
Unless you know you are going to exclusively pump I wouldn't buy one yet. I have an electric Medela which I used for 6 months (in combo with breast feeding) and it was fine, but honestly I found just using a Haakaa when baby was feeding on the other side way more effective and much less time consuming!
Haakaa was 'way more effective and much less time consuming' than their electric Medela pump. Strong endorsement from 6 months of combined use.
First, I'm going to caveat this that I had a really good supply, so your experience might not be the same. I would recommend buying a haakaa pump, which you can use to collect letdown on the other side while you're feeding. It just suctions on and you can collect whatever letdown you have without having to think about it. It's basically free milk that would be otherwise wasted! You probably are going to want to wear a nursing bra at the start. I was just covered in milk all the time in those e
Detailed recommendation: 'basically free milk that would be otherwise wasted', explains ease of use. Caveat about needing good supply shows honest assessment but overall very positive.
I use a combo of minbie double electric, Lansinoh manual (£20 aldi!) and haakaa. All for diff purposes, the electric gets me a lot of milk quickly but I do lose patience with taking them apart, sterilising and putting together. The manual I find amazing if I need to express a bottle quickly while doing other things, and the haakaa is brilliant for catching the excess when I'm feeding off the other boob. Wouldn't recommend the haakaa if you aren't breastfeeding/won't have a spare boob with twins.
Haakaa is 'brilliant for catching the excess' - specific use case praise. Helpful caveat about needing to breastfeed for it to work, but very positive for its intended purpose.
Spectra all the way. Hands down the best pump I have used - and I tried a lot. Hakka was very handy in the early days too. I will be buying both again for this baby. Hands free sounds amazing but in reality you don't really need it . If you are planning on breastfeeding too you won't need to walk around the house whilst pumping. The spectra is a double bump that I wore with a pumping bra. Being able to pump both sides together was a life saver and made it less time consuming. I only ever u
'Very handy in the early days', 'will be buying both again for this baby'. Repeat purchase intent shows satisfaction.
Wait! You can always get one quickly if you need it. I thought I'd need one but ended up just using a haakaa to catch letdown.
Found the haakaa sufficient for their needs - didn't even need a full pump. Implicit endorsement showing it was effective enough to replace a dedicated pump for catching letdown.
Any silicone (haakaa) pump, super cheap (like £10), you just suction it on your boob which can be slightly painful until your nipples get used to it and that's it. Can't do backflips with it but I was able to walk around with it no problem just be careful not to hit anything with it because it's just suction holding it in place. Super easy cleaning and storing as well.
'Super cheap (like £10)', 'super easy cleaning and storing', portable. Minor caveats: 'slightly painful' initially and need to be careful not to knock it. Overall very positive for value.
I used a combination of my spectra s1, double Elvie and haakaa The spectra is a work horse and makes pumping full time super easy and satisfying. The massage function is also great for those dreaded blocked ducts. The Elvies gave me freedom but they are very temperamental and I needed to replace parts often. Lots of spillages and more than once I was brought to frustration tears in the middle of the night because the suction wouldn't work due to some minor error in setup. They also can be
Uses haakaa as part of pumping combo alongside Spectra and Elvie. Implicit positive - kept in rotation for its specific purpose.
You don't need to buy a pump. I personally wouldn't bother getting pumps and bottles until baby is here, you know you have a good milk supply and you know you want to give your baby expressed milk. They discourage pumping and bottles in the first six weeks to reduce risk of over supply and nipple preference. If you want to give your baby some expressed milk often breast shells or haakaa is enough and you can give milk from a cup. I fed my first for 15 months and now 2 months in with my second.
Recommends haakaa as sufficient for expressed milk needs. Fed first for 15 months - experienced user who found haakaa 'enough'. Practical endorsement.
I had an electric medela swing and it was shit. I'd go for a manual haakaa or similar and see how you go. If you are going to need to pump more regularly then you can upgrade.
Recommends haakaa over electric Medela Swing which was 'shit'. Implicit positive endorsement as preferred alternative from direct experience.