Information and Reviews on the Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with Backpack

If you are looking for a Breast Pump to extract milk for your baby, you will inevitably come across the brand name “Medela” in your search.  I personally had a not-so-good experience with pumping breast milk for my son and soon gave up to give him formula.  But then again, I had never heard of Medela nor did the thought even cross my mind to check the web for reviews on manual and electric breast milk pumps.

The Pump In Style Advanced Breast Pump with Backpack by Medela is perfect for the active mother. It”s all in the bag with this handy kit. Kit includes the Pump In Style Advanced Breastpump that fits securely in the stylish black microfiber backpack. The Natural Expression pumping is designed for faster milk flow and feels more like your baby than any other pump. The customized pumping with adjustable speed and vacuum control lets you pump at a comfortable pace.

Here is what people are saying about the Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with Backpack:

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 not included) that takes *TEN* AA batteries. If you’re planning on using the pump in a car, you can purchase a car adaptor separately. One of the nicest features of the Advanced is that the pump is housed in its own little black case that comes completely out of the backpack (unlike the original Pump in Style, with a battery that couldn’t come out of the bag); this allows you to leave the pump wherever you’ll be using it (ex. at work) and only take the bottles or bags of expressed milk back and forth in the cooler. Since the majority of the weight of the Pump in Style is in the pump itself, this is a wonderful feature. Personally, I’ve found that I can empty both breasts (about 6-8oz combined) with the Pump in Style in about 20 minutes or less (double pumping) – setup and cleanup add about another 5 minutes each, so I’m done with pumping within a half hour. I use the micro-steam bags to sterilize all the parts, so that takes only 5 minutes in my very low-wattage microwave (it can take as little as 2 minutes in a high-powered microwave). All in all, I am completely satisfied with the pump portion of the Pump in Style.  Morgan’s Mom

I noticed while surfing reviews for you on this product, that although you can manually change the cycles, if you are pumping both breasts at the same time and by default are holding both pumps to accomplish this, it does get to be challenging to find that third arm and hand to change the cycle.  This is why I was intrigued to read about a “pumping bra” (such as the Easy Expression Bustier Hands-free Pumping Bra)… if you are considering buying this double breast pump, then you may be interested in purchasing a pumping bra or in making your own pumping bra.

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 time savings to be double-pumping. To me it was worth it.  E. Mills

The working mother needs to understand how she is going to master pumping while at work.  Will a smaller pump suffice or is the larger medela pump worth it’s money?  Reading the reviews on the web, I have come across many mothers who started with the smaller pumps only to eventually go to Meleda because it is efficient and extremely reliable.

Medela Breast Pump Pros:

1) Fast, pumps both breasts
2) Good suction
3) Easy to use and assemble
4) No milk gets wasted
5) High yield

Medela Breast Pump Cons:

1) Bulky, I just leave it in my locker at night because I have other things I need to carry everyday
2) I wish it was possible to remove the machine from the backpack (the freestyle does but not pump in style)
3) Unless you buy softer shells, Avent shells feel more comfortable to me
4) Only electric (or battery) operation  d-ma

