Medela Freestyle Breast Pump
by Medela
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List Price: Our Price: $329.99 You Save: $50.00 (13%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Medela Freestyle Breast Pump
Customer Review: Working & breastfeeding isn't so troublesome after all!
Summary: 5 Stars
Shopping for a breast pump wasn't easy... too many controversies around this little device. I read all the reviews I could before choosing Medela Freestyle over Medela Pump In Style and Ameda Purely Yours (both being cheaper options). Medela pumps (although top-of-the-line) were criticized for being expensive, and for not being "a closed system" (wasn't able to figure out what that meant from the reviews). Some reviews also claimed that this little machine wasn't as efficient as the Pump In Style for expressing the maximum amount of milk.
I was lucky to have my breast pump fully covered by my health insurance, so I wanted the "best" system regardless of the price. If you have to pay for it, you might have different considerations. Even though the reviews generally said that the other two were just as good overall, I finally went for this one as the most expensive, under the assumption that it must also be the best... and I am very happy that I chose it! I haven't had any trouble expressing the milk hands free with this little machine! In fact, I find it very convenient. I have no idea how other working mothers manage the job without it. I guess I am writing the review I wish I had read while shopping for a breast pump.
My baby is now 6 weeks old; for the past 3 weeks I've been working part-time, 4 hours a days (which amounts to 5 hours between feedings!), and expressing the milk once daily during this period. Turns out that my college is supposed to provide a private location for this (ask for it!). Now that my milk supply is well established, it normally takes about 15 mins to express 6 oz total, or 20 mins to express 8 oz (from both breasts simultaneously)... if I've had little stress and enough to eat that day. My baby is growing fast these days: she is happy to consume all 8 oz in one feeding. Usually 6 oz is not even enough. It takes another 5-10 mins to assemble and disassemble the parts, and to walk to my private location. Total 30 mins a day required! With the hands free device, I hook it up to my nursing bra and use these 20 mins to leisurely read scientific articles (or whatever). I am almost looking forward to it, as the most relaxing time of day!
Expressing breast milk is a bit like baking sourdough bread. First 8 oz of milk require a little effort to set up, since the baby also needs to breastfeed (most likely requires a few morning sessions - milk glands work best while you sleep). Then, maintaining the supply is easy, as long as you express the milk instead of the feeding & approximately at the same time. I always have those 8 oz of milk in the fridge.
A few of the online reviews complained they could never use the hands free system, because they didn't wear Medela nursing bras. Or because it was too complicated. Well... this thing comes with attachments that work with virtually any nursing bra (including those $20 bras I order online from Motherhood Maternity). The only requirement is that there is *something* to hook the thing up to just above the breasts. Yes, it takes an hour to read the instructions and figure it out the first time you use it. It's the simplest thing from then on. All other parts are the same as in Medela Pump In Style, and it's just as powerful (except with a light lithium rechargeable battery). Same 2-phase expression technology and all.
More bits of advice...
If you have health insurance from work, call your insurance! They might want to help with the costs. Breastfeeding is popular these days... For some of us, who are lucky to have good dual insurance coverage (BCBS, in my case), this little device is free - if purchased from one of their designated merchants (unfortunately, Amazon is not one of them).
As you disassemble the parts after you express the milk, don't tilt the bottles! Once you unplug the cables connecting the breast shields to the machine, tilting the bottle will result in spilling the milk. I guess that's where the fuss about "an open system" comes from. I figured it out once, and never had the problem again.
Finally, take the time to read the instructions before using the pump! It's worth it.
Customer Review: The ONE for me
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been using Freestyle for around 1 week now and it's definitely my favorite pump. I've previously used Swing and Lactina, and have tried Mini Electric once. The two most important factors that I looked for in a pump are the pain factor and how effectively it can empty my breast. I pump at least 4-5 times on weekdays and if it hurts too much it will definitely affect my willingness to pump.
Swing is actually pretty nice. It's small, can be used with normal AA battery, the sound is the quietest from all four. Its suction strength is the weakest but it can still empty the breast quite efficiently, it just takes longer time.
