Buy Willow Breast Pump

After a few (painful) weeks of trial and error on both our parts, I eventually came to cherish this intense bonding experience. As my mat leave dwindled to an end and it came time to leave my cozy little cocoon of newborn bliss, I had to start pumping so that my husband and other loved ones could help care for my son while I transitioned back to work.

buy willow breast pump

The innovative design allows you to pump from anywhere, even while lying down! Thanks to its one-way valve, milk can only go in, not out, so you can easily bend over or hold your baby without worrying about spillage.

The first time that I left the house with my Willow pump on, I felt utterly victorious. I was taking a walk on a beautiful August summer night and PUMPING MILK AT THE VERY SAME TIME. Not chained to my sad little chair at home.

Despite a built-in customer base thanks to insurance coverage from the Affordable Care Act and a lack of paid maternity leave pushing American mothers back in the workplace as fast as possible, meaningful improvements to the breast pump are few and far between.

Setting up the pump was easy, according to our tester, who was a mom going back to work after her second baby and pumping while away from home. The most confusing part is ensuring that your milk goes into the bag correctly, she said, which can take practice. The app is the easiest part to set up.

With a traditionally-designed breast pump like a Medela or Spectra, you can pump milk into a plastic bottle or a bag. If your milk output from both sides is less than the total volume of one bottle or bag (which was true for our tester), you can combine them and only use one container. You can also reseal a bag or bottle if your baby doesn't need all of the milk in one feeding. Once you've cut open a Willow bag, you'll need to store any unused milk.

To put real numbers on this scenario, consider a working mom who pumps 3 times a day and almost never pumps more than 5.5 ounces total in a session. With a Medela pump, she could pump into bottles, pour all the milk into one bag to freeze or store and then reuse the bottles at the next pumping session. She'd need about three bags a day.

Another breast pump, called the Elvie(Opens in a new tab), is similar in concept to the Willow but has a reusable receptacle for catching breast milk. That product is now available online and in retail stores.

Like any app- or internet-connected smart device, the Willow pump (assuming you're using the app, which is a main selling point), will generate reams of data about its users. Willow's privacy policy states that among the data automatically collected through the use of the app is "unique device identifier, unique user ID, geo-location, browser type, frequency of use," and "volume pumped." It is possible to use the pump without the app.

But the cost of the pump, and the ongoing cost of the bags in particular, will likely be a dealbreaker for many people. We'd be hard-pressed to find a new parent who doesn't suddenly have lots of competing needs for several hundred dollars worth of breastfeeding supplies for a several-month commitment to pumping.

I wanted another option. I wanted to find a way that I could both work AND pump at the same time. SO, I turned to Google. After what felt like endless Googling on the subject of wearable breast pumps and reading countless reviews, I narrowed my choices down to the Willow and the Elvie.

I bought and used the Willow Wearable Breast Pump Generation 3! I used it for 6 consecutive weeks for an average of 6-hour workdays, 5 days a week. I directly nursed my daughter otherwise. During those 6-hour workdays, I pumped an average of 2 to 3 times a day.

I bought and used the Elvie Pump! I used it for 6 consecutive weeks for an average of 6-hour workdays, 5 days a week. I directly nursed my daughter otherwise. During those 6-hour workdays, I pumped an average of 2 to 3 times a day.

When you're a new parent, there's a lot of new gear to purchase from diapers and onesies to white noise machines and breast pumps. Willow is currently having a sale on its smart breast pumps, and pump packages that takes $75 off the price of its devices. The company's in-bra, wearable and wireless pumps are down to $425 for a two-pump setup at both Amazon and Willow's website (you'll need the code PUMPTOIT if you go through Willow). You can also make it a package and include either additional flanges in two sizes (21mm and 24mm) or add reusable containers for $475.

The two-pump package includes the pumps, two flanges, two cleaning brushes and 24 disposable four ounce milk bags. Extra flanges cost $30 for two on the Willow site and the reusable storage containers run $50 for a two-pack. The pumps connect to a smartphone app that can help breastfeeding parents keep track of how much they're collecting, and Willow's pumps feature a spill-proof technology that allows the wearer to move freely without fear of spillage.

