Are you considering purchasing a breast pump?
There are one million and one different brands and it can definitely get overwhelming. I also remember thinking: Will I even make milk? What if I exclusively breast feed and don’t even need a pump?
Breast Pump Resources
It’s normal to be overwhelemd by breast pumps. Honestly there are not enough resources out there about it, but I was fortunate enough to have a friend show me this hidden gem… the Aeroflow Breastpumps website!
They have a lot of information to help you side-by-side compare different pumps to find the right one for you. They also help you see which pumps your insurance covers, as well as having demonstration videos on how to use the pumps. They also have a live chat. These demonstration videos were VERY helpful, as the Spectra has a lot of settings to learn.
When it’s time to buy, it’s so easy to just type in your insurance company and they tell you what your insurance covers. Then you can buy the pump directly from the site and they take care of the paperwork!
I ended up upgrading, so I chose a breastpump that was only partially covered by my insurance. I went with this rechargeable Spectra pump, because a friend had recommended it to me.
Questions to consider when buying a breast pump
- Do you want a battery-powered option?
- Or are you ok to plug the pump into the wall each time?
- Do you want a super portable, small option?
- How often do you think you’ll be using the pump? Do you plan to pump at work? If so, that’s a lot of pumping, so you might want to get a nicer pump!
- Hand pump or electric? or both?
- Do you need a bag to store your pump in? Or plan to keep it in your diaper bag?
- Do you need a cooler to take to work to store your pumped milk in?
Which accessories to purchase?
I got the blue Spectra pump that has a rechargeable battery. I also discovered that the Phillips Avent Bottles screw right into this pump, so no need to buy the Spectra bottles, and honestly the Spectra bottles are not as good. This was a great discovery!
I also purchased a backpack for my breast pump that had a little cooler in the bottom. I got it from Amazon. I like it, but there are lots of different styles and options to choose from.
You don’t need a fancy milk storage bag system. The target brand works just fine. I recommend not buying storage bags until you need them, as I never made enough milk to be able to store any for later.
Some people choose to buy extra flanges and pump parts. If I would have pumped at work, this would have been nice, since you have to wash the pump parts after each use. Sometimes I’d hand wash and sometimes I’d just throw them in the dishwasher, but the Spectra only came with two sets of flanges (one was a larger size than the other).
Alcohol test strips can be helpful for detecting the alcohol content of your pumped milk to see if you need to throw it out, or if it’s safe for baby. I bought these for target, but hardly used them. They always came back as no alcohol content even when I had had two glasses of wine. I just waited at least an hour after drinking to pump. I also was drinking so rarely, see so sleep deprived that only sleep sounded good at night, that I didn’t use them very often.
Tine Murray 