Willow or elvie?

Chelsea • Miscarriage warrior (x4) Mama to a beautiful baby girl born November 2020.

Did anyone take a the plunge and buy either one of these breast pumps? I’m exclusively pumping and want to keep it up for as long as possible. Is it worth it?? We are only on baby #1 and would like another one day.

124 views • 0 upvotes • 13 comments

COMMENT (13)

Hi

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Yes I have the willow and love it. I don’t use it as my main pump but I pump 2x a day using it at work. I get the same output as with my spectra. There is a learning curve but join a willow support group on Facebook and there are a lot of tips from others.

Ka

Ka • Mar 11, 2021
I never thought to find a Facebook group! Good idea!!

El

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I have an Elvie and I love it! I’ll warn that it does leak for me occasionally, nothing major, but still can be annoying. My letdown on my right side is super fast and I think my elvie has a hard time keeping up. I notice it happens most when I’m really full, but I just pause it to give it a chance to catch up and it’s all good. It took me a good week or so to figure out how to get it to work well for me and my body, but now I don’t have any issues at all. I do factory work and move around the plant a lot, so unfortunately I can’t pump with the elvie while working. BUT being able to be hands free and mobile while pumping is great, even if I can’t bend over or do yoga or whatever lol. Next baby I’m considering the willow for work, since the bags let you pump in any position. I should also say that I’m not an ep, but I do pump between 3-5 times a day to keep baby fed for my 8hr work shift.

Am

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Elvie- worth every penny

Ke

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Instagram! Bemybreastfriend she has so much info on all the pumps!

Ju

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I tried a regular pump first (lmedela) and now I have an elvie. It's much more practical for me, I can walk around the house with it, I use it once a day and charge it once a week. It leaks sometimes but it's only some drops. It's very easy to take on a trip and I will certainly find it more useful than a regular pump when I go back to work (no need to find a quiet room, no cables, silent, etc.). I don't like the app but I don't really need it. So I would say yes, but it really depends on what you need. For me it was important to have an efficient pump but also easy to carry, easy to use anywhere and silent...

Ch

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Thanks everyone for your comments. I decided to go ahead and bought my elvie!

S

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Nope - I am EPing and discussed it with my lactation consultant. She highly recommended that I not waste the money. They aren’t made for EP use and that a lot of women have issues because you can’t see the nipple once it’s “on” if it isn’t sitting right. Also, they don’t effectively empty as well as a regular pump set (you don’t get as much milk).For someone who struggled with supply for so long, I wasn’t going to risk it.

Ch

Chelsea • Mar 21, 2021
This is good to know. It is a risk isn’t it when the cost involved is so high!!

S

S • Mar 12, 2021
Definitely - the reviews were too hit or miss for me to take that gamble at the price (since you can’t return them). I struggled with getting my supply up along with pumping just being painful, that it just wasn’t worth the gamble to me.

Sa

Sage • Mar 11, 2021
I exclusively pumped with it and got the same amount with the Elvie as I did with the spectra! I think it may depend on the person

Sa

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I LOVVVVVE my Elvie! I was exclusively pumping my left breast while feeding on the right, and I used it every feed! I slowly weaned off but I still am so happy to have it for if I need to pump the right while baby is away! So so beneficial and quiet and light weight 😍

Ka

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I bought the Willow with my first baby 3 years ago, currently using it with this baby. I didn’t check how many milk bags I had though prior to going back to work & only got to use it for 2 days before needing to order more bags, so I’ve been using my other pump & keep forgetting to order bags. There is a learning curve with the Willow once you get it down it’s so convenient and the support from the company is awesome. After 2 years of not using it, I’ve gotta get used to it again before I’m back to being 100% with it again.