Breast pumps... can anyone help me?

Hi,

I want to breastfeed, and have heard that it's useful to have a breastpump around, that way sometimes hubby could do the midnight feeds etc, plus have heard it help to clear up blocked milk ducts etc. I thought it might be a handy thing to have around... can anyone tell me their opinion? Has anyone breastfed and needed a breastpump around?

Also, does anyone recommend anything in particular? I get daunted even looking at all the options...

I got the Medela (spl??) mini electric and it was fabulous!! Esp when I would wake in the middle of the night with rock hard boobs

I reckon they are handy too, having expressed for my girls to go to daycare while i studied. I had a manual one hand pump put our by pur i think.. pretty simple compared to the newer ones.. but still. the new medela handpump is neat cos the pump handle has a small bit at the front for when you first start to mimick the small sucks baby does, then once milk's flowing you use the bigger handle piece at the back.

ha ha, as Kelly will prob remember.. our lactation consultant in our unit is great.. and she shows us all these neat new "toys" medela puts out lol

I used Avent ISIS with Haleigh & highly recomend when I got mastitis it made it so much more pleasant to empty the infected side.

I also used an Avent Isis and found it great.

I'm soooooo thankful I had a breast pump (Avent isis electric/manual) because I had blocked milk ducts, truely over engorged breasts which was really painful and now I express off during the day so hubby can take a feed at night. I'd get soooo fed up if I had to do this by hand.

I love my Avent Isis as well (I have a manual one), its great and has had ALOT of use!!!!!

I used an Avent Isis manuel one aswell.   I found it really easy to use and sterilise    

Janey it's completely up to you as to how long you BF for really. it didn't work too weel for me with #1.. so was stopped about 6 mths old. but Ayja #2, i was studying and expressing etc and fed her up till 15 mths old just cos it was easier when i was with her to do that especialy int he middle of the night. If you do go back to study you can look at options.. ie do they let you do some papers extramurally, or if the uni has a creche nearby you can whip in between classes or at lunch to feed bubs.. ours was across the road and i would feed when i dropped her off, then at morning and afternoon tea and lunch time.. if she needed it before then they had expressed stuff to offer by bottle and they'd just leave a message on my cell phone to tell me not to come if i wasn't needed. there's lotsa ways to work it.

im a bit like gandt - BF as much as possible even when it gets tough...and it will! I used my Avent one when i got engorged mainly....and havent used it for weeks but tried tonight as felt engorged...no great let down so im gonna let down in the shower....that is what i do if milk is there and bubba is asleep and milk wont fill a bottle - instead off expressing.

We did 4 months full BM and then started topping up - and only then cause i am going back to work. Otherwise i would have kept going. Im still BF morning and night.

It is up you to decide what to do tho...but for many positive reasons for bubba try to feed as much for as long as possible. Middle of the night feeds I think should be mums role and is a good bonding time but even better to help baby self sooth without waking for a bottle etc...Im not a fan of expressing just to let dad bond - but then thats me.