Product Review: PJ's Comfort Pump

Hello Dear Boobjuicers and Friends!

At long last, the review of the PJ's Comfort pump by Limerick. You may recall I was totally wanting to review this pump but not wanting to shell out the cash to buy one given that I have two other pumps and am 2/3 done with my pumping year (more than that at this point). So I called Limerick and pointed out my Hygeia EnJoye review, and suggested, wouldn't they like me to review their pump too, for my wonderful readers? So they deliberated, and then had a pump sent to the Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon for a two month trial. Awesome! So not only did I get to try it out for two weeks, but some other mamas who are peer counselors will also get to try it.

So this is going to have to be a longer write up, because this pump is so different from most pumps with which most mamas are familiar, that it takes a lot of explaining. But by way of an executive summary, after returning the trial pump to NMC, I bought a used one on eBay. So that should let you know what I thought. I mean, yes, I'm a pump happy fool, but you don't see me buying extra Medelas just to have handy for fun.

The PJ is a hospital-grade pump which can be used by multiple mamas who each have their own accessory kit. The kit includes a "bacteriostatic" filter, which protects the pump mechanism from germies, and is tested to some tiny particle size like it's so small if something that size is going to hurt you, you were toast anyway, in diameter. In this respect it is similar to the Hygeia EnJoye, although the latter is not hospital grade. Well what is hospital grade? Good question. In a remarkable coincidence, the NMC education meeting last month was all about pumps and pumping. One of the peer counselors went through some specs on different pumps, hospital and retail, and what suction and cycles they offered. I think the chief difference is that most manufacturers who offer both types make the hospital grade ones stronger. They also say the hospital grade ones are built to last longer, but anecdotal evidence suggests that they may be less differentiated than companies might like us to believe. And lastly, hospital grade pumps appear to always be usable by more than one mama, each with her own personal accessory kit.

I used a Medela hospital grade pump for a while with Robert - first in the hospital and then as a rental. I don't remember the name of the model but it's the older of the two still on the market, and it's a large scary looking blue thing. It has a kit which includes a plunger thingee (which you can use as a hand pump! I learned that at the NMC educational meeting) and otherwise is sort of indistinguishable from the Pump In Style, in terms of user experience. I do think it goes up to a higher level of suction, but I couldn't tolerate the highest level of suction on the Pump In Style, so that was sort of moot for me. I hated this pump, although to be fair, the nurse who showed me how to use it turned it up to highest suction while I was using both hands to hold the pump accessories to my breasts and couldn't defend myself. I was saying "OW! OW!" and she took longer than was merciful to get the point and turn it back down. I didn't particularly like that nurse, you may have notice. None of which is Medela's fault. AND, that was February 2009 and they have a newer hospital grade pump on the market which could be nicer for the user, I don't know. But I think it's fair to say that it's very similar to using a Pump In Style. Medela is welcome to send me a pump to try if they would like to dispute that statement. And then the Hygeia EnJoye, while an improvement over the Pump In Style in several ways which I detailed in my review of that product, is also very similar in that you put a hard plastic cone thingee on your breast and it push/pulls on your nipple to get the milk out.

The PJ Comfort uses soft silicone breast flanges and does not have the same push/pull action. It actually has a compression aspect to it, as well as suction, which is designed to mimic how a baby actually nurses. It's a little hard to explain, but Limerick has some great videos on their website demonstrating how it works. But when I first started using it, between the unfamiliar mechanism and the fact that the braces that hold the silicone flanges on sort of block the view of the nipple moving, I thought it wasn't doing anything. So then it didn't make any sense to me that I was getting milk out of it. I was working closely with Patricia and Joan (P&J, get it?) via email and phone, and apparently I'm not the only mama who was sort of like, "I don't get why it works." We have it in our heads that if our nipples aren't being stretched like taffy and it doesn't hurt, nothing is happening. Which means we are probably all using our conventional push/pull breastpumps incorrectly, but it also means we are amazed when we try this PJ one.

It takes a little practice to get used to the pump (true of any pump) especially if you are used to adjusting the settings on the EnJoye or the Pump In Style. The way to use the PJ is to turn both the suction and the cycle to "start". This puts low suction, fast cycle action into play. It sort of tickles, like when you latch on the baby and baby instictively flutter sucks to get a let down. So you leave it that way for a minute and then turn up suction to the most that is still comfortable. Higher suction means the fastest cycle is slower. This part took some getting used to - at first I was turning both knobs, but P and J instructed me that the cycle adjustment is more for fine-tuning and the suction adjustment is where most of the action is. Once I tried it this way I got better results - more milk in less time.

