Breast Pumps-Help Please!!

[Trinity Bauer]

Hey Ladies I know this sounds really bad but I am very intimidated by breastfeeding and really want no part of it.  Unfortunately I would feel terrible if I didnt give my baby breast milk, so I came to pumping...BUT all the pumps have scary horrible reviews except for the 250 + medela pumps..I can't afford those and didnt win their essay contest.  I really don't know what to buy.  I just cant see myself breastfeeding naturally.  I cant do it. So im looking for a pump to use ALL the time. Has anyone rented from the hospital? How clean is that? how expensive??  Does anyone have a good pump they can recommend?

[Jo-Ann Banom]

Trinity:

I just bought an Evenflo pump for $45 from Targets. It is both battery operated & electric. After my c-section & being preeclamsic, I was so sick that I couldn't breast feed for 3 days. By then, the baby was started on a bottle & she was too rough when I tried to breast feed her. So I've been pumping for the past month. I find it easier & more convenient. The hospitals charge about $65 per month to rent them. They are clean. You are given all new tubing to attach to the machine. I used the hospital one a few times & then decided to purchase my own because the baby is on formula & I just add the breast milk into it. I hope this helps?

Jo

[Alison Westermann]

Tonia is right on! What a great answer and so informative - you rock! :)

Trinity, may I inquire into the "why" behind your statement that you will not consider breastfeeding? I am simply curious, and I would like to help alleviate any anxiety or fear or feelings of intimidation you are having, if at all possible. I'm a certified Breastfeeding Peer Counselor through my local nursing support center (called Baby Cafe), and I'd love to help you in any way I can. Feel free to send me a personal message or reply in this discussion.

[Angelica Perez]

I purchased the Lansinoh dual pump with my first child and I felt that it did not work that great. So my husbands co-worker wife told me about the Madela manuel pump. I found that the madela manuel pump worked better than the lansinoh electrial pump. With the Madela it would only take me 30minutes to pump both of my boobs and with the lanisnoh pump it would take me 1 hour. Just food for thought if you open the pump you can not take it back to the store or where ever you bought it from.

[Angelica Perez]

If you cann't come to terms of breast feeding your baby naturally then maybe you should just think about formula feeding. Only because breastfeeding is a natural and pure thing to do for your baby. It is nothing bad or sexual about it and if that is what you are thinking, then you need to look within yourself and bring out your true feelings about breastfeding. Think about it back in the old days. They did not have formula. If the mother could not breastfeed, then another mother would breastfeed that baby. It is different if you are not able to breastfeed, but if you are able to do it then do it because you know that your baby is getting the best nutrition possible. There are some mother who would die to breastfeed and cann't so they have no choice but to give formula. Just think about it and come to terms with what you really feel about it and in the end only you can make the decision about how you really what to feed your child.

[Reena Gyanda]

I have used medela pump for feeding breast milk to my daughter. That pump is simply awesome. I got that from the hospital. May be you can go to the hospital where your baby was born and talk to them about the pump. I think they will help you with that. Even some hospitals have the room for pumping milk. they have electrical pumps there. you can go there with your bottles, sit and pump. I think that should work.

[Rita Davis]

Hello there. I was just wondering as to why you feel intimidated about breastfeeding. It is a wonderful bonding experience for both mom and child. My second child is now 16 1/2 months old and I am still breastfeeding her at will. Also, baby sucking is much more effective at collecting breast milk than any pump no matter how much it costs. I pump all the time because I work and go to nursing school. I started out with the First years soothe double pump which was ok but it killed my batteries when trying to pump all the time and had trouble finding access to an outlet. So I purchased a Medela freestyle off of a website for $270 which is much cheaper than another place I found and I have searched everywhere prior to the purchase. I work at a children's hospital and I use their Medela symphony pumps while at work. If you have health insurance you should be able to file a claim to help offset the cost. Another option is if you qualify for WIC (woman, infants and children) in your local county, they may give you one for free (I did) plus they gave me the kit to use with the symphony for work. The children's hospital rents out to our NICU moms all the time and they are cleaned by the special processing unit. So that's really clean. As you can tell I am all for breastfeeding and will continue until my daughter decides so. If you plan on having more kids the cost to purchase a personal pump will outweigh the alternative, not to mention to cost of formula. If you have any question or if I can help send me a message. Thanks.

[Christine Albright]

I don't quite understand the reasoning you feel intimidated by nursing your child. I heard so many scarey things about it when I was pregnant. But deep down in my heart I wanted to try it and I am so glad that I did. My daughter is 15 months old and I am still nursing my daughter at least twice a day. I love the connection that my daughter and I have from the bonding that breastfeeding gave us. If you have any questions about it please feel free to get in touch with me. I hated it when I went back to work and had to pump, I myself was missing something. Good luck to you!!

[Leanne Newton]

i hear you can go to your local health department and they will help you get one if you can't afford one

[Amanda Deming]

I use a Medela Pump - In- Style Advanced, but they are expensive. I got mine from my cousin and just replaced all the parts. The manufacturers say not to use a pump that someone else has used, but our pediatrician said that as long as you replace all the tubing and collection parts there is no reason you can not use a used one. There are lots of deals for used ones on Craigslist. If you are going to exclusively pump you need a double electric. The manual and one-side at a time pumps are not made for constant use. Your milk supply will not develop properly unless you use a good pump. While you can rent the really nice ones from the hospital it gets expensive so you are better off buying one. If you really want to be able to supply your baby with breastmilk than paying out up front for a nice pump is cheaper in the long run than all the money you would be spending on formula.

[Ashley Miller]

I hear a lot of people talking about Ameda but they aren't hospital grade and if you don't have large quantities of milk it will not work. I have a Medela pump in style and it is so worth the money. I only pump and with this pup produce enough for 3 babies. I will be able to stop pumping at 6 months and feed him for 12+ months.

[Dipti kapileshwar]

hey try to buy a single breast pump from medela .... i use medela swing ... it s really better than others and costs 150
the lactation consultant suggested that if i ever go for any breast pump go for either medela or Lansinoh... as they are only two brands which are specialized in making breast pumps ... other brands are Jack of all trades but master of none....
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