Mini Electric - it's loud and it hurts. My friend who used it seemed to be ok with it though. It pumped quiet efficiently for her. She could pump out more oz faster than me using swing, freestyle and Lactina. She used max speed (I used only like around speed 5 on Freestyle).
Lactina - well, this is the hospital grade pump, but honestly I didn't feel any significant differences in output from Swing. There is an increase of around 10%-20% from Swing and basically the same with Freestyle. I guessed I was expecting more from it.
Freestyle - The main reason I decided to get Freestyle and sold my Swing because I want to do double pumping and save pumping time.
What I love about it (other than the obvious, small, lightweight, etc.):
- No more small membrane and the parts are easier to clean. I have lost 2 of the Swing membranes and tore a small hole on 2. I always had to be mindful to handle those small, white membranes carefully. It's really a nuisance.
- Breastmilk cannot get into the tube and water doesn't condense unless the spare kits part is wet. Previously when I used Swing, I always get water condensation in the tube after each use. I had to spend extra 2-3 minutes to let the pump run to get the water out.
- It empties my breast more efficiently and faster, I normally judge by the softness of my breast. For me, Freestyle provides the same output as Lactina. I can normally pump 4 - 6 oz per pumping session and each pumping session is around 20 minutes. It took me around 40 minutes to get the same amount when pumping with Swing.
- There is a timer to let us know how long we've pumped.
What could have been better:
- It could be quieter. It is quieter than mini electric but louder than Swing. I agreed with some reviewers that it does sounds a bit like moooo.
- The tube could have been longer. I don't use the handsfree and normally put the pump on the desk when I pumped. I had to sit close to desk and sometimes when I'm adjusting the breastshield/bottle or my sitting position it will pull the pump forward and dangerously falling off the desk.
- The handsfree set is totally useless for me. It is too much trouble to set up. As I usually pump in the office I don't have lots of time to pump so need to be able to set up the pump and clean up as fast as possible.
- Should have come with personalfit than soft shield. Soft shield hurts and is less durable. I much prefer personalfit breastshield.
Just some thoughts on how fast the pump can finish expressing BM, I think that it is different for every Mom. It is not 100% related to the pump. My pumping partner who uses ME (single pump) could finish pumping both breasts in like 20 minutes. I generally took 20 minutes to finish pumping using dual pumps (both with Lactina and Freestyle) and 30 minutes when using single pump (Swing). I tried borrowing her ME to pump once and it still took me 30 minutes to finish pumping. I noticed that her BM comes out continuously and then just completely stop after around 10 minutes. While for me, my BM will pour out the first 5 minutes and then stopped for 5 minutes, but if I just continue to pump, it will start to come out again. This usually happens several times so it took me longer to pump. So I think that how the BM comes out is also different for different people.
Well, that's all I could think of for now. Hope it's useful.
Customer Review: What the Fuss? Freestyle
Summary: 5 Stars
I work. I mostly work from home. This work requires me to schedule client meetings every week. Sometimes work requires travel. Still, I love my job and my situation.
This makes breastfeeding less convenient than it would be if I didn't work and never left the house without Leighton. However, I live in the real world and the truth is that I may have already given up on breastfeeding if not for my pump. I can't live without it.
I have a Medela Freestyle breast pump. It is the first pump I have ever tried and it's fantastic. I have seen other pumps - in action - and I believe that mine is the most effective and efficient pump ever.
It weighs less than a pound and fits in the palm of your hand, your purse, suitcase etc. The two speeds for expression are fantastic. That is a feature I couldn't do without. At the time I bought it, this pump retailed for $379.00. I got mine on eBay, new in the box for $280.00. It's worth it at full price, but I had time to spare and was on the prowl for a deal. Yay for me!
I spent the past two days in Minneapolis at my company headquarters for a team meeting. This was the first time I'd been away from Leighton for more than a handful of hours. I went to the fancy pharmacy up the block and bought the Medela cooler bag that holds six 8oz glass baby bottles and two more ice packs.
