Pump in Comfort with the Philips AVENT Comfort Double Electric Breast Pump

For those of you who don’t know, I exclusively pump for my baby.  What does that mean exactly?  Well, simply put, it means that I don’t breastfeed.  Instead, I pump milk several times a day and bottle feed.  It wasn’t always that way though – I breastfeed Greenleigh for the first 2 weeks of her life, suffered from “equipment failure” and low supply, visited with too many lactation consultants to count, got frustrated with the nipple shield that was supposed to solve the issues, and was determined to find a way that would work better for my family.  I still wanted my baby to get the benefits of breast milk, I just didn’t want the frustration associated with breastfeeding.  So I decided to exclusively pump.  And it worked beautifully…for nearly 6 months with Greenleigh and 3 months with Hazeline.  This time around, I planned to exclusively pump from day one.

Being an exclusive pumper means that I know a lot about breast pumps.  I’ve pretty much tried them all – single electrics, double electrics, manuals, hospital grade, and just about every thing in between, I’ve probably tried it.  And I seriously doubt there’s a brand that I haven’t used.  So when I got an invite from Philips AVENT to come and see their new breast pump while I was in Chicago for BlogHer over the summer, I was intrigued.  I wanted to see this pump.  Not because I needed a new pump for Baby Everett’s arrival, but because even when I’m not pumping (or even pregnant!), I still find myself researching pumps.

As I sat there over breakfast in Chicago, I loved what I was hearing – a pump that was designed with comfort in mind.  Unlike just about every other pump on Earth, the Philips AVENT Comfort Double Electric doesn’t require you to lean forward when pumping.  In fact, the instruction manual tells you to find a comfy chair, sit back, and then use the pump.  Do you know how many back aches and pains I could have avoided if I’d found this pump sooner?  To add to the comfort the flanges are padded with a soft, warm cushion, which gently massages the breast to encourage let down and milk production.  And it’s all topped off by simple settings – one button to stimulate let down and 3 expression settings, depending on what you find comfortable.  Once your done pumping, simply put the lightweight pump in the discrete black bag and take it anywhere you need to go!  A comfortable pump, with simple settings, that is easy to transport?  I needed to try this pump.

As it turns out all those fabulous things I heard back in July weren’t hype, because I’ve been using this pump for about a month and absolutely love it.  The Philip AVENT Comfort Breast Pump is the closest to breastfeeding that I’ve ever experienced in a pump.  When you turn the unit on, it has a similar feel to an infant’s latch.  It’s a bit startling at first, as with breastfeeding, but gets the milk flowing quickly.  While I struggled with breastfeeding, my equipment failure and low supply aren’t a problem with this pump.  After about 2 minutes in stimulation mode, I switch it over to the lowest expression mode, which seems to work the best for me.  Once my pumping is complete I can attach one of the bottle rings and nipples (included with the pump!) to the milk collection bottle and feed my baby right away – no need to run to the kitchen to grab a bottle or risk spilling milk by transferring it to another bottle.  You can pump and feed all in the same place within minutes of each other.

But above all else, I love the amount of milk that this pump allows me to express in just one sitting.  When I first saw the words, “More Comfort, More Milk” on the box, I focused on the first part and ignored the second part.  As a person who has always suffered from low supply, and even turned to herbal supplements like Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle to increase supply, I never thought that my pump might be the reason for the lack of milk.  But now I know better.  The pump you use matters.  It really matters.  With the Philips AVENT Comfort Breast Pump, I pump for just 10-12 minutes per session (as opposed to 15-20 with my old pumps) and easily yield 3-5 ounces of milk.  Considering there was a time when I was only pumping a little over 5 ounces in an entire day, this is a welcome change.  In fact, at this point, I’m actually pumping more milk than he can drink.

Who has a freezer stash?  This girl right here!  In fact, I currently have about 100 oz of milk sitting in my freezer.  This is definitely a first and I love it!

You can learn more about the Philips AVENT Comfort Double Electric Breast Pump by visiting the Philips AVENT website and by following Philips AVENT on Facebook and Twitter!

Disclosure: The nice people at Philips AVENT sent me a Comfort Double Electric Breast Pump to use; however I was under no obligation to blog about it.  I just love sharing when I find products that work for me and my family that I couldn’t help but post all about it.