Ladies express yourselves! (Medela Mini Electric Pump)

Member Name: ninacolada86

Product:	Medela Mini Electric Pump
Date:	08/03/09 (264 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Portable, and easy to assemble and use.

Disadvantages: Noisy and didnt pump fast enough.

WARNING!!!!!!!!

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION MAY NOT BE FOR MALE AUDIENCES. UNLESS YOU WANT TO KNOW INTIMATE DETAILS OF BREASTS AND THE EXTRACTION OF MILK, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.

YOU CAN HOWEVER PUT A VERY USEFUL RATING IN FULL FAITH OF MY WRITING SKILLS.

When pregnant with my daughter who was my first child I went through some tough times as a thought of the different things I thought I would have to give up, like soccer, horse riding and going out with my girl friends. Some things would have to change but I still hoped to have some independence.

I had already decided to breast feed my child so I didn't think I would be able to leave her with me boyfriend, as she would need to feed quite often during the first few months. Little did I know of the technology available. And when a friend suggested a breast pump, for a moment I was horrified. A pump? Like what they use to milk cows, I envisioned a metal contraption shaped like a cone that would swallow my chest alive.

But walking in a section in Boots I had never thought I would go down, I saw that they had a few on display, and none of them the horrifying nightmare I had imagined. I picked out the Medela Electric version, as being new to this I didn't see myself doing by hand something that must be difficult or they wouldn't need to make pumps with batteries.

Description:

The pump set cost me 48 euros and included:

- One small 250ml bottle.

- One stand, for the bottle.

- The breast part that is shaped like a flattened cone and attaches to the motor and bottle.

- The motor, which can be either plugged in or used with two AA batteries.

- And last but not least (well it is pretty small) a tiny little plastic valve that looks like a flap, this needs to be fitted in the breast part in order to create proper suction.

All this fits easily together and is not difficult to figure out with the help of the instruction manual, which comes with the set.

Use:

To use simply put the cone on your breast and start the motor, there are different settings so you can start slow and increase the tempo, as you get used to it. The suction is made to simulate a baby's sucking method, which is a steady pull release and then pull release again

I found that the lowest tempo would not express any milk and would only use the highest setting.

The noise is quite bothering, while not so loud that it will bother people in the next room, it is a constant hum, which will not be easy to ignore if you try to watch the television at the same time.

In order to remove the pump, be careful not to when the power is on, as you might pull when the machine is sucking and thus end up with a very sore nipple.
Your nipples will appear to be VERY large after using this breast pump, but don't be alarmed they will shrink back to their normal size in only a few minutes after use.

One word of warning is that when washing be careful not to lose the little plastic valve, as the breast pump will not work without it.

The batteries will not last very long if you don't alternate with using the mains electricity. On their own they will only last about a week and a half.

Opinion:

To be honest shortly after I bought this pump I received the Medela manual breast pump, which is used by hand. I found it to be much better and as I never had a problem with milk flow, I found it easier and quicker to extract by hand, as I could pump faster then the machine could.

This electric pump is a good alternative, if you do not want to pump by hand but I personally preferred the hand pump, also its lack of noise was a plus.

Just a word of warning, when you are in a public bathroom and need to express milk because your breasts are exploding, the noise does sound quite similar to something else, used on the other half of your body...

Conclusion:

I liked this breast pump for when I was lazy and just wanted to let the machine do the work. For going out I preferred the hand pump as it didn't have any noise and was quicker to extract with. But this is a good pump as it is not as expensive as some other brands, and I was happy with the quality.

Only four stars as I did prefer the manual to the electric, as I found that it was pretty slow going to extract a whole bottle, as the highest speed just wasn't up to par.

Summary: A nice alternative to the medela maunal pump, but not my choice between the two.