I use the glass because they stay colder longer and heat easily by running under hot water. Plus, I think the plastic bottles smell and taste plastic-ish. We drink Oberweiss milk because it comes in glass bottles, so why shouldn't Lei's milk get the same treatment?
At five months, Leighton is still nursing every three hours with the exception of night time sleep. She'll go for six hours easily. She takes in roughly four ounces per feeding, maybe a bit less. I'm using the amount I get when pumping to surmise how much she may be getting. So I figure she eats 28oz each day, give or take a few. I was confident that my cooler bag will handle twelve feedings and I wasn't scheduled to be gone for the full twelve.
The whole experience was much better than I had envisioned. I pumped at the airport. They don't have privacy rooms for feeding at Midway, so I sat in the ticketing area with my Hooter Hider and got to work. I had to pump before I went through security because I needed to check the bag with breastmilk. I put the beginnings of my stash in the cooler, used the Medela wipees to clean my pump parts and checked my bag.
Within three hours, I had reached my destination and was roaming the halls of our five-building headquarters for a place to set up my milking operation. Every building on our campus had at least one privacy room with a fridge, sink, chair, ethernet connection, magazines etc. It was a little slice of heaven to slip away, every three hours for a legally protected activity, knowing that I was still doing the best thing I could for my baby who was hundreds of miles away.
The Freestyle has a strap situation so that you can pump both sides simultaneously and hands-free. I don't always use it that way. In fact, if I pump at home to increase my stash, it's at night and I just do one side at a time. I can move it around and manipulate it to get more milk out that way. But, when I'm short on time or need to get back to the meeting, I can do both sides in 8-10 minutes. That is truly incredible.
By the end of my trip, I had five, full glass bottles clinking around in my bag. I packed the cooler into my suitcase and informed everyone handling my bag that there was precious cargo on board. The TSA agent assured me that no one intended to rifle through my bag to steal the fruits of my labor.
I hope those of you who are pregnant, working mothers-to-be seriously consider breastfeeding. It's rewarding and great for your baby. Working, even outside the home, doesn't need to be an obstacle to participating in what could be one of your favorite parts of motherhood.
Jen
Owner/Writer
thedailyfuss.com
Customer Review: So far it's up to par with a hospital grade pump but is noisy
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been using this pump for 3 weeks now for my newborn, pumping with it about 8 times a day. So far, I have no major complaints. Recently, I decided to rent a hospital grade Madela Symphony to see if it would produce more milk as I'm trying to increase the supply and I haven't noticed a difference in the milk output when I use the Symphony vs. the Freestyle at the same suction level for the same amount of time, so I believe that the Freestyle is just as effective at getting the milk out as a hospital grade pump.
The small size of it and the hands free aspect are a plus, but to use the hands free mechanism it comes with, you have to have a compatible nursing bra. The Madela nursing bras work with it (of course), but Bravado ones do not. [revision: the Bravado nursing bras do work with an adapter included, but the Bravado nursing tanks do not work with any of the adapters.] At first I thought the hands free part was a joke and was mocking the pictures of the lady working on her laptop or talking on the phone, but after being confined to one spot holding the flanges in place and having my hands fall asleep, I now use the hands free part all the time. It's also great if you have to do massage or compression during the pumping session.
It operates on a rechargeable battery, and I use it on the battery nearly all the time. I can go about an entire day without having to recharge the battery (pumping every 3-4 hours). I haven't noticed a difference in suction when it is plugged in vs. when it is operating on battery - I get the same amount of milk out of it.
The biggest negative I've found with this pump vs. a hospital grade pump so far is the amount of noise it makes. The unit vibrates while it is on and makes a fairly loud noise so it is too loud for me to use in bed at night without waking my husband. While I'm watching TV, I actually have to turn up the volume to hear it over the pump. The hospital grade pump I have is really quiet and barely noticeable when it is on.
