Pump In Style Advanced Breast Pump Backpack
by Medela
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List Price: Our Price: $252.99 You Save: $47.00 (16%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $229.00 (click here) Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Pump In Style Advanced Breast Pump Backpack
Customer Review: Pump in style advance - comparison to other medela products
Summary: 5 Stars
i bought a variety of pumps for different offices that i work in. i thought that a comparison of different pumps might be helpful information for someone who is trying to decide which pump to buy. i bought 2 pumps for offices, 1 pump for home and a manual pump for back up. i have the lactina, swing and harmony.
i originally bought the PISA for pumping in conjunction with breastfeeding. then i bought a swing and harmony but while i was waiting for those to arrive, the lactina came up on ebay at a pretty good price so we got that too.
The pump in style advanced works very well. if i didn't have to travel around and money were no object, i probably would have gotten 3 of these. i have almost no complaints about the pisa. i use the double and single pump functions. the hoses do get foggy but you can air dry them. the backpack isn't that great of a bag. it doesn't really travel that well. i ended up taking out the motor and putting it in a cardboard box to place into our large travel diaper bag. i don't think that this pump is a great travel pump (the motor isn't isolated very well and it seems that you can break it if you don't pack it well) but it is great for pumping at home. i also have had great customer service help with medela. the only thing about this pump is that it is not a multiuser pump and so, you shouldn't re-sell it. i know that people do buy used pumps but i just didn't feel comfortable buying one.
i found that the pisa works better than the lactina. the lactina is a multi user pump, so, i felt good about getting a used one. it isn't really worth the money though, unless you want to re-sell a pump. we plan on re-selling this pump. you can sort of mimic the 2 phase expression with the lactina but it doesn't work as well as the pisa. this pump is a work horse and does the job but not as well as the 2 phase expression pumps.
the swing is totally worth it if you don't need to double pump. i found that it seems to work just as fast as the pisa but at almost 1/2 the cost. the swing seems like a puny motor. but it is very portable (i wear it around my neck while i pump) and it takes batteries. the only complaint with the swing is that it uses the soft shield. the tubing doesn't stay in the shield very well. i do like the soft shields though. you just have to make sure not to put the shields into the microwave or high temps. other users have reported yellowing of the materials.
i haven't used the harmony very often but i bought it as a super backup to all the rest of my pumps, particularly for travelling. it is a pretty good occasional pump. i forgot my breast shields at work once and had to hand express into a bottle. the manual pump is way better than that. i do not recommend this pump if you have repetetive stress injury problems. it does have a 2 phase system as well which actually works.
hope this helps someone.
Customer Review: Much better than the Original!
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Thank goodness I bought this, I developed thrush about a week after my baby was born and was unable to breastfeed. However, I was able to express and bottle feed until the infection cleared up. In doing this, between pumping and feeding it was taking up an incredible amount of time each day. But, imagine how much time it would have taken if I only had a single pump!
Get the advanced model--the two stage pumping process is really helpful. I have to go back and forth between the two stages several times in one pumping session. I'm not sure how well I could have pumped with another model without this feature.
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.
Overall I'm really happy with the purchase!
Customer Review: HORRIBLE Customer Service
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased the Pump in Style Backpack shortly before having my first baby. I did not use it much the first few months, but would try to pump once every day or so to try and stock up on a milk supply. Early on, I noticed problems with the pump when I turned it up to full speed. It would get off a rhythm and not work properly. Therefore, I always had to turn it down. I contacted Medela via their e-mail address that they give on their website, but I never received a response from them. A month or two later, they sent me an e-mail saying that my pump might be part of a recall of pumps that gave problems similar to the one I was having. I sent another e-mail to the address that was in the message they sent explaining the problems I had and asking for a refund. The response only had 3 words - "Call Customer Service" - completely unacceptable response to an e-mail that had multiple complaints about the product and their service. I then called Customer Service and after being on hold for more than 20 minutes, talked to a woman who told me that they do not offer refunds. I explained the problems I had and the fact that no one responded to my initial e-mail and she just told me that was rare. I found out that my pump was not actually part of the recall, yet it still had these problems. I expressed concern that a replacement might have the same problems and that my milk production has already been affected by this and she said that should not happen, but offered no reason why and would not tell me that the replacements had not had problems. She offered to ship me a replacement product overnight - however, it's 2 days later and no replacement has shown up. Meanwhile, my daughter is starting daycare this week and I am pumping more and not getting nearly as much as she drinks, and I suspect the pump is partly responsible.
