Sukie and Bessie Throw Down

Hello gentle readers!

Hm, I can't quite pull that off like Ms. Manners could.

So lately the question of pump comparison keeps coming up. Many of you will recall that with Robert, I had Bessie, a Medela (which the lady on their help like pronounced meh-DEE-la, not me-DELL-uh) Pump In Style, and now I am using Sukie and Beulah, twin Hygeia EnJoyes. I will give a quick review, as best I can from my memory of Bessie, who is out to pasture, below. I would dearly love to have a new Pump In Style, a Lansinoh pump, and the PJ Comfort pump to compare properly. I have some ideas for how to go about effecting this experiment without slapping down a cool grand for pumps, but I'm open to suggestions. (Any of my readers work for these fine companies and want to send me one? I promise to donate the extras [as permissible by type of pump] when I'm done!)

So. My primary reasons for selecting the Hygeia were (1) it is a closed system, with the pump itself being shielded from any moisture or breast milk by a bacteriostatic filter, and (2) of pumps that can make that claim, it is the one sold by my dear sisters in lactogeekdom at the Nursing Mothers' Counsel of Oregon. So their endorsement and familiarity, and willingness to bring me one, was a non-trivial factor. I have, in previous posts, gone into rather unsavory detail on what can happen to a not-closed system and why one really should not pass along the Pump In Style to other mamas, which I know happens all the time. But suffice to say, with my battle with yeast in recent memory, I wasn't interested in risking it by reusing Bessie. (I intend to dissect her and make a video but I've been a tad busy lately...)

Overall I am quite satisfied with Sukie and Beulah, and I would happily recommend them to another mama. I like a lot of things about the EnJoye, and other things I think want improvement. The most important question is, am I getting as much milk? I think I am, but this is the specific question I would be better able to answer if I had several pumps to compare. That said, as compared to my memory with Bessie when Robert was a nurseling, I am getting at least as much milk with Sukie and Beulah.

They work about the same, and if you are familiar with one you will have no trouble using the other. The EnJoye has a continuously variable speed setting, which I like. I remember the Medela starting at speed A and then slowing down to speed B, and that while you could toggle it back and forth, you couldn't set A or B or tell it to stay on A indefinitely. I think the variable speed is a help for trying to get the pump to mimic the baby as closely as possible (although neither of them are very cuddly).

The version I purchased has an internal rechargeable battery, which is appealing to my little treehugging heart as compared to a brick o AA's, for travel. That said, I'm still experimenting with this but the two pumps seem to differ quite a bit in how quickly they wimp out when run just on battery power. I think it has less to do with the batteries and more to do with how they are used - Sukie goes three or four times a day at work, and sits plugged in between sessions. Beulah sits at home not plugged in, and I usually run her plugged in but that's just for half an hour or so. So I think Beulah's battery is never getting a full charge. So periodically I leave her plugged in to charge overnight or for a full 24 hours. I should probably switch who is home and who is at work, too, and see if that makes a difference. But all that said, I'm not entirely comfortable assuring mamas that you could rely on that battery for more than a couple rounds between charging. So a really long plane trip (like the one I've got scheduled in June, gulp) could be a problem. But I don't know yet, it could be fine. How's that for non-specific? One cool thing though is I have used it while carrying it over my shoulder in its bag and walked around the kitchen to make breakfast for my son. Multitasking mama!

The EnJoye is pretty loud. Now, I don't care. I think you want the pump that is the most comfortable and helps you produce the most milk. And further, since it's not built into its bag (another advantage, in my opinion), we don't really know if it's louder or just less muffled. One can perfectly well set it up, turn it on, and gently put it back in its bag, which muffles it quite a bit. I have also tossed a fleece blanket over it in my office so I could pick up the phone without turning it off. That might not be the greatest thing for the motor, but so far no major problems. But if you are pumping in a cubical in a male filled office (which you shouldn't have to, by law, but I understand we aren't all there yet) then this might matter to you.

A minor thing which I really like is that the tubes connecting the boob apparatus to the pump are longer and softer/more flexible, so if you are pumping and reach for your tea or to pick up something you dropped, you are less likely to yank the shield off your breast or the pump off the table. I also feel a little less like cattle when I am slightly less "tethered."

The shields feel about how I remember the Medela shields feeling, and in fact I'm told they are interchangeable, although I'm skeptical, because they are a little different. The Medela shields come apart from the elbow joint that connects them to the bottle. The Hygeia ones do not. This is probably for some very sensible reason, but I find it annoying because it makes them harder to clean. But that is more than made up for by the valves. The Hygeia valves are one piece, a little white soft plastic thing that looks kind of like the end of a lipstick. No tiny flappy thing that can slip out of place or get lost in the dish water. HUGE improvement.

Since the Medela is by far the most popular pump, it has the advantage of convenience - if your kid flushes all your valves and you have to run out at 9 pm to replace them, you know you can get the Medela parts at Target, BabyRUs, etc. Hygeia isn't quite there yet. I'm told, though, that they're super about sending you a loaner pump if yours has to be sent in to be repaired, and the times I have called them for support they have been friendly and helpful.

That's what I can think of to comment on right now, but please fire questions at me, I'm sure I forgot something. And if you work for Consumer Reports and want to do a thorough study, by all means do holler.

Much love,
Suzi

Lactogeek Experiment

Good Morning beloved Boobjuicers and friends!

Man this pump is loud. Not that it matters, alone in my dining room in our new house (Eeep! A house! Wow!). Is your pump loud? Does it bother you? Have you ever tried a different brand? Longer-suffering readers, oops, I mean, long-time subscribers will recall I had a Medela Pump In Style for Kid 1, and am now slinging not one but two Hygeia EnJoyes, thank you health insurance for the second one. (So before anyone gets jealous, I paid for one out of pocket. I have good insurance, not miracle insurance.) I have my likes and dislikes about it, but it's hard to really compare because Bessie the Medela has been put out to pasture, and so we're comparing now with three years ago. To really compare these things well, I would have one of each, bought around the same time, and compare them alternately and write about it. And just to be really thorough, I would get the other major brands too.

So, obviously my good but not miraculous insurance isn't going to pay for that. Lactogeek though I am, I'm not in a position to go buy a Medela, an Ameda, and the PJ Comfort (anyone used that? What did you think?) as an experiment. But I think it would be useful, for a lot of us, if someone had done such a study. So of course I thought of Consumer Reports (been hitting them a lot recently - washer, dryer, car... no one can say we are not doing our bit to stimulate the economy. Hence the unwillingness to fund my own experiment...) They have a decent article on their site which I am still working through. I bet I might also have some luck with a mommy magazine. Which ones are your favorites? Which ones do you regard as most informative and well researched? And of course, the logical question - do any of you work for one of these fine organizations?

Remember my husband is a film maker! If we can figure out a way to make a movie about this without getting me fired for plastering the ladies all over teh interwebs, we could do a good, good thing!

Let's get this experiment funded ladies!!! Send me your ideas!

More soon about the house, the milk maximizing pumping ideas, and how mama friends are my sheros and have rescued me and Jackie.

Much love,

Suzi