Breast pumps - what kind, where to buy?

M

mariac

Registered User
Hi ladies, I'm currently 7 months pregnant and looking into buying a good breast pump. I hear Medela pumps are the best. Are there other ones that have worked for people? Also, I am very confused about whether to get an electric one or a manual one. It seems that the manual ones are light and portable while the electric ones are heavy but efficient. Can people please share their experiences with either type of these pumps? I will be a stay-at-home mom so I'll have more time to pump but at the same time I'm a first-time-mom and not used to any of this, so wondering if the electric might be a better option for me.

What are some of the best places in HK to buy breast pumps?
 
I've used Medela pump with my first child and also used the avent manual pump. With my second child now i'm using the avent electric double pump. I prefer the avent electric pump; it has worked well for me better than medela and manual. The electric pumps in HK are expensive, the avent pump that i'm using now is about HK$ 5000+, and the manual avent is about 350. If you opt to use Medela, you can consider renting the hospital grade pump. I think you pay a deposit and a monthly rental fee. The company is called Celki (not sure if this the correct spelling!) hope this helps!
 
It really depends what your "pumping goals" are. With my first daughter, I just pumped irregularly so that I'd have a handful of bottles if she needed it. I think she probably only ever drank about 20 bottles or so all up since it was easier to breastfeed if I was at home anyway. I've used three handpumps - one was a cheap one from Wing On which was pretty useless, then I've also used the Avent Isis and the Medela Harmony. I prefer the Medela than the Isis, simply because sometimes my flow was too great for the Isis and the milk would build up inside and sometimes completely pop the valve out! The Medela's design means that problem doesn't happen. But the Isis was comfortable and effective as well - I think it's just not great for people with fast flow.

I am now exclusively pumping for my second daughter as she cannot breastfeed (cleft palate as well as other medical issues) and I'm using the Medela Pump In Style. I find it great - and I've been using it literally for HOURS each day for going on six months now! When she was first born, I was pumping eight times a day, now I'm down to just 2-3 times, and the pump is great for "heavy duty pumping". However it is quite expensive and in my opinion, if you're not going to be using it a lot, it may not be worth the money.

When I travelled with my first born, I just took the hand pump and it was light and easy to take around. Even with my second daughter, sometimes I've needed to pump out of the house and I preferred to just take the hand pump so I wouldn't be carrying the PIS around. I find the hand pump to be just as effective as the electic but it takes a lot more effort - plus it takes twice as long since the PIS is a double pump (can empty both sides at once).

Anyway - all that to say, if you are just going to be pumping a little to build up some supply in the freezer I'd recommend getting a manual pump - my preference being the Medela Harmony, but if you want to pump at least a couple of times a day, a double electric like the Pump in Style can save you a lot of time and effort.

I bought my PIS on Amazon and had a friend ship it to me, it was cheaper than getting it here.

Another double electric pump that a lot of people like is the Ameda Purely Yours breast pump - although I've heard a lot of people say that it doesn't work for them. I've never tried it though so I can't recommend it.

One tip - don't "over pump" - you can actually build up your supply TOO much which can lead to more engorgement, blocked ducts and mastitis. If you're baby is feeding well, just try to pump just once a day - not after every single feed, unless you want to HAVE to pump every time (which could be a pain if you want to get out of the house!)

I've never really combined pumping/bottle feeding with breastfeeding though - but I have exclusively breastfed with just a few bottles, and I have also exclusively pumped... in some ways, I think that combining bottle feeding (pumped breastmilk) with breastfeeding would be even harder than just one or the other!!
 
I'm using single Avent Manual one and also electric one. It comes in a package. Both not heavy. You just change the "head" of the funnel. Quite comfortable with it. However, the electric one when pumping is only quiet in the begining. After a while (maybe 2 weeks) it become so noisy that i just couldnt bring to work. The manual one is good, but if you pump a lot your hand ache. Now i prefer the manual one as i think the suction for electric one had decrease.

For Electric ones, i cant find it in Wing On, i bought my in Mothercare. Dont worry, breast pump is quite easy to find.

Good Luck!
 
Oh wow, ladies this is really helpful! Didn't realize there was such a huge difference in price between manual and electric as well! The thing is, I won't be going back to work right away so part of me thinks I should just make do with a manual pump for occasions such as going out, getting some rest, etc. but i don't know how patient i'll be with the hand pumping. on the other hand, spending $HKD5000+ for something i don't end up using that much can be unjustified.

taysty - how much is the Avent Manual+Electric package?

thanks a lot for the input so far! hope to hear from more people...
 
@ mariac
I got mine slightly over 1k, beware there's only one funnel, but one manual head and one electric head. You can call up the mothercare and they'll quote you the price. Eugene in Central doesnt tell me the price when i want to get it. So i went straight to mothercare. Also, just to help, there's another walk up store in Wan Chai selling it too. I'm checking out. Tell you later.

