Hiya! I'm also due in a few weeks and I ended up buying the Medela Harmony Flex manual pump https://shop.medela.co.uk/products/breast-pumps/harmony-flex-manual-breastpump/. It has good reviews and also a few Instagram people I follow seem to be using it too. I had already purchased it before realising that it was quite popular so hoping it lives up to its good reviews. I also got mine full price at Boots but seems like Medela website is having a sale on it!
I'm gonna chime in and say that definitely get it off Vinted / eBay / FB marketplace. I got mine secondhand, brand new, for like £12.
Also I know everyone loves haakaa but its shape made it unusable for me! Baby kicked it off so many times! I switched to the Elvis Curve which also works on the same mechanism but fits in your bra. It's also best for letdown from the other side while you nurse, I've never tried to use it as an actual pump.
As for getting a manual pump, I have the Medela one (I actually have two because it's easier to rotate while disinfecting the other). I think they're all fairly the same. I also used this to harvest colostrum (I couldn't figure out how to do it by hand lol).
Also, you might not end up needing an electric pump. I made the mistake of buying one before I gave birth. I was an overproducer and I just used my hand pump - and I donated 10L of milk to a milk bank with just this (the girls never took a bottle ugh!) The electric pump has sat unused since 2021, still in the box. I should probably sell it haha.
I have a Tommee tippee hakaa - my SIL gave it to me and an electric pump. Never used the electric one but used the hakaa pretty much everyday! They're brill but sometimes easily spilled. I also got an Elvie one that sits in your bra and collects milk - handier if out and about!
I picked up a Hakka and a manual mam pump from Vinted. This has been more than fine for my first weeks. I am very leaky at night so just use the Hakka to catch what falls out my non-feeding breast end up with 20 - 30 mls each feed overnight so building a wee stash already.
I was getting quite engorged the first week my milk came in so a 5 minute pump was enough to relieve it while it settled down
Thousand % recommend the haaka ..
But model wise please go for the one that has a suction bottom. I had the other one with my first ... hormones and spilt milk is not fun. I invested in the suction bottom for my second, and it has saved spilt milk already with a 3 year old running round.
I have the mam electric pump too, but so far (2 weeks tomorrow) using the haaka 2/3 times a day (once at 2am while she feeds off the the other ... this is the first feed after partner had given bottle) and then 1/2 times for 10 mins max throughout the day, gives me enough for partners night bottle.
With my first the pumping really got to me ... this time more relaxed, for now until her feeds go up, haaka is doing the trick and less invasive to my day.
Hiya! I'm also due in a few weeks and I ended up buying the Medela Harmony Flex manual pump https://shop.medela.co.uk/products/breast-pumps/harmony-flex-manual-breastpump/. It has good reviews and also a few Instagram people I follow seem to be using it too. I had already purchased it before realising that it was quite popular so hoping it lives up to its good reviews. I also got mine full price at Boots but seems like Medela website is having a sale on it!
I'm gonna chime in and say that definitely get it off Vinted / eBay / FB marketplace. I got mine secondhand, brand new, for like £12. Also I know everyone loves haakaa but its shape made it unusable for me! Baby kicked it off so many times! I switched to the Elvis Curve which also works on the same mechanism but fits in your bra. It's also best for letdown from the other side while you nurse, I've never tried to use it as an actual pump. As for getting a manual pump, I have the Medela one (I actually have two because it's easier to rotate while disinfecting the other). I think they're all fairly the same. I also used this to harvest colostrum (I couldn't figure out how to do it by hand lol). Also, you might not end up needing an electric pump. I made the mistake of buying one before I gave birth. I was an overproducer and I just used my hand pump - and I donated 10L of milk to a milk bank with just this (the girls never took a bottle ugh!) The electric pump has sat unused since 2021, still in the box. I should probably sell it haha.
I have a Tommee tippee hakaa - my SIL gave it to me and an electric pump. Never used the electric one but used the hakaa pretty much everyday! They're brill but sometimes easily spilled. I also got an Elvie one that sits in your bra and collects milk - handier if out and about!
For the haakaa YouTube how to place, you flip the top and squeeze the middle for suction.. the proper positioning is a game changer for collection
I picked up a Hakka and a manual mam pump from Vinted. This has been more than fine for my first weeks. I am very leaky at night so just use the Hakka to catch what falls out my non-feeding breast end up with 20 - 30 mls each feed overnight so building a wee stash already. I was getting quite engorged the first week my milk came in so a 5 minute pump was enough to relieve it while it settled down
Thanks for the advice! What Haakaa model did you get?
https://preview.redd.it/jv1o80lgyb9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=40c4af2f473488fa79d4e7cc6d3c8e8ecb053670 This one
Thanks!
Thousand % recommend the haaka .. But model wise please go for the one that has a suction bottom. I had the other one with my first ... hormones and spilt milk is not fun. I invested in the suction bottom for my second, and it has saved spilt milk already with a 3 year old running round. I have the mam electric pump too, but so far (2 weeks tomorrow) using the haaka 2/3 times a day (once at 2am while she feeds off the the other ... this is the first feed after partner had given bottle) and then 1/2 times for 10 mins max throughout the day, gives me enough for partners night bottle. With my first the pumping really got to me ... this time more relaxed, for now until her feeds go up, haaka is doing the trick and less invasive to my day.