So the first thing I noticed is that this thing is WAAAAAY more comfortable. The silicone sticks to my skin, so I definitely want the coconut oil, which then fuses itself to the silicone permanently. Seriously I've even re-boiled these flanges and got about half the coconut oil off. So if you are skeeved out by that and want to use oil, you might not like it. But I figure, coconut oil is anti-microbial, I can boil them periodically to re-sterilize them, and I'm okay with it. And again, way more comfortable than my other breastpumps. After 10-15 minutes it becomes less comfortable - I think what's happening is when the milk is done some of the suction is being transferred to the skin instead (you know how when you latch the baby on in the middle of the night in the dark and you miss the nipple it hurts like heck and then you have a boob hickey?). But I have also noticed that there is no particular benefit to letting it run more than a moment after the milk is all done. So if I get to this discomfort point, what it really means is I stopped paying attention to the pumping and was busy typing product reviews on my blog. Oh, hang on a sec.

Another nice thing about the PJ is that, because it has both compression and suction, you don't have to do the compressions yourself to get the most out of the pump. Suzi what are you talking about? Well, as the fine folks at Stanford have taught us, you need to do compression and/or hand expression along with pumping when you use a push/pull pump, or you get less milk and in particular less of the nice filling fatty milk than you can get by using your hands (and, of course, than baby gets when nursing). So I have been doing this since early Robert pumping days. But when I did it with my PJ's pump, nothing much happened. I asked about that, and P and J confirmed that it's because the pump itself is providing the compression action. So this explains why another mama I know said she got twice as much milk with her PJ's Comfort as with any other pump - I think she wasn't doing hands-on pumping. Because I always do hands-on pumping, I didn't notice much of a volume output difference between the pumps, maybe slightly more with the PJ, but it sure is more convenient to be able to type for the whole time I'm pumping rather than having to stop and do hand compression halfway through.

There are some other nice features about the PJ's Comfort pump, too. One, it's tiny and light. Again, how the heck is this tiny little thing accomplishing this more effective pumping? Well I don't have to understand it to appreciate it, luckily. Two, it's much quieter than other pumps. As I have said before, I don't really care, because I have my own office with a door to close, but we aren't all so lucky, and besides it's nice not to have tired ears in addition to tired breasts (and tired everything else, after all we are mamas!) Three, it's got a clever little timer thing that shows you how long you have been pumping, which saves me fiddling with my iPhone. I was surprised by how useful I found this - I figured it was a silly feature, I mean who doesn't have a timer or computer or something nearby, but really anything that simplifies the cumbersome process of collecting milk for our littles while working in the salt mines is a bonus. Four, the tubes are long. They aren't as flexible as the tubing for the EnJoye, but more so than my old Pump In Style. I like this because if I lean over to grab something I don't yank the flange off my breast. Maybe you mamas are less forgetful/clumsy than I am, but to me having short tubes made me feel even more like a Holstein hooked up to a milking factory.  The tubes are also wider in diameter, which is good because I got milk in one. If you get the bacteriostatic filter wet you have to replace it. Luckily I noticed the milk before it got that far along the tube. I drained the milk, took the tubes home, disassembled it, washed it out, and let it dry. It took a couple days hanging over a cabinet door to dry out, and you can still see a bit of milk inside the tubes, but you can also tell it hasn't gone any farther, so between that and this super space age filter, I'm confident to use the tubes again. If not I could just order more.

The pump works with my "made by moms" pumping band, which is convenient. Limerick sells something that will make it hands free too, works with a nursing bra. Also while I wouldn't recommend it, I have discovered quite by accident that the pump works without the little connectors between the tubing and the bottle tops - I just shoved the tubing onto the top connection and it worked, although was much harder to get on and off. The bottles are taller and narrower than Medela's or Hygeia's, making them more annoying to get clean, says hubby Matt. But they provide a handy little cleaning brush which he LOVES and I think more than won him over from the narrow bottles. The pump kit ships with a note explaining that no nipples are provided because of compliance with WHO guidelines - interesting - but they should work with standard nipples. The little backpack is cute, but if you're buying your pumps for fashion reasons, you are even more sleep deprived than I am. Also their instruction manual beats Hygeia's (not hard, that's the weakest part of that product), but it's hard to learn to express breast milk from any manual or book, no matter how well written.

