I am pregnant and due with my third child in a month. I am planning on nursing and wanted to also buy a pump. I had an electric one with my first and hated it. I ended up getting the Avent hand pump with my second. That was awhile ago and have since gotten rid of it. I liked that it did a great job of comfortable pumping the milk. What I didn't like was all of the pieces that I had to clean each time. I have seen a couple other hand held ones, but wanted to know what other moms experiences with hand pumps have been. Just didn't know if I should go with the one I already had or if there was one that was just as good with less parts to clean.
I too liked the manual hand held ones. I really liked the Avent one, but yes too many parts. I got the Madela Harmony, works the same, but with not as many parts. I have a one year old and she is the third that I have been breast feeding.
I used the Medela Harmony and it worked OK. I was only able to get 2-3 ounces at a time. I ended up buying a Medela Swing as I went back to work for a month and I really liked it! I was able to pump 8-10 ounces in 30 minutes...that was 3x what my little one was eating! It is very comfortable and very affordable. With both of them I didn't really feel like I was cleaning alot.
Good Luck on finding what works for you...and congrats on your upcoming new addition!!
C.,
I really liked the Gerber hand held pump that I used with my fourth child. It was the best one I tried and clean up wasn't bad at all.
I loved my Avent Isis handpump. It didn't seem to have too many parts to clean, really only three as the top cap and handle don't actually touch anything that actually touches the milk so I always popped them off and set them aside and then washed the remaining parts (one big part, small valve, the squishy pump part and the squishy breast shield part). I only washed it once a day. I would cap the top and bottom and stick the whole thing in the fridge between uses (a little chilly then, but worth the time savings).
I've had two Avent handheld pumps, for the same reason as you. I got rid of the first one after my first baby, then surprise #2 came and I bought a newer one. Well, the newer model had fewer parts, I think by 2. So you may want to look into those again if you liked your old one.
I don't have a pump suggestion but a cleaning one. The microwave steam cleaning bags are pretty great for cleaning and sanitizing pump (and bottles, pacificers, etc) parts. They are located w/breastfeeding items, you can use each bag 10 times, and make clean up really easy!
i had a hand held advent pump too and with pregnancy my wrists got so... screwed up i guess, and it hurt like hell to use that pump!
then i found out my insurance company would pay for a pump as long as my doctor wrote a 'prescription'
i got the medela pump in style for free! and i really liked it, though i didnt pump often.
its worth the info though, to check with your insurance company and see if they pay for one!
I suppose this might sound nuts to those who have breast pumps, but I hand expressed my milk. It worked well for me. The pumps were painful. 'Course, this was many years ago, and the pumps are probably less painful now (but, still, that is a sensitive area). I sort of thought it was hilarious, because I felt like an active cow!! LOL I felt powerful, too, like I could feed another country...
I agree that the Avent handheld pump is good (although time-consuming and rough on your hand muscles!). However, Avent pumps still use the BPA plastic. Because of that, I gave up my Avent pump and switched to Medela, an electric, double pump because I need to pump as quickly and efficiently as possible--I have to do it three times a day on borrowed time at work!
