Featured Product Day - Medela

Welcome to our Featured Product Day for Medela!

There are many of you who have used Medela products either currently or in the past. Several of our wonderful readers helped us do a “review” of sorts on the products they used. To those that agreed to do the review, I asked the following questions:

1.       What Products did you use?

2.       What did you like about the products and/or service from Medela?

3.       Do you have any other comments about your Medela products?

The responses were wonderful, and very informative. If you or someone you know is looking at Medela products, make sure to take the time to read through this post. Of course, you can stop into Elegant Mommy for Medela products as well J.

1.        I used a Medela Symphony Double Electric Breast Pump and accessories (storage containers, etc) as well as Tender Care Lanolin

2.        I loved that the breast pump was so easy to use. It was quick, quiet and efficient. The lanolin was soft and just felt good. I loved that it was safe for baby, too.

3.        If I would’ve known, I would have just bought one outright. I would not hesitate to use any Medela products in the future!

~Miranda

1.        I used the pump, the disposable nursing pads, storage bags, the quickclean wipes and the quick clean stream bags.

2.       I love the quick wipes and stream bags for when I worked I could just wipe the pump  and pieces down between pumping bbm and then the evening throwing them in the stream bag to sterilize them for next day. The prices are quite reasonable and quality is really well.  The pump is wonderful! I would recommend the product to anyone!

~Melanie

1.        I use the Medela Pump in Style breast pump and the bottles.

2.       I like how universal everything is...I also have non-Medela bottles (baby shower gift) and they fit perfectly onto the breast pump and the Medela nipples fit on these bottles too (my daughter won't drink out of the non-Medela nipples! She hates them!)! I like the style of the bottles (my daughter is 6 months old and just outgrowing the little 5oz bottles now--upgrading to the 8oz!). All of the parts and accessories are very durable. The pump has never given me any problems (and I use it quite a bit!) and the bottles and parts are easy to clean--just throw in the dishwasher!

3.        Medela products are not cheap, but they are worth the money. Durable and helpful! As a first time mom, their products have been very useful to me!

~Lauren

1.        I use the PISA including the bottles, pump parts, and sanitizing bags.

2.        What I love about the Medela products is that they are easy to find 
when your in a pinch. They have a great variety and are always reliable!

3.        As an exclusive pumper you have to be on a strict schedule where time 
is everything. It's necessary that Medela be dependable when things go 
wrong. I know I can count on them when I run into a suction problem or 
any other pumping matter.

~Teresa

1.        Pump In Style Advanced backpack, Symphony Pump, Microwave Quick Clean Bags, and Quick Clean Wipes

2.        I love the ease and convenience of the Quick Clean Products. With the bag, all you need is some water – measured in your bottle – and a microwave and *poof* you’ve sterilized your pumping parts. Plus each bag is good for 20 uses. However that is slightly misleading because if you pump both sides at once, you have two sets of shields, pieces, bottles, etc and you can only sterilize one set at a time. So if you consistently double pump, then it really is good for 10 pumping sessions. Which is still awesome. Plus they’re pretty inexpensive. Quick Clean wipes are great for when you don’t have a microwave available, or on the road, etc. They are a must for pumping on the go.

Love the Symphony – so quick and efficient – I don’t *think* you can rent them as they are generally in hospitals, but SD WIC offices upgraded to these pumps last year and that is what they loan to participants to use. (according to their guidelines). It made pumping quick and easy as it most closely resembles baby’s suck.

PIS Advanced Backpack – loved that I could throw it on my back, or over my shoulder and go. It has ample room for all the pump equipment, plus some extras. I’ve had mine for 7 years and used it for 3 kids and it continued to work very well and efficiently remove milk. I also loved that it wasn’t bulky and didn’t scream “Hey! There’s a pump in here!”

3.        They seem to consistently be looking to improve their products and cater to the changing needs of moms. I love that they make multiple sizes of shields for their pumps, recognizing that one size does not fit all. I think it is very important though to be informed and educated when looking at making a big purchase (such as a pump) and know what you need and don’t need. You can easily fall over the edge into all the accessories that may be unnecessary for your situation. Overall, I’ve had a great experience with their products and their reps.

~Beth

1. *PISA-I have EPed for 6.5 months now and it's still working great. I have just replaced the tubing due to moisture and the membranes due to use.
*Lanolin-Soothes my poor nips and cuts down on the friction for repeated pumping.
*5 oz bottles-I have 8 of them. It works out great to pump into and have extra for storage in the fridge so I'm not washing bottles all day.
*Hands-free pumping bra-It did not have enough support for me. I'm a DD and I needed some shoulder straps. The Simple Wishes pumping bra is awesome!

2.  Everything I have used is great quality. Nothing has wore down due to repeated use (with the exception of the membranes but for optimal pumping those need to be routinely changed) I was hesitant to spend $300 on a pump but due to latching issues I am still able to provide my sweet baby with my breastmilk even though actual breastfeeding did not work out for us. It's the next best thing and my husband get's to bond with her during feedings too. If I ever have to buy another pump it will be a Medela, no question! I did have a concern early on with a noise my pump was making but got great customer service when I contacted them. They walked me through everything and were patient with a worn-down tired new mommy.

