Pumpin' Pal Review
It's no small secret that I hate pumping, so imagine the sadness in my heart when I had to finally accept that my littlest baby was on a permanent nursing strike. We tried every trick in the book with the help of my lactation consultant but he simply refused to nurse once we got home from the hospital. Every nursing session was essentially him wailing at the top of his lungs and getting super mad. And that's basically how I became an exclusive pumper. It is so much extra work! I spent my maternity leave literally tied to my pump, pumping every few hours around the clock for his every meal. And of course all that pumping means lots of bottles to wash! I was pretty certain I would give up after a few weeks, but I'm surprised to say that he turns 4 months old in a few days and we are still going strong with it! It has gotten much better now since I have an established supply and I can go for longer stretches at night without worrying too much. The best part about pumping around the clock is you can quickly build up a good freezer stash!
As you can imagine, constant pumping can cause a lot of discomfort, I tried using olive oil in my flanges which does help a bit, but I still go through cycles of pain, irritation and discomfort from all the friction of the pump. My medela pump came with two flange sizes the 24mm and 27mm. None of them seemed right for me. The 24mm was super painful to use but the 27mm also seemed to be sucking in too much breast tissue. I think I need a size that is somewhere in between the two but for the mean time that doesn't exist.
While randomly browsing mom memes on instagram I came across a comment about an innovative new pumping product called Pumpin' Pal. I sprinted over to their website to check them out.
Pumpin' Pal sells angled breast pump flanges that aim to make the pumping experience more comfortable and efficient. They are different from regular flanges because they are tilted to allow you to sit more upright when you pump rather than having to lean forward. The upward angle of these flanges is very similar to the Haakaa pump.
Additionally the small and extra small sizes are made from a soft silicone that is much more comfortable on the skin, again similar to the Haakaa. The other sizes are hard plastic. Best of all, the flanges are sold in sets of three different sizes so you can try them out and find the perfect fit for you. The good thing about having more than one size is you might need different sizes at different points in the day depending on your pumping schedule. I knew right away that I had to try them out. I took the sizing quiz on their site to figure out which set was right for me and went ahead and ordered a medium set from amazon. The medium set includes small, medium and large flanges.
To make the sizes easier to identify they each come in different colors. When mine arrived I quickly washed and sterilized them and set them out to dry.
For the first time ever I was actually excited about my next pumping session. To be honest I may have set myself up for failure with these because I tried them for the first time in the middle of the night. I started with the medium even though the instructions tell you to start with the largest size in the set. The medium flange was just okay to use but I felt uncomfortable holding it while pumping because of the angle. I tried both an upward and downward angle but just could not get it to feel right. I assumed the issue was the size, so I later tried the small and large sizes. The small size comes with connector pieces so it can tightly fit into the pump. I struggled to get the connector piece out after pumping but during pumping I couldn't seem to get the small flange to stay in place. Overall I quickly got frustrated with these flanges and gave up because my baby was crying throughout all this.
However when I called them to process my return I was very impressed with the level of customer service I received. These people genuinely get it! They understand that pumping can be frustrating and that it is a process to get things right. They were willing to help troubleshoot, and work through all the issues that I was facing. They were also willing to allow me to return the product by going through their website even though I bought it on amazon. Overall all my frustration disappeared after interacting them, what a difference good customer service makes! Considering it costs under $40 for all three flanges I decided to hold on to them. I went back and looked at all the positive reviews and realized I must be one of the small minority that this brand didn't work for. So I washed the flanges and sterilized them with the plan of sending them to my sister-in-law to try them out. However I have been looking at them in the box for a few days and I just might give them another try! Stay tuned.
As you can imagine, constant pumping can cause a lot of discomfort, I tried using olive oil in my flanges which does help a bit, but I still go through cycles of pain, irritation and discomfort from all the friction of the pump. My medela pump came with two flange sizes the 24mm and 27mm. None of them seemed right for me. The 24mm was super painful to use but the 27mm also seemed to be sucking in too much breast tissue. I think I need a size that is somewhere in between the two but for the mean time that doesn't exist.
While randomly browsing mom memes on instagram I came across a comment about an innovative new pumping product called Pumpin' Pal. I sprinted over to their website to check them out.
Pumpin' Pal sells angled breast pump flanges that aim to make the pumping experience more comfortable and efficient. They are different from regular flanges because they are tilted to allow you to sit more upright when you pump rather than having to lean forward. The upward angle of these flanges is very similar to the Haakaa pump.
Additionally the small and extra small sizes are made from a soft silicone that is much more comfortable on the skin, again similar to the Haakaa. The other sizes are hard plastic. Best of all, the flanges are sold in sets of three different sizes so you can try them out and find the perfect fit for you. The good thing about having more than one size is you might need different sizes at different points in the day depending on your pumping schedule. I knew right away that I had to try them out. I took the sizing quiz on their site to figure out which set was right for me and went ahead and ordered a medium set from amazon. The medium set includes small, medium and large flanges.
To make the sizes easier to identify they each come in different colors. When mine arrived I quickly washed and sterilized them and set them out to dry.
For the first time ever I was actually excited about my next pumping session. To be honest I may have set myself up for failure with these because I tried them for the first time in the middle of the night. I started with the medium even though the instructions tell you to start with the largest size in the set. The medium flange was just okay to use but I felt uncomfortable holding it while pumping because of the angle. I tried both an upward and downward angle but just could not get it to feel right. I assumed the issue was the size, so I later tried the small and large sizes. The small size comes with connector pieces so it can tightly fit into the pump. I struggled to get the connector piece out after pumping but during pumping I couldn't seem to get the small flange to stay in place. Overall I quickly got frustrated with these flanges and gave up because my baby was crying throughout all this.
However when I called them to process my return I was very impressed with the level of customer service I received. These people genuinely get it! They understand that pumping can be frustrating and that it is a process to get things right. They were willing to help troubleshoot, and work through all the issues that I was facing. They were also willing to allow me to return the product by going through their website even though I bought it on amazon. Overall all my frustration disappeared after interacting them, what a difference good customer service makes! Considering it costs under $40 for all three flanges I decided to hold on to them. I went back and looked at all the positive reviews and realized I must be one of the small minority that this brand didn't work for. So I washed the flanges and sterilized them with the plan of sending them to my sister-in-law to try them out. However I have been looking at them in the box for a few days and I just might give them another try! Stay tuned.
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