Purchase #2

We bought something else for the baby! I'm sure I'm a little overexcited about the purchase, but 1) it was a really good price, and 2) should last through more than one child (if necessary). Give up? It's a breast pump :)

Before purchasing, I did quite a bit of research into the various makes/models etc. There are 3 top rated brands based on customer satisfaction: Ameda, Avent, and Medela. Of course there are going to be advantages and disadvantages to each. Main considerations before you buy are things like cycle speed (to mimic the baby's natural sucking speed or 40-60 cycles per minute), vacuum strength (apparently over 250 mmHg can be pretty painful), dual or single, electric vs. manual, type of pump (open vs. closed system), and of course price.

We decided that we wanted a double, electric pump, which all three of these top rated brands carried. Plus, all three of these brands are fairly similar in what they offer for cycles per minute and vacuum strength. Where these models differed was in type of pump and price. First of all, an 'open' system means that there is no barrier between the tubes and milk collection. Therefore, there is a small, but real chance that milk will leak into the pump's tubing. If this happens, there is a chance for mold, even with sterilizing the tubes between uses (as is recommended by the manufacturer). 'Closed' systems have a diaphragm which acts as a barrier separating the pump's tubing from the collection bottle and breast cups. Closed systems are then considered more hygienic because expressed milk is never exposed to the pump tubing or motor.

After all these considerations, plus cost, we ended up buying the Ameda Purely Yours breast pump. This has the closed system that I preferred, with all the specs necessary, plus it costs about $100 less than the Medela pumps. (Plus, i found one on craigslist that had never been opened - so i saved even more!)

http://www.ameda.com/products/personal.aspx

So, a short story later, I'm very excited about this purchase even though it makes it seem even more real that in ~13 weeks (give or take) we could be using it. Not that i'm not excited about the baby coming, but a girl needs to take small steps to not freak out along the way ;)