The First Years miPump Double Deluxe Electric Breast Pump Review

I purchased this pump in a hurry after my Evenflo Dual Select bit the dust.  The MiPump was like a breath of fresh air!  I didn't even know what I was missing!  The suction is great for the price.  I have heard others say it does not compare to the Medela line, but for a third of the price, I think I'm okay with that.  It definitely fits my purposes. 

The parts all fit together well.  As I have moved on from the Evenflo pump, my favorite part is that all the pieces snap in together, thus, no loose parts to keep track of until you purposely take it apart to clean it.  The parts are easy to clean and maintain for the most part (I will adress my only issue along this line a little later).  The power is nice.  It always starts out on the lowest power and you may adjust it as needed.  This is nice because there is no sudden shock of suction when the machine is turned on.  The machine is MUCH quieter than the Evenflo, although it does not quite match the promise of being "so quiet only you will know you're pumping."  This may be true on the absolute lowest setting, but that setting won't get you any milk.  However, even the highest setting is fairly quiet.  I very much appreciate this fact.

The accompanying tote bag IS quite adorable.  In the stylish chocolate and turquoise color scheme, it matches all my other baby gear quite nicely.  All the pieces fit well inside the bag, with little pockets inside for keeping everything organized.  It has a zippered closure to secure everything in.  I love this bag!

The pump machinery is quite small and lightweight, which is nice.  It also has battery-capability, although I have not tried this function yet.  The flexible horns do tend to invert themselves easily, but as long as you're positioned in the pump correctly, this does not affect pumping in any way.  The flexible horns are rather comfortable, in fact.

The handle designed for dual pumping is not quite what one would hope.  I really wanted to like this piece and was very excited when I saw it.  It is well made and is a nice thought, but as every woman is built differently, it did not quite hold the sides far enough apart to accommadate me and simply added one more hassle to the process of pumping, so I have since ditched this.  However, holding the two parts in place with one arm is still quite feasible and easy being that they are so lightweight.

The one problem I have had thus far is with the tubing which connects the motor to the pump parts.  I am not sure how it happened, but a small bit of milk did get inside my tubing at one point.  I rinsed the tubing out and hung it to dry, but the openings are so small, condensation built up inside and, two days later, is still there.  I was initially concerned the motor might suck the water droplets in, thus killing the machine, but have not noticed any problems with that, so I'm assuming everything is just fine.

I did not pay the extra $20 for the Deluxe version.  I do own the dual pump, just not the "deluxe" package.  As far as I can tell, the only difference is that the deluxe package comes with a cooler bag for holding the milk (which I recieved free from the hospital so is not necessary for me) and adaptors to be able to pump directly into any bottle.  These adaptors were not worth $20 to me.  The pump does come with two 5-oz Soothie bottles from The First Years which may also be purchased separately in varying sizes.  As I typically use one set of bottles for pumping and then transfer the milk into the bottles I feed to my daughter, I am not particular about which bottles I pump in to and since I can easily purchase extra pumping bottles if necessary (and for only about $4 each), I don't think the adaptors are at all necessary, thus making the deluxe version not worth $20 more. 

I would highly recommend this pump.  I have only owned it for a week, so I suppose my vision could be skewed but it works great thus far.  I am very happy with this purchase and am always happy for a chance to save money!

UPDATE: It has now been two months since I made my emergency MiPump purchase and I have noticed a couple of other things (some good, some bad).

First, I have figured out how to adjust the width on the handle and, thus, now really enjoy using the handle (I'm not sure how I used it without it!).  The bottles snap into the handle quite easily and are just as easily removed by pushing a button and pulling out.  

Also, I have taken the pump with me to a women's conference while I left my baby at home with a large supply of frozen milk.  The bag made it easy to carry the pump without screaming to the world, "I have a breast pump!!!" - it also allowed ample room to store all pump pieces and the milk produced - however, it would not fit a cooler bag if I had needed one.  The battery-power ability worked great (until my batteries died, but that's my fault) and I love having a base in which to place the motor - which reduces the noise when placed on a table or counter.

I have, however, grown quite frustrated with the valves.  They have a tiny flap which is key to the process.  However, the flap has gotten a big looser and, thus, sometimes hangs open ever so slightly when I assemble the pump - if I do not notice the problem when assembling the pump, the pump will not suction - at which point, I have to check to see if the flap is the problem, then unscrew the bottle, moisten the flap a little, push it back up and cross my fingers that it will work this time.  Screw the bottle back on, turn the motor back on and see if it works.  If it doesn't, I have to repeat the process.  This can get frustrating.

Overall, I would still recommend the pump for its ease of travel, dual-pumping handle, ease of assemly and cute bag, but it does try my patience at times.

UPDATE (AGAIN): About a month after my last update, one side of the pump does not suction almost at all anymore.  A big disappointment, as this was the problem I had with a different pump which inspired me to purchase this one.  I cannot say whether it was my problem (improper cleaning) or just the result of buying a less expensive pump.

Right now I'm done pumping, but when my next child comes along, I will have to invest in yet another pump . . . this time I'm not scrimping!