So then we come to the price. This part is tricky. For a hospital grade pump, it's dirt cheap. Compared to pumps that most mamas consider for going back to the rent gig purposes, it's spendy. Limerick points out that if you are going to rent hospital grade for a couple months and then buy a pump to keep, you've more than paid for the PJ's Comfort, especially when you factor in the accessories. I think this is a good point. Further, since it's usable by more than one mama, you can sell it on eBay when you are done and reclaim part of the cost. I bought a new but open one on eBay (and threw out the tubing and filter just to be safe, and then boiled the other parts, just like you're supposed to anyway) for about $250. So used for a year it would probably fetch less, and the 3-year warranty (2 years longer than many other pumps) is not transferable. All that said, when you're pumping for a year, a couple hundred bucks to be much more comfortable is totally worth it. Plus you could go in with another mama and share it if you work together or are staggering your kids.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have bought this pump new instead of BOTH of my Hygeia EnJoyes and come out about the same in terms of dollars out. I don't know if my health insurance would have reimbursed me for this pump or not, they only work through specific suppliers but I don't remember any restrictions as to product. The PJ's is small and light enough that not having two and having to haul it back and forth to the office would be less annoying. And I think the fact that I bought a third pump in order to have one to keep speaks volumes as to my opinion of it (and the level of tolerance of my husband for my pump obsession, but that's a topic for another therapy session. I mean, blog post.)

Lastly, and this is immaterial to most mamas' decisions about which pump to get, but it matters to me - Patricia and Joan are a mother-daughter small business, they are both IBCLCs, and they are very plugged in to the breastfeeding research science scene. I think that's great. They also have a workplace lactation support program which I want to know more about, but if I have it my way, soon in order to be a hip and awesome employer, all companies will have to provide great support programs for lactating mamas.

By way of full disclosure, I can't tell you if their regular customer support is good because I had access to the ladies at the top, and they were very enthusiastic about making sure I was able to give the product a thorough review. I also seem to fall in love with every breastfeeding product I try these days (oooo! Shiny!). I switched back to my EnJoye after returning the trial PJ's Comfort, and some of what I had learned form the the latter enabled me to better mimic baby Jackie with the former and enjoy it better (Enjoy the EnJoye... okay that was too obvious, sorry). I even felt a little silly buying ANOTHER breastpump off eBay. But then when it showed up and I could use it again, I was so glad. While I was waiting for the tubing to dry out after my little spill, I missed it. So I think this is not just new shiny love but actually a lasting relationship. Until Jackie is over one year and I get to do just the fun nursing again.

I hope that is helpful and not so long as to have lost everyone. Definitely let me know your questions!

Much love,
Suzi.

Beach!

Hello Dear Boobjuicers and Friends!

Greetings from the lovely Oregon coast. So, here's how much of an evil little twerp is post-partum anxiety. This is our last night at the beach on what has been a fantastic vacation. So I walked the, what, fifty yards? to the ocean from our rented beach house, to say goodbye to the ocean. And was able to stand there for maybe a minute before horrible visions of a tsunami drowning my baby sent me back to the house. Sigh. I tried taking a deep breath, shaking my head, looking back at the house and then back towards the ocean. Wound up just watching for two more waves to make sure the water really wasn't rising and then giving up.

I finally decided to go on sertraline (Zoloft) a few weeks ago. I had been trying to avoid it on the theory that I wanted to expose my little nursling to as little as possible in terms of chemicals in my breastmilk. But after one night too many of crying uncontrollably for no reason I could discern, I decided she's better off with a sane mother than with slightly more pristine breastmilk. Man, I wish I'd come to that conclusion about eight months ago. Sigh. But anyway, I'm feeling much improved, even with tsunami flashes, and after much research am comfortable that Jackie will not be harmed.

And meanwhile, I have discovered the secret to a relaxing vacation with little littles. Extra grownups. We are on vacation with my sister and her husband (two of my favorite people in the whole wide world, also, and lots of fun). Outnumbering the kids two to one is sheer genius. Matt and I didn't manage to have a date (we officially suck at that by the way) but I got lots of sleep. No, really. Jackie and I had like a three hour nursey nap yesterday, and later that day I realized I didn't feel tired. For pretty much the first time I can recall since parenthood. Ahhh.

I brought my breastpump, too. I thought I might be able to sneak in a session a day or so. Well, not so much. I could have if I was willing to do one side while Jackie nursed the other, which is a perfectly reasonable strategy, or pump after she nursed. Some mamas get milk that way, I usually don't. But between all the nursing, sleeping, and s'mores and whatnot, I just didn't make it happen. Who is surprised? Sorry about that.

So presently I'm sitting in the upstairs loft area, listening to Jackie squawk and Robert insist that he needs help getting out of something which Cathy says he can get out of himself. I don't think I want to know.

