Medela Pump In Style Breastpump?

[left210]

Anyone have this? I am a bit confused because I hear of some people talking about the old style vs. the new style. The one I saw at BRU is Pump In Style Advanced with 2 phase system in a portable black shoulder or backpack bag. Any advice on this pump? Also, how did you store your milk? In bags or containers? If you used bags which ones were the best? Are there any bags you can pump right into that are good for freezing too? Can you put any type of conversion on the pump to pump into other bottles besides Medela? I am still undecided on bottles as I am trying to decide on best BPA free ones? Any suggestions on ones that would work best with the pump? Thanks.

 

[Jajone]

I've always used the bottles with disposable liners. Less to wash and sterilize. I always used the medela bottles that come with the pump to store during the day and then poured them into Medela brand freezer storage bags to freeze.

 

[delmar411]

when I used mine I pumped into the cheapie basic Gerber 9oz bottles (they are exact match to medela BM bottles) then poured immediately into quart size ziplocks. Double bagged and laid flat in the freezer. Worked perfectly and stacked up great. Then defrosted on the stove, in the bag with warmed water or in a crockpot filled with water and set on medium heat(best to leave on all day).

The ziplocks were just as good as the medela bags and about 10x cheaper. I exclusively pumped for my 2nd child so cost was a factor for us.

 

[PrincessDreams2]

I had one of those pumps. I purchased mine at the end of 2003. So I guess it may have been the newer style. I loved it!! I worked full time and managed to breastfeed my daughter exclusively for 11 months. I would pump into the bottles that came with it, and store them in the cooler compartment until I got home. I did hear the gerber bottles fit also, but I never tried that. I did freeze some of the milk, and I used the regular Medela bags. Someone else suggested regular ziplocks - I never thought of that and I suppose that would have been a lot cheaper. (GREAT idea!!) The bags I used had these twist ties on them that were a pain sometimes.

It is a great pump and well worth the money, especially if you only breastfeed and no formula. It pays for itself right away when you think about the cost of formula. Good luck!

 

[left210]

I assume you used the ziploc freezer bags? Are they BPA free and safe for milk storage? Sounds like a good idea.

 

[delmar411]

I assume you used the ziploc freezer bags? Are they BPA free and safe for milk storage? Sounds like a good idea.

I did not use freezer bags which is why I double bagged. I got an amazing deal on the ziplocks but I did store groups of them in gallon sized freezer bags. That also protects against any exploding bags as no milk is lost (being liquid gold and all! )

Ziplocks are safe for food storage and I had gotten the ziplock idea from exclusively pumping and BF websites back in 03. I looked up ziplock bags and they are listed as 'least toxic' on this blog/article on BPA free portable food storage.

http://greenerpenny.blogspot.com/2007/09/least-toxic-totables.html

I hope it's ok to post that link, looks like the site has nothing to do with Disney so should be ok I think.

HTH!

 

[DisneyGoddess]

I used the Medela Pump In Style Advanced - it does have the 2 stage pump as you mentioned. I really liked it because stage one help elicit a letdown and the second stage is for pumping volume. I used that pump nearly every day for almost 11 months and it worked great. You should make sure you clean it and change the membranes every so often so you get as many oz. as you can each pumping session.

IMO if you are going to be working and pumping - go with the PISA. If you are just going to pump every now and again for extra milk I might save the money and get the regular PIS.

As far as bags goes - I HATED bags that had a zipper top to them. There were several times I *thought* I had the zipper sealed and went to lay the bag down in the freezer so it would freeze flat when milk would be leaking all over the place. You work WAY to hard to get that stuff and you want to make sure you have a really good bag for storage if you are going to freeze. I know these bags are pricey but you can pump right into them and they Never Ever leaked. Here is the link for the place I bought them:
www.careconnectiononline.com/collectionstorage.php

And for bottles, I used Avent until I read about the BPA issues months and months ago and those went in the trash can. I switched to Advent's Disposables called the Tempo System because my daughter wouldn't take any other type of bottles.

HTH!

eta... I wouldn't use ziplocks because they are not sterile inside but all breastmilk bags you find specifically for that purpose are. Not worth the risk to save the money IMO.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

I have a Pump In Style Advanced pump (the one that comes with a shoulder bag). I used generic drop in liners to pump into. There is a conversion kit you can get that allows you to pump directly into the liners with our without the bottle. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8145135 Otherwise, you could just pump into the storage bottles it comes with and put it into liners later. Evenflo storage bottles work with the Medela pump and cost much less than the Medela ones. When I had enough milk to put 3 or 6 oz in the liner, I froze the bottle while it was upright. After it was frozen, I popped the liner out of the bottle and double bagged it in gallon freezer bags. To thaw out, just pop the liner back into a bottle and let it thaw in the fridge or in a glass of warm water.

It was a few steps but it saved me a ton of money over those fancy bags and it worked really well.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I had the Pump in Style original, used it for 2 kids no problem. For dd #1 I pumped exclusively for about 10 weeks then with dd number 2 I pumped at least 5 times per day when I went back to work. I don't really think the "advanced" one is necessary, just costs more.

I pumped into avent bottles, there are adaptors you can purchase for around $20. I poured and froze in the Gerber storage bags. They worked out really well. DO NOT use the Medela storage bags, they are a PITA!!!!!

 

[delmar411]

eta... I wouldn't use ziplocks because they are not sterile inside but all breastmilk bags you find specifically for that purpose are. Not worth the risk to save the money IMO.

