Recommend a breast pump

[jollymummy]

Hello,

My friend has an 8 week baby who cluster feeds between 5-11pm every night. She tried expressing with a hand pump but got a blocked duct and mastitis. Do you think an electric pump would work better for her? Any particular pump better than others? Also one that is not expensive as they are on a budget. She's desperately tired in the evenings & thinking of switching to formula so any advice out there that I can pass on will be muchly appreciated.

[pommie]

with my first daughter i used a manual breast pump but found it very hard to express. With my second daughter i got a electric one (medela) and i found it much easier and quicker (although a little noiser).

[etta166]

I also liked my medela swing pump, and you can get a reasonably priced one on eBay. However, given the situation you have described, maybe one or two formula feeds a day would give her more rest than having to express on top of everything else? Mixed feeding can work very well...

[jollymummy]

Thx for your tips :-)

[Mrs_Glennie]

Another vote for the Medela!

[Convex]

The pumps that seem to get the most recommendations are the medela swing and the ameda lactaline. I got the ameda as I Was able to borrow my friends first to see how I got on with it. I also recommend a pumping bra.

If she doesn't want to pump, another suggestion is a nap before her other half goes to work. We do this and it works wonders on me. My husband gets up an hour earlier than me and looks after the baby. I know then I have an hour to sleep where I won't get interrupted. It helped to keep me sane when I was up in the night (not so often these days thank goodness) that I would get an hours kip. We don't always do it now but we did it almost every day in the early days.

Otherwise if she is thinking of formula, mixed feeding might be the halfway house that works. But only if she is sure she wants to reduce bf.... From memory our cluster feeding started to reduce around 10 weeks...?

[esme]

Medela electric swing pump was excellent - worked well and very easy to use and to keep clean. Would def recommend and you might even find someone to loan you one to try out or to buy on the forum...

[simonethebeaver]

I did what Convex did and had that blissful hour/90 minutes in the mornings, which really helped me catch up on the night's sleep. Also, co-sleeping, which isn't for everyone, but it kept me sane.

I'd also say though that although cluster feeding is exhausting, and a pain, it really does usually end not long after where she is, and it's the baby's way of building up supply.

[Jo'sEnglish]

Also did what Convex did - it was bliss! The best hours sleep I had I reckon as I wasn't worried about listening out for the baby as I knew he was being looked after.

Also, echoing what others have said in that if she can ride it out for a couple of weeks she'll probably get over it - it does end!!! Pumping I found an extra hassle really (although I only had a manual one) and then you have the issue of getting the baby to take a bottle....