Pumping Mama! A Breast Pump Review

Three pumps, many weeks, and a whole lot of milk! Over the past seven weeks I have tried three different breast pumps. Why three different pumps? When I started researching breast pumps before little C was born, I wanted to know the difference between Medela and Spectra. While researching, I found reviews of the pumps separately, but none where anyone compared them side by side. So, I decided to do my own comparison to help other mamas who were in the same boat I was!

Obviously, I included Medela and Spectra, and then we were offered an Ameda to review so we decided to toss that into the comparison as well! The pumps I used were the Ameda Finesse, the Spectra S2, and the Medela Pump In Style Advanced. Over these weeks I've used one pump at a time. Also, I e-mailed the companies various times with questions to be sure my comparison was as accurate as possible! If you have questions that are not answered here please comment, I'd love to help!

Side note: It can take your body up to 3 weeks to adjust to a new pump so if you are switching and getting lower volumes, give your body time to adjust before thinking the pump 'doesn't work as well!'

This post contains a TON of information so hang in there friend! I've given a brief review as well as listed the pros and cons of each pump.

Breast Pump Comparison & Review

Spectra S2

This pump is wonderful. I still haven't found a reason to not love this pump. Number one reason I love this pump: It is a closed system. From KellyMom, "A closed system pump has a barrier between the milk collection kit and the pump mechanism to prevent contamination by bacteria/mold/viruses/etc. An open system pump has no such barrier." The Spectra has a digital screen so you can easily see how long you have been pumping which is really handy if you don't have a clock, your phone, or its 1:30 in the morning and you don't know when you started. The screen also displays your vacuum, speed, AND it saves the settings you had it on last for both letdown and expression mode. This way you never have to adjust dials or buttons unless you want to. The pump starts in expression mode so you have to press the letdown button when you power it on. The only thing I found frustrating about the pump, was the bottles leak sometimes if you do not screw the lid on tight enough. Instead of using those, I just started pumping into the bottles Cora drinks from, which was easier in the long run.

Spectra S2 Pros

Duckbill valve is one single piece, no losing those little white things like with Medela
Everything is dishwasher safe
Closed system
Separate vacuum/speed options--super nice for unclogging ducts!
Nightlight with two settings
Digital screen displays
Timer so you know how long you've been pumping
Auto shut off after 30 min
2 year warranty since many moms pump longer than one year
Rechargeable battery model option (S1)--I have not found that I would need this option yet

Spectra S2 Cons

It is recommended to not use microwave sterilizer bags
Bottles that come with are difficult to get a good seal on, so they leak sometimes, I just pump into the bottles our baby drinks from to solve this issue.

Ameda Finesse

I was impressed with the way this pump presented, but not with actually using it. The pump has separate vacuum and speed options for customization which is ideal for getting your pumping as close to baby's sucking as possible. This pump is also a closed system (see definition from KellyMom above). This pump is fairly quiet when turned up to full vacuum; however, the power of the vacuum is hugely lacking and no matter what I tried during my times using this pump it was not efficient enough in emptying my milk fully. It was also difficult to remember where I had the separate vacuum and speed dials for letdown and expression so I was always adjusting the dials to get it 'just right.' Overall, this pump was not as friendly to use as the other pumps because of the dials, but the information provided with the pump was great.

Ameda Finesse Pros

Everything you need comes sterilized, so you don't need to sterilize before using
Comes with a guide for measuring nipples to get accurate breast shield size
Guide explains the difference between letdown and expression
Pump itself is very compact
Can easily be put into a pump bag you like
Comes with hand pump
Closed system
2 year warranty since many moms pump longer than one year
Separate vacuum and speed options
Decently quiet

Ameda Finesse Cons

Have to adjust speed and vacuum dials each each time you switch between letdown and expressing milk.
Hard to remember exactly where you had dials each time
Noise is annoying to listen to

Medela Pump In Style Advanced

All the moms I know have a Medela, and most of them have said they really like it, so I thought it was going to be a pretty great pump! But I was actually rather disappointed in the pump for many reasons. This pump is not a closed system so the setup of the pump does not prevent contamination of breastmilk (see image here). The Medela pump is also extremely loud. Every time I start using this pump, which is usually at 1:30 in the morning both my dogs come running because they aren't sure about the noise! There were a few nice things about the pump, including that it comes with a bag, and it switches to expression mode manually. The breast shields are designed to pump into narrow neck bottles like the popular Dr. Brown's so you could probably pump right into them. We use Avent bottles which are wide mouth and there is a conversion kit available if you want to pump into wide neck bottles. Overall, this pump was not as customizable as the other pumps and highly disappointing since it is an open system.

Medela Pump In Style Advanced Pros

Can be taken out and used in any bag
Automatically starts in stimulation (let-down) mode
Automatically changes to expression mode after 2 minutes or you can hit a button to manually change to expression mode
Comes with battery pack so you can pump anywhere (batteries not included :))
Comes with cooler bag and ice pack
1 year warranty
Comes with a carrier bag (not as nice as a Sarah Wells bag though, not much can fit inside)

Medela Pump In Style Advanced Cons

Not a closed system
No separate vacuum/speed options, not as customizable
No auto off
Hard to see inside bag when pumping to see where dial is set at
Those little white pieces get lost all the time
I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have about any of the pumps! Feel free to comment below with your questions or e-mail me at simplysheard@gmail.com!
What kind of pump do you use? If you are a mom-to-be what kind of pump do you want? Share below!

[Disclaimer] I did receive two of these pumps in exchange for a fair and truthful review; however, all opinions are 100% my own! Thanks to the weeSpring Parent Panel for providing me with one of the breast pumps!