I exclusively pumped for my DD for her first year, in fact she used my frozen stash stored in ziplocs throughout the 2nd half of her first year so it was 'old' BM in unsterilized bags. I've never even heard of a baby getting ill from BM stored in ziplocs. BM is pretty amazing stuff and isn't overly fragile. I mean seriously, you can leave BM out at room temp for up to 10hrs. Then put it in the fridge for a week and then freeze it and it's still good to go. LOL

But if you were concerned about being sterile you can freeze the BM into ice cube trays then pop the cubes into a ziploc. Then just take out however many BM cubes that you are going to use and defrost those in a bottle in warm water or in the fridge. They do make BM trays that are specifically 1oz servings so no need to measure or guesstimate on the cubes.

 

[lpoeppelman]

I've used my pump in style for all four boys and it is still in great shape. I highly recommend Medela.

 

[adell557]

I've used my pump in style for all four boys and it is still in great shape. I highly recommend Medela.

I agree, have the same thing. Loved it for both of my kids. I used the bottles that came with it and transfered to Gerber storage bags, but I breastfed mostly and only pumped if I was going out, or was uncomfortable, so cost wasn't that much of an issue.

 

[mom2girlsn1boy]

I have that and used it when my dd who is now 2 was in the NICU. It was awesome I started using it right after I found out she would not beable to feed right away, and after my milk came in, I never got less than 6 oz each time I pumped.
At first I stored my milk in containers that the NICU provided, but after she came home I used the gerber bags. I used my pump for a year, and loved it, I still have it and would have used it with my ds, but never had to thank God.

 

[5stljayhawks]

The wife has a med. advance, that is a 5-7 years old. She pumps at work and the milk goes into the bottles. She has a frozen cold pack that she takes with her. Then when she gets home she bags each bottle seperatly. She uses Lansinoh, it has DOUBLE ziplock seals. Also when you freeze the milk, remove all the air, then lay them flat in the freezer.

Protect that liquid gold!!!!!!

Dad (3 kids, youngest 4 months)

 

[Minniemouse07]

I pumped for both my kids from 3mo-1yr during the day when I worked. With dd, I used the regular PIS and with ds I used the PISa..I definitely pumped more w/ the PISa. I don't know if it was because my body was used to the nursing/pumping thing by then or it was the pump...but it was more. Since I'm not a prolific pumper (nursing was just fine..it was the pumping I had difficulty with) it was definitely worth it for me to go with the PISa.

As for storing....

I pumped into the medela bottles that came w/ the pump. I had some extra bottles the second time around!

The freshly pumped milk was stored in the cold pack section of the pump w/ a freezer pack and when I got home I would even out all the bottles to single servings. I would never pump right into bags because they aren't as accurate when measuring out the milk (I tested it w/ the bottles and they were always WAY off).

Once the milk was in the single servings I poured each one into a separate milk storage bag. With dd I used the Gerber bags and with ds I used the Lansinoh. I prefer the Lansinoh now, but when I was pumping for dd they didn't have zip lock tops. The Gerber bags are not bad by any means and they are a bit less expensive than the Lansinoh. The cheapest place I've found the bags was at Target when they had their "baby feeding" sales. I would stock up and purchase 10-20 boxes of bags at a time!

Typically I would place all the "fresh" milk I pumped that day in the fridge for dd or ds to use the next day at daycare...except for one bottle's worth. That would go in the freezer ... flat (Don't stand it up, it freezes into a big lump of milk that is difficult to store and defrost. Plus, it makes all these hard corners that make it more likely to get a hole in it and leak!...I know this all from experience!). After it was frozen it was stored on it's side in date order and each day dd/ds would get one "frozen" bottle and the rest fresh at day care the next day. On Fridays I would freeze all of my pumped milk and on Mondays dd/ds would drink all frozen milk (minus any fresh I managed to pump on Sunday).

We also left one frozen bottle in the freezer at day care in case of emergency (leaked/spilled milk or if dd/ds was super hungry!).

I really became a pro at this. There are a number of great resources for pumping moms out there. A VERY active and helpful bunch is at Yahoo Groups and iVillage has a pumping group as well. You also may find some info at pumpingmoms, promom and kellymom. All three are "org" sites.

HTH!

 

[Mocharilla]

I just wanted to say, I have the old style, and I love it

I just used the bags. Any random ones I got from my shower.

 

[left210]

How can I tell if it is an old style PIS or a newer PISA? What are the differences in features? Were the PIS discontinued and the PISA replaced them? If so about when did this happen? THanks.

 

[DVCJones]

I've always used the bottles with disposable liners. Less to wash and sterilize. I always used the medela bottles that come with the pump to store during the day and then poured them into Medela brand freezer storage bags to freeze.

I did the same!!!

 

[katybugsmom]

I used a Medela pump with both of my kids-DD9 and DS3. I also used both the Gerber bags and Medela bags. I also highly recommend the steam sterlizing bags from Medela as well. Great for steaming nipples, bottle caps, pacifers, etc. I picked these up at the hospital.
I paid almost $200 for my pump in '99-I have a friend who got her OB/GYN to write a prescription for one and got it for next to nothing!!!!! You may want to check into your insurance plan and see if it would cover a breast pump!

 

[NotUrsula]

You should be able to get one at your hospital's lactation consulting office without paying tax -- hospital purchases are tax-free most places. Either that or online.

These days the best bags are def. Lansinoh. I used Gerber previously, but lately the 3 times I tried them they leaked. Playtex are NOT good for milk storage, they don't hold up to freezing. I use Avent adapters on my PNS and transfer the milk into the Lansinoh bags immediately, before the fat separates. Less having to agitate the milk that way. I store the flat bags in blocs of 6 in the deep freeze, wrapped in plastic wrap to keep them square and then ziploc'd, too.