Medela Sonata Breast Pump Review

Deciding on a breast pump this time around was agonizing. In the past I had used the Lansinoh double affinity pump, the spectra 2 and also the evenflo pump. This time my insurance only offered Medela pumps which I had avoided in the past due to the open system of the older models. This time I was torn between two of the newer options available that do feature a closed system;  the Freestyle and Sonata.

The freestyle is a super small pump that you can clip to your waistband, so you can pump hands free and still be able to move around. The small size makes it perfect for pumping at work since its super lightweight.

While I really liked the size and portability of the freestyle, I ultimately decided to try the Sonata because it boasted a lot of new features that I wanted to try out.  I started using the Sonata pump this month and these are my thoughts so far.

Pros
Closed system - As I mentioned, some of the medela pumps have an open system so there is no physical barrier between the milk and the tubes. This means milk and condensation can get in the tubes which is less than ideal to say the least.  The Sonata pump is completely redesigned with a completely closed system.

Bluetooth - This pump has bluetooth capabilities and can be synced to the medela app. This allows all your pumping history to be synced too. This is great because you can see when you last pumped as well as the length of the pumping session etc. You can also log feeding sessions which can be surprisingly hard to remember in the crazy newborn stage. The awesome thing is the pump has built in memory to store information on each pumping session and then it syncs to your phone whenever you turn the bluetooth on. The only thing you need to enter manually is the amount pumped.

Rechargeable Battery - This pump has a built-in rechargeable battery so you are not forced to pump near a power supply or worry about needing a car adapter if you ever need to pump on the go.

Pump rhythms - Most pumps have one pump rhythm that starts in the let down phase and then switches to the expression phase after two minutes. For many pumps you can only adjust the suction strength. This pump has two different rhythms. To be honest I can't tell the difference between the two but definitely seem to get better output with second rhythm. As far as I can tell the difference must be very subtle.

Volume - This pump is average, it isn't the loudest pump I have used but not the most quiet either. It is definitely not as quiet as the spectra s2 but overall its not bad.

Cons

Pump parts -

I was excited to see medela ditch their old membrane pieces and embrace a brand new design. The older membrane pieces are awful in my opinion because they are so tiny and just hard to keep track of when washing.  You can very easily pour these down the sink if you hand wash your pump in a bowl. I also found it hard to separate the old membrane pieces.

The sonata pump membrane is a substantial improvement in size and sturdiness but the overall design is worse than previous models. 

Most importantly the way the bottle screws into the pump piece is bizarre. It isn't a true screw on piece but rather a combo between a screw and snap. A normal screw top bottle is closed by turning the lid piece clockwise, the more you turn it the tighter it gets. With this pump as you tighten the bottle's connection to the pump it snaps apart.

So like goldilocks you need to tighten it just the right amount. To make matters worse, while pumping if you don't  hold the bottle just right or if anything bumps into the bottle it snaps apart from the connector causing spills. Spilling freshly pumped milk is a gut wrenchingly horrible feeling! So maybe medela should focus on parts that fit securely enough to keep the milk inside the bottle! This is the biggest problem with the pump.

The membrane can sometimes kick milk back into the flange which causes the flange to fill up with milk and stop pumping correctly. To fix this you have to break the suction by taking the flange off the breast and reattaching. Once again this is something you can't do or won't even realize if you use a pumping bra; making this new pump seem highly unreliable.

Additionally aside from the flange piece, none of the pump parts from older medela pumps work with the sonata; not even the tubes. I don't see why they couldn't find a way to make the old tubes fit the new model. It's frustrating because I get medela pumping sets during each birth from the hospital lactation team but can't use most of the parts with this new pump. For the meantime you can't purchase replacement tubing by itself you need to buy a whole new set of all the parts for $53 to get another set of tubes.

Thankfully they do sell an 8 piece replacement kit with the membrane and connecting pieces for $25

For me that replacement kit was basically enough to create a whole new set since the original pump included 4 bottles and you only need 2 bottles per set. I also already had an extra set of flanges from the hospital. Hopefully by the time I need replacement tubes they will be available as a stand-alone item. 

One thing I will say is I have seen a lot of complaints about how many parts this pump has. The number of parts doesn't bother me at all. However the size of the parts is an issue. The parts are big and clunky and feel like a major step back. This causes a lot of milk to get trapped between the parts and basically get wasted. I  think most closed system pumps have about the same number of parts but their parts are significantly smaller and make more sense.

Strange touch screen - 

The whole design of the pump is weird, with an awkwardly placed handle, topped off with an odd touch screen display that is illuminated. I had read and watched many reviews before deciding on this pump and each time someone mentioned how difficult it was  to read the display I just rolled my eyes and thought it wasn't a relevant point. After actually using the pump I take back that thought.  Aside from the power button there are no other buttons on this pump, everything is controlled from the touch screen display and it is very difficult to read unless you are in a completely dark room. Even then the numbers are so weirdly displayed its hard to understand what you are looking out, or how long you have been pumping based on the timer. The best way to describe it is the numbers seem to bleed into each other so in the above photo I had been pumping for 8 minutes and 14 seconds, but the 1 looks like a 3 and the 4 looks like a 9.  Considering the technology available today this screen is really disappointing.

Pump output. This pump is marketed as being in someway similar to the medela hospital grade pumps. That is simply not true. The highest suction strength on this is probably a medium on other pumps I have used. In order to get  a good amount of milk with this pump you really need to incorporate correct pumping techniques such as  adjusting the hold of the pump to be able to massage during pumping; which you can't do if you use a pumping bra. To be able to massage while you pump you would need to hold the flange like a wine glass, but then the bottle is vulnerable to snapping apart from the connector piece.

Sound - This pump has unnecessary chimes and sounds, thankfully there is an option to mute it but it just doesn't seem like a useful feature to begin with

Size - This pump is a bit chunky to carry around. The round shape reminds me of the spectra s2, but I do like the cute little carry bag that's included in the box as well as the cooler bag and ice pack. I do wish this pump came with the option of a backpack instead like other medela pumps. 

Overall this pump seems a heavily overrated to me especially at the retail price of $350. Thankfully insurance covered the full cost.  (Thank you obamacare)  I would rate it 2.5 stars at best and don't recommend buying this if you have to pay out of pocket for it.  I think the concept has the potential to be a 5 star pump with a few tweaks and updates from medela.