@ Nicolejoy

The valve doesnt pop out if you buy the electric one for Avent. The manual one (the valve is like a star shape) pops up easily. I knew it becoz i had 2 sets at home (that's a long story to tell)
 
@ mariac

I assume you're not chinese? So i had include the exact link for you if you want to buy.
http://www.mamabebe.com.hk/index.ph...=&p=6&cat2=6&cat1=6&cat0=2&id=464&new=&more=&
Haha, i found out there's english version of the website. So have fun navigate yourself. I bought some stuff there. It's just a walk up store nothing compare to bumps to babes or mothercare. But do have some goodies i find it useful and at reasonable price. Opps, i'm sorry to tell that there's no discount on the breast pump. But for first time buyer over non-controlled price items, over HK$300 i got 10% discount. :flower:

I think i'm being overly helpful? I'm a first time mum so i went thru many so called de tour. So, i'm very eager to share cheapies that i can find. :haha:

If you need anymore details about this store, let me know.
 
Maria - actually I found that manual pumping is not THAT hard, particularly if you only want to do it once a day. I have a friend who EXCLUSIVELY pumped for her daughter, pumping something like SIX times a day, and she only ever used a manual pump! I don't have the patience for that though. But if I was just pumping once a day in addition to breastfeeding directly, I would still recommend a hand pump.

I don't think it's worth it to buy an electric while you're still pregnant (in my opinion) because a) they are so expensive! and b) you really don't know in advance how much you will use it, so it's a bit of a waste if you end up not using it that much... Of course if you have a lot of money to spare then maybe you want to just in case - but it's one of those things that you can't take back if you change your mind!
 
I was looking at breast pumps when i was pregnant with my first and wasn't planning to go back to work for 12 months and the woman at the store gave me some great advice - she said wait until after the baby is born so that you actually know what type of pump you need/want or if you will even use one at all. They are easy to get if/when you do get one so don't waste your money! She was so right as i borrowed one from a friend (which was hand/electric, but basic) to try and my daughter wouldn't take a bottle, so if i had bought an expensive electric one it would've been a total waste of money. But if she had taken one, I would've been quite happy with the pump I had borrowed. So as you aren't going back to work straight away I would recommend waiting and if you can find one to borrow or rent in the meantime even better, as you can see how it works for you once your baby is born.
 
If you can, try to get it from the States. I got my Medela from Diaper.com shipped to an US address, cost was around USD 350 while the price here is HKD 5,200 (lowest price around all shops I have been to). While I urgently needed an extra pair of the "top" part of the pump bottle, the distributor in Melbourne Plaza at Central charged me HKD 800 for a pair while I could get them for USD 14.99 from Amazon...
 
If you are planning to BF exclusively then I would highly recommend the Medela Freestyle. You can buy them in HK but at a higher price, around $5000. You can ALSO buy it online, which only costs $3800 (When I bought it that is).
It is electric, double pumping (left and right together), rechargeable (you can take out easily), it comes with 4 medela bottles, one cold pack, a bottle holder bag, a bigger bag for all the equipments.

I have been exclusively pumping for 7 months with the freestyle.
I also tried the Medela manual one, and I suggest you use both actually. I pumped every 2 hours and for 30minutes in the first few months to get a higher supply and I get around 16oz every time I pump. Obviously every one will be different, but pump more and for a shorter period of time (like 8 times for 10-20mins)! It will stimulate your breasts thinking baby is not having enough milk!
 
I used the Medela Pump in Style backpack. I loved it. I used it at home when I was going out and it came in a handy backpack that I brought along with me at work (that was back in Sydney and they allowed me to express at work). The backpack is big enough to store all the bottles so it was great for storage afterwards since everything is in one bag.
 
Oh. Forgot to mention, the freestyle has straps that you strap onto your maternity bra so you can pump without holding onto the pumps!!! It was GREAT for me cos I got on laptops, read magazines, feed or change diapers for bub and even DRIVE hehe.

Trust me, I've pumped in toilets (clean ones :S), car, restaurants (with a cover over obviously)... Freestyle is absolutely the buy... will use it when I have second bub!
 
thanks ladies! i have definitely decided to get a medela electric pump, so now trying to decide whether i should go for double or single pump. i don't need to pump exclusively, but i do want to breastfeed exclusively. is it advantageous to get a style that comes with more storage bottles etc.? i have no idea how much i'll be able to pump at one go. i saw the medela swing which is a single electric but it only comes with one 5oz bottle i think. what is the use of storage bags? can the bottles simply be stored in the fridge or no?

constancefaith - what is the site for buying it online from HK?
 
You can always buy more bottles if you want them. If you want to pump a lot, I think double is definitely the way to go - but if it's just for once a day or even less, I'd probably go with something smaller and just single pumping. I love my Pump In Style but it is a bit bulky if I wasn't using it all the time. The Swing is probably what I'd go for if I wanted electric but for less frequent pumping.

I pump into the 8oz bottles (I have just three of them), then I transfer the milk into the 5oz bottles, cap it and put it in the fridge. I only have five 5oz bottles. Then I feed directly from the 5oz bottles. I don't freeze milk at all, just use chilled freshly pumped milk (never more than a day old).
 
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