More Medela Breast Pump Critique

What I’m not satisfied with is the Pump in Style’s milk storage system. There’s a small cooler bag with a form-fitted ice-pack insert. You freeze the ice pack and the storage bottles fit around it in the bag. This part is fine. However, the bottles themselves are awful. Two of the bottles have solid caps (for storage only) and the other two have two-piece caps that can be used with nipples as nursing bottles. However, no nipples are included with the set, and none of the literature included with the Pump in Style even mentions that nipples are available. I had to call the company and ask about it, and I was told that nipples need to be bought separately for $1 each. For the money I paid for this system, the least they could have done was include 2 nipples for the 2 bottles! The bottles themselves are absolutely nothing special – there are no features to try to reduce the amount of air a baby gets when nursing, etc. With the advances in bottle design, I would think Medela would have a great bottle to go along with their great pump, but no such luck – this is about as basic a bottle design as it gets. So, as far as I’m concerned, the 4 bottles are only good for milk storage, which means the milk needs to be transferred into another bottle for feeding purposes. Medela does make disposable storage bags and even includes some with the Pump in Style. However, the bags don’t fit into a bottle as a drop-in; again, you have to transfer the milk from the bags into another bottle to feed. You’re supposed to be able to tear off a small tab at the bottom of the bag to open a hole for pouring out the milk, but I’ve never been able to do this. I always have to snip the edge of the bag with a scissors to get it open (which, I’m sure, compromises the sterility of the inside of the bag). Also, the bags close with twist-ties at the top, which causes the bags to freeze with all sorts of ruffles and folds at the top. This makes it nearly impossible to re-open a frozen bag at the top to add more milk. What Medela should come up with is a storage system that uses disposable drop-in bottle liners. Right now, I’m using the Playtex Drop-Ins with a pump converter that allows me to pump directly into the Playtex liners; I then just drop them into a bottle when I want to use them. This is the kind of convenience that I was looking for in the Medela storage system, which unfortunately, they don’t have.  Morgan’s Mom

And one final observation with the advice to look into the differences between the Medela models:

A couple negatives…Medela removed several features from the 2008 model that the 2007 model had, I guess so they could lower the price and make it more affordable. This included the manual pump (which is really needed in case you ever go on vacation and don’t want to take the full pump or are away from your pump for an extended period of time and need to relieve some pressure), the bottle stands, and the removable motor. If you can still get your hands on a 2007 model, I would suggest you do so because these features are good to have. I get really annoyed with not having the bottle stands, the top of the bottle with the horns is heavier than the bottle, so they tip over constantly unless they are really full of milk. Also, you have to press a button to go between the two phases of pumping, but when you are holding a bottle in each hand, unless you have a third arm and hand it is tricky. Eventually you get used to it, but I wish there were some way to make this easier. E. Mills

Have you tried the Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with Backpack
?  Your observations and experiences noted below will also help others to make a decision.

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How to Pump Breast Milk Stress Free

Just like learning to breastfeed, it takes time and patience to get the hang of breastfeeding pumps. First you need either a manual or automatic pump. Get yourself in a relaxing environment before you start to pump. The first couple of times pumping may take longer than you expect, this is normal, your body has to adjust to a new situation. Watch the videos below to learn how to pump breast milk stress free.

Relaxation Tips for Stress Free Breast Milk Pumping

If you orientate yourself on this quick list of tips to pump your breast milk stress free.

1. Find a quiet place to pump.
2. Sit with your shoulders relaxed and your back supported.
3. Have someone massage your neck and back to help you relax.
4. Drink a glass of water or juice during pumping.
5. For mother’s whose children are being cared for:  Call the nursery to check on your baby before you pump.
6. Take a hot shower or apply warm cloths on your breasts prior to pumping.
7. Look at pictures of your baby or chant the name of your baby while pumping.
8. Close your eyes and think about your baby, imagine your baby in your arms.
9. Try breathing exercises or listening to relaxing music while pumping.
10. Massage each breast in small circular movements with both hands. Go to the outer breast  towards the nipple. Massage all around the breast.
11. After massaging for about two to three minutes, roll each breast in the nipple between thumb and forefinger.

Here is a selection of Breast Pumps

• Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with Backpack

The Pump In Style Advanced Breast Pump with Backpack by Medela is perfect for the active mother. It”s all in the bag with this handy kit. Kit includes the Pump In Style Advanced Breastpump that fits securely in the stylish black microfiber backpack. The Natural Expression pumping is designed for faster milk flow and feels more like your baby than any other pump. The customized pumping with adjustable speed and vacuum control lets you pump at a comfortable pace. [Click here for more information and reviews on the Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with Backpack]

• Dr. Brown’s Electric Breast Pump

• Playtex Embrace Breast Pump System
  

• Harmony Personal Use Manual Breastpump
  

We all know that the benefits of mother’s breast milk are not to be topped when it comes to baby’s nutrition.  But there are times where it is simply not feasable to nurse your baby.  Pumping your milk can be an excellent substitute.  We wish you a stress free breast milk pumping experience!