Pump Around, Pump Around! Why the Ameda Purely Yours is the Best Breast Pump.

One of the most important decisions you will make after you have decided to breastfeed is if you’re going to pump too. Not every breastfeeding mother needs a pump, but I sure did. With Froot Loop, I never did quite make enough, so I had to pump all the time to try to boost my supply (I did a ton of other things too, but that’s a whole other post!).

Second time around with Cocoa Puff, I was quickly able to only need to pump twice a day, and I recently retired my pump. I like to keep a huge stash in the freezer for making baby purees and baby cereal or whatever. 

The following is taken from Kellymom.com about whether or not an expectant mother should use a pump

Who needs a pump?
A mother whose baby is not nursing well (or not nursing at all). A quality pump is the best way to maintain milk supply in this situation.
A mother who needs to increase milk supply or is inducing lactation for an adopted baby. In these situations, a pump is not absolutely necessary but can certainly speed the process.
A mother who plans to return to full- or part-time work and wants to provide her milk for baby.
A mother who is planning occasional separations from baby for more than a couple of hours.
A mother who wants to offer expressed milk for other reasons.

With Froot Loop, I hadn’t gotten a breast pump so when I needed one, I was stuck. I ended up paying a TON of money to rent a hospital grade Medela pump, buying the expensive accessory kit so I could actually USE it, and all the other stuff. I decided three weeks into using the rental pump that I was going to need a double electric pump of my own. I did my research about pumps and the difference between open and closed systems. I scoured the internet for reviews on breast pumps. I decided that even though I already had the parts and junk for the Medela pump (an open system), that a closed system was the way to go. I HATED the stupid tubing of the Medela pump. Nearly every time I pumped, I had to dry out the tubes, and since I was pumping every two hours for a half hour, I simply just did not HAVE THE TIME to do this additional, annoying and time consuming step. But, if you don’t do this EVERY TIME, mold can grow and yeah, that would be bad. Plus, I didn’t like the idea of the outside air in my not so clean, just had a baby and haven’t vacuumed or dusted in weeks house getting into my nice, clean milk that my newborn with brand new immune system would be ingesting. 

So, when Froot Loop was a month old, I bought a Ameda Purely Yours double electric pump. I wanted a closed system, and all Medela pumps are open systems. The main difference between closed and open systems is that a closed system pump has a barrier between the parts that collect the milk and the pump mechanism. This prevents bacterial/viral/fungal/mold contamination. Open system pumps do not have this feature. Plus, you cannot fully sterilize the inside of an open system pump without completely taking apart the whole thing. Even purchasing new tubes, valves, etc and cleaning them can’t sanitize the electric motor part of the pump. That just made me shudder, even though Medela pumps were the most popular double electric pump at the time. 

Open pumps are not meant to be shared (and yet I was using a RENTED OPEN SYSTEM PUMP… ew... ). You just buy the accessory pack that has new tubes and valves and bottles and then sterilize all of that, but still, there’s no way to 100% sterilize it. I had no way of knowing who else had used that pump or if any milk had come into contact with any part of the pump mechanism. It’s very unlikely I’m sure, but it still gave me the heebie jeebies. Closed system pumps have a diaphragm between the tubing and the bottles. Expressed milk cannot get into the tubing and air cannot get into the milk. It’s much more hygienic, and since I was already crazy from lack of sleep, I felt this was the way to go. Another nice feature about closed pumps is that they CAN be shared or borrowed. All the borrower/new owner has to do is purchase a set of tubing, diaphragm, valves, caps, and bottles. This also enables you to resell your pump if you so choose (I nearly wore mine out and actually got another through insurance the second time around). 

I love this pump. It has two different knobs. The first is for the speed and the second is for the strength of suction. There are two bottle holders on it (THIS HAS SAVED ME SO MANY TIMES, especially while pumping in the car) that hold the bottles tightly until you’re ready to move them. Until my body got used to responding to the pump, I started the speed as fast as it would go to imitate a baby suckling. Once I let down, I turned the speed way down and the suction up just a bit. If I needed to try to get another let down and more milk, I’d turn the speed up again and the suction back down a little until let down was achieved. 

The diaphragms last a long time. The valves, as with just about any other pump, last about 8 weeks depending on how often and how long you pump. When I was pumping 8 times a day, they lasted about 2 months until the suction suffered. Pumping only twice a day, I replaced them in about 4 months. 

Another thing I like about this pump is that there are several different sizes of flanges you can buy so that no matter what size you are (and you WILL change throughout your breastfeeding journey), you will have the right fit. You don’t want one that’s too tight because it will HURT. You don’t want one that’s too big because then too much of your breast is sucked into the pump and it will HURT. You just have to find the size that’s right for you. 

Medium/Large:

Extra Large/XXL:

What I do is pump into the bottles and dump them into breastmilk bags. When it’s full, I write the date on it and freeze it. I do this because I'm pumping the milk for freezer storage. If you are pumping so you can go to work or because you need to supplement, you can pump directly into the bottles and pop a bottle nipple of your choice on there and feed your hungry baby! 

Note, you don't have to use the Ameda breastmilk storage bags with the pump. You can use any brand. I used Lansinoh, Medela, Ameda,, NUK and Honeysuckle. 

A helpful hint for if you pump: instead of washing your pump parts EVERY TIME you pump, you can put all the parts into a sealed zip top baggie and put it in the refrigerator for next time. I typically only wash mine once a day/every two days this way. Then I just put everything in the dishwasher (valves, bottles, flanges, and diaphragms). 

There are other accessories for your pump too. You can buy additional bottles. You can get a bottle cooler designed to fit the ameda bottles (I still use this cooler even though I don't pump anymore). My pump from my insurance company came with extra bottles and caps, a spare set of flanges, a bottle cooler with ice packs, and a really nice carrying tote with some samples of other ameda products. I bought a car adapter because I wanted to be able to pump in the car if I needed to, especially when I was pumping exactly every 3 hours. I haven’t really had to use it more than once or twice with Cocoa Puff, but I used it a lot with Froot Loop. 

You have to love your pump because you see it multiple times a day and it almost becomes a part of you. I was (almost) sad when I put my pump away after I stopped pumping for Froot Loop. I pumped multiple times a day until he was almost a year old. I pumped for Cocoa Puff until he was about a year old and I ran out of storage bags. I probably could have stopped pumping with Cocoa Puff earlier because I didn't really need to, but now I have a nice stash in the freezer. 

Pumping is a nice way to help increase your milk supply or to keep your breastfeeding relationship going if you go back to work or get sick or otherwise have to be away from your baby. It's also nice so you can build up a stash of frozen milk to use well into toddler hood or to keep on hand for illnesses or whatever. 

Which pump did you use?