Much love,
Suzi

On the Road

Hello Dear Boobjuicers and Friends!

Happy Father's Day! Fathers are important. I miss my dad. I have no idea what he would have thought of this blog. He probably would have been proud and embarrassed all at once. He was a chemist, and I'm sure with all the research I could have thrown at him, would have respected my breastfeeding and child led weaning. But the idea of his daughter talking about boobs all the time might have challenged his notions of proper conversation. I know he would have loved the house we just bought. We're in a quiet neighborhood, surrounded by trees and hills and kids and pregnant ladies. It's perfect for us. He would have enjoyed sitting on the back deck with a cup of tea or a glass of wine, watching the "traffic" go by. We joke that it's rush hour when two dogs go by at once. And he would have gotten a huge kick out of Matt's fancy stereo, which is linked up to the computer, or maybe a couple of computers, I can't keep track. There's an "Apple TV" involved and I haven't had my orientation training yet. But Dad was a sterophile, and also totally cutting edge on the computer front. We had a TRS-80 at home. Yep. If you don't need to Google that you are a geek.

My business trip was a rousing success! I brought a little hand pump (it's an Avent, sort of hard to find so I wonder if they're not making many of them anymore?) because of the horror stories I had heard about business trips with pumps breaking. I booked the trip to be as brief as possible, not quite doing the math about the part where that meant I would get 3.5 hours of sleep. But then that saved me from getting up in the middle of the night to pump. I talked to the flight attendants and my seat mates about pumping on the plane, and my meeting hosts found some spots in their offices for me to pump. I don't tweet so I posted to Facebook as I went. Here's how it went:

I don't tweet so I'm going to play by play my business trip on this post. To start I'm at PDX, pumping in an internet kiosk. Only other person in the "service center" is a female employee on break eating a snack. Next challenge will be pumping on the plane. Goal is no bathrooms.

On plane to Salt Lake City. Had seat next to middle-aged man. Switched seats and got a mother of six who natural birthed and breastfed all of 'em. Used hand pump during descent.

Smaller plane for Kansas City. Fancy hat lady next to me. We'll see. Loving the hand pump though. Smaller, easier to be discreet.

Hat lady was great. Told her the deal and she said, "You sat next to the right person!" even though she doesn't have kids. Now FB friends with the mom of six.

In my hotel room with Beulah, pumping before bed. I have to get up in four hours. Groan.

So after a cozy 3.5 hours of sleep (downside of the "fast as possible" trip plan) I woke up fairly full, which surprised me. Ran downstairs to get breakfast and the freezer inserts for my coolers, which Nice Front Desk Man stuck in their freezer for me since my cute little 1ft^3 fridge has no freezer cubby. Ate while pumping. (In my room. That didn't seem terribly clear.) Still pumping.

Due to meetings will have to go about three hours from end of this session to start of next one. Have hearty pumping bra and breast pads... Although come to think of it that's rather like a normal business day... Also, just pumped for 53 minutes. Phew. Okay, quick shower and toss all my stuff back together!

Meeting one. Then pumped in "wellness room," converted phone cubby. Lovely, on par with the rest of this swanky manager's fancy office. Meeting two. Tried to put me in the bathroom. Pointed out, gently, that it's food, you wouldn't make a sandwich in there. "I hadn't thought of that." After declining one office with a glass door and no blinds, I'm in a file room that's long and narrow enough that I can't be seen from the door. Which doesn't lock but I pushed a heavy box against it.

I am noticing that I'm more full and have a sore spot in the right breast. I'm glad I don't have to do this often.

Seated on flight to Seattle. Pumping w electric pump at my seat while they load the plane. I got the window in the last row, which is perfect, and asked the flight attendant, and pumped before the door closed. Now I can just sit!

Pumped again of flight because uncomfortable. Lost suction, thought battery was done, got all disassembled, realized a valve had fallen out. Sigh. But had pumped a decent amount. Still have hand pump clean for next flight if I get uncomfortable.

Almost home!!!

Standing by for half hour earlier flight to Portland... Cross fingers!

Got the earlier flight!

She's conked out. I made Matt come far me and Erick babysit and I don't even get to nurse until I get home. I could have expensed a cab. Sigh.

Home! Nursing! We made it!!!

Oof. Nursed ouchier side first while hand pumping the other. Now on second side. My little nursing champ did a great job on the first side.

----

Hope that's useful for someone!

Much love,
Suzi

Career Advice; Shipping Liquid Gold

Hello Dear Boobjuicers and Friends!

