Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breast Pump w/ Backpack

The Pump-in-Style Advanced Backpack is an absolutely wonderful breast pump combined with a sub-par milk storage system.

The pump gives you the option to pump either one breast at a time or both breasts at once. The pump starts off with a special two-minute "let down" cycle, which is supposed to mimic a baby's natural sucking action when she first latches on (faster, shorter sucks). After two minutes, this automatically changes over to the "expression" cycle (longer, slower sucks), but if your milk lets down sooner, you can manually change the cycles with the push of a button. You can also control the strength of the pump using a knob - a very nice feature because you can really customize the sucking strength to your exact needs and you can adjust it with the turn of a knob at any time during your session. The design of the pump is very simple - it takes almost no time to set up and break down. The Pump in Style comes with an A/C adaptor and a battery pack (batteries...Read more

I got the Medela because I knew I would have to return to work and wanted the pump with the best reviews. Well, this was it, but 9 months into the pump-life I am not perfectly happy.

Pros:

1) Discreet, convenient
2) Pumping 2 at once and electric is really convenient. I purchased one of the handsfree kits (really just a tube top with holes around the nipples) and I can continue to work at my desk while pumping. (Door closed, of course).
3) Easy to purchase parts for. This is really important. I can go to my local Target and get parts for this. It is not so easy with some of the more obscure brands.

Cons:
1) Motor seemed to wear out some after about 6 months of daily use. It still pumps, but I have to turn the power higher to get the same amount of voltage. I don't feel that I could use this for a second child. It's not only a "one person" product as described in the manual, I think it's meant to be a "one baby" product as well...Read more

I am a stay-at-home-mom and am breastfeeding exclusively. I debated on which type of pump to get given that I wasn't planning on pumping often, just to have some extra milk for occasional bottle feeding and to freeze milk for future use.

I really didn't want to spend this much on a pump, but there were a couple things that swayed me to purchase this:
1. The Medela brand. I researched options over and over again and I kept coming back because of the positive reviews. Other pumps had good reviews, but a lot of bad ones also. This brand seemed to have the most consistent positive reviews.
2. I plan to have more children. I figured better to invest in a good pump that I can use for several kids than a cheaper pump that I would have to keep replacing.
3. I could either buy a cheaper single pump, or go with a more expensive double pump. The trade-off is time. I felt it was worth the time saving. If I was pumping a couple times a day for a year, imagine the...Read more