You'll be able to track your pumping progress with the Go through Willow's app (which also offers tips and an onboarding session on how to use the pump), and switch between two modes: stimulation and expression. There are also nine suction levels to choose from.

The evolution of breast pumps has come a long way since J.H. Hoover's original patent in 1898, and even look a bit different than the first consumer-targeted pumps marketed by Medela in 1991. But despite the endless amount of options available today, there still isn't one that's considered perfect.

The quest for the ideal pump that suits both your body and situation is a trying one. As a mother of four, I'm no stranger to this unique pursuit and have tested just about every available pump in order to find a quiet, gentle unicorn that produces the most milk possible.

For expert input, I interviewed three lactation specialists and an OB-GYN. And since pumping is as unique as the many bodies in the world, it's important to note that what works for one person may not work best for you. All our experts said to consider your specific needs before buying. You'll also find answers to a few FAQs, and insight into how I test breast pumps, at the end of this guide.

Elvie makes the best wearable pump on the market, and it is a must-have for people who don't have the opportunity to stop and pump. Compared to the competition, the Elvie pump is basically leakproof if you follow the directions.

The Willow, its main competitor, caused me plenty of tears over plenty of spilled milk. I spoke with my own lactation consultant Gillian Foreman, IBCLC, of Modern Breastfeeding and Education about this. She explained that this is the result of Willow's "flip to finish," a counterintuitive step. Instead, Elvie's pouring system allows you to dump the milk, which is stored right in the pump, into a bottle.

There are a few sacrifices to choosing this pump over a double electric. The biggest for me was output. I made significantly less milk with the Elvie compared to a traditional pump but made more milk with the Elvie versus the Willow. I attribute this to its gentle yet effective suction that felt much less like nips and more like a baby's mouth. Foreman adds that most clients see half of the normal output with wearable pumps.

She also brings up another common concern with the Elvie pump. "You have to know what flange size you are. You can [use inserts] for smaller nipples but can't make it bigger," she said. "The biggest complaint I've seen is whether [the nipple] is in the middle, [and if not] there can be pain because it might be rubbing."

Traditional manual pumps use a one-handed pumping system where you squeeze a handle connected to the flange and pump to extract milk from the breast. The problem is that about 10 pumps in your hand is already tired. Haakaa seems to have solved this problem with a hands-free system that provides low-level suction.

The pump catches milk that would be wasted if you are, say, feeding your baby on the other breast, while also pumping some milk. It's not a full replacement for an electric pump though. Instead, it perfectly fits the bill as a second pump for periodic use to relieve pressure when you are overfull, especially in the middle of the night when the baby is only up for nursing on one side.

She warns that overusing it can actually create an oversupply, as you are essentially teaching the breast that more milk is needed. "Just use the Haakaa until the breast feels a little softer," she recommended.

If you plan to buy just one pump and your baby is exclusively breastfeeding, every ounce matters. This is why the Motif Luna made the cut, with one of the highest outputs of the pumps we tested. If you eliminate all other factors and simply need the highest output for your money, this is the most effective and economical choice.

You can be sure you are choosing a good pump if the motor is strong but doesn't necessarily feel strong on the breasts, Dandrich explains, and the Luna fits this description. Foreman calls the pump impressive and cautions that people should choose the higher grade Luna, not the lower grade Duo, saying there is a dramatic difference.

I particularly love the three levels of LED lighting on the pump for night use, very clear buttons that don't require a look back at the handbook, and a timer showing how many minutes you've been pumping. It's a quiet pump if you are looking to discreetly pump at work or on the go.

Jennifer Horne, a board-certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) with The Lactation Network, recommends Spectra with its closed system for hygiene reasons, meaning milk circulates through a hygienic route away from the pump mechanism. She also likes the adjustable settings for controlling suction levels and the letdown versus expression modes.

With only this pump, I experience a second "letdown" or wave of milk halfway through pumping, which gives me a higher output. I believe this is due to the strong motor and a feel that most mimics my baby's nursing patterns.

I would like to see Spectra make a softer rimmed flange, similar to Medela's Personal Fit Flex technology that features a rubber ring instead of hard plastic. This would make the Spectra the ultimate pump. 041b061a72