SpectraS1 Plus Hospital Grade Double Electric Breast Pump with Rechargeable Battery, Blue

In total I have breastfed for 5.5 years (different children.. my own ofcourse!) and I have always struggled with pumping. I have tried most pumps on the market. Both my sons were in neonatal so I have tried the hospital pumps too. It was always a struggle to get any milk out. The pumps were never comfortable, they hurt and it would be so disheartening to see nothing but a dribble come out.That is until I tried the Spectra. This one was the first one I felt comfortable when I was using it. It didn’t pinch or pull and I was actually stimulated and let milk down. I struggle with milk supply and this was a great tool to help me increase it in between feeds.There are a variety of settings to suit you, more than any other pump I’ve tried. This really helps to stimulate your milk. I’ve found a double pump is so much better as you’re not missing any let down. You can get different flanges which is really helpful to get the right fit. You can also buy extra parts to make Medela parts fit.But I was content using the Spectra set up alone. It comes with 2 bottles so I would pump into these and transfer the milk into other bottles/bags when I was done.It is easy to set up, you connect the tubes to the flanges and to the pump and you’re all set.I never had any trouble with milk going into the tubes, so washing was always a breeze. It’s very easy to clean. If you can pick up some spare bottles that would be helpful so you don’t have to constantly wash the same 2.The pump is still going strong today. It has lasted me for the last 4 years and helped me with two different breastfeeding journeys. When my second son was on neonatal I actually took this in rather than using their pump as this worked so much better.An added bonus was the noise was soothing for the babies as well. They got so used to it it was like white noise for them. If you are pumping at night there is a handy little light which isn’t bright enough to disturb anybody. There is also a space at the back of the pump to hold a bottle of milk.I would definitely recommend this pump if you’re having trouble with milk supply or you want a more efficient way of pumping. It is great value for money, it’s well made and it lasts.

Trying to carry on breastfeeding when you've gone back to work can be a challenge for many reasons, but since getting the Spectra S1, the act of expressing isn't one of them. I use this 2-3 times every day at work, and it does the job perfectly. It's silent enough that it's not too embarrassing to use it whilst hiding in a toilet cubicle (incredibly undignified, but that's not the pump's fault!), and the built in battery ensures that it's possible to use the unit on the go.Battery life: Fantastic; I can use this for three days without recharging, if I'm expressing 2-3 times a day, with each session lasting 20-25min.Amount expressed: Slightly more than my baby's consumption. I base this on the fact that when I'm at work, I normally express somewhere between 10% and 30% more than he has when he's with the childminder.Night light: I wasn't expecting to use this feature, but when I went through a phase of feeding the little on just one side in the night, I found I needed to express on the other side because it was full to the brim. Expressing by nightlight meant that I didn't have to turn the room lights on to operate the pump, which helped prevent me from waking up too much to go back to sleep quickly once done.Double/single mode: You can use the pump in either double or single mode depending on your preference. Personally I use different settings for each side, so as you (understandably) can't set the suction and frequency per side, I use it in single mode.Massage mode: This "lets the milk down", and uses a high frequency of stimulation with very low suction. I never need to use this for more than 2 minutes before going on to express mode.Suction: The suction is more than adequate for my needs; the highest setting I ever use is 8, but it does go all the way up to 12. Of course everybody is different, but this should cater for most.Frequency: There are 5 frequency levels, which regulate the length of each cycle of suction. Increasing the frequency helps reduce any discomfort you might feel, so you can use quite a high level of suction if you use a higher frequency level.Overall action: It's a little difficult to explain how this feels, but in addition to the suction and frequency, there's a vibration in the unit - Spectra brand this as mimicking your baby's suckling, and I think this is a pretty good analogy. Suffice to say, I really feel that I've been able to use this at higher suction levels than other breastpumps because of how this feature works.Any snags? It's quite bulky. However, I expect this is what allows for the fantastic battery life, and personally I'm happy with that as a trade-off. It still fits happily in a backpack for taking to and from work. Oh, and if the bottle is empty or has very little in it, it won't sit steadily in the holder on the unit.Overall, I couldn't recommend this enough

We got this to help with boosting breastfeeding and milk production. After going to hospital we saw the difference between the equipment they had and a small breast pump we were using that had a silicone cup. The one we had before this was terrible and barely got a drop out. The first 10 seconds using this gave us the same volume as 10 minutes with the smaller one.This is easy to use. They only include 1 size of cone for attaching over the nipple, but if you are ok with sitting and holding the cone to the breast it isn't an issue. They do include all the equipment needed to pump both breasts at the same time and importantly you can also choose to use mains or battery power with the same quality and level of powerYou can choose to single pump by blocking a port or double pump at the same time.The controls allow for strength and frequency (number of sucks per minute) which is really good to help encourage more flow.It is very easy to use. There's no complicated instructions or procedure for use. When assembled and switched on you can start pumping in seconds. The cup, bottle and valves are all plastic and can be stripped down easily for easy sanitising and even a 3am pump is not too complicated to reassemble.The huge advantage with this is the battery power. You can charge it up and take it on the go or use it while plugged in. We will usually just have it charged and the Mrs will pump in the bedroom after each evening feed until morning.Good quality. Not cheap, but worth it. Recommended. Thank you for reading my review. I hope you found it useful