Elvie Pump (Single)

Third time breastfeeding and I am so happy to find the Elvie.. I used the Medela and it was great, just very tied down to a machine.. I then got the Willow and let me tell you why it sucked!Elvie vs Willow- the willow is much louder! You hear the mechanisms moving and have to walk around with a little motor rumbling in your bra.. Elvie has a very faint sound but all you really hear is the liquid hitting the container- when held side by side the willow and Elvie are about the same size. But when in your bra your breast is much more flush with the Elvie and has a much more discreet look- while pumping it’s crazy how smooth the Elvie is.. I have to check sometimes to see if it’s even on, but yup it’s working away you can barely even feel it .. the willow was a little more harsh no matter the settings (the Elvie just fits your nipple more natural)- the functionality is exceptionally better with the Elvie. You can change whether your pumping left or right.. you can switch from expression to stimulation.. you can set a timer! (willow doesn’t offer any of this) .. and the app is great and so far has been very accurate on volume pumped.- cleanup! Once again the Elvie is just better!! The willow has parts that are small and can be hard to get into, and if using containers instead of the bag it’s difficult to clean in the small crevices. The Elvie has an awesome container and it easy to clean and pour milk out of.- a major problem I had with the willow was milk spillage .. after you pump you need to flip this switch to seal it and then turn the pump over and after some time that became faulty and milk would just pour out getting the pump itself all wet. My legs drenched and sticky.. also if all went well with the flip, removing the container always spilled milk again. It’s messy!! The Elvie had me so in love when I realized it’s almost impossible to have a big spill. And with the container being on the bottom, it won’t spill all over the actual pump- as for the seal… the willow does allow you to move a little more (bending over and such) but if you keep the Elvie compressed nicely to your breast with no gaps at all with a bra you won’t have any spillage!- the willow only has a 1 year warranty (which I learned the hard way that isn’t enough) .. Elvie has a 2 year which makes me feel they are more confident in the product- oh almost forgot,, the Elvie comes with extra container AND a different size nipple flange (this cost extra for willow)- the Elvie uses a usb charger so it can be plugged in almost anywhere.. even the car. The willow uses a standard dc plug and makes it hard to charge on the goBeing I just got the Elvie I can’t comment on the long term durability.. but I can already tell the Elvie is made way better and much higher quality than the willowWhy I went to Elvie- I used my willow pumps for 4 months, they worked just fine. Stored it for a year.. went to use it again and one never turned back on and the other one worked for a few days after which a pin broke off of the pumping mechanism and is completely useless now. After calling and just being over my year warranty willow basically said TOUGH LUCK.

This product was a HUGE game changer for my family and I cannot recommend it enough. I needed to pump in order to give myself more flexibility and freedom without having to give my son formula if it wasn’t necessary. I pump when I’m driving, blow drying my hair, making dinner. Seriously amazing.There was, however, a learning curve to this. It took me 5 sessions of pumping, reading the guides provided on the app, and adjusting/readjusting to get the suction latched on just right to where I was actually producing a lot.My advice: read the directions thoroughly! Suction is everything and if you don’t fit it super tightly in your bra, you’re not going to get NEARLY as much milk. I had them loosely in my bra and the suction on the flange wasn’t completely sealed all around my breast and I produced a 1/2 oz from both breasts combined… once I kept at it and figured out the suction and which flange would fit my nipple best, I produced 3 oz between both breasts in half the time! While you can def accomplish a lot of chores and things while pumping, don’t do things that cause you to lean over or have to be bounced around a lot because the suction with release and you’ll be pumping very little if nothing out. Next, create a solid routine/system for how you’re going to clean, dry and store your pump and it’s pieces. I have an amazing pump backpack that came with the pump my insurance provided me and I converted it to have everything I need for this pump so it’s incredibly easy to bring with me.I feel like a human woman again with this pump because you don’t have tubes going everywhere and your nipple exposed. I hating pumping, I was embarrassed and it took SO much time out of my day. Granted, you still need to clean all the parts but you gain back so much time because you can do things!Another thing I absolutely love is that for me, this pump helps to stimulate my breasts to produce more milk. You can literally wear these for an hour each day and get so much milk and it’s perfect because it increases your production overall which is something I needed because my son wasn’t getting enough milk at the breast and we had to start supplementing with 4oz of formula a day - which none of us enjoyed.I’ve only been using this a few days (though I’ve used it like 7 times already haha!) so I’ll try to update as time goes on to be sure this product still stays as top notch as I currently think it is.I hope this helps any lactating mammas out there to know that this is expensive but absolutely worth the time you gain back from it if you can afford it!