So, when you were in the career advice office of whatever school you most recently attended, getting advice on your resume and identifying possible future employers, remember how the counselor told you, "Now, young hopeful, be sure, when your organization merges with a large bank, to talk to your new c-level executives at the closing celebration about your cheeky breastfeeding blog. That will surely advance your career interests most effectively."

No? Huh. Well, this guy is either the most gracious person in the world or genuinely interested, because we had a lovely conversation about it, and he pointed out the presence of a neat breastfeeding calendar which I must acquire.

So on to more immediately practical topics. Shipping breastmilk. There are several sites out there explaining methods of doing it - kellymom.com and eats on feets, for starters. Most of these suggest using dry ice. I don't know about you but I am too busy (lazy?) to go find dry ice to ship milk around. I used a cold shipping storage box I found on Amazon (was made by RNC Industries - they recommend their 12x12x12 box) and bought extra cold packs. These are just those gel packs you freeze yourself and much like you find in a picnic cooler. I found the best packing method was two gel packs on the bottom, one on each side, and two on top. We put the frozen breastmilk (in the storage bags sold by Lansinoh in this case) by the half dozen or dozen into larger ZipLoc freezer bags (this is important in case one of them has a leak in it) and put the freezer bags into the box inside the frozen gel packs. If they don't fill up the storage space, put the top gel packs on top and then use bubble wrap or something to fill up the rest of the space inside the insulating liner of the box. Tape it up but good! I used FedEx Standard Overnight, that delivers at 10:30 in the morning and this worked like a charm. It's not cheap but this is liquid gold we're talking about here. Also check if you can use your employer's account and reimburse them - they might get a better deal. (Someone pointed this out to me after I did this three times. Ah well).

My sister in law shipped her stash this way for part and let UPS pack the other half, moving house from NY to MI. The friend on the other end who received the goods for her said the box she packed by my method was still frozen solid and the UPS box was thawed, but still refrigerator cold. I asked her to find out how UPS packed that box but no word back yet. So again, I'm not an IBCLC or a FedEx employee or anything fancy like that, so follow my advice at your own discretion. But it worked for us.

Hopefully that is useful to some of you! Let me know if you try it and how it works for you.

Much love,
Suzi

Flying the Boobjuice Friendly Skies?

Hello dear Boobjuicers and Friends!

First and most importantly I hope every one of you had a lovely Mother's Day, or caused one to be had by your favorite moms. If not, I say fair to declare a do-over!

Secondly allow me to provide the recent Time magazine cover all the attention that it is due. Okay, done now.

And thirdly, help me out folks. I have a business trip in June, which I am planning to take by myself, just me and Sukie the Breastpump, so being away from nursling Jackie for about 30 hours. I'm totally wigged. I mean, I have had dreams about it, I've woken suddenly from half naps worrying about it, it's chasing me around. This seems ridiculous. The mamas at my work who serve in the client-facing capacity all had to travel right when they got back from leave. (And so far most of them have told me some horror story where the pump breaks overseas and they're miserable. Can we get a holla for hand expression? At which I am still totally incompetent, by the way?) There's currently plenty of milk on the freezer (more on that later but no I have not found the miracle to increasing supply although I did get a marginal bump for a couple hours out of asparagus.) Matt can take care of two kiddos at once. It's 30 hours. It should be fine.

I totally want to take her with me. I'm ready to chuck my "always buy them a ticket and strap them into the seat" rule out the emergency exit, carry her in my lap, drop a couple hundred on local child care through an agency, and give up on the idea that as the breadwinning boobjuicing blogger I should really set an example of how doable this is and do it myself. I don't want to. What if my pump breaks? What if pumping on the plane is totally miserable, the other passengers harass me, the flight attendants try to prevent it, or the battery runs out? What if a tornado strands me in Kansas (yes I'm going to Kansas and yes I've covered the Dorothy and Toto comments quite thoroughly thanks though) for an extra day? What if my heart crumbles from missing her too much? What if I'm too dramatic and my business acquaintances have me committed? I could lose my supply in the length of time it takes me to explain to the mental health workers that I'm really not crazy and just need to be put on the next flight to Portland please. What if I do take her with me and the child care person shows up drunk, and I can't go to the meeting? What if the child care person steals her and I never see her again?

Can we all just take a moment and marvel at how patient and sweet my husband is now that you have a clearer idea what he is dealing with? Although come to think of it all you people know is that he's still around. Well, I can hear him now, saying "COME BACK TO US! You have gone to The Bad Place! You must chill! I have hidden! your Firebird! keys!!!"

Anyway back to the trip. Anyone who wants to give Matt a hand talking me off this ledge please proceed. I'm at a bit of a loss.

Much love,
Suzi

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