3.  They are worth the investment!

~Kelli

1.        In 2004, I rented a Lactina pump and used it to exclusively pump for my first baby.  In 2007, I rented a Lactina to use for pumping while I worked.  In 2010, I used a Symphony while my newborn was hospitalized and had surgery.

2.       I found the pumps to be easy to use and both had easy-to-adjust settings so I could figure out what was comfortable and got the most milk pumped quickly. I also found the customer service people to be friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.

~Melanie

1.        Medela Nursing Bra - wire free soft cup

Medela Pump In Style Original, 24 & 27mm breast shields

breast milk bottles (no nipples)

Medela  Tender Care Lanolin

2.        Nursing Bra is comfortable, easy to clasp, though too easy to unclasp (comes undone when I lean on the edge of our claw foot tub giving kids or baby a bath) It provides a good laugh though ...  LOL

Pump - EXTREMELY durable and SOOOOO worth the money!  Mine has gone through 3 kids and on the 4th (one of my younger cousin's and one of my friend's) ...  My other cousin's older model has been through 7+ kids (one of mine, all 4 of her's, one of her sister's, & some in-law's kids)  It is effective in helping to establish milk supply and maintain it (if you're a control freak like I am about my milk supply) I Love Love Love my pump!!

I like how they offer different sizes of breast shields!  The 27 is more comfortable but I have mostly 24 and they work ok, just leave me tender. 

I don't use the bottle nipples because Playtex nursers don't choke him and everything else I try does.  I like to store expressed milk in the fridge with the Medela bottles because of the good seal the caps give!  They seem to lock down where other brands just sit on top and don't actually seal.

The Lanolin is priced comparably with other brands, doesn't smell when they seem to (to me), works good at protection so sore nipples can heal!

3.       It would be nice if the Medela bras were more affordable. I have a rough time justifying spending over 35 for a bra that I will wear for 18 months when I don't spend more than 25 for ones I wear when I'm not nursing.

I recommend the Pump In Style to everyone I know that is pregnant or planning a family.  It is worth the investment, considering the cost of formula and the things that formula lacks.

~Harriet

• The Medela Pump in Style Advance (PISA) backpack style ;)
• 2 sets of pump accessories, and every flange size they make, other than the super small =P
• Medela Harmony (the hospital grade one? hopefully that's the right name, lol, but I used it while visiting the lactation consultants at Avera. Personally, my PISA did just as good a job!)
• The micro-steam sterilizing microwave bags (genious!)
• The bottles and slow flow nipples (0-4 months)...we use(d) the 0-4 size the whole time and never had a problem with her taking a bottle or nipple confusion
• Tried a sample of the Medela lanolin...it was easy to spread on and not too greasy, but it "stained" any clothing it came into contact with yellow (I have a spot on a pair of jeans that I wiped up super quick, and I can still see it after washing...I haven't noticed a similar issue with the Lansinoh or Motherlove products)
• The quick wipes...the resealable bag is awesome, too! I bought the one pack in September before going back to work and the wipes are still great and useable now!
• The breastmilk labeling lids...I forgot to pack lids for the bottles one morning, was out of storage bags, and ran up to Target to see if they finally sold some lids individually from the bottles...you are able to buy these individually and you can turn the top to "click" it to say a day of the week...like a "best by" or "pumped in the AM/PM on___day". I really like these for daycare =)
• The disposable Medela nursing pads...I liked these the best since they're contoured, discreet, and probably absorbant (lol!) but by the time I got to using these, it was mainly to protect my bras from the lanolin and so I wouldn't nip out =P I liked them better than the Lansinoh and Johnson and Johnson disposable ones I tried, they fit better, were more comfortable, and discreet.
• The resusable Medela nursing pads...I didn't like these so much, since they were not very discreet at all! Plus, they stuck to me and that was not comfy (with or without lanolin)! I did like them better than the Nuk reusable ones I tried, but again, not very discreet or comfortable...(on a side note, I just recently found the bamboo ones Elegant Mommy sells...and woah...super soft, don't stick to me, and are discreet! My new favorites, lol! I'm saving the rest of my Medela disposable ones for my next newborn, whenever that is ;) and using these!)

2. I guess I kind of answered this above when I had comments ;) Overall, I really like Medela, and the customer service has been great, online and via phone. I only was in contact with a Medela rep via phone once, and that was when the lactation consultant from the hospital called them on my behalf. I needed to find the right size flange, which the lactation consultants helped me with, but my PISA's suction felt a lot stronger than the one the lactation consultants had, so they called Medela to see if this was a common problem. The Medela rep than contacted me to see how they could help, and if I needed to, or wanted to, talk with one of their RN's on staff. They seemed very concerned with helping me figure out my problem =)


3. I would totally recommend Medela to someone interested in breastfeeding, especially the PISA and accessories! From my experiance, the company seems to genuinely want to help a nursing mother succeed, and not just so they can make a profit, but because they feel "breast is best". However, like I said above, there are a few products that I have found I personally don't like as well as others out there, but pump-wise, I think Medela is awesome and does a great job.

Thanks to everyone who helped with this post! Your feedback and reviews are SO incredibly helpful to others!

~Jill