If you are feeding your baby breast milk, being able to pump and feed your baby a-sync is the ultimate enabler of your lifestyle. Otherwise, you can make things work by always being close enough to your baby to feed them when needed. Chances are that if you are finding yourself reading this blog, you can afford to (over-)invest into pumping equipment. If you are still down to take the pumping route, that is exactly what I recommend you do.
If you are pumping on the regular, you will need an electric medical grade pump. Beyond that, general wisdom has it that there are either “traditional” or “wearable” options.
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My answer? You need both, as the perfect solution doesn’t yet exist (more on that later). As an active individual, you will need something that works well and can be used on the go. I’ve interviewed a lot of women, and none trusted their wearable pump enough to use them as their only solution. Trust me, I wish I could say “no” to the traditional pumps that make you feel like a cow (more on that also later), but you still need one as wearable pumps can let you down.
I personally own a Medela Pump in Style as that is what my insurance ended up reimbursing and an Elvie Pump because it’s slightly more silent than the Willow wearable pump. Worth noting that the Willow Pump (while a bit louder) does provide “360 movement,” meaning there should be no leaks when you move around. Other than these differences, and despite internet being full of various comparisons, there’s not much more to it.
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The bottom line is that we still don’t have the perfect solution. But I’ve decided that until we do, I’ll make do with what’s available and still continue my active on-the-go lifestyle. Hope you can do that, too!