All,
Here's the scenario. I recently started feeding rice cereal to my 5 month old baby. During the week, I mix the rice cereal with breastmilk from when I pumped at work.
On the weekends I don't pump, I nurse my baby. I'm looking for a manual pump I can take with me to pump breastmilk for my baby's rice cereal or other foods. Usually, on the weekends we are not at home and I don't want to have to bring my eletric pump around with me when I only want .5-1oz of milk.
The 2 manual pumps that have pretty good ratings are Medela and Advent. Has anyone had exprience with both pumps and recommend one over the other? I currently have a Medela electric pump. So I have all the piece for medela, but I don't mind getting the Advent one if its better.
I ended up buying the Medela Manual Harmony Pump. I haven't used it to its fullest yet, but I did do a quick test and it worked well on the breast that I have a hard time pumping from. I was pretty amazed at how powerful it can extract breastmilk! I guess I automatically assumed Manual=Less Efficient. The reasons I bought it:
1. Everyone said that they were only able to extract breastmilk with the Avent Manual Pump only when their breast were full. That was a concern for me since pumping didn't come naturally for me. I did have a hard time when I first started pumping.
2. Medela was cheaper. It was only $35 vs. $50 for the Avent one. If it broke or didn't work I wouldn't feel bad buying the Avent one after only spending $35.
Hi. I have an 11 month old daughter. I use the Advent Isis pump and I love it. I usually pump 2xweek when I work. The pump works great and very easy to clean and put together. I would definitely recommend it. It cost me about $40 and I used it a ton and still no problems with. Good luck!
:) L.
I had both one was given to me. I pumped for a year and end up using the Advent Isis manual pump exclusively.
Good Luck,
G.
I swear by the Avent breast pump. The hospital gave me a Medula and I hated it, it was so uncomfortable. I also had received the Avent as a gift and tried it; now I give them as gifts. Not only are they comfortable to use, but they are small enough to carry with you. I carried mine in my diaper bag, but my girlfriend put hers in a thermal lunch bag so that she could keep the milk cold. The other thing I found from talking to those I gave it to was that because of the design and the fact that you can control the pumping action, you don't have pain or get blistering, etc. and it is easy to clean. I don't know of anyone who has tried it and doesn't love it. Mine is going to be passed on to my daughter and future daughter-in-laws.
Hugs,
T.
M.,
With the birth of my daughter 3 years ago I used the Advent manual pump and loved it! Now with the birth of my son 4 months ago I purchased the Medela Advanced Pump in Style electric not manual. I just found it was to hard to pump with the manual one having a toddler and an infant. The medela pump makes the pumping go alot quicker that is the only reason.
I've used both manual pumps, and I found the Medela much easier to use, and I got more milk when I used that one. Also, you can pump both sides at once which is nice. I couldn't use the Avent unless my boobs were really full and I could never really get the hang of it.
M.,
I don't know about Avent - I have the Medela Harmony. It actually has stronger suction than the electric!
I'd say if you have pieces for Medela, go with that.
Good luck,
M.
HI M.
I had much greater success with the Avent manual pump. It took me a little while to perfect the techinique - but I was patient and generally started using it more than my electric pump! Goodl luck. I love the Medela electric pump - but prefer the Avent manual. Everyone I know who has used both agrees.
I have two manual pumps. One Avent and the other is The First Year. I have been using the The First Year the most. The Avent is ok but the little parts are driving me crazy. If you don't put it together the right way, it won't work. The First Year is a one piece, you don't have to take it apart and assemble it to wash it. You can rinse it easily. I just prefer the The First Year pump. I am sure some people will swear on the Avent. Wish you could try them all! lol
I also use an electric pump at work, but since I only work one day a week, I mostly use my manual pump and I am able to get just as much milk with it than with the electric.
There are some great websites to give you tips, like workandpump.com
Good luck!
I actually had both and preferred the Medela Harmony pump (supplied by my birthing center).
I have a hospital grade electric pump and hate it. I also have an Advent Isis manual pump and LOVE it. So there is my recommendation! haha Good luck.
I found the Avent Isis to be not only easy to use and more comfortable than any of the other THREE electric and manual pumps I tried, but I got more milk faster with it, too. While it is true that you can only pump on one side at a time, it required so much less fiddling and time that it wasn't a problem for me at all. So that's my two cents worth--get the Avent!
I used the medela manual pump and loved it. I actually thought it was easier and faster than the medela electric pump. By the time I had my third baby, I only used the manual pump. No experience with the advent pump. Hope this helps.
Hi M.,
When I pumped for my last child, 9 years ago, the good Medela manual pump didn't exist yet. I used the Avent Isis and it was fantastic. I worked fulltime and this was the only pump I used at work to leave milk behind for my baby (who never got formula) from 2 months til 13 months. Needless to say, I highly recommend it.
M.
I've used the Advent Isis. It's quite good, I highly recoomend. best of luck!
I had a great experience with the Avent manual pump. I nursed my son for 13 months and that was the only pump I ever used.
Get the Medela. I have the pump in style and I love it. But I first tried the Avent manual and I hated it. It pinched and hurt so much. Since you already have the Medela electric, definitely stay with Medela for the manual.
I have an avent manual pump that I rarely used for the reasons you mention.
you may find this funny, my husband did, I sometimes just hand expressed my milk into the bowl of cereal. It's so much easier than cleaning a pump and all the parts. I also used a clean container or wide open bottle to also hand express milk when I needed to feed my son away from home.
After a few times, it gets easier to get the milk out and saving the time cleaning pump parts was totally worth it.
good luck.
I only used the Avent (no d in the word) pump. It was fabulous for pumping on the way to grandma's where we would drop my son before we went out. But it was also portable enough for me to bring anywhere and I used it exclusively when I nursed twins. Great product! Good luck!
I have both and dont like either compared to my electric Medela! The Advent was easier for me to get get more but only if I was very full and it was not as comfortable as the Medela. If you are looking for something for an ounce or two why not pump a tiny bottle at work for that or hand express on the weekend. Honestly, I just add water to the cereal or when my 9 month old started to drop a night feeding would hand express in the middle of the night to relieve myself and use that milk. Now that we are regulated I just use water. Breastmilk is best but plain ole H2O will not harm the baby. Enjoy the breastfeeding and I wouldnt stress about a ounce or two for cereal, just nurse before the solids.
