Which Medela breast pump should my wife get?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Here’s what my wife posted on another forum. What do you think?

  1. I am looking into pumps since I will need to return to work in about 2 months. I’m looking at a couple Medela’s and wanted to know what other’s feel about them.

Medela InStyle Advanced or Medela Freestyle Hands-free breast pumps

I’m wondering… do I really need to pay the extra money for the hands-free option? Is this something I would actually use? Thanks for your input!
2) I am wondering what kind of supply I need to build up before I go back to work. I’m a teacher and need to go to work at the end of March and work through May. I’m a little concerned because I don’t really like my job at all; it’s quite stressful. I’m worried about my supply dwindling already. So how much do I need to have stocked in the freezer?

2

My wife just got the Freestyle. It works pretty well, but hooking up all the straps to make it hands free makes it quite a contraption. You have to be careful not to lean forward while wearing it, or the milk will spill out.

3

How old will the baby be when she returns to work? I’m surprised that my 10 week old seems to be eating around about 160ml (about 5.5oz) when we bottle feed, which is around about what I can pump out of both breasts in a single go (I’m using a Medela Swing, so can’t comment on the models you mention). So stockpiling this may take a little effort, but I am sure she can make good headway if she pumps a little after each feed.

The important thing if she wants to keep feeding is that she keeps pumping once she returns to work, otherwise she may experience a drop in supply then. I have read that basically feeds/pumps today are an order for supply tomorrow - i.e. your body will produce more milk when the baby demands it. So if she stops feeding/pumping when she returns to work in favour of the stockpiled milk, her supply will dry up then.

4

Our daughter will be 3 months when my wife goes back to work.

5

I had a Medela Lactina (rental-grade) and am not all that familiar with the current models so I can’t advise there.

The idea of a handsfree option is a good one. Back when I was in the dairy business, the only handsfree choice was to buy a specially-made bra, with hooks into which you attached rubber bands, which held on special clips, that held the “funnel” part of the pump in place. It was a pain, it didn’t work all that smoothly, and I think I used it twice. I did get fairly good at doing both sides at once one-handed, though there tended to be some leakage.

So - if the technology has improved, I’d definitely be willing to spring for it!

Re supply: I would suggest she start pumping a few times a day ASAP simply to a) get used to pumping, b) ramp up her milkmaking apparatus.

It can be hard for some mothers to pump enough during the workday to replace the milk the baby will be drinking during the following workday. Between not having time, the pump not doing the job as well as the baby, the stress impeding letdown, etc., though of course her experience may vary. I personally found that if I had plenty of time to pump, total volume wasn’t a problem; I was envious of those women who claimed they could empty a breast in 5 minutes.

Anyway - I’m not saying “xxx bottles saved up in the freezer”, but if she starts pumping a couple of times a day, after feeding the baby, that’ll increase her ongoing supply, as well as building up a backlog in the freezer for those low-supply days later on. I want to say I had a couple of dozen bottles in the freezer when I went back to work (I know I wound up having to THROW SOME AWAY, as horrible as that sounds, as it was stuff from early weeks and she was refusing it… she may not have liked the taste of the Special Preemie Blend).

If your baby is not used to taking a bottle at all, start working on this now or in the near future - I’m not sure how old baby is but the general advice is try the occasional bottle once breastfeeding is well established - 4-6 weeks or so. If mom goes back to work and baby refuses the bottle at daycare, well that’s a whole additional stressor. They generally figure things out after a few days, but some are frankly stubborn as hell about it.

6

I used this thing for hands-free, and it worked fine. Looked stupid, but all breast pumping looks stupid. If she is blessed/cursed with large boobies like me, the angled cups that they sell on that site are also worth it.

I had 7.5 liters on hand when I went back to work this past time, and I ran out of my stash just as the baby turned one. But I tend to have supply problems starting around 4 months or so. Still, I think the answer to how much to have on hand is “as much as you can”.

I rented a Medela Symphony, and I was very happy with it. It cost me more to rent than it would have been to buy a pump, but it was so much quieter and more efficient than the Pump in Style that it was worth it to me. If your wife only needs the pump for a couple of months, I would definitely rent instead of buying.