liners into a one-gallon Ziploc bag then put the bag in the deep freeze until I take it to the daycare provider. What I had trouble with was figuring out how to get them to freeze upright. I ended up making two towers of 5 liner rings, then I place the liner ring and drop-in liner I am going to pump into in these towers until I am ready to start pumping and after I am done pumping. If you only need to freeze two liners at a time, this works well for freezing too. If you need to freeze several at a time in an upright position, I discovered the cardboard carton for a six-pack of bottled beer works really well (no, I was not the person who drank the beer from the six pack ;) ), and you can set 12 four ounce liners into the cardboard carton.
| Product Dimensions | 11.42 x 5.98 x 14.02 inches |
|---|---|
| Item model number | 57062 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Maximum weight recommendation | 9.3 Pounds |
| Material Type | Microfiber |
| Material free | BPA Free |
| Style | Pump In Style,Double,Single |
| Pump type | Electric |
| Batteries required | No |
| Dishwasher safe | Yes |
| Is portable | No |
| Item Weight | 7.12 pounds |