The positives:
-seems to work as effectively as a hospital grade pump for me
-small size can fit in a large purse
-has 2 phases of expression like the hospital pumps
-has a memory feature for your custom suction and time settings
-display has a back light so you can see it in the dark
-display has a timer on it
-hands free part stays securely in place on me even while doing laundry, changing diapers, etc
-hands free is easy and quick to attach to the unit and to yourself
-spare parts are easy to get (target, babies R us, etc)
-operates on battery or AC power
The negatives:
-noisiness of the pump
-hands free part only works with some nursing bras. If you don't have one of those, you're out of luck.
The price is high for this pump ($379) but if you're planning on pumping for more than 3 months, I think it is definitely worth the price if the noisiness of the unit doesn't bother you. Renting a hospital grade pump costs about $70/month plus you have to buy the connector kit ($50). Tip: I bought my Freestyle at Buy Buy Baby and used a non-expired Bed Bath and Beyond 20% off coupon making the price significantly less.
->update: It's about 4 months later, I'm still using the pump about twice a day, and it is still working great. I'm back at work, and it is so convenient to stuff the freestyle in my purse and take it to work everyday instead of lugging another bag around just for the pump. The noise is really loud, and at work it's a little embarrassing because pretty much everyone who walks by the room I'm using knows what I'm up to. The vibrating noise has started to sound like a sick cow (so my husband says). Despite the noise, I love the freestyle and would still recommend it to any mom.
Customer Review: Freestyle is the best---hands free
Summary: 5 Stars
I rented the Medela Lactina hospital grade breast pump for 2 months and found that to be an extremely strong pump--it had 2 adjustable knobs for suction and frequency and went from 1-7. It was quiet but made a hissing/piston like sound that wasn't loud but definitely noticeable in a quiet room.
I decided to buy the Freestyle because with the Lactina my back hurt trying to get the pumps angled straight down--you couldn't lean back at all or you had to completely slouch. I tried to make my own hands free bra by cutting an old sports bra but I cut the holes too big and anyways, I wouldn't want to have to change bras everytime I wanted to pump hands free.
I was going to buy the pumping bra but couldn't figure out what size to get as I didn't want it to not fit again. Also, the other pumps are just too heavy, everyone complains about it--that's why they invented the Freestyle.
What's really great about the Freestyle is that it has a timer and it takes the guess-work out of pumping. It allows me mobility of movement. With the new 09 model with one improved strap (the older model has a set of gray and a set of yellow)I found it easy to attach to my regular nursing bra. The directions were confusingly written so I just looked at the picture on the box and it took maybe 10-15 minutes. When I got it on, it fit onto my nursing bra from Motherhood and I pumped. Well it took 7 minutes--and that was the first try. To clip it on now that I know how only takes a couple minutes--and it's worth it to me to be hands free and not have to use a special pumping bra.
I haven't used it at work yet, which is what it is for, but I really enjoy using this model. The Lactina was strong, which was good to get back the supply I had almost lost due to formula supplementing, but no fun once the supply was established. I really felt glued to the spot and always made excuses not to pump.
This pump only makes a sound like a large cellphone vibrating. It does make a mooing sound--I think it's like croaking--if the shields aren't attached to the breast (i.e. turn it on without putting it to your breasts). This leads me to believe that if you aren't using the correct size breast shields it will make that sound. I highly recommend the soft breast shields--for me the hard plastic ones were uncomfortable and hurt.
I think everyone's different and I really researched all the pumps before deciding on this one. If you're going to be hauling it to and fro from work and don't need extra weight holding you down, (I have a bad back) this pump is the one for you. I also think it's very aesthetically pleasing, but that is not really a big point for every one. I jokingly called it at my shower as the "cadillac" of breast pumps.
**Update**
I have been using it at work for over a month and I'm very pleased. It's super-light and I can take it anywhere to pump. It's quiet and discreet. What I have noticed is that when you take it apart to wash it and put it back together, it's very important to make sure all the flanges and pieces are aligned correctly. Never put them in the dishwasher, microwave or boil. Use a soft bottle brush with a drop of soap or soak in warm sudsy water per the instruction manual. If the pieces aren't aligned just right, you will notice a loss of suction. Sometimes just resnapping the flange on and off will work like a charm. I have taken to putting the pieces together slowly and not rushing and I don't have any more problems. I love my Medela Freestyle.