Pumping can be a stressful time in the life of a mom and making enough milk a major concern. For a company to have such poor customer service and turn around time is horrible for women who need help quickly once they are back to work and without other options. I will not continue to be a customer of Medela and wish that I could return the pump and go with another company who treat their customers better. I encourage you to strongly consider another company. I have a friend who also had a horrible experience with Medela's Customer Service. They take advantage of the fact that most women purchase their pumps - a huge improvement to customer service is needed, in addition to the quality of their pumps.
Customer Review: Medela v. Playtex
Summary: 4 Stars
I own this pump and the Medela Pump in Style Advanced. There are pros and cons to each. I will share my thoughts on both so that hopefully you can make an educated decision about which one to choose. The Playtex pump breast shields are made from soft silicone, so they imitate the nursing baby more closely. The Playtex silicone shield gently presses the areola while drawing the nipple out and expressing milk. The Medela pump comes with hard plastic shields, so they do not press the areola while drawing the nipple out. As you may know, the gentle pressure on the areola is what stimulates both milk production and letdown. This feature of the Playtex pump was important to me because I pump exclusively (5-6 times a day) and it is vital that I keep my supply up. Using the Playtex pump seemed to increase/stabilize my supply. Also, because both pumps come with clear breast shields, I am able to see exactly how many nipple openings are releasing milk. Hands down, more openings are engaged with the Playtex pump. Another advantage of the Playtex over the Medela is that it comes with a car charger and several organization bags, as well as an ice pack for about the same price as the Medela or cheaper. One of the cons of the Playtex pump is that the breast shields themselves are larger than the Medela, and have more parts to assemble (4 parts make up one breast shield). I found that if I have not assembled the shields just right, it interferes with the suction. The Medela shields are smaller (easier to hold, especially for those with small hands), and only require two parts to assemble them. This also helps out when traveling. An advantage of the Medela pump is that it comes with a battery pack....ideal for use on a plane or somewhere where you may not have access to a car charger. This came in handy for me when I was traveling cross-country and had to pump in the airport bathroom! The Medela also comes with a manual breast pump attachment (good if the power goes out!) Lastly, I have had to contact both manufacturers for help with my products. When I contacted Playtex, they overnighted me the equipment I needed (I called at about 2pm one afternoon and got it at 8am the next morning...WOW!!! Great service). When I contacted Medela, they sent my items via Priority Mail, so it took 3 days for me to receive what I needed. Both pumps are excellent, but if I had to choose, I would choose the Playtex over the Medela simply because the soft silicone breast shield allows me to maintain my supply more easily.Customer Review: Did I get a lemon? Time will tell
Summary: 3 Stars
Generally, I liked the pump, so why 3 stars only?
Pros: pretty small and light-weight. Dual-phase expression is comfortable. About as good as it gets for a double-electric pump of good quality, weight-wise. I like the backpack too - one less thing hanging off my shoulders (I use public transport in my commute to work so this is quite meaningful to me). Another plus is that if you rented a Medela Symphony or Lactina pump in the hospital, you will be able to use everything that came with that pump with your PIS, except the tubes (which aren't expensive).
Cons: mine died after 4 months! I turn it on and there is only a clicking noise. I bought it new, I am the only user, and have not used it outside normal guidelines. (See below for Medela's response to this problem, which was good.) I also second what other posters have written - the backpack is cheaply made, as all the tabs on the zippers fall off quickly. There also isn't much room inside; once you have the cold pack with storage bottles, you can hardly get flanges and other necessities in. (I eventually bought a second set of the flanges and connectors that stayed at work, so I didn't have to try to shove them in.)
I bought this pump from a local breastfeeding resource center (wish I had bought on Amazon - would have saved $$!). After 4 months, the motor completely died, and as it is under warranty, Medela is overnighting me a new one (it died yesterday, I should have a new one today). They will ship my old one back free of charge. SAVE YOUR RECEIPT. If this happens to you, you will need to prove to Medela that you bought the pump. I think this early death of the pump is unusual in terms of what I have heard from other moms: we have several in my office who have had their PIS for years through multiple children, and it still works. That being said, I can say that the newer models are INFINITELY more comfortable than the old models (I am using a borrowed old model - some ten years old! - while I wait for my new pump). I especially like the two-phase expression: that is so much easier on the nipples. I did use the Medela Symphony for the first few months while at home, in comparison, I think this is slightly less effective, but it does the job comfortably.